On Monday, 29th June, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed two amendment bills that formally changed the state’s Other Backwards Classes (OBC) reservation laws and implemented the directions of the Calcutta High Court issued in May 2024. With the passage of these bills, the OBC status granted to 77 Muslim communities during the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government led by Mamata Banerjee has been removed, while the reservation structure has also been revised.
The two legislations, the West Bengal Backwards Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the West Bengal Commission for Backwards Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026, were introduced by Backwards Classes Development Minister Gourishankar Ghosh.
VIDEO | Kolkata: Backward Classes amendment bill passed in West Bengal Assembly
The bills were passed with 186 MLAs voting in favour and 17 opposing them. A group of rebel TMC MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee walked out during the proceedings, while Indian Secular Front MLA Nawsad Siddiqui said the bills should have been discussed in greater detail before being approved.
Laws amended after the May notification
Soon after coming to power in West Bengal in May, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government issued notifications to implement the High Court’s directions. However, although the administrative orders came into effect at that time, the required amendments to the state’s reservation laws had not been passed until now. Monday’s legislation brings the legal framework in line with those earlier notifications.
The amendments revise the OBC reservation quota from the earlier combined 17% to 7% and also reorganise the OBC categories. Along with this, changes have been made to the 1993 law governing the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes, giving the commission a central role in identifying backward communities in the future.
What changes have been made in the OBC list
Following the amendments, only 66 communities remain on West Bengal’s official OBC list for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. According to the government order issued on 18th May, only those communities that had been included in the state OBC list before 2010 continue to be eligible for reservation under Article 16(4) of the Constitution.
The order also cancelled the earlier arrangement that provided separate reservations of 10% for OBC Category A and 7% for OBC Category B. Under the revised system, eligible OBC communities will together receive 7% reservation.
Among the Muslim communities that continue to remain on the OBC list are Jolah (Ansari Momin), Fakir, Pahadia Muslim, Hajjam (Muslim) and Chowduli (Muslim). At the same time, 77 Muslim communities that had received OBC status during the TMC government have been removed from the list. These include Muslim Nehariya, Muslim Haldar, Muslim Sanpui, Muslim Mali, Ghosi (Muslim), Muslim Darji/Ostagar/Idrisi, Muslim Rajmistri, Muslim Batiyara, Muslim Molla and Dhali (Muslim), among several others.
Government cites High Court directions
Addressing the Assembly, Minister Gourishankar Ghosh said the amendments were necessary to comply with the Calcutta High Court’s judgment. He stated that communities added to the OBC list by the previous TMC government without any survey had been removed, and only 66 communities identified through proper surveys had been retained.
He also said the amended law strengthens the role of the West Bengal Commission for Backwards Classes, which will now conduct surveys to determine whether communities qualify for OBC status. According to Ghosh, the previous government had bypassed the commission while granting OBC status. He added that the changes would help prevent the issue of fake OBC certificates, which, according to him, had become common under the earlier administration.
Background of the High Court ruling
The changes stem from a Calcutta High Court judgment delivered on 22nd May, 2024, by a division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha. The case was heard after multiple petitions were filed between 2010 and 2020 by three individuals and the human rights organisation Atmadeep.
The petitioners argued that several communities had been granted OBC status after the TMC came to power in 2011 without any proper evaluation of their social, educational or economic backwardness. After hearing the matter, the High Court cancelled the inclusion of 77 communities and directed the state to restore the earlier list that existed before 2010.
In its judgment, the court made strong observations regarding the process followed in granting OBC status. It said the inclusion of the 77 Muslim communities appeared to have been carried out for political reasons rather than through a proper exercise of identifying backward classes. These observations triggered a wider political debate across the state.
How the reservation system has changed
Before these amendments, West Bengal’s reservation system included 22% reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), 6% for Scheduled Tribes (ST), 10% for OBC Category A and 7% for OBC Category B. In addition, a separate 3% reservation was available for persons with disabilities across reserved and unreserved categories. Even with these provisions, the total reservation in the state was capped at 45% under a government order issued on 16th January, 2014.
With the OBC quota now reduced to 7%, the total reservation in the state has come down by 10 percentage points compared to the earlier arrangement.
Across India, OBC reservation varies from state to state. Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh do not have any notified OBC communities. Punjab provides 12% reservation for OBCs, while Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand each provide 14%.
The earlier OBC policy
The roots of the issue go back to 2010, when the Left Front government led by then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee introduced 10% reservation in state government jobs for Muslims classified as “economically, socially and educationally backward” under OBC Category A. Muslims placed under OBC Category B were given 7% reservation.
The decision to create the 10% OBC-A quota was based on the recommendations of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra. The commission’s report was tabled in Parliament in December 2009.
At that time, 53 of the 108 communities included in West Bengal’s OBC Categories A and B were Muslim communities. After the TMC assumed power in 2011, more Muslim communities were added to the OBC list. The High Court’s 2024 judgment later cancelled the inclusion of 77 of those communities, leading to the changes that have now been formally written into law through the amendment bills passed by the Assembly.
With Monday’s vote, the BJP-led government has completed the legislative process needed to implement the High Court’s directions. The revised OBC list, the reduced 7% reservation quota and the amended role of the West Bengal Commission for Backwards Classes will now form the legal basis for OBC reservation in the state going forward.
The Gujarat High Court has recently denied the bail application of an individual apprehended with cow meat. It highlighted that the accused has a history of over 8 similar offences and he has continued to partake in such criminal behaviour despite having been granted bail in previous cases. Thus, his release was not permissible. The court even remarked on the sacred status of the cow in Hinduism and pointed out that the state government has implemented strict laws to protect it.
The person has been identified as Mohammad Arif Abdul Razak. A case was filed against him at the Godhra police station in December 2025. He was placed in judicial custody on 3rd January and has remained behind bars ever since. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Arif at the Godhra Town ‘B’ police station under sections 5(1), 6(b), 8(2), 8(4) and 10 of the Gujarat Animal Preservation Amendment Act in addition to section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 119 of the Gujarat Police Act.
The particulars of the case are outlined as follows: On 1st December, the Godhra police were alerted to the smuggling of beef. In response, they conducted a raid on Arif’s residence and seized 23 kilograms of cow meat. He was arrested at the location while the other perpetrators fled. The investigation disclosed that he had been smuggling beef using his vehicle and had also engaged others for this purpose.
The attorney representing Arif contended that he has been incarcerated since 3rd January and the inquiry into the matter has concluded, with the charge sheet already submitted. There is nothing further to recover, and the trial could extend for a considerable duration. The lawyer claimed that the accused has no prior criminal history.
However, it was revealed that Arif has 8 previous cases registered against him during the state’s argument. Each time, he was released on bail only to engage in cow smuggling again. The government provided a list of these cases in court, asserting that his actions could disrupt communal harmony and lead to a law-and-order crisis. Additionally, those who fled the scene of the crime have yet to be apprehended.
The court chose to dismiss the petition after evaluating the arguments from both sides and reviewing the evidence on record. It was observed that a case appeared to be established against the accused. Moreover, the court considered that he had earlier been granted bail, which he abused by continuing to commit offences.
Notably, the court declared, “The Constitution states that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to have compassion for living creatures. While fundamental duties might not be directly enforceable, they reflect the core spirit and objective of the Constitution. With this constitutional mandate in consideration, the Gujarat government has implemented the Animal Preservation Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The Gujarat Animal Preservation Act prohibits the slaughter of cows and their progeny, along with measures for their safety and welfare.”
It further conveyed, “Prima facie, it appears that the accused has repeatedly been involved in offences related to illegal slaughter and transportation of cow progeny. Such activities not only defeat the object and purpose of the legislation but also have the potential to adversely affect public order and communal harmony.”
It was also remarked that the “court cannot ignore that for a substantial portion of Indian society, especially among the Hindu and Jain communities, the cow holds sacred significance, and its safeguarding is deemed highly important. Continuous engagement in the act of cow slaughter in these cases can offend religious feelings and incite social unrest.”
The court also observed that although personal liberty is crucial and important, it is not absolute and must be balanced against the larger interest of society. The court is required to strike a balance between the right to personal liberty of the accused and the societal interest in maintaining public order and enforcing the rule of law.
The trial court was also ordered to expedite the trial process and instructed the prosecution to finalise the examination of witnesses at the earliest.
On 29th June (Monday), the Meghalaya High Court upheld an order granting bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi. She is the prime accused in the May 2025 “honeymoon murder” of her husband, Raja Raghivanshi, where she conspired with her lover Raj Kushwah and hired three contract killers to get rid of him while the couple went to Cherrapunji after their wedding. The previous verdict was delivered by a Shillong Sessions Court in April.
The state’s appeal against Sonam’s bail was dismissed by a bench led by Justice W. Diengdoh in the latest development. The court had heard arguments from both parties for more than ten days and reserved its decision on 10th June.
The Additional Deputy Commissioner (Judicial), East Khasi Hills, Shillong, Dashalene R Kharbteng, discovered many procedural errors in the arrest and decided to release her on bail. Indian Constitution assures protection against arbitrary arrests under Article 22(1), and it was determined that the investigative agency had violated this fundamental right and had not properly disclosed the reasons for the action against her.
The sessions court observed that Sonam was charged with murder under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). However, Section 403(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS which actually relates to Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), was wrongly featured in all paperwork related to the arrest, including the memo, justification checklist, inspection memo and case diary extract. It noted that the recurring inaccuracy could not be written off as a simple typographical mistake because it was repeated in other documents.
The court highlighted that Sonam was not made aware that she was being taken into custody for murder in any of the documents and was not informed of the precise details of the offence at the time, which prejudiced her defence.
It declared, “Infact, in all documents about Sonam Raghuvanshi, from the check list for justification of arrest, memo of arrest, inspection memo, intimation of rights of the arrested person, extract of case dairy, the sections referred to in all the documents is Sohra PS Case Number 7/2025 u/s 403(1)/238(a)/309(6)/3(6) BNS.”
“In none of the documents has the petitioner been intimated that she is arrested for the offence u/s 103(1) BNS. Even in the formats of the intimation of grounds of arrest, it is observed that specific facts constituting the offence have not been communicated to the accused person,” the court emphasised.
