20 December 2025

• Sharif Osman Hadi (32), a prominent leader of Inquilab Mancha and a key figure in the 2024 anti–Sheikh Hasina uprising, died from gunshot injuries.
• He was shot on December 12 while campaigning for the February parliamentary elections and succumbed to injuries in Singapore.
• Hadi was a spokesperson of Inquilab Mancha and a prospective candidate from Dhaka-8.

Nature of Protests

• Violent protests erupted across Dhaka and major cities (Shahbagh, university campuses).
• Participants included:
  • National Citizen Party (NCP)
  • Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir (student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami)
  • Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU)
• Protests framed Hadi’s killing as political assassination and alleged foreign (Indian) interference.

Attacks on Media Institutions

• Protesters accused major dailies of being “agents of India”.
• Prothom Alo (Karwan Bazar):
  • Building stormed, vandalised and set on fire.
  • Journalists and staff trapped inside; building gutted by morning.
• The Daily Star (Farmgate):
  • Office attacked; equipment looted.
  • Journalists trapped on rooftops; rescued by fire services.
• Both newspapers:
  • Suspended print publication  
  • Online operations disrupted

Government Response

• Interim government led by Muhammad Yunus:  
  • Strongly condemned attacks on journalists.
  • Called violence “mob action by fringe elements”.
  • Asserted: “Attacks on journalists are attacks on truth.”
• Government pledged:
  • Strict legal action against perpetrators.  Protection of press freedom.
• Yunus personally spoke to editors, assuring state support.

Communal & Law-and-Order Concerns

• Government also condemned the lynching of a Hindu man in Mymensingh.
• Stated there is “no space for communal or mob violence in the new Bangladesh.”
• Highlights fragility of post-uprising transition and risks of radicalisation.

Key Issues for exam Analysis

• Political Instability: Assassination of opposition leaders can derail democratic transitions.
• Press Freedom: Media houses targeted as political enemies → chilling effect on journalism.
• Mob Violence: Weak institutional control during interim governance.
• Foreign Policy Narrative: Anti-India rhetoric affecting India–Bangladesh relations.
• Communal Harmony: Minority safety as a test of democratic credentials.

India–Bangladesh Dimension

• Protests explicitly allege Indian interference.
• Potential impact on:
  • Bilateral trust
  • Border management
  • Regional stability in South Asia

Way Forward

• Independent probe into Hadi’s killing.
• Strong action against mob violence to restore rule of law.
• Institutional safeguards for media and minorities.  
• Political dialogue to ensure peaceful elections.
• Responsible handling of foreign policy narratives by political actors.

CHILD TRAFFICKING A GRIM REALITY: SC

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Supreme Court of India flagged child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation as a continuing organised crime in India.
• Bench: Justice Manoj Misra & Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Case involved trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor in Bengaluru (rescued in 2010).
• Conviction upheld under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.

Core Observations of the Supreme Court

• Nature of trafficking:
  • Child trafficking operates through layered and compartmentalised networks— recruitment, transport, harbouring, and exploitation often appear disconnected.
• Victim testimony:
  • Courts must not disbelieve a trafficked child due to minor inconsistencies.
  • Sole testimony of the victim is sufficient if it is credible and convincing.
• Legal status of the child:
  • A trafficked child is not an accomplice
  • Her testimony should be treated like that of an “injured witness” in criminal law.
• Behavioural realism:
  • Failure to immediately protest or escape cannot be treated as unnatural conduct, given fear, coercion, and trauma.
• Judicial sensitivity:
  • Courts must account for socio-economic, cultural, and psychological vulnerability, especially for children from marginalised backgrounds.

Constitutional & Legal Foundations

• Article 21: Right to life includes dignity, bodily integrity, and protection from exploitation.
• Article 15(3): Enables special protection for women and children.
• Article 39(e) & (f) (DPSPs): Mandates protection of children from abuse and exploitation.
• ITPA, 1956: Penalises trafficking, brothel- keeping, and exploitation.
• Child-centric jurisprudence (NCERT Polity + Supreme Court cases):
  • Shift from offender-centric to victim- centric justice.
• Criminal evidence principle:
  • Quality of evidence > quantity of witnesses (well-established in Indian criminal law).

