ALL IN 1 CONTROVERSIES

                                                  

London mein kaali taxi ka meter...aur yahan Jofra Archer ka..': Harbhajan Singh 'racist' remarks spark outrage from netizens

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has come under fire for making a racially insensitive remark about England fast bowler Jofra Archer during an IPL 2025 match between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.

The incident occurred in the 18th over of the first innings when Archer was bowling to SRH batters Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen.

The controversy erupted, as reported by TOI, after Klaasen hit consecutive boundaries against Archer, and Harbhajan said, "London me kaali taxi ka meter tez bhaagta hai, Aur yaha pe Archer sahab ka meter bhi tez bhaaga hai (In London, the black cabs’ meter runs fast, and here Archer’s meter is also running fast)."

Jofra Archer endured a difficult debut in IPL 2025, conceding 76 runs without taking a wicket against Sunrisers Hyderabad. This set a new record for the most expensive bowling figures in IPL history, surpassing Mohit Sharma’s previous record of 0/73 for Gujarat Titans against Delhi Capitals.

The remark quickly sparked outrage on social media, with many fans calling for Harbhajan’s immediate removal from the IPL 2025 commentary panel

Congress leader calls Madhuri Dixit a 'second-grade actor', sparks controversy

Madhuri Dixit, an adored Bollywood actress, has sparked controversy after Congress leader Tikaram Jully labeled her a "second-grade star" and "past her prime" during a Rajasthan Assembly session. Jully criticized the government for spending over Rs. 100 crore on the IIFA Awards. His remarks have been widely criticized,lovingly called the ‘Dhak Dhak Girl’ of Bollywood, is one of Indian cinema’s most loved actresses. She is known for her beautiful expressions, graceful dance moves, and strong performances. With a career of over 40 years, she has won many hearts with her talent and charm. Some of her most famous films include ‘Tezaab’, ‘Ram Lakhan’, ‘Dil’, ‘Beta’, ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!’, ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’, ‘Devdas’, and ‘Lajja’. With her grace and emotions, she still remains a favourite in Bollywood, inspiring many with her timeless beauty and talent.

"What benefit did we get from IIFA? How many big stars attended? Did they visit any tourist spots? They didn’t go to any tourist destinations. And which big name came? Except for Shah Rukh Khan, all were second-grade actors. No first-grade actor attended," Tikaram Jully said.

Speaking in the Rajasthan Assembly on Wednesday, the Congress MLA criticised the presence of fewer Bollywood stars at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards and questioned the event’s impact on the state.

Context

India’s foreign policy challenges in the current internal and external developments

Managing China

India’s most serious challenge, has seen some success but it remains a major and continuing problem. India’s more active role in the Quad in its second avatar is a positive sign. Despite the occasional wavering in India’s Indo-Pacific policy, elevating the Quad to foreign ministerial level deliberations shows the willingness of all the four Quad members to acknowledge the reality of the China problem and the need for the four to work toward strategic coordination.

But there are serious problems with India’s hard capacity to manage the China problem. General V.P. Malik, the former chief of Indian Army Staff, said during the Kargil war that “we will fight with what we have,” but such an approach while facing a much a larger and strong force in China will be dangerous for India.

Russia-Pak Closeness

There has been increasingly close ties between Pakistan and Russia through the sale of Mi-35 helicopters and engines for JF-17 Thunder. They even began to conduct joint military exercises. Military and technical ties have become the base for the India-Russia relationship, but India is expanding its basket of nations for defence purchases. Thus, these outcomes are a matter of huge concern. Despite the growing ties between Pakistan and Russia, it should be noted that Moscow stood by India on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. The main challenge that threatens the bilateral relation now is from China’s BRI, which Russia has joined.

India’s internal developments

Today, India’s neighborhood policy is facing serious challenges, in part because of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Together, they have had a particularly negative impact on India’s relations with Afghanistan and Bangladesh. With the CAA targeting three Islamic neighbors – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan – India’s neighborhood diplomacy suddenly faces new problems.

Relations with Bangladesh had improved significantly under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina but the CAA and the NRC have put the Bangladeshi government in a difficult position. Relations with Afghanistan, another friendly neighbor, are affected also. Moreover, the CAA is seen both as specifically targeting Muslims and as equating Indian citizenship with Hinduism, raising eyebrows across the world. Even India’s partners are questioning its credentials as a multicultural, pluralist society.