Afterwards, Sonam was directed to provide a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of the same amount as bail was given on her fourth petition after earlier rejections as she came out of prison following approximately 10 months of incarceration. She was instructed to appear in court on all scheduled dates, not to escape or interfere with the evidence or witnesses and not to depart from the court’s jurisdiction without authorisation.
A 790-page charge sheet had been filed in the case. However, the process progressed slowly, and only 4 of the 90 identified witnesses were examined. Likewise, constant delays were being caused by the prosecution side since February.
The state’s submissions and the high court’s judgement
On the other hand, Meghalaya Advocate General (AG) Amit Kumar challenged the judgement before the High Court. He contended that Sonam had legal counsel since the beginning and did not demonstrate that the error had actually caused any prejudice. He referenced her signatures on arrest records, multiple remand orders and the submission of three prior bail applications to support his statement that she was fully cognisant of her arrest in relation to the murder of her spouse.
Kumar maintained that her fourth bail application had not a single sentence suggesting that the procedural oversight had in fact triggered any prejudice. Additionally, the state invoked the Supreme Court’s ruling in State of Karnataka versus Sri Darshan (2025) to support the assertion that such procedural flaws can be rectified and do not, by themselves, warrant approval of bail.
However, Diengdoh sought clarification on why the same lapse was present in every document regarding the arrest. The court orally remarked that the arrest paperwork seemed to be created on a template and even incorporated an unrelated mention characterising the accused as a “deserter” from the armed forces, raising enquiries as to whether she had truly been told of the basis for her arrest.
“It is evident that such preparation was made without any application of mind and nowhere is found any specific allegation or information as to what the actual charges against her are. If this is the manner in which the intimation of the grounds of arrest is made, the same reflects a total non-application of judicious mind on the part of the arresting agency,” it chastised.
Diengdoh also conveyed that the terms of the bail sufficiently addressed fears about Sonam’s potential to flee, adding that the law would take its own course in the event of a transgression. The bench eventually concluded not to overturn the lower court’s ruling as there were no grounds to apply its inherent authority to revoke the bail.
The rationale behind the judgement
The decision made by the Meghalaya High Court triggered a wave of anger on social media as people started to condemn the judiciary. “This is a mockery of the justice system. She’s roaming free just one year after killing her husband. Why are Indian laws so biased?” complained a popular social media account known as “Venom.”
Sonam Raghuvanshi was granted bail by a Shillong court.
The Meghalaya government challenged the bail.
The Meghalaya High Court has now upheld the bail order.
This is a mockery of the justice system. She's roaming free just one year after killing her husband.
“If this is justice, then the system has become a cruel joke. Indian laws keep proving one brutal truth: when the victim is a husband, outrage is temporary, bail is easy, and justice becomes optional,” wrote another person.
The Meghalaya government challenged Sonam Raghuvanshi’s bail.
The Meghalaya High Court has now upheld it.
Sonam Raghuvanshi, the main accused in the honeymoon murder case of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, is roaming free just one year after his death.
Emotions are running high and strong reactions are surfacing, especially from Raja’s family members. Their distress is valid, but it is important to recognise that courts are founded and function on statutory laws, empirical proofs and judicial precedents, rather than subjectivity or emotions.
Courts are obligated to adhere to procedural realities and apply the law in an objective manner, detached from public sentiments. As a result, they rendered an impartial verdict in the ongoing case, which was centred on the grave breaches of procedure and independent of factors such as gender, caste, creed, status, background or any sympathy for the accused, irrespective of online claims.
The bail does not equate to an exoneration of Sonam’s crime or the end of the trial, but it is a consequence of the extreme negligence of the authorities, as continuously outlined by both courts. The responsibility to build a strong case lies with the investigators seeking prosecution, which was not only deficient but also plagued by glaring blunders in this matter.
The case is going to persist until Sonam is convicted or deemed innocent exclusively on the proof produced in the courts. However, the order points out the criticality of adhering to due process and meticulously handling a case, ensuring that all documentation is free from lapses that could lead to contrary outcomes such as bail for the perpetrator during the trial.
The judiciary is mandated to operate within defined guidelines and a certain framework. Therefore, it cannot be held accountable for the missteps of the police or attacked for maintaining procedural integrity.
The Telangana High Court has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to examine a plea seeking the availability of Urdu enumeration forms during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in constituencies where at least 20% of the population is familiar with the language.
While hearing the matter on Monday, 29th June, Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy observed that courts generally do not interfere in decisions taken by the Election Commission. However, he wanted to know what stand the poll body had taken on a similar issue in states such as Assam, Bihar and West Bengal, where Urdu-speaking populations are also present.
The case has brought attention to a larger debate whether election-related documents should be made available in more regional languages for the convenience of voters or whether doing so would place an unnecessary administrative and financial burden on the Election Commission.
Petition challenges Telugu-only forms
The matter came before the High Court through a petition filed by a social worker from Karimnagar district. The petitioner questioned the Election Commission’s decision to print and distribute enumeration forms only in Telugu for the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Telangana.
According to the petition, many voters in several constituencies are more comfortable reading and writing in Urdu. Therefore, restricting the forms to Telugu may create difficulties for such voters during the verification and updating of electoral rolls.
The petitioner argued that voters should have the option of receiving forms in a language they understand, especially in constituencies where Urdu speakers form a significant section of the population.
ECI explains why forms are in Telugu
Appearing for the Election Commission, counsel Avinash Desai informed the court that the forms were printed in Telugu because it is the official language of Telangana.
He also clarified that English enumeration forms are already being supplied in areas under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). According to him, this arrangement was made after discussions with election officials considering the local requirements.
Desai further informed the court that during an earlier meeting convened by the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, it was unanimously decided that English forms would be sufficient for Hyderabad district because they are convenient for a large section of voters there.
Dummy Urdu forms already available
The ECI also told the High Court that officials have not completely ignored the needs of Urdu-speaking voters.
Since Hyderabad has a sizeable Urdu-speaking population, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been instructed to carry around five to ten dummy enumeration forms in Urdu while conducting the house-to-house verification exercise.
These sample forms are meant to help Urdu-speaking voters understand how to fill up the official forms. The actual enumeration forms, however, continue to be issued in Telugu or English depending on the area.
The Election Commission presented this arrangement as a practical solution to assist voters without changing the entire printing process.
Petitioner’s counsel says dummy forms are not enough
Senior advocate V. Raghunath, appearing for the petitioner, argued that merely providing dummy forms in Urdu upon request does not satisfy the spirit of the Constitution.
According to him, voters should not have to depend on sample forms or seek additional assistance when they have the right to receive official election documents in a language they understand.
He submitted before the court that access to election forms in one’s preferred language is linked to meaningful participation in the democratic process.
The petitioner therefore urged the High Court to direct the Election Commission to provide actual enumeration forms in Urdu wherever there is a substantial Urdu-speaking population.
Court seeks details from other states
Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy did not pass any immediate order directing the Election Commission to print Urdu forms.
Instead, the judge asked the ECI counsel to place before the court details of the policy followed in Assam, Bihar and West Bengal on the same issue.
The court appeared interested in understanding whether similar demands had arisen elsewhere and how the Election Commission had addressed them. The matter has now been adjourned for one week for further hearing.
ECI raises concern over administrative burden
One of the major issues highlighted during the hearing was the practical difficulty of printing forms in multiple languages.
The Election Commission’s counsel argued that directing the authorities to print enumeration forms in three languages would place an unnecessary burden on the State exchequer.
Apart from the additional printing cost, the entire logistics of designing, printing, transporting and distributing multiple sets of forms across different constituencies would become much more complicated.
Election exercises such as the Special Intensive Revision involve lakhs of voters and require strict timelines. Any increase in the number of forms or languages also increases the workload for election officials involved in the process.
Why the issue is significant
The Special Intensive Revision is a massive exercise carried out before elections to verify voter details, remove duplicate or ineligible names and include eligible citizens in the electoral rolls.
Enumeration forms are one of the key documents used during this process. Booth Level Officers visit households and collect information from voters using these forms.
Because the exercise is conducted across the state within a limited time, any change in the format or language of the forms has implications for printing, supply, training and data processing.
A practical challenge for the Election Commission
The issue also raises an important practical question. While making election-related documents accessible is desirable, implementing such a demand on a large scale may not be easy.
Telangana has around 3.5 crore registered voters. If even half of the Assembly constituencies qualify under the proposed 20% Urdu-speaking criterion, nearly 35 lakh Urdu enumeration forms may have to be printed in addition to the existing Telugu and English versions.
That would require substantial additional expenditure on paper, printing, transportation and storage. Election officials would also have to ensure that the correct language forms reach the right constituencies without delays or shortages.
The work would not end with printing alone. Every language version would need to be checked carefully for accuracy and consistency so that all forms carry identical instructions and legal content.
More forms mean more work on the ground
The burden would also extend beyond printing. Booth Level Officers, who are already responsible for conducting door-to-door verification within a limited schedule, may have to carry multiple versions of the same form depending on the language preference of voters.
Officials handling the forms at later stages would also have to process documents received in different languages. This could require additional scrutiny and increase the chances of delays in data entry and verification.
In large-scale election exercises involving crores of voters, even a small increase in paperwork can significantly affect timelines and manpower requirements.
Accessibility versus feasibility
The case has therefore highlighted two competing concerns.
On one hand, the petitioner believes voters should have access to official election documents in a language they understand. According to this argument, providing only Telugu forms in constituencies with a sizeable Urdu-speaking population may make participation more difficult for some voters.
On the other hand, the Election Commission maintains that expanding the printing process to include three languages across multiple constituencies is neither practical nor economical. The poll body has also pointed out that Booth Level Officers are already carrying dummy Urdu forms to assist voters wherever necessary.
From an administrative perspective, this concern is significant. Creating an additional language version for constituencies with just 20% Urdu-speaking voters may require a large amount of public resources. The exercise would be time-consuming, expensive and operationally demanding. Beyond printing lakhs of extra forms, officials would also have to manage distribution, verification and processing of multilingual documents, adding another layer of complexity to an already massive electoral exercise.
What happens next?
For now, the High Court has only asked the Election Commission to consider the request and explain how similar situations have been handled in Assam, Bihar and West Bengal.
No direction has been issued requiring the immediate printing of Urdu enumeration forms.
