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Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with the U.S. President Donald Trump next week, both the Houses of Parliament erupted in protest over the manner in which 104 illegal Indian immigrants from the U.S. landed in Amritsar in a U.S. military aircraft– shackled and restrained. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar sought to downplay the issue and said that such expulsions were routine. “It has been there for years. Hundreds of Indians have been deported annually, with figures ranging from 530 in 2012 to over 2,042 in 2019,” Jaishankar informed the Rajya Sabha. He pointed out that handcuffs were used on deportees since 2012. Asserting that it was “the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad”, he said efforts were being made to talk to deportees to track agents who sent them. The Opposition felt the government must stand up to the Trump Administration just as Columbia had done. “Why can we not fly back our citizens just as Columbia had done?” asked CPI(M) MP John Brittas. Colombia balked at the U.S. military flights and sent its own Air Force jet to pick up 110 deported Colombians. U.S. deportation flights are not new but the use of military flights is new, with the agency previously using commercial and chartered flights to deport people. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said while the U.S. may have a legal right to deport people who are illegally in their country, “but the manner in which it was done, in handcuffs, squeezed into a military aircraft, in such an abrupt manner, is not acceptable.” He pointed out how under the Biden administration last year, 1100 Indians were deported but there was no such humiliation.
In his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, PM Narendra Modi was at his aggressive best as he savaged LoP Rahul Gandhi. From mocking the Congress leader and two members of his family for becoming MPs — mother Sonia and sister Priyanka — at the same time to turning “certain spaces into personal museums”. He was referring to the manner in which the Gandhi family maintains control over Indira Gandhi Memorial and had refused to share documents pertaining to the Rajiv Gandhi era with the Prime Ministers’ Museum. The PM said we have established the Prime Ministers’ Museum, where the legacy of every Prime Minister—from the first to my predecessors—has been honoured. “I urge their family members to visit it.” Taking a swipe at the three Gandhis who are all MPs, Modi said, “I pose an important question to the citizens through this House — have there even been three MPs simultaneously from the same family of SC community? I also ask, tell me if there ever were three MPs simultaneously from the same family belonging to the ST community…” There is a vast difference between their words and actions. However, the harshest jab was when Modi felt leaders have compulsions to raise questions on foreign policy to be taken seriously — he was referring to questions raised by both Rahul and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on tensions with China. He asked them to read Bruce Riedel’s book JFK’s Forgotten Crisis— as it details discussions between India’s Nehru and the U.S. President John F Kennedy, revealing how foreign policy was handled during challenging times and the games played in its name. Congress leaders are apparently not amused by this suggestion.
Congress bossman Rahul Gandhi told Parliament that External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar’s USA visit only sought an invite for PM Narendra Modi for the U.S. President Donald Trump’s oath ceremony. Jaishankar refuted RaGa’s averments, without revealing the true purpose after having accomplished never before witnessed outcomes. Highly placed sources reveal, “India’s MEA secured distinction of only nation’s representative holding bilateral discussions with the newly installed U.S. government both, before and after, official transition of power.” Dr Jaishankar didn’t elucidate beyond dismissing Gandhi’s tall tales to the Lok Sabha, but actually established grounds for PM Modi to ink U.S. deal for technology transfer regarding fifth/sixth generation fighter engines deliberately kept in abeyance over two years by erstwhile Biden administration. India will be on par though F35 fighter was doled out to Pakistan and, even poised to counter Chinese aviation capabilities with next generation fighters. Dr Jaishankar also held discussions with newly installed FBI director Kash Patel, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard over sensitive issues regarding Indian nationals targeted by earlier dispensation. Another positive outcome: Funding cut off for Gurpatwant Singh Panun, separatist pro-Khalistani rebel, creating aviation scares in India through threats of blowing up Indian commercial airliners. More covert results were achieved to become apparent sooner than later even as Rahul Gandhi termed Dr Jaishankar’s international statesmanship as mere kow-towing to U.S. hegemony.
