The Hindu Gist - 24th August, 2026
1 . Lok Sabha Prorogation
- The 10-day gap between the Lok Sabha being adjourned sine die and its prorogation has been described as “abnormal” in the context of established parliamentary practice.
- As per Practice and Procedure of Parliament, prorogation “may take place at any time, even while the House is sitting”, but ordinarily follows adjournment sine die, with a gap of around two days.
- The longer gap is not unprecedented — gaps of 28 days in 2015 and 20 days in 2021 have occurred. Thus, the issue is less about a direct constitutional violation and more about departure from parliamentary convention.
Constitutional Position
- Under Article 85(2), the President prorogues the Houses on the advice of the Prime Minister; the Cabinet may be consulted before such advice.
- Adjournment sine die only ends the sitting without fixing the next date, whereas prorogation formally terminates the session.
- Although the Constitution gives flexibility — prorogation can technically occur “even while the House is sitting” — parliamentary practice has generally developed around prorogation after adjournment sine die.
Why the “Abnormal” Gap Matters?
- The concern is not simply the 10-day interval, since no fixed constitutional time-limit prescribes a two-day gap.
- The concern is whether departure from an established parliamentary convention affects the predictability and orderly functioning of Parliament.
- The timing becomes particularly significant when important legislative business is pending, as procedural discretion should facilitate, rather than impede, legislative scrutiny and parliamentary accountability.
- At the same time, earlier instances of longer gaps indicate that the practice cannot automatically be characterised as unconstitutional.
2 . Vande Mataram and the Right to Dissent
Historical Evolution: Nationalism with an Inclusive Accommodation
- Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and included in Anandamath (1882), became closely associated with the freedom movement and Swadeshi mobilisation.
- Concerns emerged particularly around the later stanzas, whose imagery draws upon Hindu religious traditions. The issue was therefore not merely literary but also concerned the inclusive character of India’s national identity.
- In 1937, the Congress Working Committee recommended limiting official rendition to the first two stanzas, which were considered more suitable for a secular and inclusive national setting. Thus, the historical evolution itself reflects an attempt to reconcile national sentiment with India’s religious and cultural diversity.
2026 Amendment of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act
- The amendment penalises intentional and deliberate disruption of a performance and intentional and deliberate prevention of singing.
- Crucially, it does not impose a textual obligation on every citizen to sing or determine that all six stanzas must be performed. This creates an important constitutional distinction:
- Disrespect/disruption → can attract legal protection for the national symbol.
- Respectful non-participation → may remain protected as an exercise of individual conscience.
- Therefore, protecting a patriotic expression does not necessarily require compelling every individual to participate in it.
Right to Conscience: Bijoe Emmanuel and Peaceful Dissent
- The central constitutional principle comes from Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986), where the Supreme Court protected students who stood respectfully but did not sing the national anthem because of their religious convictions.
- The Court recognised that freedom of expression includes the freedom to remain silent, while Article 25 protects freedom of conscience. Thus, respectful non-participation is not equal to disrespect. A citizen may choose not to sing without preventing others from doing so.
- This distinction is crucial under Article 19(1)(a): the Constitution protects not merely what a person chooses to express, but also the freedom not to express.
- At the same time, deliberate disruption or prevention of others from participating stands on a different constitutional footing and can legitimately be regulated.
- Thus the issue reflects a larger tension between collective national identity and individual liberty. Protecting a national symbol does not necessarily require compelled outward conformity.
- The historical accommodation of Vande Mataram itself demonstrates the importance of religious pluralism and an inclusive conception of nationalism.
The Indian Express Gist - 24th August, 2026
1 . Importance of elephant corridors in reducing conflict
Elephant Corridors: Ecological Significance
- Elephant corridors are movement pathways connecting two natural habitats, allowing elephants to move between feeding, watering and shelter areas.
- Asian elephants are highly mobile and social mammals; an individual male may have a home range of 50–300 sq km, depending on habitat, food availability, water sources, population density and human disturbance.
- Corridors are therefore essential for maintaining natural movement, seasonal migration and habitat connectivity. They also enable genetic exchange, helping maintain diversity within elephant populations.
