Newslaundry

On September 4, the United Nations passed a resolution declaring November 27 the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage. For India, the date holds significance. It was on this day in 2024 that the Union government launched its ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat’ campaign against child marriage.

For a better listening experience, download the Newslaundry app हिंदी पॉडकास्ट जहां हम हफ्तेभर के बवालों और सवालों पर चर्चा करते हैं. एनएल चर्चा के इस अंक में चुनाव आयोग द्वारा दिल्ली की मतदाता सूची (SIR) से बड़े पैमाने पर नाम हटाए जाने, भारत की पहली तिमाही की जीडीपी दर में दर्ज हुई बढ़त और सुप्रीम कोर्ट द्वारा नीट-यूजी प्रदर्शनकारियों के खिलाफ दर्ज एफआईआर को रद्द करने जैसे अहम मुद्दों पर विस्तार से बात हुई.

Following a restructuring of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) digital wing, the party has intensified its social media campaigning, increasingly employing violent memes and videos. On August 27, the Karnataka unit of the BJP shared a meme featuring a clip from the film ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, in which the protagonist unleashes a barrage of gunfire on his opponents.

Trigger warning: This report contains references to child sexual abuse. Last year, in October, the Chennai police had received a pen drive containing the visuals of a minor being sexually assaulted. It came to light that the man in the video was an influential mining baron in his early 80s. However, in a major travesty of a process, the police tried to close the case.

This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri and Rinchen Norbu are joined by Vivek Kaul, a Mumbai-based author and columnist, Puja Mehra, a senior economic journalist and author, and veteran environmental journalist Hridayesh Joshi. The discussion opens with India's recently released 7.8% GDP growth rate for the April–June quarter. Vivek argues that the number cannot be read in isolation.

Siddharth Hi Hafta Team, In Hafta 604, Dr Sameena Dalwai mentioned that she is anti-war and would rather see people on both sides of the border focus on things like sanitation and development. I get the sentiment, and obviously nobody wants war, but I found the idea a little utopian. You can want peace, but what if the other side doesn’t? Isn't preparing for war sometimes exactly what prevents one?

This week on TV Newsance, Arnab has a very important announcement to make. He says “buckle up” three times because what follows is HUGE, just beyond our comprehension: the right wing, apparently, is cool now. So cool that an entire primetime hour is spent proving BJP’s meme game is “brilliant,” “so beautiful,” and “totally lethal” while a brand-new enemy is unveiled for anyone with a brain: the “dimaagi naxal” yet again. Rahul Gandhi’s laugh is submitted as evidence. We are not making this up.

Shaheen Khan, a journalist with 4PM, has levelled serious allegations against the Delhi Police. She says she was detained by the police while recording a video, and was subsequently taken to the Saket police station, where she alleges she was assaulted. But her allegations go beyond physical assault – she claims she was also questioned about her identity and surname while at the station. How did this controversy begin, and what exactly transpired at the Saket police station?

4PM की पत्रकार शाहीन खान ने दिल्ली पुलिस पर गंभीर आरोप लगाए हैं. उनका कहना है कि सेल्फ वीडियो बनाते समय पुलिस ने उन्हें हिरासत में लिया. इसके बाद उन्हें साकेत थाने ले जाया गया, जहां उनके साथ मारपीट की गई. शाहीन खान के आरोप सिर्फ पुलिस की पिटाई तक सीमित नहीं हैं. उनका दावा है कि थाने में उनकी पहचान और सरनेम को लेकर भी सवाल किए गए. आखिर इस पूरे विवाद की शुरुआत कैसे हुई और साकेत थाने में क्या हुआ? यह जानने के लिए हमने शाहीन खान से बात की.

HarperCollins India will publish Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s much-anticipated memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, in India on November 10, 2026. The announcement comes amid a controversy over the book’s earlier publishing arrangements with Penguin Random House India. “HarperCollins India will publish Belonging: A Journey of Love by Sonia Gandhi. The long-awaited memoir will be published in India on 10 November 2026.