When the matter comes up again next week, the Election Commission is expected to place additional information before the court regarding its policy and practices in other states.
The outcome of the case could influence how language accessibility is balanced with administrative feasibility during future electoral roll revision exercises, not only in Telangana but potentially in other multilingual states as well.
On 29th June (local time), WhatsApp announced that users will soon be able to contact people on the platform without revealing their phone numbers. The Meta-owned messaging platform has started rolling out the long-awaited username feature, which is expected to be fully launched later in 2026.
your phone number is personal and sometimes you want to connect without handing it over. that's why we're introducing usernames for WhatsApp.
starting this week, you can reserve a username to use later this year when we launch the feature. It takes just a few seconds, make sure…
By the end of this week, users will be able to reserve their usernames before the feature’s full launch. Several users have already been given the option to reserve their usernames. While several users have appreciated the move, as it will help keep their numbers private, several users, including tech experts, have raised concerns.
According to critics, this move could make WhatsApp more like Telegram and open new opportunities for impersonation, unsolicited messages, fraudulent investment schemes and financial scams. Notably, WhatsApp is the go-to contact hub for many businesses, including banks, making it crucial to ensure that users are contacting the right business and that the person with whom they are conversing is genuine.
With the launch of reservations, users can reserve unique handles such as @Name123. Once activated, the username can be shared instead of a telephone number. This will help users keep their numbers hidden from strangers and members of large groups.
Here is everything users need to know about WhatsApp usernames, how they will work, when they will become available, how they differ from Telegram usernames and why critics fear that the privacy feature could also make online fraud harder to detect.
What are WhatsApp usernames?
A WhatsApp username is a unique identifier that can be used to contact a person or business without knowing the phone number connected to the account. The username will appear with an “@” symbol, in a format such as @Name123. Every username must be unique. This means that two WhatsApp accounts cannot use exactly the same handle.
Interestingly, when the author of this report tried to secure his pen name as a username, WhatsApp said it was unavailable because the author had secured it earlier on Instagram. To secure the same username on WhatsApp, users are required to connect their Instagram and WhatsApp accounts. This feature helps WhatsApp users secure unique usernames, such as their full names, if they are already using them as usernames on Instagram. It will also help reduce the chances of fraud or scams.
Coming back to the feature, WhatsApp has traditionally relied on phone numbers as the principal way to identify and contact users. Someone generally needs a person’s number before starting a direct conversation or adding the account to their contacts.
The username feature will provide an alternative. A person will be able to share a username, link or QR code instead of revealing their telephone number. However, usernames will remain optional. A phone number will still be required to create and maintain a WhatsApp account.
Why WhatsApp is introducing usernames
According to WhatsApp, usernames will serve as a privacy feature. A telephone number is connected to several parts of a person’s life, including banking, work, family communication, government services and account verification. Users may not want to disclose it every time they need to speak to someone new.
A person attending an event, joining a neighbourhood group or entering a parents’ group for a school or sports team may want to participate without sharing their private number with dozens of strangers. Similarly, someone buying or selling an item online may need to communicate temporarily without wanting the other person to retain their telephone number permanently.
Once usernames become functional, users who enable them will be able to message new people and businesses without automatically showing their numbers. WhatsApp said that sharing a phone number can feel like a significant step because it is personal and tied to many areas of one’s life. It cited group conversations as another situation in which people may want to participate without disclosing their digits to everyone present.
How WhatsApp usernames will work
A user will select an available username through WhatsApp’s account settings. Other people will then be able to enter the exact username inside WhatsApp to start a conversation. Users will also be able to generate links and QR codes that direct others to the account.
Once someone begins a conversation using a username, they will see the account holder’s display name but not the phone number, unless they already have the number saved.
WhatsApp usernames must contain between three and 35 characters. They can include lowercase letters, numbers, underscores and full stops, subject to the platform’s formatting and availability rules. WhatsApp will also provide a username generator for people who are unable to find an available or suitable handle.
WhatsApp username and display name are different
It is essential to understand that a username and a display name on WhatsApp will be different. A user can already choose a display name. It does not have to be their legal name, and the same display name can be shared by several users. However, a username has to be unique to every account.
Who will see your username?
People who do not have a user’s telephone number saved will ordinarily see the username instead of the number. This will apply when a user messages someone directly, makes a WhatsApp call or participates in a group conversation containing people who do not already possess the number.
People who already have the telephone number saved will continue to see the name stored in their contacts and the associated number. Creating a username will also remove the phone number from existing conversations with users who do not have it saved in their contact information. Those conversations will continue normally, but the username will replace the visible number.
However, creating a username will not prevent people who already know the phone number from finding or contacting the account through it.
Will WhatsApp stop using phone numbers?
No. The username feature will not replace phone numbers at the account level. Every WhatsApp account will still require a phone number. The username will merely provide an alternative method of finding and contacting the account.
People who possess the number can continue to message the user through it, even when the account has a username. Therefore, usernames will hide numbers in particular interactions, but WhatsApp will remain a phone-number-linked messaging service. This is an important distinction from suggestions that the platform is creating completely anonymous or numberless accounts.
How can people contact you through a username?
A WhatsApp user who does not want to share a telephone number can give someone their exact username. The other person can enter that username into WhatsApp and start a conversation. WhatsApp says people will be able to message, call or save someone as a contact through the username system.
Users will also be able to share a direct link or generate a QR code connected to the username. Businesses could place such links or codes on websites, visiting cards, receipts, social media pages and advertisements. Scanning the QR code or opening the link would direct a customer to the relevant WhatsApp account without revealing its underlying telephone number.
However, WhatsApp says there will be no public directory in which people can browse through usernames. A person will have to know the exact username before attempting to contact its owner. WhatsApp also says it will not recommend or suggest usernames to strangers.
What is a username key?
WhatsApp is introducing an additional privacy mechanism known as the username key. The optional key is intended to give users greater control over who can send them a first message through their usernames.
When the feature is enabled, knowing the username alone will not be sufficient. The sender will also have to enter the account holder’s four-digit username key before being permitted to initiate contact.
This means that even if a stranger discovers or guesses a username, they may remain unable to send a message without the accompanying key. The key can be changed and managed by the user. However, it will be turned off by default, meaning users will have to activate it themselves.
People who already possess the account holder’s phone number or share a WhatsApp group with the person will not require the key to send a message. The feature could help limit unsolicited contact, but its effectiveness will depend on whether users activate it and avoid publishing the key alongside their usernames.
How to reserve a WhatsApp username
Users must have the latest version of WhatsApp installed on their primary mobile devices.
To reserve a username:
Open WhatsApp Settings, select Account.
Source: WhatsApp
Then tap Username.
Source: WhatsApp
In regions where the complete feature is not yet available, users may see a Reserve username option instead.
Source: WhatsApp
The user can enter the preferred handle and check whether it is available. Once successfully reserved, WhatsApp will hold it for that account so that another person cannot claim it.
Source: WhatsApp
Username reservations are not currently available through WhatsApp Web or the desktop application. Users must use their primary phones.
The option may not appear immediately for everyone because WhatsApp is introducing it gradually.
Why WhatsApp opened username reservations early
WhatsApp says it has more than three billion users, making competition for common names and recognisable handles inevitable. Opening reservations in advance gives people an opportunity to claim usernames associated with their names, businesses or online identities before the feature becomes fully operational.
Common names could be taken quickly, while public personalities and organisations may face attempts by squatters or impersonators to secure similar-looking handles. “Timing is everything,” WhatsApp’s newly appointed head Kunal Shah wrote while announcing that he had reserved his username before the global release.
Shah took charge of WhatsApp in June 2026 after Meta appointed the CRED founder to lead the platform. The appointment came alongside Meta’s $900 million investment in CRED, where Shah retained a stake while stepping away from an executive role.
Can users change or delete their usernames?
Yes. WhatsApp usernames are optional and can be changed or deleted. However, once a person changes or deletes a username, the previous handle may become available for someone else to claim.
A user could therefore lose a recognisable name permanently after giving it up. Deleting the username will also remove its number-hiding benefit. The account’s telephone number may again become visible to people who do not have it saved.
Users with established public or business identities should consequently exercise caution before changing or releasing their handles.
What happens when a preferred username is already taken?
WhatsApp usernames will be unique and distributed according to availability. If a particular username has already been reserved, another user will have to select a different variation.
WhatsApp says certain usernames connected to businesses, governments, organisations and prominent public figures will be held back and cannot be claimed freely.
This is intended to prevent obvious cases of impersonation, such as someone claiming the exact name of a major government department, celebrity or company before the genuine entity arrives.
However, reserving an exact name cannot necessarily prevent scammers from creating similar-looking versions with extra letters, numbers, full stops or underscores.
What about businesses, creators and organisations?
WhatsApp recognises that creators, companies and organisations may want to maintain the same identities across different Meta platforms. Such users will therefore have the option to claim usernames that they already use on Instagram or Facebook.
They will be required to link the relevant Meta accounts to prove that they control the existing handle. This could allow a business using a particular Instagram name to secure the corresponding identity on WhatsApp instead of competing with ordinary users for it.
WhatsApp said the facility was being created for creators, small businesses and organisations seeking to maintain a consistent online presence.
Did Telegram introduce the same feature earlier?
Yes. Telegram introduced the core idea more than a decade before WhatsApp. On 23rd October 2014, Telegram launched optional public usernames, allowing users to find and contact one another without knowing the phone numbers connected to their accounts.
Once a Telegram user selects a public username, anyone can search for the handle through the platform’s Global Search and send a message without having the number. Telegram’s original announcement stated that anyone would be able to find a user by the selected username and contact the person without knowing their telephone number.
Telegram users can also share links in the formats t.me/username and username.t.me. Opening such a link takes a person directly to the corresponding account. The links can be circulated among friends or placed on websites, business cards and social media pages. Neither party necessarily sees the other person’s phone number unless the relevant privacy settings permit it.
Therefore, WhatsApp is adopting a fundamental feature that Telegram has offered since 2014, namely, the ability to contact an account through a unique handle without first exchanging phone numbers.
How WhatsApp usernames differ from Telegram
The comparison with Telegram is valid, but the two systems are not identical. The biggest difference is discoverability. Telegram usernames are public. Anyone can enter a name in Global Search, see matching accounts and send messages to them. Telegram itself warns users that setting a username makes them searchable and allows people who do not possess their numbers to contact them.