Why Minor Inconsistencies Should Be Ignored

• Trafficking victims experience:  Trauma and fear
• Disorientation due to confinement
• Psychological pressure from organised gangs
• Crimes occur in diffused verticals, making precise narration difficult.
• Expecting photographic memory from a child victim is legally unrealistic and ethically unjust.

Critical Analysis

• Pros
  • Strengthens victim-centric jurisprudence.
  • Improves conviction rates in trafficking cases.
• Challenges
  • Enforcement gaps, weak investigation, poor rehabilitation.

Way Forward

• Trauma-informed training for police and judiciary.
• Strong rehabilitation and witness protection for victims.
• Better coordination among police, CWCs, NGOs.

KERALA 2.0: RECLAIM  FUTURE

• Kerala, earlier known for high literacy, health outcomes, and social development, is now facing serious fiscal, governance, and ecological challenges.
• The State’s public debt has risen sharply, with borrowing increasingly used to meet revenue expenditure such as salaries and pensions.
• Debt servicing exceeds development spending, reducing funds for infrastructure and job creation.
• Economic dependence on remittances, liquor taxes, and lotteries reflects a weak productive base.
• Rising youth unemployment and migration, environmental degradation, drug abuse, and public safety issues indicate governance stress.

Key Issues

• Fiscal Stress: Persistent revenue deficits, weak GST buoyancy, shrinking fiscal space.
• Economic Structure: Remittance-led consumption without sufficient industrialisation or private investment.
• Governance Deficit: Politicisation of bureaucracy, regulatory overreach, delayed approvals.
• Human Capital Paradox: High literacy but skill– job mismatch and low local employment.
• Environmental & Social Concerns: Quarrying, sand mining, drug menace, and public health risks.

Static Linkages

• Fiscal Responsibility: Revenue vs capital expenditure distinction.
• Federalism: State finances under GST regime.
• Governance Theory: Regulatory overreach vs facilitative State.
• Sustainable Development: Economy– ecology trade-offs.
• Demographic Dividend: Employment as a necessary condition.
• Decentralisation: Role of empowered local self-governments.

Critical Analysis

• Positives
  • Strong social capital and diaspora support.
  • High HDI provides a strong base for transition to a knowledge economy.
  • Scope for leadership in green growth, health, and education services.
• Concerns
  • Welfare-driven politics without fiscal sustainability.
  • Erosion of work culture and enterprise incentives.
  • Environmental neglect increasing long- term fiscal risk.
• Ethical Dimension
  • State responsibility to balance welfare with accountability.
  • Governance must prioritise public interest over partisan interest.

Way Forward

• Restrict borrowing to productive capital expenditure.
• Adopt a medium-term fiscal consolidation plan.
• Simplify regulations through single- window, digital clearances.
• Promote job-rich sectors: green technology, agro-processing, health and knowledge services.
• Mobilise diaspora savings and strengthen environmental governance.

• India’s goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047 depends not only on economic growth but also on strategic and defence self-reliance.
• For decades, India’s defence sector was closed to private industry, while imports from foreign private manufacturers continued unabated.
• This resulted in high import dependence, weak domestic capability, and strategic vulnerability.
• In recent years, reforms such as private sector entry, FDI liberalisation, corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board, and innovation- driven procurement have transformed the sector.
• Defence exports have expanded rapidly, reaching 80+ countries, indicating a maturing ecosystem. pasted

Key Points

• Structural shift from a public-sector- dominated model to a mixed ecosystem with private participation.
• Defence production has increased significantly; exports are targeted at ₹50,000 crore by 2029.
• Expansion of the “Make” procurement category promotes indigenous design and development.
• Global conflicts (Europe, West Asia, Indo- Pacific) have exposed vulnerabilities of import- dependent defence systems.
• India’s cost-effective platforms and strategic geography create export opportunities amid rising global defence demand. pasted

Static Linkages

• Strategic autonomy as a component of national security.
• Import substitution vs. export-led growth in strategic industries.
• Role of public–private partnerships in capital-intensive sectors.
• Defence manufacturing as a source of technological spillovers and skilled employment.
• State-led facilitation in strategic exports through diplomacy and Lines of Credit.