Ever since mid-January when Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was accompanied by his son Nishant Kumar at a political function in Bakhtiyarpur, there has been a buzz that the JD(U)leader’s son would be taking a political plunge. The event was to pay tributes to freedom fighters, including Nitish’s father Ram Lakhan Singh, who too had participated in the freedom movement. Soon after the function, 50-year old Nishant, the only child of Nitish and his late wife Manju Sinha, told the local gathering that his father had put Bihar on the fast track of development and appealed to them to make him CM again. Nishant’s appeal came in the midst of reports that he was keeping indifferent health and had reduced public interaction. An engineer by training, Nishant had so far kept away from public glare. Raised by his mother, he is known to have spent time away from his father and dabbled in spiritualism. He came to live with his father only after his mother passed away in 2007. Those who have known the JD (U) supremo personally as well as politically feel with an indifferent health Nitish may no longer be in a position to even oppose entry of his son into politics much as he has always opposed dynastic politics. A section of JD(U) dominated by Kurmis is reportedly rooting for Nishant’s entry to perpetuate Nitish Kumar’s legacy; this section doesn’t care if it fits with Nitish Kumar’s vision of politics. It is being argued that JD(U) can’t survive without Nitish’s legacy. As for those competing against the towering stature of Nitish Kumar in Bihar — both the BJP and RJD — are also keen that a bumbling newbie and dynast Nishant does take the plunge and salvage JD(U). Ahead of assembly polls, JD(U) is likely to witness a churn.
What goes out seems to return to the same place. Well, how else could one view the unfolding scenario. Reports suggest that Aditya Birla Group-owned UltraTech Cement is in advanced talks to acquire Heidelberg Cement India. Heidelberg Cement India is the subsidiary of HeidelbergCement Group, Germany. It entered India in 2006 with the acquisition of erstwhile Mysore Cement, Cochin Cement and a JV with Indorama Cement. The company has plants at Damoh (MP), Jhansi (UP), and Ammasandra (Karnataka). If this acquisition happens, UltraTech may get Zuari Cements as well, which is a part of the Heidelberg Group. In such an eventuality, the Sitapuram plant of Zuari will also come under UltraTech. The Sitapuram plant was once with The India Cements (ICL). The India Cements got the Sitapuram plant as a bonus when it acquired Raasi Cement many years ago. Subsequently, India Cements sold the Sitapuram plant to Zuari to raise funds. The Parli grinding unit of India Cements, it may be recalled, was acquired by UltraTech. Since UltraTech has taken over India Cements, the Parli grinding unit has technically returned to its original place (since India Cements has now become a subsidiary of UltraTech). Well, the world is small after all. And, the world is indeed round!
An estimated 30% of the IAS administered Indian bureaucracy actively considers the VRS option. According to well-placed sources, “Last three years registered a spurt in the number of pending applications to exercise the VRS option, most officers still having over five years of service left. The handsome pension amount appears lucrative to many, including those put on notice by the Union government (and respective state governments like Maharashtra) for low productivity, efficiency and delinquent public service.” Majority of the pending applications seek the cushy handshake option, while those who fell foul of GOI evaluation parameters were told to consider exit plans sooner than resignation options later. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 1.0 and 2.0 tenures (between 2014 and 2024) had witnessed not only weeding out of senior officials through shortening of tenures under government service but also witnessed the lateral entry of professionals and industry domain specialists into government service. Similarly, several officials continue to perform government service notwithstanding their respective retirement from service due to their diligent and outstanding performance till retirement to include Pravin Pardeshi (CEO of MITRA). Others like former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Dr Nitin Kareer are also expected to be tapped for active post-retirement service to the nation, sources reveal. As pen-pushing, non-productive Babus opt for early retirement the Maharashtra IAS fraternity anticipates similar cleansing of Maharashtra’s state secretariat that may be on the cards once again.
After all the hype over the low-cost DeepSeek artificial intelligence from China that seemed to be threatening the earlier model, doubts have begun to surface, at least in India, about its ability to continue posing a challenge to ChatGPT in the long term. The new app, which became the most-downloaded free app on the iOS App Store in the U.S. a fortnight after its launch on 10 January 2025, resulted in a steep fall in the share price of the more established Nvidia. While various users and reviewers have hailed it as a harbinger of the “global AI space race”, experts here are raising the old question of the longevity and reliability of anything made in China, especially when it is priced at a fraction of others in the same space. Says one leading infotech player, expressing the opinion of many in the field: “Like any data from China, nobody knows the real cost — it may be a whole lot higher than those incurred by Open AI.” Drawing a parallel with renewable energy, this expert points to a record 11 Gw of wind turbines commissioned years ago with turbines in almost all remote areas but no connection to the grid. “Renowned global consultants based in China whom I have met, always take any data from the Chinese government or otherwise from China with a pound of salt,” he adds. “It is perhaps disruptive news to pull the U.S. down. Let’s wait and see.” The Chinese company, established in Hangzhou, Zhejiang in 2023, is owned and funded by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, which develops open-source large language models (LLMs).