WhatsApp says it will not have a searchable directory, username suggestions or a public browsing system. A person will have to know the exact WhatsApp username before trying to contact the account. This should make it harder for strangers to search through names and approach random users.
WhatsApp is also offering an optional username key. A stranger may need both the precise username and the four-digit code before sending a first message. Telegram’s standard username system does not include an equivalent requirement. Knowing or finding the public username is generally sufficient to open a chat.
WhatsApp is consequently borrowing Telegram’s number-hiding model while attempting to place stronger restrictions on discoverability and first-time contact.
Is WhatsApp really turning into Telegram?
Not exactly. WhatsApp and Telegram will both allow users to select unique handles, hide phone numbers from strangers and share links that open conversations. Both systems make it possible for someone to contact another account without possessing its telephone number.
However, Telegram usernames are deliberately searchable. WhatsApp usernames, according to the company, will not appear in a public directory or suggestion system.
Telegram also supports collectible usernames that can be bought, sold and assigned to accounts, groups or channels through the Fragment platform. WhatsApp has not announced an equivalent marketplace. WhatsApp therefore appears to be moving towards a Telegram-style identity system, but with a more closed model.
The question is whether the absence of a directory and the availability of a username key will be sufficient to stop fraud and unsolicited contact that critics associate with public usernames.
Social media users expressed concerns
Jasveer Singh, the co-founder and chief executive of KnotDating, said that his first thought after seeing the WhatsApp announcement was not privacy but scams. “WhatsApp just launched usernames. My first thought wasn’t privacy — it was scams,” Singh wrote on X.
WhatsApp just launched usernames. My first thought wasn’t privacy – it was scams.
The biggest reason I never used Telegram was because anyone could contact you without knowing your phone number. It became a paradise for scammers.
He said one of the reasons he avoided Telegram was that people could contact users without knowing their telephone numbers, turning the platform into what he described as a favourable space for scammers.
Singh argued that phone numbers create a degree of accountability because recipients can see who is approaching them and have a number that can be reported to the authorities.
“Usernames improve privacy, but they also reduce accountability — and that’s exactly what scammers love,” he said, while urging WhatsApp to introduce strong anti-spam mechanisms.
Entrepreneur and content creator Ankur Warikoo warned that usernames could have particularly serious consequences in India. “In a country such as India, this could be a disaster, if the right anti-abuse systems are not set up by WhatsApp,” he wrote on X.
In a country such as India, this could be a disaster, if the right anti-abuse systems are not set up by WhatsApp.
Warikoo said fraudsters could create several variations of a public figure’s username and use them to solicit money. He illustrated the problem through similar-looking handles such as warikoo, awarikoo, ankurwarikooo, ankur_warikoo, a_warikoo and ankurwarikooofficial.
A user receiving a message from one of these accounts may assume that it belongs to the genuine public figure, particularly when the display photograph and profile name have also been copied.
Warikoo also referred to his legal battle concerning AI-generated advertisements that reportedly used his face to direct people towards fraudulent investment groups on WhatsApp.
“I understand how massive this scam is and how easy it is in our country to execute it,” he said, adding that the username feature raised serious concerns from a public figure’s perspective.
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma also warned about the possibility of multiple similar-sounding accounts appearing around a verified username. “Soon you will have verified username on WhatsApp, and then unverified similar-sounding usernames,” he wrote while joining the conversation.
Soon you will have verified username on WhatsApp, and then unverified similar-sounding usernames….which in turn will… https://t.co/1zx89fUTis
— Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) June 29, 2026
The concern is that WhatsApp may verify the genuine account belonging to a company or personality, but fraudsters could create several slight variations. Many users do not carefully check spellings, underscores, additional letters or verification badges before responding to messages. A scammer may therefore pose as a recognised entrepreneur, bank, government agency or business even when the exact official username is protected.
Bandhan Bank CFO Rajeev Mantri said, “This is a colossal data harvesting and data pooling scheme – Meta’s objective is to get you to link social accounts across WhatsApp and Instagram, to move the needle on ad targeting and thus improve engagement and revenues. They are playing on consumers’ FOMO to quickly grab the username of choice. Clever.”
This is a colossal data harvesting and data pooling scheme – Meta’s objective is to get you to link social accounts across WhatsApp and Instagram, to move the needle on ad targeting and thus improve engagement and revenues.
Usernames could provide fraudsters with additional ways to approach potential victims. A scammer could copy a public figure’s photograph and display name, create a nearly identical username and send messages seeking money or personal information.
Such an account could promote fraudulent investment opportunities, cryptocurrency schemes, work-from-home offers, fake loans or bogus trading groups. Fraudsters could also create usernames resembling banks, courier companies, online marketplaces, police departments or government agencies.
The scammer may then claim that an account has been blocked, a parcel is being held, a Know Your Customer process must be completed, or an urgent payment is required. QR codes could create another problem. A fraudulent website, advertisement or social media post could display a code that appears to connect users with legitimate customer support but actually opens a WhatsApp conversation with an impersonator.
Similarly, fake usernames could be promoted through sponsored advertisements or AI-generated videos featuring well-known individuals. The absence of a visible phone number may remove one warning sign that users currently rely upon. A suspicious country code or unfamiliar number can sometimes alert recipients that a message may not be genuine.
With usernames, the handle and profile could appear more familiar, even when the underlying account is fraudulent.
Could usernames make scammers anonymous?
Not completely. Every WhatsApp username will remain connected to a phone number. A person cannot create a standard WhatsApp account solely with a username. The platform and law enforcement agencies may therefore still be able to trace an account through its registered telephone number, subject to legal procedures and the availability of accurate subscriber information.
However, that number will not necessarily be visible to the person receiving the message. The recipient may consequently find it more difficult to independently assess the origin of an unfamiliar approach.
WhatsApp says it may inform a user when an unfamiliar account is registered in a country different from their own. This could offer some context and help recipients identify suspicious international messages.
However, many scams are carried out through domestic numbers, stolen accounts, fraudulently obtained SIM cards or compromised devices. A country indicator alone would not resolve those risks.
What safeguards has WhatsApp announced?
WhatsApp has introduced or proposed several protections.
There will be no public directory in which strangers can browse usernames. Users must know the precise handle.
The optional username key can stop people from sending first-time messages even when they have obtained the username.
Certain handles associated with governments, prominent people, companies and organisations will be reserved.
Creators and businesses will be able to claim existing Facebook or Instagram usernames, helping genuine account holders establish consistent identities.
Every account will continue to require a telephone number, preserving a link between the username and an underlying mobile account.
WhatsApp can also deploy its existing reporting, blocking, spam detection and account-ban systems against fraudulent users.
These protections could make WhatsApp’s model safer than Telegram’s publicly searchable system. Their success, however, will depend on enforcement, detection speed and whether ordinary users understand and activate the available controls.
Why the username key may not solve every problem
The username key provides an additional layer of protection, but it has limitations. It is turned off by default, and many users may never activate it. Businesses and public-facing creators may also need to publish their keys so that customers or followers can contact them. Publishing the username and key together would largely remove the extra barrier.
The key will also not be required by people who already have the phone number or share a group with the account holder. A scammer operating within common groups may therefore still be able to approach participants directly.
The key is likely to be most useful for private individuals who share their usernames only with selected people.
What users should check before trusting a username
A familiar-looking username should not be treated as proof of identity. Users should closely inspect spellings, additional characters, numbers, underscores and full stops.
They should verify unexpected financial requests through a second communication channel, particularly when the sender claims to be a friend, relative, employer, bank employee or public figure.
Verification badges should be checked carefully, but users should not assume that a professional photograph and recognisable display name make an account authentic.
People should avoid transferring money, sharing one-time passwords, installing applications or opening suspicious links merely because the username resembles a trusted name.
Users who do not need to receive messages from strangers should activate the username key and avoid publishing it publicly.
Privacy upgrade or new fraud challenge?
There is a genuine privacy problem with WhatsApp that usernames can solve. People will be able to participate in large groups, contact businesses and speak to strangers without handing over telephone numbers connected to their wider personal lives.
The feature could be particularly useful for creators, professionals, marketplace users, community members and people dealing with temporary contacts. However, privacy for the sender can also mean reduced transparency for the recipient. A familiar username, copied photograph and persuasive message may be enough to mislead people who do not carefully examine account details.
Telegram has demonstrated that username-based communication can successfully allow people to connect without revealing phone numbers. It has also shown why publicly searchable identities can attract unsolicited messages, impersonators and scammers.
WhatsApp’s model is more restricted because it lacks a public directory and includes an optional username key. Nevertheless, fake variations can still be circulated through websites, advertisements, social media posts, QR codes and fraudulent groups.
For WhatsApp’s more than three billion users, the username feature could become one of the platform’s most important privacy changes. Whether it also produces a Telegram-style scam boom will depend on the strength of WhatsApp’s anti-impersonation systems and how carefully users respond to unfamiliar handles.
For years, a Chinese fugitive billionaire, Guo Wengui, known by various names Ho Wan Kwok, Guo Miles, Miles Kwok, “Brother Seven”, lived the life of an anti-CCP dissident and a hero among Western media. Guo Wengui built a large following in the West based on his ‘CCP is hounding me’ claims until he was convicted in a US federal court for over $1 billion in fraud against his own supporters. Guo Wengui was awarded a 30-year prison sentence by a federal court on 29th June 2026.
Fraud allegation and Guo Wengui’s escape from China
Guo Wengui rose as a real estate developer in China. He reportedly ranked 74th on the 2014 Hurun China Rich List, having assets estimated around USD 2.6 billion. Wengui fled China amidst the CCP’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign.
Wengui’s associates, including former intelligence official Ma Jian, were also targeted. Guo Wengui aka Guo Miles, portrayed the action against him by the Chinese authorities as political persecution for exposing high-level CCP corruption.
In the initial years following Guo’s escape, the Chinese authorities declared him a fugitive, and even issued Interpol notices. The Chinese authorities accused him of serious offences, including bribery, money laundering, rape of a former assistant, kidnapping, and other crimes.
Wengui’s assets were frozen in various places, including Hong Kong. China had also requested the fraudster’s deportation from the US.
