The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off at midnight on June 12th, and before a single trophy is lifted, 48 countries are engaged in combat that will never be properly captured on television. In the longest and largest World Cup in history, it is a battle against thin air and scorching heat, jet lag and physical clocks gone crazy, a football that plays somewhat differently depending on where the ball is kicked, and the unseen weight of overall tiredness. The teams of the major footballing powers are loaded with talent, yet geography may outweigh talent. Your football pundit may be just as important in this event as your striker.
Two kilometres aloft and breathing through a straw
In just a few hours, Mexico and South Africa will walk out of the tunnel at the Estadio Azteca at an altitude of almost 2,240 meters above sea level, which is higher than most players on the planet ever practice or play and three times higher than almost every major European league stadium. For visiting teams, Mexico City is more than just a venue; it’s a gradual, physiological battle.
The human body does not simply accept that the air at that altitude contains about 20% less oxygen with each breath than it does at sea level. The ability to maintain the short, powerful sprinting pace that characterises modern international football, the pressing, the recovery runs, and quick speeds, declines measurably; the heart rate spikes faster at the same running speed, and muscles burn out more quickly. Players at altitude experience ‘a faster onset of fatigue, higher heart rates at any given running intensity, and a reduced capacity to sustain the high intensity efforts that define modern international football,’ according to Sam Shepherd, head of sports science at Precision Fuel & Hydration, who spoke with the Associated Press this week. Playing here is like attempting to sprint while breathing through a small straw, to put it simply. In a nutshell, you can do it. However, you can’t do it for ninety minutes as you could at sea level.
It goes without saying that Mexico has been breathing this thin air for many centuries. Their players were raised here, their Liga MX clubs train here, and their bodies are physically built to maximise performance from each shortened breath. Mexico’s deepest World Cup runs have always occurred on home soil, as Mexican football commissioner Mikel Arriola pointed out this week. Both 1970 and 1986 yielded quarter-final berths, and both were played under similar circumstances. Many historians consider the 1970 tournament to be the best ever, but it also served as a warning to European teams. Czechoslovakia lost all three of its group-stage matches at altitude because their lungs didn’t seem to adjust to Mexico City’s thin air.
Although the science of altitude acclimatisation has advanced significantly since 1970, the basic strain it causes remains the same. If you arrive too early, your body will experience an acclimatisation crisis in the middle of the tournament, which is a period of time when you feel truly terrible, nauseous, and breathless. If you arrive too late, your body will still be in shock when you play. According to pre-tournament coverage by the Associated Press, sports scientists generally advise two opposing strategies. The ‘fly-in, fly-out‘ approach, which involves arriving less than 36 hours before kickoff, playing the game while the body has not yet started its energy depleting adaptation response, and then returning quickly, or a prolonged stay of at least two weeks prior to a high altitude match, which gives the body time to stimulate the natural production of extra red blood cells and begin truly adapting.
The fly-in strategy makes sense for a single game. It becomes alarmingly unsuitable for a month-long competition with possible rematches at altitude. Pachuca, a Mexican city situated even higher than the capital at about 2,500 meters, was chosen by South Africa as their tournament base camp. They arrived more than a week ago with the express purpose of inducing the red blood cell response prior to today’s opening match. It’s a risk, because more altitude puts additional strain on the body before a big game, but it’s also an indication of astute, progressive preparation from a country that most people still underestimate. Teams that come to Mexico City unprepared will not only lose a game, but their players’ physical health could be affected for weeks.
When heat piles on top of altitude
Teams competing in this tournament face a variety of environmental monsters, including altitude. The hardship just takes on a different form when you fly north into the United States. Houston had wet bulb globe temperature readings above 30°C on almost three-quarters of June and July days over the previous ten years, according to a Financial Times analysis quoted by research group rg.org. The parameter that truly predicts risk for those exercising outside is wet bulb globe temperature, which takes into consideration wind, humidity, and sun radiation in addition to air temperature. Readings above 28°C are deemed potentially hazardous.
According to a pre-tournament study by Climate Central, 14 of the 16 World Cup venues are experiencing notably higher temperatures in June and July than they did during the previous North American World Cup in 1970. This statistic quietly impacts the physical environment of the whole tournament.