UNSC Permanent Seat

The UNSC consists of 15 members: 10 non-permanent and five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the UK and US.

Ten years since we were last elected to the UNSC, we are facing very different challenges to international peace and security.

Despite repeated assertions of its right to a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, India’s campaign for expansion of the UNSC has slowed down, available official statements suggest. The slow pace is visible in the fact that India’s campaign did not prompt the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to move towards the resolution for expanding the UNSC four years after the General Assembly in a landmark decision in 2015 had declared plans for the same.

India seems to have depended on the argument that it is entitled to a seat at the UNSC because of multiple factors such as population, growing economic stature and growing global responsibilities like peacekeeping.

NSG Membership

Indian nuclear test was the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Seven nuclear supplier governments were convinced that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) alone was not adequate to control the spread of nuclear weapons.

The members of NSG seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of two sets of Guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports. The NSG Guidelines also contain the “Non-Proliferation Principle,” adopted in 1994, whereby a supplier, notwithstanding other provisions in the NSG Guidelines, authorizes a transfer only when satisfied that the transfer would not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The NSG Guidelines are implemented by each Participating Government in accordance with its national laws and practices.

Since, India has not yet signed on any of the major non-proliferation treaties particularly the NPT, therefore, technically India faces a host of challenges ranging from questions about its credibility vis-à-vis the issue of nonproliferation, disarmament etc. Simultaneously hurdles created by China in obtaining membership.

Conclusion

India did enjoy certain soft power benefit as the world’s largest democracy, with diverse cultures and religions co-existing in a stable political system, but that image has been tarnished by the recent developments.

India’s democracy and stability plays at least a supporting role in India’s partnerships, and even uncertainty can hurt these relations. While India has faced many external difficulties in the past, they have rarely been the result of domestic politics. Handling these new challenges could be much more difficult than the Indian government assumes.

Scholars have blamed China and Pakistan for quietly carried out a campaign to dilute the image of India. Veteran diplomats have said that the latest UNSC meeting on Kashmir which was convened following an initiative from China showed that India will have to show more “stamina” to stop China from using the organ against India’s interest.

Seven times Kunal Kamra courted political controversy

Here are notable instances where Kunal Kamra’s humour and activism have stirred political sentiments and led to legal challenges

The Mumbai police on Monday, registered an FIR against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, based on a complaint made by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel, for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a show, an official said.

A Shiv Sena functionary has written to the Mumbai Police seeking a criminal complaint to be filed against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena UBT leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut, after Kunal Kamra’s statements on Eknath Shinde.

Mr. Kamra’s latest stand-up, in which he has allegedly referred to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as a ‘Gaddar’ (traitor), has drawn the ire of Shiv Sena party. Sena spokesperson Krishna Hegde demanded Kamra’s arrest, while party workers went on to vandalise the hotel where Kamra’s video was recorded.

“I have reason to believe that the act committed by Mr. Kunal Kamra was pre-planned and executed in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy with Mr. Aaditya Thackeray, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, and Mr. Sanjay Raut. This conspiracy appears to be part of a systematic paid campaign aimed at maligning the reputation, image, and goodwill of Shri Eknath Shinde, a respected public figure and constitutional officeholder,” the letter written by Shiv Sena social media in-charge Rahool Kanal, stated.

The pitfalls of technology in India

Arun Maira speaks with Kiran Karnik (former president, NASSCOM) and Osama Manzar (co-founder and director, Digital Empowerment Foundation) on the rise of digital technologies in India and why equitable access to them must be prioritised

n the last decade or so, online platforms, AI-powered services, and delivery portals have become an integral part of people’s day-to-day lives. The government’s Digital India campaign is an example of the rising importance of digital services.

Despite this push towards adoption of technology, lack of access to hardware and lack of know-how is causing the exclusion of many. To put this in perspective, according to the India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide by Oxfam, approximately 70 percent of the population has poor or no connectivity to digital technologies while more than 60 percent of Indian households remains digitally illiterate.

On our podcast ‘On the Contrary by IDR’, host Arun Maira spoke with Kiran Karnik and Osama Manzar on how access to and knowledge of technology is a factor of existing inequalities, and what the government can do to bridge the gap. Kiran Karnik is the former president of NASSCOM and has also worked at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Osama Manzar is the founder and director of Digital Empowerment Foundation, a nonprofit that works on increasing digital literacy in India.

Below is an edited transcript that provides an overview of the guests’ perspectives on the show.