A fraud in China, a CCP-dissident in the West: How Guo Wengui created his ‘activist’ persona with the help of a pliable media
During his self-imposed exile, Guo Wengui reinvented himself as a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party. Wengui gave interviews to Western legacy media outlets, including a US government-funded Voice of America (VoA), BBC, New York Times, Financial Times, and Forbes, among others. He also appeared on various audio podcasts.
Together with American media executive, investment banker and former White House strategist, Steve Bannon, Guo Wengui founded a media company named GTV.
In 2018, Steve Bannon and Guo Wengui founded a nonprofit organisation, which was ironically named Rule of Law Society, to oppose the CCP. The nonprofit was originally backed by a commitment of $100 million from Guo Wengui.
However, as the nonprofit’s financials came under scrutiny, amidst refusal to disclose documents, Steve Bannon left the board of the Rule of Law Society in 2021.
The duo had in 2020 launched the “New Federal State of China”. The declaration was made on a yacht, and Guo announced that he would overthrow the CCP. Guo’s media ventures faced criticism for what was reported to be misinformation regarding origins of Covid, and general narratives around US politics.
Through his ‘activism’ and media appearances targeting the CCP, Guo Wengui built a devoted supporter base among Chinese diaspora and anti-CCP activists. Wengui framed his fake activism as a ‘crusade for democracy and against the CCP’s tyranny in China.
In January 2025, Guo’s associate, Yvette Wang, was sentenced to 10 Years in prison for her role in the $1 billion fraud.
Amid tensions in US and China relations, the Western media and public figures amplified Guo Wengui as a heroic dissident, after what could be better than having a Chinese billionaire with a ‘persecuted by CCP’ backstory, to bolster America’s narrative against the Chinese Communist Party. Guo’s rise in the US has been attributed to a receptive environment for anti-CCP voices; apparently, for this reason, he could evade scrutiny of his background earlier.
Given the CCP’s reputation for stifling dissenting voices, no matter how prominent, Wengui’s story came across as believable in the West.
Guo Wengui aka Miles Guo defrauded thousands of his online followers through various means: What the US authorities revealed
Guo Wengui was arrested in March 2023 by the US Department of Justice on charges of orchestrating a massive conspiracy to defraud thousands of his online followers out of $1 billion. The fraud was carried out via schemes involving GTV private placements, loans, G|CLUBS memberships, Himalaya Farm, and cryptocurrency, the Himalaya Coin/Exchange.
The prosecutors alleged that Guo Wengui, aka Miles Guo, promised outsized returns linked to his anti-CCP ‘movement’. He then misappropriated hundreds of millions of this money for personal luxury. He bought a 50,000 sq ft mansion, a Ferrari, a Bugatti sports car worth $4.4 million, a $37 million yacht, expensive mattresses, etc.
Guo, along with his London-based business partner, Kim Ming Je, bought hedge fund investments, $1 million worth of rugs and a $140,000 piano, among other extravagant purchases.
The US authorities described this as “affinity fraud” as Guo exploited the trust of his followers in his anti-CCP persona.
The investigation into Guo’s activities revealed that he laundered hundreds of millions of stolen funds to conceal the conspiracy’s illegal activities and continue the fraud’s operations.
In 2021, Miles Guo aka Han Wo Kwok settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) an illegal fundraising case for $539 million.
In July 2024, Guo was convicted on 9 of 12 counts, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, etc.
Finally, on 29th June 2026, Guo Wengui, aka Han Wo Kwok, was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $889 million. While pronouncing the verdict, the federal judge said that Guo Wengui preyed on people seeking democracy in China.
During the course of the trial, Guo Wengui continued to cry victim, and his remaining supporters claim that the US charges against him are CCP-influenced persecution to silence him. The prosecutors, however, rejected Guo’s claims, stating that the evidence presented by them centred on fiscal misconduct against his followers, and not fabricated political charges.
Guo Wengui fled legal heat in China for his alleged fraud there, came to the US, concocted a hero narrative around himself with the help of Western media, cried persecution, monetised his ‘heroic’ story, gained attention and followers, and then used that platform and trust of his followers for a large-scale fraud.
It is interesting to recall how Guo Wengui had in August 2019, predicted that Alibaba founder Jack Ma would either be jailed or end up dead, saying that the Chinese government wanted to “take back” Ma’s ANT Group.
The case of Guo Wengui building a fake persecution story, building a following by attacking a regime or political ideology despised abroad, defrauding people, and when accountability knocks on the door, crying ‘politically motivated persecution ’ by a fascist or authoritarian regime, reminds one of Rana Ayyub, the Washington Post columnist and notorious Hinduphobe.
Rana Ayyub: India’s Guo Wengui?
Rana Ayyub earned widespread attention for her 2016 self-published book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover-Up, based on what she claimed to be her 2010 undercover recordings of Gujarat officials ‘admitting’ to cover-ups and encounter killings after the 2002 Godhra riots. Ayyub’s then employer, Tehelka, had declined to publish her story, citing incompleteness and other editorial issues. Although journalist Madhu Tehran had revealed that she had offered to publish the tapes on Tehelka, Rana Ayyub had refused.
The Islamist journalist built a ‘fearless voice against tyranny of Hindutva supremacists’ persona around her ridiculous and utterly biased piece of journalism around the 2002 riots.
Rana Ayyub, who has a long-standing agenda against Narendra Modi, was humiliated by the Supreme Court when it consigned her “investigative” book on the Gujarat riots into the dustbin.
One of the innuendos in Ayyub’s book was that then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi had planned ex-Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya’s murder, who was shot dead on March 26, 2003, in Ahmedabad during a morning walk.
A trial court found 12 Muslim men guilty of Haren Pandya’s murder, including the main accused Asghar Ali. According to the CBI investigation, the murder was carried out on the orders of a Muslim cleric named Mufti Sufiyan to avenge the Gujarat riots.
The men were cleared of murder charges by the Gujarat High Court, citing a “botched investigation” by the CBI, but they were nonetheless charged with criminal conspiracy and attempted murder.
CBI had challenged the High Court ruling in the Supreme Court, which eventually upheld the original trial court verdict.
Puncturing Ayyub’s Muslim victimhood bogey, the Supreme Court refused to consider the book ‘Gujarat Files’ authored by Rana Ayyub in the proceedings. The court had thrashed the book, saying that it was based upon surmises, conjectures, and suppositions.
In fact, the claims made by Rana Ayyub in her book are so questionable that even the extreme leftist publications had also refused to publish it, and eventually Ayyub had published it herself. The book was based on a sting operation Rana Ayyub had supposedly conducted, but she never published the videos.
Rana Ayyub has, since her claim to fame, continuously indulged in anti-Hindu propaganda through her articles in foreign leftist media outlets and online commentary. From anti-CAA Shaheen Bagh protests, 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots, peddling Covid pandemic-related anti-government propaganda, inserting Muslim victimhood in every issue, peddling ‘Indian Army torturing Kashmiri boys’ lies, blaming RSS and ‘Hindu terrorists’ for the 2015 Ranaghat nun rape, to her online Hinduphobic commentary for which she even faced FIRs, Rana Ayyub’s ‘journalism’ has been agenda-driven, Islamist-aimed at opposing and vilifying the BJP and RSS.
Her propaganda has earned her a positive reputation among ideologically aligned Islamo-leftist circles. What makes Rana Ayyub similar to Guo Wengui is the alleged Covid fundraising scam that Ayyub is accused of orchestrating.
When India was grappling with the Covid pandemic, Rana Ayyub had amassed a whopping ₹2,69,50,695 through 3 crowdfunding campaigns on the platform ‘Ketto’.
Of the ₹2.69 crores received, about ₹80,49,856 was received in foreign currency in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) of 2010.
Interestingly, Rana Ayyub collected funds meant for COVID-19 relief work in the bank accounts of her father, Mohammed Ayyub Shaikh and sister Iffat Shaikh to the tune of ₹1.60 crores and ₹37.15 lakhs.
Rana Ayyub had transferred ₹84.40 lakhs from her father’s account and ₹36.40 lakhs from her sister’s account to her personal bank account. Overall, around ₹1,20,80,000 were transferred to the account of Rana Ayyub.
Interestingly, she had downplayed the embezzlement of such a large sum of money in April 2022 as a ‘small amount of $20000.’ This is even though the amount in question is ₹2.69 crores (~$3,14,500).
In its July 2025 order, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) noted that about ₹2.4 crores of the crowdfunded amount remained unutilised despite a year of the campaign.
“The account in which the money was withdrawn by the assessee or her family members was a personal savings account. Moreover, instead of carrying out any relief work, the assessee opened a new current account and made an investment of a fixed deposit in her name and also incurred personal expenditure from the same savings account in which the funds were received,” it stated.
Ayyub had claimed before the Income Tax Department that a ‘small part (₹28 lakhs)’ of ₹2.69 crores was used for sending migrant workers home and purchasing ration, hospitalisation, procuring transportation and purchasing tarpaulin sheets for those affected in West Bengal floods.
She spent ₹19 lakhs to cover her ‘personal expenses’. It also came to light that the controversial ‘journalist’ made a personal fixed deposit of ₹50 lakhs from the funds received for COVID-19 relief work.
The Income Tax Department questioned why, if Ayyub had no malicious intentions, why did she purchased fixed deposit receipts of Rs.50,00,000/- in her personal name.
The investigation revealed that only ₹18 lakhs were used for relief work out of ₹1.23 crores that Rana Ayyub received through the first campaign on Ketto. In her defence, Ayyub had claimed that the unutilised funds were ‘reserved for building a hospital’.
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal also found that Rana Ayyub violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) of 2010, since the Washington Post ‘journalist’ does not qualify for foreign donations under Section 3(1)(h) of the FCRA.
Ayyub collected funds from supporters, slum dwellers and farmers, for charitable activities in the name of Covid relief; however, the end use of these funds for charitable activities remains unproven. The controversial ‘journalist’ collected and parked donations in the bank accounts of her relatives and did not maintain separate accounts for the supposed charitable works.
Earlier, in February 2022, the Enforcement Directorate attached ₹1.77 crore of Ayyub’s assets. She obviously denies the allegations brought against her and described it as a case of politically motivated harassment to stifle her dissenting voice.