In recent times, Bollywood has seen a noticeable shift, with many newcomers struggling to leave a lasting impression on audiences. This decline can be traced back to a variety of factors, including the selection of projects that fail to resonate with viewers. Gone are the days when iconic films like Betaab, which introduced Sunny Deol or Rocky which launched Sanjay Dutt, captivated audiences and launched the careers of these stars. So too Jackie Shroff with Hero. In contrast, today’s newcomers like Suraj Pancholi, Siddhant Kapoor and Sasha Agha find themselves lost in films that do not provide them with the platform to showcase their talents effectively. The recent film Azaad featuring Aaman Devgan and Rasha Thadani serves as a case in point. Aaman Devgn, nephew of Ajay Devgn has struggled to make a significant impact, while Raveena Tandon’s daughter Rasha Thadani managed to capture some attention with her performance. Many of the films do not offer the newcomers a fair opportunity to shine; often focusing more on star power than on storytelling. For instance, in Azaad, the narrative centres around the titular horse rather than the lead pair, which diminishes the impact of the human characters. This misalignment can lead to a lack of engagement from the audience, making it difficult for the actors to connect with viewers. Aaman’s performance, despite being camera-friendly, lacks the emotional depth and histrionics that are often necessary to truly engage the audience. In contrast, Rasha stands out with her strong screen presence and impressive dance moves, showcasing a talent that could potentially elevate her career. Ultimately, even when a film does not resonate with audiences, a standout performance can create opportunities for newcomers to prove themselves.
The England captain Jos Buttler did not mince words on the matter of fast bowler Harshit Rana replacing Shivam Dube as the like-for-like “concussion substitute” in the fourth Twenty20 international in Pune. The scoreboard will show left-hander Dube having scored 53 off 34 balls with 7x 4s and 2x6s – a fine performance that went a long way in India posting a stiff 181 in 20 overs after being rocked by Saqib Mahmood’s three-wicket burst in his first over. It was Dube’s first international match in eight months. Rana, who replaced Dube after India chose to use the “Concussion substitute” rule at the innings break, ended up with flattering figures of 3 for 33, sending down his full quota of four overs. Rana took the wickets of Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton – all capable of giving the ball a solid whack. A pertinent question that cropped up was whether “Rana was a like-for-like’’ replacement for Dube, particularly as a fast bowler. In his previous 33 matches, Dube had sent down 45.3 overs and taken 11 wickets with a 3 for 30 as his best against Bangladesh in Nagpur in 2019. He did not bowl in 11 matches and went wicket-less in 15. Buttler disagreed with “Rana coming in for Dube” and wondered if Dube’s bowling speed had shot up by 25 miles per hour or if Rana’s batting had improved. On the face of it, Rana was a far from like-for-like replacement for Dube. India’s bowling coach, Morne Morkel, explained that the team forwarded Rana’s name and the match referee, Javagal Srinath approved it. The unsavoury event will compel the ICC to mull over the “Concussion substitute” rule.
Armed with a landslide majority in Maharashtra, the BJP, it is learnt, is now strongly pushing its coalition partners up against the wall. Not only has it launched a strong attack against Ajit Pawar’ party deputy leader Dhananjay Munde but it is keeping Eknath Shinde on the edge too. While the knives have been sharpened against controversial minister Dhananjay Munde demanding his resignation for the alleged involvement of his aide in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Munde and his party have been resisting and fighting it against all odds. While Ajit Pawar may have strongly backed Munde for now, he realises that the BJP may not stop at him and could launch fresh salvo against his other deputies. Hence, Pawar has directed his men to maintain a clean slate and even demanded that freshers be vetted before giving entry in his party. His contemporary, Eknath Shinde too is not having it easy with BJP ministers like Ganesh Naik eyeing his Thane stronghold and launching a worker engagement campaign clearly with an eye on the forthcoming local body polls. While Shinde chose to brush aside concerns, his workers have threatened to do a quid pro quo by launching similar exercises in BJP’s constituencies. Shinde did not attend the cabinet meeting last week, while Munde is believed to have left mid-way. The BJP strategy seems to be to keep the coalition partners constantly on the edge.
Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil managed to show his political clout in the 18th Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra without putting up even a single candidate in the fray. The impact of the Maratha vote bank led to the almost wipe out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance particularly from the Marathwada region, where it lost seven of the total eight seats. The Jarange Patil factor is also directly blamed for the defeat of Pankaja Munde, who hails from the Other Backward Class (OBC) community, due to polarisation of the caste factor. Munde’s convoy had to face black flags and even faced entry blockades from various villages due to the Maratha agitation. Bajrang Sonawane, from Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) who defeated Pankaja Munde, rushed to pay his respects to Jarange soon after his victory. Buoyed up by his role, Jarange has now announced that his party will now put up candidates from all communities in all the 288 constituencies in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly polls if the government fails to expand reservation benefits for the Maratha community. He has also threatened to sit on an indefinite fast and rake up heat on the Maratha issue from June 8 onwards in preparation for the forthcoming crucial state polls. The re-emergence of Jarange Patil now threatens to affect the chances of the BJP across the state at a time when it is already facing a drastic slash down in the state from 23 seats to 9 Lok Sabha seats.
