Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addresses the State Assembly, Chandigarh, July 11, 2025 (Photo: Getty Images)
The Punjab Legislative Assembly is debating a Bill that prescribes life imprisonment for sacrilege against religious texts.This is the third time that Punjab has tried to outlaw sacrilege against religious texts. The idea that one should be prosecuted for sacrilege against religious texts is seen in countries espousing religious fundamentalism and not one that is secular in character. There are dangers ahead on the path that Punjab has taken.
The statement of objects and reasons in the Bill says that, “In the recent past there have been attempts to disturb peace and communal harmony in the State by committing sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji, Srimad Bhagwat Gita and holy Quran and any other holy scripture. Government is determined not to allow such incidents and ensure deterrent action against all those who commit such sacrilege.”
This is not the first time that Punjab has sought to outlaw “sacrilege”. In 2016, the SAD-BJP government sought to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to that end. A similar attempt was made by the Congress government led by Amarinder Singh in 2018 by amending the IPC and CrPC. The Bills were passed by the state Assembly but did not receive the President’s assent.
Punjab has now had a history of sacrilege against religious texts, mostly of the Sikhs since 2015. The latest being reported in mid-April in Hoshiarpur district. It is not clear if a special law will address the problem. Since 2015, the state has seen four different governments belonging to different political parties. All had the benefit of ample legal and law enforcement resources and yet the problem refuses to go away. A better explanation for the current Bill (and previous ones as well) is that the state’s politics has veered to an extreme and all parties think it is worthwhile to pander to such instincts. The three previous ones tried their hand at this brand politics and all failed to win power again. A better solution would be to sensitise the people of Punjab against desecrating religious texts instead of prescribing punishments.
Newsmaker: In Memoriam: Fauja Singh (1911-2025) Turbaned Tornado A trailblazer who transformed the idea of the marathon runner
Fauja Singh (1911-2025) (Photo: Getty Images)
THE LIFE OF Fauja Singh, the ‘Turbaned Tornado’ who blazed a trail through the marathon circuit as the world’s oldest marathon runner, came to a tragic end recently. Singh, who is believed to have been 114, was out on a walk when he was struck by a vehicle.
Singh’s greatest moments as a runner came between the years 2000 and 2013, during which he ran nine full marathons. In 2011, when he was believed to have been 100 years old, he delivered in the space of four days what has been described as the most stirring performance for a runner in his age. He set multiple world records on October 13 that year in Toronto, in events ranging from 100 metres to 5,000 metres. Describing it as the “most astonishing achievement” he had witnessed, Doug Smith, the co-chair of Ontario Masters Athletics, told the New York Times, “He rested between the events by sitting down and having a few sips of tea.” Three days later, Singh became the first reputed centenarian to complete a race of 26.2 miles by finishing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8 hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds.
Singh took to running in his late 80s as a way to cope with grief. He had already lost his wife in the 1990s, after which he had moved to London, but had then seen his younger son die in an accident. A chance meeting with some elderly people in a London gurdwara who went out on runs is believed to have then kickstarted this passion in him.
Since Singh didn’t possess a birth certificate, his records were never officially recognised by Guinness World Records. But that didn’t really matter. The image of this elderly gentleman completing a marathon remains one of the most enduring moments from this era.
Noisemaker: Edappadi K Palaniswami Premature Boast
(Illustration: Saurabh Singh)
The Assembly election in Tamil Nadu is still a while away, due only around April 2026, but that has not deterred All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami from not only declaring himself as the next chief minister but also claiming his party will form the government on its own. “You have got it wrong,” he told the media when asked about the likelihood of a coalition government. “It is not going to be an alliance government, but the alliance will form the government,” he said. The explanation suggests that ally BJP will help AIADMK win but will not be in government. EPS seems to be forgetting AIADMK did poorly on its own in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while offering his dazzling political formula which is unlikely to impress BJP.
Ideas Food Labelling
(Photo: Alamy)
The Union Health Ministry recently issued an advisory asking workplaces to display information boards that raise awareness about health risks of eating snacks with excess fats and sugar. Some reports interpreted the advisory as a directive aimed at popular Indian snacks like samosas and jalebis. The government clarified that it was more of a general advisory and not targeting just Indian snacks. This issue puts a spotlight on the growing demand to give consumers more information about the food they consume.
Packaged food products are processed, high in sugar, salt and fat, and low on essential micronutrients. And while all packaged food products are legally mandated to provide nutritional information, manufacturers often tend to hide this information, at the back of packets, in tiny fonts.
There is a push to get the food industry to adopt front-of-the-pack nutritional labelling. This would empower consumers and can combat a growing obesity crisis. But the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has dragged its feet. An FSSAI expert committee had proposed this, on the orders of the Delhi High Court, in 2014. With no amendments brought since then, the Supreme Court earlier this year gave FSSAI’s expert committee three months to wrap up its report on necessary amendments. Reports state the committee has now asked for another three months.
The food products industry is resistant to such steps. But if obesity and the many other health risks associated with poor nutrition are to be tackled, clear nutritional information on packaged food must be non-negotiable.
Money Mantra The Balancing Act Stay diversified and ignore the noise on the bourses
(Illustration: Saurabh Singh)
INVESTING IN A market that feels like it is lurching from one headline to the next can be unnerving, yet volatility is hardly a new phenomenon on DalalStreet. What often changes from one cycle to another is not the magnitude of price swings, but how investors respond to them.
At times like these, the most reliable compass is a clear sense of purpose: Why is the money in the market in the first place? When will it be needed? And how much temporary pain can be tolerated before that purpose is compromised?
Clarity on these three things can convert turbulence from a source of anxiety into just more background phenomenon, much like the heat of an Indian summer—uncomfortable, yes, but hardly a reason to abandon one’s plans entirely.
Once objectives are pared down to their essence, the question now is—how to keep capital working without allowing the mood of the market to dictate every action.
History suggests that the simplest antidote to market timing is staggered deployment. Diversification, too, takes on new meaning when headlines are choppy. Many investors interpret it as owning a little of everything, but in practice, it is about owning enough of what behaves differently at crucial moments.
A portfolio tilted entirely towards high growth technology or momentum favourites can feel exhilarating during an upswing, yet in a downturn, those same names often slide in unison, leaving the owner with no place to hide.
Blending faster growing but more fragile sectors with cash generating defensives, selective international exposure and a sliver of gold or high quality debt dampens the overall amplitude of returns, which in turn makes it easier to stay invested and reap the eventual rebound.
The psychological value of this ballast is difficult to overstate: When half a portfolio is holding its ground, a headline induced drawdown on the other half is far less likely to trigger a panicked exit. (By Ramesh Singh)
Viral A Shoplifting Spree That Failed
An Indian tourist, identified as Ananya Avlani, walks into a department store in the US. She spends hours wandering from aisle to aisle, picking up hundreds of items, removing tags as she goes, attracting the attention, unknown to her, of the staff at the store, before being apprehended as she tried to make her way out. She had picked up 767 items this way, worth $1,300 (`1.1 lakh), from the Target store in Illinois. Shoplifting, of course, occurs at department stores and malls all the time. But what made Avlani’s case go viral was not just that she was desi, but the way she tried to get the police to let her off. She pleaded and argued with the cops, offered to pay up, tried reasoning that she couldn’t be accused of the crime since she hadn’t been able to steal, and queried them with multiple ‘whys’ before finally being handcuffed.
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