While Rana Ayyub’s Islamist activism under the pretext of ‘journalism’, and alleged fundraising fraud, made even the worst among the leftist propaganda outlets distance themselves from her, she found supporters and employers in foreign Islamo-leftist media and political circles, who are ideologically opposed to the so-called ‘Hindu nationalist’ Modi government.
Ayyub has bagged several ‘press freedom awards have received support from Islamist-sympathising outfits like Reporters Sans Frontières, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Amnesty, and UN rapporteurs.
Much like Guo Wengui, Rana Ayyub was also hailed as a ‘fearless dissident’ standing up to authoritarian governments in the West. She too cried, ‘I am being persecuted by the regime for speaking truth’. However, sooner or later, the real truth comes out.
On June 3, Rahul Gandhi predicted an imminent doom and gloom for India. Speaking at an event, he proclaimed, “A severe economic Tsunami is going to hit the country, one that will cripple our economy, and it will be worse than any economic crisis you have seen in your lives. The entire system is collapsing, and the Modi government is not capable of stopping it.”
भयंकर आर्थिक सुनामी आ रही है और नरेंद्र मोदी इसके बारे में न कुछ कर रहे हैं, न कर सकते हैं।
Before that, Rajdeep Sardesai had shared a clip where Raghuram Rajan, the former Reserve Bank Governor under the UPA regime, predicted another economic doom, the latest doom among the four dozen or so he has predicted so far after his tenure was not renewed by the Modi government in 2014. As with all those previous dooms predicted by Raghuram Rajan, this one too never came.
Worth a listen to Raghuram Rajan here : why no country is immune to the West Asia crisis. https://t.co/uq6UVhnffb
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate claimed in March this year, “69% of India’s LNG imports depend on the Strait of Hormuz, which is blocked for India. So no matter what “sources” tell us, we are staring at a huge problem. Where is Epstein’s pal Hardeep Puri amidst it all?
69% of India's LNG imports depend on the Strait of Hormutz, which is blocked for India.
So no matter what “sources” tell we are staring at a huge problem.
Not just the Opposition and their media ecosystem; the impending economic doom was heralded by the likes of coaching centre expert-turned-aspiring-politician Awadh Ojha, who declared that the impending economic crisis will trigger a mass revolution where people will start killing each other, and India is on that path. He even boasted that he would soon be shifting to China to escape the economic doom that is coming to India.
AAP leader Avadh Ojha wants civil war in India.
Says he has made arrangements in China and will flee there.
They say such things openly even after losing Delhi elections, imagine how they would have fueled the said civil war if they had won. pic.twitter.com/77p4O7HckH
Sadly for the above-mentioned experts, the alleged economic doom never came. India, as it seems, has yet again managed to navigate past a complex economic and geopolitical crisis relatively unhurt.
How India sailed through a complex geopolitical situation and supply crisis in the Strait of Hormuz
Despite importing around 85-90% of its crude oil, with significant LNG exposure from Qatar and the UAE, the Indian economy avoided a deep recession or sustained high inflation that was predicted in dozens of media headlines and expert warnings, amplified by dozens of podcasts and screamed by scores of politicians with all the confidence and seriousness of oracles.
Temporary spikes in fuel and cooking gas prices occurred, and there were logistical disruptions, but growth remained stable, the current account deficit stayed manageable, and forex reserves provided a buffer.
The doom never came because India had buffers, defences and diversifications planned.
India has been preparing for global uncertainties and navigating a geopolitical tightrope with remarkable resilience, displayed through steady leadership and mature foreign policy that prioritises on national interests.
Russia had already become a major crude supplier post-2022, often at discounted prices. Taking full advantage of a temporary sanctions waiver from the USA, India further ramped up purchases, alongside increased sourcing from the US, Africa, and others. This offset much of the Gulf shortfall when Hormuz traffic plummeted.
With LPG supplies affected due to the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, India took a set of rapid decisions. It made domestic refiners boost output of domestic cooking gas, the government accelerated piped gas connections and ethanol blending. Diplomatic channels reportedly helped secure limited safe passages or alternative routing for some cargoes. Leveraging the decades-long cultural and diplomatic goodwill developed with Iran, even during the peak of the war, India-bound LPG tankers kept crossing the Strait, to be escorted by the Indian Navy waiting for them in the Gulf of Oman.
LPG import diversification was managed with remarkable efficiency. India increased spot and term contracts from non-Gulf suppliers, like the USA, Angola, Nigeria, etc, while also working on pre-existing contracts. These were a result of relationships built over years of astute and peace-oriented diplomacy. Combined with a focused domestic effort of accelerating piped natural gas connections and increased domestic refining output for LPG from crude oil processing, crucial gaps in supply were filled.
CEA Ananth Nageswaran explains brilliantly how India navigated the west Asia conflict and emerged unscathed pic.twitter.com/CHpRo2xrja
Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran has highlighted these achievements in an op-ed titled “Steady and stable as she goes: India and the economic fallout of the Gulf conflict”. The article mentions how proactive measures- rapid diversification of oil sources to the US and Russia, increased domestic refining of cooking gas, a push for piped gas, coal gasification, ethanol blending, and strategic crude storage deals, aided by PM Modi’s UAE visit– helped the country navigate through a complex and fragile global crisis relatively unhurt.
It also describes how India’s growth forecasts were revised upward to 6.8% for CY26 and 6.5% for FY27, and the current account deficit stayed low at around ~0.6% of GDP, and FDI remained resilient amid all these difficulties. Nageswaran writes how sound policymaking and diplomatic agility made all this possible.
India is on a growth path, and it is likely to continue, irrespective of the collapse predicted by the usual elements
It would be rather juvenile to claim that India won’t be affected by economic challenges anymore. We are living in a volatile world where too much money and too much firepower are at play, and the geopolitical scene will continue to remain difficult for a rising global power. India faces unique challenges and unique advantages when it comes to growth.
The doom and gloom that the above-mentioned ‘experts’ keep predicting was predicted to strike India even during the COVID pandemic. However, India managed to navigate that too, all because of the same steady leadership and the relative resilience of the Indian people, who are not prone to give in to despair.
India has consistently maintained a steady growth trajectory in the last decade. Pragmatic leadership, marked by decisive policy interventions and diplomatic agility, has helped cushion external blows and prevent them from derailing the broader economic momentum that drives the nation forward. It is not just the government; the resilience of the Indian people has been equally vital in maintaining the momentum of growth.
We are a population that adapts quickly and refuses to surrender to despair or panic. This combination of steady governance and societal tenacity has enabled India not merely to weather global crises but to emerge with upgraded growth forecasts and strengthened fundamentals. The challenges are going to stay. Energy security, technological disruption, and global volatility will be consistent factors in the coming years, but the last few years show that India is quite likely to face those challenges and continue growing stronger.
Every crime leaves behind a trail. Sometimes it is a trail of digital footprints. Sometimes it is financial transactions. Sometimes it is a series of decisions that, in hindsight, appear impossible to explain.
The investigation into the death of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal appears to contain all three.
As the police continue to piece together the conspiracy involving his fiancée Siya Goyal and her lover Chetan Chaudhary, one question refuses to die: how did Ketan fail to recognise the warning signs that kept appearing before him?
The courts will determine the guilt or innocence of the accused, their motivations to snuff out an innocent life. Yet even at this stage, the sequence emerging from the case paints a deeply tragic picture, not merely of the murder conspiracy, but also of a young man who appears to have trusted someone unconditionally despite repeated reasons to doubt.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy is not simply that Ketan lost his life to people he trusted. The warning signs were neither isolated nor subtle. They were glaring. But Ketan and his family refused to pay heed to them, and ultimately paid the price with Ketan’s life.
Red flag no. 1: The unaccounted Rs 1 crore Ketan gave to Siya, which she transferred to her lover
Ketan entrusted nearly Rs 1 crore to Siya for wedding-related expenses. Police allege that the money was subsequently transferred to Chetan to help him establish his business and future. This was not merely financial deception. It represented a complete breach of trust.
Anyone preparing for marriage naturally spends money. Weddings in India are expensive affairs. Families often pool resources, and prospective spouses may manage parts of the expenditure. There is nothing unusual about that.
What is unusual is the absence of scrutiny over such a substantial amount. A sum approaching Rs 1 crore is not pocket money. It is an amount that ordinarily involves planning, invoices, discussions and accountability. Yet, the money disappeared into the account of another man altogether.
At this moment, it reveals that Ketan’s faith in Siya had reached a point where ordinary caution had ceased to exist. Love often asks for trust. Blind trust asks for surrender.
Red flag no. 2: The cancelled Bali trip
Another extraordinary episode that should have served as a wake-up call for Ketan and his family was the aborted pre-wedding trip to Bali.
Reports say Siya deliberately stole Ketan’s passport during the journey to Mumbai airport before disposing of it in a washroom to ensure the trip was cancelled. According to investigators, everyone else’s passport remained untouched. Only Ketan’s disappeared.
That detail is significant. Had a thief targeted the bag, logic suggests the foreign currency, multiple passports or other valuables would have vanished as well. Instead, only one document disappeared, the one that ensured Ketan could not board the flight.
The Bali episode becomes much more than a ruined holiday. It becomes evidence of a relationship in which one partner wanted to prevent the very future that the other was enthusiastically planning.
Yet even after that episode, Ketan appears to have continued investing emotionally in the relationship.
With the benefit of hindsight and revelations in the investigation after Ketan’s death, the police concluded that Siya had deliberately sabotaged the Bali trip because she was romantically involved with someone else. But didn’t Ketan think there was something fishy when only his passport had gone missing?
That is perhaps the most heartbreaking aspect of this case.
People often imagine deception as something dramatic and unmistakable. Reality is frequently different. Victims of manipulation rarely see themselves as victims. They explain away inconsistencies. They rationalise behaviour that would alarm an outsider. They believe tomorrow will be better than today.
Red flag no. 3: The attempted murder at Lohagad Fort
The most disturbing allegation, however, concerns the earlier visit to Lohagad Fort.
According to Ketan’s family, Siya attempted to push him during a previous visit. They say Ketan survived by grabbing a bush, after which Siya claimed she had been startled by a snake and had pushed him accidentally.
An individual who has just survived a near-fatal fall at the same location would ordinarily avoid returning there, especially with the same companion. Instead, Ketan returned to Lohagad only four days later.