- Well-conserved corridors provide access to food and water during seasonal changes, while helping elephants avoid entering croplands and human settlements.
Fragmentation of Corridors: Major Driver of Conflict
- A 2023 government mapping exercise documented 150 elephant corridors across 15 States, highlighting their landscape-level importance.
- Increasing infrastructure construction, mining and industrial activity is fragmenting these corridors. Highways, railway lines, canals and power lines can obstruct traditional elephant routes through farmlands and human settlements, increasing human–elephant conflict.
- The problem is particularly significant across India’s four major elephant landscapes: Western Ghats; North-Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra floodplains; Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains; and Central India and Eastern Ghats.
- Habitat fragmentation is especially visible in the Western Ghats, due to changing land use, plantations and farm-land fencing. In Central India and the Eastern Ghats, elephants have expanded their range, including into parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, while mining and habitat loss have intensified pressures.
Conservation and Conflict Mitigation
- The Supreme Court has directed a fresh survey of elephant corridors and emphasised that corridors cannot be blocked merely because elephant movement causes damage to crops.
- Measures such as fireballs, spikes and other coercive methods to drive elephants away can disrupt their natural movement and aggravate conflict; corridor conservation should therefore prioritise ecological connectivity rather than forced displacement.
- Conservation must shift from protecting elephants only within isolated forests to maintaining landscape-level habitat connectivity through scientifically identified corridors.
- Corridor mapping is critical because corridors allow elephants to move between habitats while reducing the need to pass through human-dominated landscapes; they also facilitate genetic exchange and dispersal.
2. India–Taliban Engagement: From Strategic Caution to Calibrated Engagement
- The August 2021 Taliban takeover initially led India to adopt a cautious, security-centric approach; however, the prolonged Taliban rule and the changing regional balance have pushed New Delhi towards “deepening engagement” without formal diplomatic recognition.
- India’s approach has evolved from “shadows” to engagement: on 31 August 2021, India made its first official contact with the Taliban in Doha; by September 2021, it acknowledged the Taliban as the de facto authority in Afghanistan.
- The engagement has remained incremental and calibrated — from humanitarian assistance and a technical mission to high-level political contacts.
Why India is deepening engagement?
- Geopolitical space: Taliban’s transformation from a once-benefactor ally of Pakistan into a daily adversary has created an opportunity for India to reduce Pakistan’s strategic space in Afghanistan.
- Countering Chinese influence: India seeks to maintain its presence amid growing Chinese engagement and prevent Afghanistan from becoming an exclusive sphere of influence for other powers.
- Connectivity and economic interests: Afghanistan’s geography should not be a field for negative competition, but rather a bridge for regional connectivity. Engagement can support trade, investment and economic cooperation.
- Humanitarian responsibility: India has delivered substantial assistance, including 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and over 445 tonnes of essential life-saving medicines, vaccines and other medical material.
- Development partnership: India has indicated willingness to cooperate in agriculture, capacity-building, development projects, infrastructure, business and education, preserving its traditional image as a development partner.
- People-to-people linkages: Engagement helps sustain India’s historical relationship with Afghan society and retain its goodwill despite political changes.
Limits, Security Concerns and the Way Forward
- India’s engagement remains constrained by the Taliban’s rights record. Since taking control, the Taliban has eroded the rights of Afghan women — around 22 million women are affected by restrictions, while girls’ access to school has been barred beyond Class 6.
- Other concerns include curbed travel without a male chaperone, child marriage and restrictions on women’s participation, alongside continuing concerns over terrorism. The UN has continued to flag terrorist threats from groups operating from Afghanistan.
- Therefore, India’s policy requires “engagement without endorsement” — maintaining communication with the de facto authorities while retaining principled positions on women’s rights, terrorism and inclusive governance.
- India must also ensure that Afghan territory “should not be used for anti-India activities and support to terrorist groups”, while using engagement to secure its diplomatic and security interests.
- The emerging approach is thus strategic autonomy with calibrated engagement: preserve security interests, humanitarian assistance, connectivity and development cooperation without compromising India’s core concerns.
