Letters to The EDITOR: Blast near Red Fort

Through your esteemed daily, I want to highlight the blast near Red Fort. A car blast near the Red Fort in Delhi has resulted in at least 13 deaths and 24 injuries as of Monday evening, November 10, 2025. The high-intensity explosion occurred in a slow-moving vehicle at a traffic signal around 6:52 pm local time. The blast was powerful enough to severely damage the car it originated in and set fire to approximately 22 nearby vehicles, including auto-rickshaws.

Emergency services, including multiple fire units, were dispatched to the scene, and the fire was brought under control at 7:29 pm. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) are on site, and the area has been cordoned off.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, with police exploring all possibilities. Authorities are investigating the terror angle, especially as the incident occurred just hours after a massive haul of over 2,900 kg of explosives was recovered in nearby Faridabad. A high alert has been declared across Delhi, as well as in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh. The Home Minister, Amit Shah, has been briefed and is monitoring the situation.  I hope that through this, people, the government, the police and everyone else will be alert. I hope that this issue will be solved soon.

Violina Garg

Pragjyotish College, Guwahati

Terror fear

More than anything the nation is alerted. But how could the terrorists plan and execute their acts till the bombs were exploded? Now will the status of the meter of Islamophobia be high to face terrorism? Any surgical strikes on the card to counter terrorism.

One question was their plan to carry out their act on 9/11. To counter terrorism, experts will need to lay stress on multi-domain operations and information technologies and undertake ‘terror gaming’ to wrestle with an uncertain future that is already upon us. PM Modi is advocating the need for unearthing the terror groups and making a joint effort to bring them to book once and for all so that we need not worry about them all the time. It is high time the tyranny of terrorism was eliminated and peace was brought to the subcontinent and also the world over. Terrorism is a well-recognised form of asymmetric warfare and has been around for centuries. Some terror strikes tend to resonate more than others, for reasons that are inexplicable.

The 9/11 terror attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001 and the November 26, 2008, terror attack on multiple targets in Mumbai are, for instance, more deeply etched in the memories of people than many other terror events. It is important, however, not to take an episodic view of terrorism, since history is relevant to a proper understanding of the threat posed by terrorism. The evolution of terrorism in the 21st century and the constantly shifting tactics of terror groups do make terrorism look like an ‘existential threat’.

This would, however, be too far-fetched. What does need to be recognised is that the terror threat is rapidly transcending from what we see happening to what we can imagine might happen. Pakistan, where terrorists enjoy a free pass, is an arsonist disguising itself as a firefighter, and the entire world has suffered because of its policies, as the country nurtures terrorists in its backyard, India has said in a blistering retort.

Akhilesh Krishnan

(akhilamami@gmail.com)

Safari shutdown

The Karnataka government has done well to temporarily shut down safari and trekking in Nagarahole and Bandipur tiger reserves following four tiger attacks on farmers in the last three weeks in Mysuru’s Saragur taluk after three farmers succumbed to tiger attacks. Obviously, villagers and officials have different versions of the incidents.  Unhindered tourist activities due to wildlife safari, causing noise and disturbance, are driving the big cats out of their territories, the locals allege, but foresters aver that there was no tourism in the vicinity.

Forest officials blame it on hormonal and physiological changes in tigers which, in pursuit of mates or while breeding their young ones and protecting them from predators, may have encountered the villagers. All this said, tigers that are apex predators of the food chain of a balanced ecosystem deserve utmost security and safety. 

The Karnataka government should seriously consider translocating tigers from overcrowded reserves to the state's other tiger reserves.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat

(gbhat13@gmail.com)

Silver lining

TEAM INDIA, who embarked on a tour to Australia recently to play 3 ODIs and 5 T20s and completed their assignments with a mixed note.

They lost the ODI series 2-1 and won the T20 by the same margin. The T20 series was marked by equal contributions from all 11 members of the team. The ODI series was marked by a brilliant show by ex-skipper Rohit Sharma and a flash of brilliance by King Virat Kohli, which augurs well for TEAM INDIA for the coming World Cup ODI to be held in 2027.

