Good morning,
Prime Minister Modi bats for use of local languages in courts; Kashmir sees big jump in number of militants killed; the hottest summer in 122 years: here are the top stories from today’s edition:
The Big Story
Underlining the need to “encourage the use of local languages in courts” since a large section of the country’s population “finds it difficult to understand the judicial process and rulings of the court,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that such a move would help the common man relate to the judiciary. Stressing on the importance of access to justice, Modi said the government is working towards simplifying laws passed in Parliament for the common man to understand them.
Only in the Express
Opining on equating caste with Indianness, P Chidambaram writes: "To equate Indianness with caste is dangerous. ‘Caste’ has rigid and retrograde rules. Caste distinguishes a group of persons and, more often than not, drives a wedge between two groups of persons. Until recently, religion was understated; caste was worn on the sleeve. Now, under the Modi government, both religion and caste are worn on the sleeve by many people.”
From the Front Page
The first four months of this year have seen a big jump in the number of militants killed in Kashmir as compared to the same period last year. According to data available with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, 62 militants have been killed in the Valley since the beginning of the year; 37 were killed in the first four months of 2021. More importantly, 15 of the 62 killed this year have been identified as “foreign” militants (from Pakistan). Wading into the loudspeaker row, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said there is no question of taking them down from religious places and added that the Bihar government will not “interfere” with any religious practice. He also called the controversy around the use of loudspeakers at places of worship as “nonsense”. Wondering why you’ve been feeling exceptionally hot this summer? The average maximum temperature over Northwest and Central India for April this year has been the highest in the past 122 years. However, there is some good news as the IMD predicts that the ongoing heatwave conditions over Northwest and Central India are likely to reduce in intensity after May 1 under the influence of a western disturbance. 
Children take a respite from the scorching heat in Lucknow on Saturday (📸 Vishal Srivastava)
Must Read
To France/In India is a book of black and white photographs by Raghu Rai, one of India’s most celebrated photographers, and Emmanuel Lenain, France’s Ambassador to India. Despite the lack of colour, or perhaps because of it, Lenain’s shots of India during the pandemic’s devastating second wave, his celebration of the country as a living thing, even its chaos, manage to capture the sheer scale of its diversity. Rai, in turn, pictures an homage to France. Many say MLA Jignesh Mevani’s arrest on April 20 over a purported tweet against the Prime Minister and subsequent re-arrest on charges of assaulting a woman police constable have only served to highlight the ruling BJP’s insecurities around the Dalit leader in an election year. We take a look at Mevani’s political journey and the ideologies that shape him. Political parties received electoral bonds worth Rs 648.48 crore from donors this April, as per data from State Bank of India (SBI). What has flummoxed observers is why people are donating funds through electoral bonds when there’s no election on the horizon. Further, as the bonds are sold through a public sector bank, the government would come to know who is funding which political party, critics argue. And Finally...
Ravindra Jadeja has relinquished Chennai Super Kings captaincy, handing it back to MS Dhoni, following the team’s last IPL match, which they lost by 11 runs. CSK chief executive Kasi Viswanathan said, “Jaddu (Jadeja) expressed his desire to relinquish captaincy and give it back to MSD, who is taking up the responsibility in the larger interest of the franchise.” Viral images from Patna’s Kali Ghat by the Ganga – of several students taking a test on the steps – tell an India story, or more specifically, a Bihar one: of the struggles and despair that youngsters go through in their search for that elusive sarkari (government) job. Anywhere between 5,000-10,000 students take the test every Saturday and Sunday morning for a shot at joining S K Jha’s coaching classes for Railways and SSB aspirants.
Until tomorrow,
Rounak Bagchi and Sonal Gupta | 