During the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which took place in many of the same American locations, we witnessed firsthand what this type of heat causes to professional football players. Igor Tudor, the manager of Juventus, disclosed that during a single game in Miami, where temperatures reached 30°C and 70% humidity, ten of his players asked to be substituted. Enzo Fernández of Chelsea called the atmosphere quite risky and observed that the whole thing becomes very tedious. With specialised cooling vests, cooling palm equipment on the bench, and specific hydrating plans based on each player’s unique perspiration rate, the team that effectively manages its heat stress will be in a healthier state physically than a team that depends solely on skill in the final moments of tight games. According to reports, England has pre-acclimatised their team using heated training tents, a strategy taken from cycling and athletics that streamlines weeks of heat adaptation into regulated, guided training sessions.
The ball, the physics, and the unseen variable
The behaviour of the football itself varies depending on the location of this competition. Aerodynamics researchers John Goff, Takeshi Asai, and colleagues examined the Trionda, this year’s official match ball and the first four-panel ball in men’s World Cup football, at the University of Tsukuba in wind tunnel tests that were reported in The Conversation. Set piece (free kicks, corners, and penalties) professionals might gain insight from their insights, which show a ball with a more stable, predictable drag coefficient at the speeds typically associated with free kicks and corner kicks.
But that already fast-moving ball gets considerably faster at altitude, where thinner air further reduces aerodynamic drag. It crosses the penalty area faster than goalkeepers who are conditioned for sea level and bends in slightly different arcs. Adidas assessed the Trionda in seven host cities, including the altitude of Mexico City and the humidity of coastal America, demonstrating that these are quantifiable, practical variations rather than speculative worries. Today at the Azteca, the goalkeeper who hasn’t trained especially for high altitude conditions is effectively up against a little different projectile than the one they were practising against at home.
Why is fatigue the tournament’s dark horse?
The way these challenges pile on top of one another over the course of six weeks and 104 matches in three different countries that are thousands of kilometres apart may be the most overlooked difficulty of 2026. A team can play a match at sea level in Miami, one of the World Cup’s most hot and humid locations, or travel across four different time zones to Vancouver, Canada, adapting their sleeping habits and recovery processes to a body clock that feels, as one sports scientist famously put it, like ‘feeling stuck in yesterday,’ before facing a high altitude game in Guadalajara, which is located at 1,566 meters and will also require sufficient acclimatisation, according to the AP’s pre-tournament coverage.
In his analysis for Bloomberg, senior lecturer Donal Mullan of Queen’s University Belfast, who co-authored a 2025 study on the World Cup’s heat schedule, was straightforward, ‘That heat loop builds up over time, that fatigue.’ With every week that goes by, the accumulated physiological strain from heat, altitude, sleep disturbances, and constant travel builds up in a way that no single session of training or recovery period can completely erase.
The hidden edge
Smaller, better-organised countries may find success in this area. A national team with a well-rounded medical and performance team, integrated doctors, physiologists, nutritionists, and sleep specialists working as an integrated unit around an easily manageable squad, can handle these pressures far more accurately than a highly talented European squad arriving from various club environments with a disorganised preparation and six weeks of Champions League fatigue already in their legs. This theory is supported by history, teams with metabolic advantages, nations whose players grew up at an average elevation, whose preparation was tailored to the environment, or whose backroom staff members anticipated the specific demands of their bodies months in advance tend to dominate their groups and cause major upsets at every World Cup staged at scorching heat or thin air atmosphere.
What to watch for in the first week
Today’s first game provides you with the perfect evaluation environment. Pay particular attention to South Africa’s attacking tempo and sprint recovery during the second half. They will stay in condition until the middle of the second half, if their preparation at Pachuca had been sufficient. If not, you’ll watch a team that played superbly in the first half before clearly losing the ability to do so. On every long-range free kick at the Azteca, keep an eye out for Trionda’s flight. Any delivery that gets past a goalkeeper who underestimated the speed should be related as much to aerodynamics as to skill. Additionally, during the first week of the tournament, observe which teams from temperate zones show up in American towns appearing lethargic in the second half of their opening game. This is because they are the teams whose physio staff lost the first match before any official match went into play.
There will be more than simply 48 teams fighting on the field in the 2026 World Cup. There are 48 teams competing against the entire continent, and the backroom staff is working quietly and unglamorously to keep players healthy and productive in circumstances that no Champions League season has ever prepared them for. The best preparation will result in the best football, beginning today.