We are expecting positively.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

New bail jurisprudence: Will the states comply with it?

The recent pronouncement of the Supreme Court in the Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra case constitutes a constitutional reaffirmation of liberty jurisprudence. The Court’s directive that the grounds of arrest be furnished in writing, at least two hours prior to remand, restores the true content of Article 22(1) ipso facto to apply to 22(5) of the Indian Constitution and also under Section 47 of BNSS, 2023, and the procedural substratum of Article 21. It is categorically stated that the mode of communication is not properly specified in Section 47 of BNSS, and in the Prabir Purkayastha judgement, it is mentioned only in terms of arrest under special statutes. The new judgement explores the jurisprudential perspective as well as the multidimensional impact of arrest, be it social, emotional, economic, etc. But there are certain contingencies where the heinous and cognisable offence/in flagrante delicto is committed in the presence of police officers; such compliance may not be practicable.

The ruling rightly castigates the habitual executive indifference that has reduced these guarantees to sterile formalities. Arrest, being the most coercive manifestation of state power, cannot rest upon oral intimation or post facto justification.

This judgement is a salutary reminder that legality is not a matter of administrative convenience but of constitutional command. Compliance henceforth must be substantive, not ceremonial.

Shahin Yusuf

(shahinyusuf21@gmail.com)

India imparts its own flavour to foreign foods

That morning cup of chai — steaming, spiced, and soothing — feels like the heartbeat of India. It greets us at dawn, fuels long conversations, and comforts us after a tiring day. But what if I told you that barely two hundred years ago, our ancestors didn’t even know this ritual? There was no chai pe charcha. Conversations surely flowed, but chai wasn’t part of them.

The story begins in the 18th century, when the East India Company was desperate to break China’s monopoly on the tea trade. The British discovered Assam’s lush green hills were perfect for tea cultivation and began planting there. For them, tea was simple — just leaves boiled in water, a quiet colonial drink sipped with etiquette. But India doesn’t merely consume; it recreates. Into that hot water, we poured milk, added sugar, and sprinkled cardamom and ginger — and transformed a foreign drink into a feeling of warmth, energy, and belonging. Thus, Masala Chai was born — not just as a drink, but as a rhythm of life, a symbol of togetherness that unites the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

And what’s a cup of chai without its humble companion — the biscuit? India had its ancient tandoors, but the British brought with them the art of baking — of turning dough into crisp, fragrant delights. Soon, bakery shelves filled up, and dunking a Marie or Parle-G into chai became a quiet act of comfort shared across generations. Out of the same ovens came pao — soft, pillowy bread that found its way to the hungry mill workers of Bombay. In the busy streets outside textile mills, the iconic Vada Pav was born — spicy, affordable, and full of life. What began as a food of necessity became the pride of a city, an emotion that still defines Mumbai’s spirit.

Even our beloved vegetables tell a tale of travel. Cauliflower, cabbage, and carrots — staples in our kitchens today — were all foreign introductions during the British Raj. Yet, once they reached Indian soil, they were reborn through our spices and recipes. The cauliflower became gobi masala, the cabbage joined sabzis, and carrots sweetened halwas. What arrived as foreign produce stayed back as family.

This isn’t a story of colonial gifts — it’s a story of India’s incredible ability to absorb and transform. Our culture isn’t a museum to be preserved behind glass; it’s a living, breathing river that flows through time, carrying everything it touches and making it its own. From the hills of Assam to the bakeries of Bombay, from British teacups to Indian clay kulhads, we have turned history into flavour and borrowed ingredients into identity. Every sip of chai, every bite of Vada Pav, and every spoonful of Aloo Gobi carries centuries of this quiet alchemy—that our culture, when it flows, creates beauty.

Because, in India, nothing stays foreign for long — everything, sooner or later, becomes home.

Abihotry Bhardwaz

Gauhati University