The veterans expressed their outrage in a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, saying it is "unusual and unacceptable" that political leaders take credit for military operations.
Mamdani’s politics feels unusual compared to India’s current climate. He unapologetically foregrounds Muslim identity at a time when doing so in India invites scrutiny.
On 4 November 2025, NCLAT bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Member Arun Baroka, noted that WhatsApp and Meta are distinct legal entities.
This world is being restructured and redrawn by one man, and what’s his power? It’s not his formidable military. It’s trade. With China, it turned on him.
Why should a soldier expose himself to be prosecuted for his actions in an area declared ‘Disturbed Area’ by the Govt & ordered him to act in a hostile environment? In these areas under pressure from the terrorists, the civilian eye witnesses to the incident are not prepared to come up & give evidence in favour of the soldier. On the contrary, they are threatened & forced to give evidences against him. If there is a problem giving AFSPA powers to a soldier, act with the local police which has those powers. Choice is that of the Govt. You can’t have the cake & eat it too.
The whole tenor of this blog is that of someone who THEORISES. Yes, from the premises of ‘Harward’ Societies of Fellows (Ah! We are very exalted!) military power being subordinate to civil power looks to be the correct form. Even the military thinks and says so. But even in theory the relation of superior-subordinate does not apply at the point of delivery. Armed forces come into play after the civilian agencies have given up. Any Army officer would love to have the appropriate Magistrate give the order to use force. But where are the civilian officers? Snug and smug in their offices. So there. Armed forces do not want any part of this.
Long running of AFSPA is because civilians in Delhi do not wish to go to the ground and get their records dirty. Neither do the NGOs. The brunt is felt by the people in uniform whether olive green or khaki. They hold the can for Indian Democracy.
AFSPA goes beyond the law and constitutionality, the domain of the Supreme Court. For that matter, orders of the apex court itself in matters related to this law have not always been accorded the respect they deserve. It goes to the heart of how we wish the Indian state to be ordered. Whether the state governs with the consent of citizens or against their express wishes. A steady increase in the size of paramilitary forces. Custodial deaths on a scale that does not befit a democracy. Routine misuse of the law on sedition, now proposed to be strengthened, to send a shiver down the spine. A plaster cast is needed for a few weeks, to allow a broken bone to mend and heal. If AFSPA is in force for fifty years in Manipur, what does that tell us about the political process. Or Kashmir. Not just Arundhati Roy, all of us should worry about where things are headed.
Why should a soldier expose himself to be prosecuted for his actions in an area declared ‘Disturbed Area’ by the Govt & ordered him to act in a hostile environment? In these areas under pressure from the terrorists, the civilian eye witnesses to the incident are not prepared to come up & give evidence in favour of the soldier. On the contrary, they are threatened & forced to give evidences against him. If there is a problem giving AFSPA powers to a soldier, act with the local police which has those powers. Choice is that of the Govt. You can’t have the cake & eat it too.
The whole tenor of this blog is that of someone who THEORISES. Yes, from the premises of ‘Harward’ Societies of Fellows (Ah! We are very exalted!) military power being subordinate to civil power looks to be the correct form. Even the military thinks and says so. But even in theory the relation of superior-subordinate does not apply at the point of delivery. Armed forces come into play after the civilian agencies have given up. Any Army officer would love to have the appropriate Magistrate give the order to use force. But where are the civilian officers? Snug and smug in their offices. So there. Armed forces do not want any part of this.
Long running of AFSPA is because civilians in Delhi do not wish to go to the ground and get their records dirty. Neither do the NGOs. The brunt is felt by the people in uniform whether olive green or khaki. They hold the can for Indian Democracy.
AFSPA goes beyond the law and constitutionality, the domain of the Supreme Court. For that matter, orders of the apex court itself in matters related to this law have not always been accorded the respect they deserve. It goes to the heart of how we wish the Indian state to be ordered. Whether the state governs with the consent of citizens or against their express wishes. A steady increase in the size of paramilitary forces. Custodial deaths on a scale that does not befit a democracy. Routine misuse of the law on sedition, now proposed to be strengthened, to send a shiver down the spine. A plaster cast is needed for a few weeks, to allow a broken bone to mend and heal. If AFSPA is in force for fifty years in Manipur, what does that tell us about the political process. Or Kashmir. Not just Arundhati Roy, all of us should worry about where things are headed.
Good comment