Editorials, Editorial Opinions, Editorial News, The Hindu Opinion

Slanting posts: On social media and level playing field

Several Twitter handles associated with the Congress and its leaders including its former president Rahul Gandhi were blocked by Twitter in the last few days, for violating its user policy and the law of the land. The violation pertains to posts shared by these handles that identified the family of a child who was allegedly raped and murdered in Delhi. The platform has since revealed that the NCPCR brought the violation to its notice. A petition in the Delhi HC seeking legal action against Mr. Gandhi has pointed out that his post was in violation of Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and Section 23(2) of the POCSO Act 2012, both of which mandate that any material that might reveal (directly or indirectly) the identity of a child victim of a crime shall not be published. Additionally, the post also violated Twitter’s own rules. The Congress has not addressed the substantive question raised by the platform regarding these violations. It has alleged double standards by the

Afghan tragedy: On the second coming of the Taliban

With the fall of Kandahar and Herat, Afghanistan’s second and third largest cities, to the Taliban, the war in the country appears to have entered an irreversible phase. They already seized Ghazni, a strategically important city on the Kabul-Kandahar highway. The speed with which the Islamist insurgents captured the cities — 17 in eight days — is a surprise. Troops from the U.S. and the U.K. are to go back to Afghanistan to evacuate their citizens. The latest U.S. intelligence assessment predicts that Kabul could fall within 90 days. The Afghan government has reportedly offered a power sharing proposal to the Taliban. But neither the offer nor the warning from the U.S. and other countries that they would not recognise a Taliban regime that takes power by force has stopped the militants. In his Id message, Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said the Taliban are on the verge of establishing a “pure Islamic system” in Afghanistan. It is clear from his words and the military

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Editorial

Another warning: On landslips in Himachal Pradesh

A landslip has struck again in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh killing at least 14 people and burying several others, just over a fortnight after a similar disaster killed a group of tourists. This time, the catastrophe has been even more severe, with mud, rocks and debris raining down on vehicles including a State transport corporation bus on National Highway 5. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has said that 60 people may have been buried and multiple agencies including the ITBP, National and State Disaster Response Forces were frantically trying to rescue survivors. Himachal Pradesh, a picturesque western Himalayan State that has made progress on social developmental indices, faces rising instability from environmental factors such as climate change and heavy monsoon rainfall. Landslips have become a familiar feature, and seismic events threaten to increase their frequency and aggravate the impact. The same NH-5 was similarly blocked by falling rocks in the wake of heavy rain in

Editorial

Eye in the sky: On ISRO’s hits and misses

Anything that is related to space science, failure or success, is larger than life; for this is a new frontier for achievement and conquest within the realms of science and technology. The recent attempt by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to place an earth observation satellite (EOS-3) in a geosynchronous orbit using the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F10) ended in failure due to a ‘performance anomaly’ — a malfunctioning of the trusted rocket launcher. All seemed to be well as the stage two and three separated as planned, but when the time came for the cryogenic third stage to light up, there appeared to be a failure and an ensuing deviation from the expected path, as seen in the control panel. There was an immediate disruption in the telecast which had been showing a view of the control panel, and the camera veered towards troubled faces, discussion and probably efforts to salvage the mission. Finally, Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman of ISRO, announced in a short

Editorial

Safe at school: On getting students back on campus

Almost every child got left behind for more than a year in India, as COVID-19 shuttered schools and forced pupils to study online at home, if they could. This long period of learning loss is a major setback in itself, affecting the physical and mental health of many students and depriving them of a year of vital skill development. It is understandable, therefore, that at least 14 States and Union Territories have tempered caution with calculated risk and opted to reopen campuses, mostly for secondary and higher secondary students. These governments are not alone in looking for the golden mean to manage the pandemic. In several countries, leaders are exploring ways to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection among pupils who are not yet eligible for vaccination, while getting them back on campus. At the end of the second wave, in July, Haryana and Nagaland went back to in-person teaching for higher classes, while Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep are

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