Bangladesh Stays Out

The killing of a Hindu businessman, Khokon Das, in a small town 100km from Dhaka after he was dragged out of an autorickshaw and brutally assaulted was the fifth such death in Bangladesh since December 2025. Thereafter, another Hindu journalist was shot dead in Jessore. The accused have been arrested but the impunity with which Hindus—going about their daily lives earning a living—have been attacked gives the lie to the claims of Bangladesh interim administrator Muhammad Yunus that the attacks on religious minorities are exaggerated.

The violence certainly had a bearing on the decision to exclude Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from IPL. It is clear that India is prepared to add Bangladesh, after Pakistan, as a country with which playing cricket— or any other sport—is now difficult. The decision is not just “political” as it has been made out. There is genuine anger in India over the brutalities inflicted on Hindus since Yunus replaced Sheikh Hasina as the head of government in August 2024.

The inaction has been aggravated by Yunus adopting an anti-India stance. This is partly due to his frustration at India refusing to accord him any degree of legitimacy—visiting India has been out of the question —but also because of his reluctance to check radical factions dominating the discourse in Bangladesh. Das’ death worsened an already frayed relationship and toughened India’s resolve to press Yunus for his failure to provide security to minorities and his mollycoddling of the Pakistan military despite being well aware of New Delhi’s sensitivity in matters relating to the security of its Northeast region.

Unprepared Opposition

The stage is set for the next round of local body elections in Maharashtra, including the big prize of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and the opposition is crying foul about the unopposed election of close to 70 candidates of the Mahayuti, comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. Opposition parties Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS have protested, claiming such results are a sign of democratic atrophy. Yet it is puzzling that they could not ensure valid candidates in these seats if they were really keen. Weaknesses in local bodies such as Kalyan-Dombivli and Pune don’t augur well for the two Senas ahead of the polls.

Vying for Leverage

US President Donald Trump’s rumblings over increasing tariffs on India have much to do with the currently stalemated bilateral trade deal. There is a view in Indian policy circles that Trump sees the punitive 25 per cent tariffs on India for purchase of Russian oil as a significant pressure point to extract more concessions. The concern, as per sources, in the US is that once the tariff is removed, there will be little incentive for India to consider additional requests. Meanwhile, India is not only not budging on the stated red lines but export data shows the Trump tariffs have not resulted in the kind of havoc initially anticipated.

Sai Baba’s Venezuelan Connection

The revelation that deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and even members of his inner circle are followers of Sri Sathya Sai Baba Of Puttaparthi revives interest in the seer who listed several influential persons among his devotees. The Baba, known for ‘materialising’ vibhuti or holy ash, often used to interact with visitors at his famous whitefield ashram in the Bengaluru suburb. In his heyday, callers included prime ministers, union ministers and several chief ministers.

Hazing Tactics

The ongoing Delhi Assembly session has seen AAP’s bid to put the capital’s pollution crisis centrestage being foiled by BJP benches claiming former Chief Minister Atishi had used “insensitive” words against Guru Tegh Bahadur. The nature of the provocation remains unclear, but the heat and dust has provided BJP a reason to avoid or delay a difficult discussion in the Assembly. Such tactics apart, it is evident the Delhi government needs to consider solutions to improve the city’s air quality on a year-round basis and not only post-monsoon.

Imported Pollution?

The discussion on pollution in Delhi-NCR has hit something of a dead end. Various knee-jerk solutions, such as spraying water on pavements and roads are barely scratching the surface of the problem. A new study claims more than 50 per cent of Delhi’s pollution is “imported” as the sources are outside the city. But it is impossible to separate Delhi from its surroundings. Measures like halting construction, banning wood and leaf burning, and restricting vehicles have also failed. There has been no study on sources of pollution since the last one was done by IIT Kanpur in 2016. That study— surprise, surprise— found soil, road dust and airborne ash to be major year-round polluters.

Afforestation Dilemma

Recently, the Delhi Development Authority found itself in the crosshairs of the Supreme Court over the failure to plant 1.65 lakh trees in lieu of projects it has under taken that require tree-felling. While compensatory forestation should be non-negotiable, the problem is that there is a scarcity of land in the capital for afforestation. In fact, officials find it useful to designate projects “Centrally mandated” so that compensatory forestation can be carried out outside Delhi. This is a problem with good intentions not matching practicalities.