Critical Analysis

• Advantages
  • Reduces import dependence and improves wartime readiness.
  • Defence exports enhance India’s geopolitical influence and strategic credibility.
  • Private participation improves efficiency, innovation, and competition.
  • Generates high-skilled employment and strengthens manufacturing depth.
• Challenges
  • Complex regulatory environment discourages MSMEs and startups.
  • Delays in export licensing and technology-transfer approvals.
  • Fragmented coordination among multiple ministries.
  • Limited access to affordable finance and export credit.
  • Stringent domestic testing and certification norms slow time-to-market.
• Institutional Dimension
  • The Defence Research and Development Organisation has built strategic capabilities, but its role must evolve.
  • Frontier research should remain with DRDO, while production and scaling should shift to industry— aligning with global best practices.

Way Forward

• Simplify and time-bound export licensing and regulatory approvals.
• Provide long-term defence procurement projections to attract private investment.
• Establish a dedicated defence export facilitation agency with a single-window approach.
• Expand integrated testing and certification infrastructure aligned with global standards.
• Develop specialised defence export financing instruments.
• Use government-to-government agreements and Lines of Credit strategically to build trust and long- term markets.

DO NOT RUSH IT

Context of the News

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) released draft electoral rolls after Phase-I of SIR in seven States/UTs.
• Massive deletions reported: Tamil Nadu (~97 lakh; ~15%) and West Bengal (~58 lakh; ~7.5%), with urban areas like Kolkata most affected.
• In Bihar, despite the Supreme Court of India allowing Aadhaar, 68 lakh names were deleted; female gender ratio fell from 907 to 892.
• Court advised ECI to take a “sympathetic view” and consider extension of timelines.
• Constitutionality of SIR is still pending judicial determination.

Key Points

• SIR places the burden on voters to submit enumeration forms within a short 53-day window.
• Reports of strict citizenship proof demands, including parents’ birth details.
• Reliance on party Booth Level Agents rather than official databases (death registration).
• Vulnerable groups at higher risk: migrants, women (post-marriage), illiterate and urban poor voters.
• Administrative stress due to tight timelines and overlapping elections.

Static Linkages

• Universal Adult Suffrage: Right to vote as a cornerstone of representative democracy (enshrined in constitutional scheme).
• Articles 324–329: Powers, independence and responsibilities of the Election Commission.
• Equality Before Law (Article 14): Administrative procedures must not result in arbitrary or disproportionate exclusion.
• Right to Vote as Statutory Right: Must still comply with constitutional guarantees of fairness and reasonableness.
• Due Process & Natural Justice: Reasonable notice, opportunity to be heard, and proportionate procedures.
• Gender Justice: Indirect discrimination recognised when neutral rules disproportionately affect women.
• Civil Registration System: Importance of birth and death registration in governance and electoral integrity.
• Judicial Review: Courts as guardians against procedural excess by constitutional authorities.

Critical Analysis

• Positives
  • Improves roll accuracy by removing duplicates and deceased voters.
  • Judicial intervention (Aadhaar) reduced immediate exclusions.
• Concerns
  • Scale of deletions suggests procedural overreach.
  • Gender-skewed outcomes indicate indirect discrimination.
  • Short timelines and limited verification weaken due process.
  • Shifting responsibility to voters undermines inclusive democracy.

Way Forward

• Extend enumeration and hearing timelines.
• Cross-verify with civil registration and welfare databases.
• Simplify and standardise proof requirements.  
• Targeted outreach for vulnerable groups.
• Early Supreme Court ruling on SIR’s constitutionality.