That decision defies ordinary human instinct. There are only a few plausible explanations.
Either he genuinely believed the earlier incident had been an accident and accepted the explanation without reservation, or he sensed that Siya was reluctant about the relationship but believed that patience, affection and commitment would eventually repair it.
These possibilities reflect the extraordinary power that emotional attachment can exercise over human judgment.
Psychologists have long observed that people deeply invested in a relationship frequently interpret evidence in ways that preserve the relationship rather than challenge it. Behaviour that appears suspicious to everyone else is reclassified as stress, misunderstanding, temporary anger or unfortunate coincidence.
That tendency becomes even stronger when marriage preparations are already underway.
Families become involved. Money has been spent. Social expectations rise. Admitting that the relationship is collapsing becomes emotionally, financially and socially painful.
Going by the developments in the case, Ketan may have found himself trapped precisely in that emotional space. Every new warning sign was not treated as a warning. It became something to explain away.
Red flag no. 4: Inconsistencies in claims made by Siya and her family
After the tragedy, Ketan’s family said they did not approve of a lifestyle centred around partying and drinking. In contrast, several videos circulating on social media purportedly show Siya Goyal dancing at parties with what appears to be alcoholic drinks. Did no one in Ketan’s family stumble upon these inconsistencies before the tragedy struck them?
The police investigation also alleges that Siya and Chetan had prepared signals, discussed logistics, avoided toll surveillance by travelling on a scooter and coordinated shortly before the fatal incident. Investigators further revealed that they intended to avoid immediate suspicion by delaying marriage to each other after Ketan’s death.
According to the investigation, Siya spoke to Chetan for a little less than 240 hours on mobile in the last 6 months. Weren’t Siya’s family members aware of her close relationship with a man other than Ketan? If they did, why didn’t they take any action or inform Ketan about it? Didn’t Ketan himself find it strange that his fiancée wasn’t talking to him or remained inexplicably busy with other work?
The emotional vulnerabilities that prevented Ketan from seeing the obvious red flags
Relationships function because people voluntarily make themselves vulnerable. They share finances. They share dreams. They reveal insecurities. They make plans measured not in days but in decades. Ketan was so deeply invested in his future life that he refused to see that Siya wasn’t particularly interested in being a part of that future.
There is another lesson emerging from this tragedy.
Society often romanticises unconditional love. Films celebrate people who refuse to give up on difficult relationships. Popular culture glorifies persistence. Walking away is portrayed as failure, while enduring emotional uncertainty is presented as proof of commitment.
Real life is different. Love should never require someone to ignore repeated warning signs. Trust should never mean abandoning common sense. Commitment should never eliminate accountability.
If your partner repeatedly behaves in ways that cannot be logically explained, asks for enormous financial commitments without transparency, appears reluctant about the relationship, or leaves you constantly rationalising inexplicable events, those are not tests of love.
They are warnings. It is easy to identify red flags after tragedy strikes. It is much harder when emotions cloud judgment.
That is precisely why families and close friends often notice dangers before the individual involved does. They observe behaviour without the emotional investment that can distort perception.
The Lohagad tragedy highlights the importance of paying attention when loved ones express concern. Sometimes the people standing outside the relationship see patterns invisible to those inside it. Unfortunately, Ketan had no one who could warn him and awaken him to reality.
Instead, he appeared to have believed that sincerity would overcome every obstacle. Seen individually, each incident might have been explained away. Seen together, they form a pattern that, in retrospect, appears impossible to ignore.
Unfortunately, hindsight is always clearer than hope.
For Ketan, hope proved tragically stronger than suspicion. And that may have been the costliest mistake of his life.
On 27th June (Saturday), Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on a three-day visit to the Republic of Seychelles at the invitation of President Dr Patrick Herminie. He also attended the 50th Independence Day, popularly known as National Day, celebrations as the Guest of Honour on 29th June and was awarded the honorary title of “Guardian of the Blue Horizon” by the archipelagic island nation.
The day coincided with the marking of 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic connection between the two sides. Contingents from the Indian armed forces took part in the national parade to commemorate these milestones as INS (Indian Naval Ship) Tarkash and INS Ikshak were docked at Port Victoria. Additionally, PM Modi spoke before the extraordinary session of the Seychelles National Assembly.
Notably, he has returned to Seychelles for the second time since taking office. He became the first Indian Prime Minister to land there in 34 years during his earlier state visit in March 2015, which witnessed high-level bilateral meetings and major agreements. The decisive revival of the relationship happened after Herminie assumed power in October of last year after undergoing a slowdown between 2020 and 2025.
He made a maiden trip to India in February, which turned out to be very significant and illustrated his ambition to advance the relations. The meeting between PM Modi and Herminie resulted in seven crucial accords about digital technology, exports, data exchange and maritime scientific research.
The two leaders unveiled a Joint Vision for Sustainability, Economic Growth and Security via Enhanced Linkages (SESEL), highlighting the capabilities of each country and acknowledging the value of the partnership. They emphasised that the nations have a unique and enduring link founded on family and historical links, fostered by shared ideals of democracy and pluralism.
Attention was also drawn to the essential role that Seychelles plays in India’s vision “Mahasagar” (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions), an expanded global maritime doctrine under the present government. New Delhi had even announced a $175 million development assistance package for Victoria at the time.
PM Modi’s historical 2nd visit to Seychelles
PM Modi’s presence in the African country is expected to give the necessary impetus to further fortify the collaboration on many fronts. India is profoundly integrated into the security and capacity-building apparatus of the latter through multiple mechanisms. New Delhi will once again depute four military advisors to the country in a pivotal strategic reset. This arrangement had been discontinued by the previous government.
This revival marks a significant boost to defence cooperation and institutional ties. India powers over 50% of the maritime and air assets of Seychelles, including Dornier aircraft and patrol vessels, among others.
Moreover, its position as the most reliable security partner of Seychelles has been reinforced with the transfer of a “Made-in-India” Fast Patrol Vessel, laser radial boats and various utility vehicles and ambulances.
India’s greatest strength still lies in capacity building as it provides over 70% of defence training and human resource development to the country, which contributes to the long-term development of indigenous capabilities. The alliance is also well-equipped for the future and goes beyond traditional defence with innovative joint ventures in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and emerging technologies.
The geographical vitality of Seychelles
Seychelles is a scatter of 115 islands spread across a small landmass in the Western Indian Ocean. It is Africa’s smallest and least populated sovereign state, with a population under 1,10,000. However, it is situated across shipping lanes that link East Africa, West Asia, and the Indo-Pacific. It is near the busiest Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) in the world, which connect Asia to Africa, Europe and the Middle East. These are the routes that daily transport Gulf oil and Asian cargo westward.
Massive volumes of international trade, including raw materials, manufactured commodities, food supplies, crude oil and liquefied natural gas, are moved through there. Hence, stability along these stretches is a priority for India, whose economy is largely dependent on safe maritime trade.
Seychelles has a vantage point over the access pathways to the Mozambique Channel and the Cape Route which joins the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. Global commerce has been dramatically diverted by growing Middle East tensions, turning these waterways from local passages into invaluable maritime channels that sustain global supply. An enormous number of ships sail close by the country.
Furthermore, its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) spans more than 1.3 million square kilometres which is over 3,000 times larger than its land size of only 455 square kilometres. Thus, it is susceptible to attacks from Somali pirates.
Whoever assists Seychelles in keeping an eye on that area has its sights set on extremely important water. India’s support in safeguarding the region contributes positively to its security and that of the larger western Indian Ocean area.
Seychelles is one of India’s smallest diplomatic allies in terms of both population and land area. However, its geographical placement and adjacency to prominent navigational lanes bestow paramount strategic relevance upon the nation. Therefore, it is very important to New Delhi’s Indian Ocean approach.
India’s maritime evolution
India is changing its status from “continental power with maritime interests” to “maritime power with continental responsibilities.” It is shaping itself into a wider maritime force to protect global trade, confront regional competitors and exert influence in the Indo-Pacific.
India’s shift to a maritime-first policy underscores a fundamental truth that the oceans determine its trade, climate resilience and national security. They are the prime site for both geopolitical influence and economic expansion.
The Indian Ocean has already proven to be one of the dominant geopolitical arenas in the world. Major powers have strengthened their naval deployments, made investments in ports and logistics infrastructure, as well as sought to exert more influence in the region throughout the last ten years.
This evolving scenario offers an indispensable backdrop for bilateral cooperation between India and Seychelles, but the pair has consistently highlighted that their engagement is not directed at any specific nation. However, Seychelles has surfaced as more than just a cordial friend for India.
It is an integral part of the latter’s Indian Ocean architecture. Seychelles, Mauritius and other western Indian Ocean islands offer the country strategic depth across a disputed maritime territory.
It is noteworthy that India is adopting the principle of prioritising geography over geopolitics, and while China’s aggressive presence might have expedited these initiatives, it did not instigate them.
MDA: The modern understanding of sea power
Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is considered a more important metric for measuring maritime strength than fleets, aircraft carriers or foreign bases alone. This security is effectively built on a foundation of coastal radar chains, satellites, undersea sensors, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, information exchange, and data fusion. Sea power is dictated by a nation’s comprehension of the waters rather than ability to exert control over them.
Therefore, Seychelles is a crucial information hub in India’s developing maritime infrastructure. It has regularly supplied Seychelles with defence equipment, training, surveillance technology and operational help as the latter has to monitor its EEZ. Real-time vessel movement tracking is made possible by the Coastal Surveillance Radar System, which adds to MDA and enables authorities to act swiftly in the event of suspicious activity.
The Seychelles People’s Defence Forces have obtained interceptor boats, Chetak helicopters, rapid patrol boats and Dornier maritime surveillance planes from India along with training of naval personnel. These resources improve the country’s potential to fight maritime smuggling, illegal fishing, piracy, drug and human trafficking.
The ports and surrounding waterways are regularly hydrographically surveyed by the Indian Navy. These measures promote safer navigation, updated nautical charts, better planning for maritime infrastructure and better handling of marine resources.
The western Indian Ocean has to deal with issues like organised crime at sea, piracy and maritime terrorism. India has joined hands with Seychelles to improve broader regional marine security, while the latter has taken an active diplomatic role by serving as the chair of regional anti-piracy contact groups.