The just released Malayalam comedy movie Guruvayoor Ambala Nadayil’ has raked in Rs 50 crore in one week and Rs 85 crore in just 18 days. Of this, it raked Rs 43 crore in Kerala alone. A big percentage of Kerala’s population of nearly 3.46 crore work in the Middle East. For them a movie with Mammootty, Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran is the best treat. The Kerala film industry has done very well albeit with dramatic transformation from “art film, realism and simplistic presentation” Malayalam movies have emerged as entertainment winners. Simultaneously, stars too have hit the sweet spot of success. Prithiviraj Sukumaran, almost super star, producer, script writer and even singer is at the peak of success. In Guruvayoor Ambala Nadayil’ as a comic lead which is a totally divergent role from his recent cult classic Aadujeevitham that garnered Rs 160 crore. Prithvi fans are on a high, but the star himself is careful not to make ripples in the star ecosystem where Mammootty and Mohanlal reign supreme. Prithviraj fell in love with the famed BBC journalist Supriya Menon Aren Mumbai and married her. The couple run a very profitable partnership. Not that he has no challenges in his starscape…Fahad Fasil, Joju George and others are fast catching up. The recent mega hit Manjummel Boys, Falimy (a quirky spell), Padmini and Bro Daddy succeeded though the prevailing crime and police films that dominated for quite some time. OTT has brought realism to the home viewer. Malayalam cinema is the new flavour of entertainment.
Biju Janata Dal Supremo Naveen Patnaik who was once considered invincible seems to have bitten the dust. BJD’s rank and file are angrily pointing fingers towards Patnaik’s Man Friday, VK Pandian for such humiliating defeat for BJD both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. This “outsider” bureaucrat-turned-politician seems to have rubbed the people on the wrong side not only within his party but state’s Opposition leaders too. It is said, he used to micro-manage, stonewall people from meeting Patnaik and keep crucial information from reaching Patnaik. BJP played the “outsider” card smartly to dethrone Patnaik and his party. Sources say, BJP tom-tommed that Patnaik was a puppet in the hands of Pandian. This apart, the Ratna Bhandar controversy added fuel to the fire as well. Pandian, an IAS officer who hailed from Tamil Nadu, started his journey in 2011 when he joined the CM’s office as Naveen’s private secretary. He impressed CM Naveen with his efficiency and quickly rose to become a key figure in all decision making. He devised electoral strategies for the BJD both in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Essentially he was ‘go to man’ for all BJD leaders. So cocky was he about winning both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections that he announced he “will quit politics if BJD does not get three-fourth majority”. Now, far from resigning he suddenly seems to have gone missing and rumours are that a look out notice has been put but BJD has clarified he has been sent to Delhi for official work. Patnaik, after a very long time, ‘went alone’ to hand over his resignation to the Governor. For Patnaik who had a glorious rule the end was unceremonious. Perhaps he trusted the wrong guy.
In Tamil Nadu, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) is seen as leading the most routed party that MGR had built as an iconic political behemoth which was lovingly sustained by J Jayalalithaa till her untimely death. His adamant stance to go it alone and not have an alliance with the BJP saw his party AIADMK being nearly wiped out in the Lok Sabha polls. Edappadi claims that he had the 2026 Assembly elections as his pole star and did not want to give up the party’s unique identity. In a tear jerking letter to his cadres he said, “I am addressing this to you all my dear friends …I don’t know how to express my gratitude to you all for working so hard for the election. Our party is a historic institution built by MGR…a temporary eclipse has been cast on us.” He says that the subversion of power, money and fake promises by the winning side is the sole reason why his party lost. In a first, his party’s candidates lost deposits in seven seats. Looking at AIADMK’s vote share of 20.46% vs the DMK’s 26.93%, it seems Edappadi has not lost his way to end up in political oblivion. But with BJP’s surprise showing at 11.24%, it is logical to think that if EPS and BJP had fought the elections together it could have been a win-win situation for both. The ‘wise analysts’ say it’s better for him to mend fences with the old faithful’s of Jayalalithaa –Sasikala, OPS and TTV — and then the scattered factions can rise like the Phoenix. Does Edappadi have the diplomatic elan and charm offensive of the late MGR? Not quite.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.