The leap from Sagar to Mahasagar
The development of India’s marine strategy is one of the main themes of PM Modi’s visit, as the growing strategic vision of the nation is seen in the transition from the 2015 Sagar (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine to Mahasagar (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions).
The primary goal of Sagar was bolstering regional ties and ensuring collective maritime security, but the last decade has seen a great change in the strategic environment. Climate change, digital connectivity, resilient supply chains, renewable energy, food security, disaster preparedness and the blue economy are all directly related to maritime security today.
India has broadened its worldview through Mahasagar in response to these altering realities. This seeks to combine security with sustainable development and economic resilience rather than concentrating only on naval cooperation. Seychelles is one of the best illustrations of this comprehensive approach, where collaboration goes far beyond defence into digital governance, healthcare, renewable energy, fisheries, education, tourism, climate resilience and technological collaborations.
Cooperative efforts in maritime security
The creation of maritime surveillance and anti-piracy laws is a matter of national interest rather than internal politics. Hence, Seychelles formed a Supreme Court to prosecute suspected pirates, making it the first small island government to take such a step. However, the small nation cannot address the threat of piracy without multilateral action, including larger regional partners.
Together with anti-piracy escorts along the international transit avenues, the Indian Navy responded by continuing its mission-based deployment in the Gulf of Aden. It expands India’s operational reach by protecting the Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOCs) as a network security provider. India has set up the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region effort to better analyse, improve, and share real-time marine information. India had dispatched naval ships in 2009 on the country’s request to patrol the EEZ against piracy.
The battle of influence between India and China
Beijing has left a booming economic footprint, infrastructural investments, port facilities and intensifying naval activities in the Indian Ocean. It promises rapid infrastructure development due to centralised funding connected to state-owned businesses, which results in less involvement from local businesses and helps the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government to gain strategic leverage over the host nation.
On the other hand, India has positioned itself as a reliable partner by fusing military ties with development funds, institutional capacity building and technical expertise, rather than using huge infrastructural projects. Its strategy is essentially distinct, partner-oriented as well as concentrated on building human resources, local institutions and cooperation.
This will allow Seychelles to have independence and authority over the project gradually, which is not possible with China. Several Indian companies work in Seychelles, including Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Bank of Baroda, while the latter applies “small state agency” and diversifies its external partnerships to protect national interests.
Trade between India and Seychelles
India is a significant trading partner of Seychelles, supplying a variety of essential commodities. Rice, processed food products, cement, textiles, cotton, automobiles and transportation equipment, and pharmaceuticals alongside medical and surgical instruments are among India’s main exports to the country.
Official statistics show that bilateral commerce reached ₹703 crore or $84.88 million in 2023-2024, representing an almost 15% increase over the previous fiscal year. India’s imports from the Seychelles totalled ₹72 crore or $8.69 million, while its exports touched ₹631 crore or $76.19 million.
The current fiscal year has also seen consistent trade. The entire amount of bilateral trade between April 2024 and February 2025 was ₹617 crore or $72.92 million, of which ₹580 crore or $68.64 million came from Indian exports and ₹36 crore or $4.28 million from Seychelles imports.
Renewable energy and blue economy
Clean energy has appeared as another strong pillar of India-Seychelles collaboration. Seychelles strengthened its commitment to renewable energy by ratifying the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in 2017, making it one of its founding members.
Afterwards, the partnership has grown through several solar energy projects. A five-metric-ton solar-powered cold storage facility on Praslin Island was put into service by the island nation in October 2024 as part of an agreement made with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) during the Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt.
It is anticipated that the project will promote clean energy solutions and help with food preservation. The Quad Climate Initiative also plans three other renewable energy projects in the Seychelles, such as solar rooftop systems, solar pumps, and solar chillers, which will further improve collaboration in sustainable infrastructure.
A 1-megawatt (MW) solar facility was also commissioned by a grant from India in April 2021 via the ISA to aid the nation in transitioning from diesel dependence, stabilise grid costs, benefit local livelihoods and achieve broader sustainable development goals.
Similarly, the two countries have prioritised collaboration in the blue economy as well. A foundation for partnership in sustainable marine resource management, ocean-based economic development and environmental conservation was established by means of the “Blue Economy Protocol” during PM Modi’s initial visit to Seychelles. The nations have also continuously backed one another’s stances in international forums on sustainable development and climate change.
India and the Seychelles even have a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) that allows both countries to seek and share information that is reasonably relevant to the administration and enforcement of their respective domestic tax laws.
The attempts to counter the looming sword of climate change
For island nations like the Seychelles, climate change is not far off but rather a reality that will disturb their coastal settlements. The difficulties affecting fishing boats, trade, and tourism at the Port of Victoria were most effectively shown by the record rainfall in Mahe in 2023. The National Climate Change Strategy was adopted by the Seychellois government in recognition of its vulnerability to climate change.
Programs like the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust and the Sovereign Blue Bond were solely concerned with offering financial assistance and maritime governance. However, these efforts have continued to be limited.
Seaports are the primary lifeline for Seychelles and face coastal erosion, elevated sea levels and other such issues. Thus, Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS), which is India’s flagship project within the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), would use marine risk assessments planned for 2025-2027 to identify susceptible port-level facilities.
The intention is to offer expert guidance on early warning systems and flood defence techniques so the nation can be ready for future disasters. India protects vital infrastructure by strengthening the resilience of Seychelles ports with its resources.
Trust is the actual currency
India’s involvement has always focused on institution building, technical and economic cooperation, education, healthcare, capacity building, disaster relief, and human resource development, in contrast to transactional relationships that are mostly focused on infrastructure financing or military access.
Concerns regarding sovereignty and internal strife in the Seychelles were highlighted by the 2015 Assumption Island project, a cooperative coast guard base. India, however, showed patience and political awareness by refusing to allow this disagreement to harm the larger partnership. As a result, India’s reliability created “Trust Capital” that is more resilient than military access or infrastructure agreements.
Furthermore, India has assisted Seychelles, extending beyond just recent years. In June 1986, India used the INS Vindhyagiri at Victoria Port to thwart a coup attempt (Operation Flowers are Blooming), and in September of that year, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi lent President France-Albert Rene his personal aircraft during a second coup attempt.
Meanwhile, the ties have also been reinforced by the small, 13,000 to 15,000 but powerful Indian and Indo-Seychellois population.
Seychelles is vital for India’s grand scheme of affairs
Seychelles is very important for creating a stable, inclusive, rules-based maritime area based on trustworthy alliances rather than forceful supremacy. Thus, India has enhanced its credibility as a desirable partner for climate-vulnerable island states like the Seychelles by acting as a net security ally through its island diplomacy, maritime security and climate resilience programs.
It is striking a balance between strategic goals and local legitimacy by boosting support for the expansion of the blue economy and the security of the Seychelles. Therefore, New Delhi is implementing a civilisational maritime agenda through one of its most dependable Indian Ocean partners with this visit, which transcends conventional diplomacy.
The Odisha government led by CM Mohan Majhi is facing a major embarrassment after it was reported that the newly released government school textbooks by the SCERT, adapting the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in the Odisha Curriculum Framework, are full of mistakes and misinformation.
The school textbooks from class 1 to class 8 contain as many as 1678 errors of different magnitude, as per reports.
The mistakes range from spelling and grammatical errors to serious factual, scientific, and contextual inaccuracies. Class 8 textbooks reportedly contain the highest number of errors, around 705. Among the most glaring blunders are descriptions of Sir Isaac Newton as a “great pilot” instead of a scientist, and an anecdote claiming he boiled “water.”
In another textbook, a photograph of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has been wrongly captioned as the Odisha Assembly, while the Hampi temple complex in Karnataka is mislabelled as Odisha’s iconic Konark Sun Temple.
There are instances like placing Odisha’s Niyamgiri Hills in Jharkhand, labelling temperature as pressure, mixing up “food web” with “food cycle,” and even printing an Odia festival song in the English textbook.
A rather ‘viral’ mistake is seen in a Class 8 textbook for Art Education, named ‘Kruti’, where the Bollywood song Nimbuda Nimbuda is printed in Odia script. This, however, can be a slightly misleading claim because Nimbuda Nimbuda is a Rajasthani folk song, and the book actually features folk songs from other states too.
#WATCH | Bhubaneswar | In a major blunder, popular Bollywood song 'Nimbooda Nimbooda' from the film 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' starring Aishwarya Rai has reportedly been printed in a Class 5 English textbook.#Odishapic.twitter.com/heP1ALiEK1
Interestingly, the books were designed, approved, printed and distributed all over the state, among 40 lakh students, before students, parents and teachers started flagging the errors and started making videos and reels. At no point in the entire process of design, editing, approval, and printing were the mistakes identified by the concerned authorities or the state education department.
Textbook Errors
The committee constituted under the chairmanship of the Development Commissioner to inquire into errors in school textbooks has submitted its report to CM Mohan Charan Majhi.
Former Director of SCERT, Manoj Padhi, and three Assistant Directors suspended.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has ordered a high-level inquiry. A three-member committee headed by the Development Commissioner was constituted to identify officials responsible for the lapses and submit its report within seven days. The government has issued correction slips (corrigenda) to schools, directing teachers to verbally correct the mistakes during classes. However, the textbooks have not been withdrawn, as they have already been distributed. Education Minister Nityanand Gond has acknowledged that the books cannot be ‘replaced’ at this time because lakhs of books are already printed and distributed in schools.
On June 26, CM Mohan Majhi suspended 4 high-level officials, former SCERT director Manoj Padhi, and other senior officials Pralipta Mishra, Dilip Kumar Sahu and Bharati Tudu, for negligence. 6 more assistant directors in various departments under the Education Ministry are also facing disciplinary action. It is now being reported in Odia media that SCERT’s former director Manoj Padhi was already facing serious allegations of misconduct and corruption.
The government has promised action against those responsible, but that statement itself is raising further controversy in the state, as people are sharing videos to ask who all the government is going to hold responsible, as it is obvious that a fiasco at this scale must involve mistakes by dozens of people at all levels, displaying gross negligence and lack of responsibility.
Additionally, the government has tried to claim that the entire textbook fiasco is a ‘conspiracy’ against the state government, triggering further condemnation and criticism.