In a major boost to India’s defence manufacturing capabilities, India’s C-295 military aircraft completed its maiden flight, as confirmed by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday (10th June). The IAF congratulated the entire team behind the successful maiden flight of the aircraft. “The achievement reinforces India’s growing aerospace capabilities and underscores the Indian Air Force commitment to fostering indigenous defence capability under the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” the IAF said in a message posted on X.
The Indian Air Force congratulates the entire team behind the successful maiden flight of the first India-made C-295.
The achievement reinforces India's growing aerospace capabilities and underscores the Indian Air Force commitment to fostering indigenous defence capability… pic.twitter.com/tsU0dQUdi5
As per reports, IAF is in the process of procuring 56 units of C-295 aircraft at a cost of around ₹21,935 crore. 40 of these aircraft will be assembled Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) in cooperation with Airbus at a Final Assembly Line (FAL) facility in Vadodara, Gujarat, which is the country’s first private-sector military aircraft assembly facility.
Hailing the development, Airbus Defence described the development as a “milestone for Indian aviation and defence” and a “game changer in the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ vision”.
The first 'Made in India' Airbus C295 military transport aircraft has conducted its first test flight from the Final Assembly Line in Vadodara 🇮🇳, marking a milestone for Indian aviation and defence. This maiden test flight is a crucial step in the aircraft's post production… pic.twitter.com/nPkjpIENkD
“This maiden test flight is a crucial step in the aircraft’s post-production testing process. As the first of 40 aircraft to be built in India, the test flight advances the programme’s objective of delivering the first ‘Made in India’ C295 aircraft this year to the Indian Air Force. A game changer in the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ vision, the C295 India programme is the first instance of a military aircraft being manufactured in India by the private sector. The programme’s progress reflects the steady and dedicated work of Airbus, Tata Advanced Systems Limited and several Indian MSMEs, which are manufacturing parts for the aircraft across India,” Airbus Defence wrote on X.
C-295 to replace IAF’s AVRO 748 fleet
India signed a historic deal worth ₹21,935 crore in September 2021 with Airbus Defence and Space (Spain) to acquire 56 C-295MW medium tactical transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Under the deal, 40 of these aircraft were to be manufactured in India.
The deal followed years of evaluation and negotiations by the Indian government to be finally concluded on September 20, 2021. It was structured under India’s “Strategic Partnership” model, which encourages private sector participation in defence manufacturing. 16 of the C-295 aircraft were delivered in ‘fly-away’ condition by Airbus from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain, last year. The remaining 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by TASL at the Vadodara FAL facility, under an industrial partnership. Notably, the Vadodara FAL was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in October 2024.
How C-295 will enhance India’s defence capabilities
The C-295 aircraft were required to replace the IAF’s ageing AVRO 748 fleet, which has been in service since the early 1960s. The aircraft will also take the place of AN-32 planes, which have seen several accidents in the past. The AN-32 is not fit to fly in difficult terrain in the North East, and the C-295 will play a crucial role near the Chinese border.
The IAF currently operates 57 Hawker Siddeley HS 748 aircraft, originally designed by the British company Avro and manufactured under licence by HAL in India. However, the aircraft is being phased out of service by the IAF. Notably, the HAL had proposed to upgrade the HS 748 Avro fleet to modernise it, but the offer was rejected by the IAF. The reason for the rejection was that the aircraft lacked crucial features needed in modern military transport planes. For example, the lack of a rear ramp door in the Avro aircraft means that it can’t be used to transport military equipment for logistical support, and has largely been used for troop and VVIP movement.
C-295 aircraft fits the requirement. It is a twin-turboprop transport aircraft with a 5-10 Tonne capacity and contemporary technology. The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and parachute dropping of troops and cargo. After the induction of all 56 units of C-295, the IAF will become the largest operator of the aircraft.
India currently operates several different military transport aircraft. Apart from the British plane HS 748 Avro and Ukraine-made AN-32, the IAF operates Soviet-made Ilyushin Il-76, and American large transport planes Boeing C-17 Globemaster and C-130J Super Hercules.
In an age where social media rewards outrage more than understanding, it takes only one individual looking for attention to manufacture a controversy out of thin air. Earlier this month, social media influencer Prasad Vedpathak did precisely that when he attempted to whip up outrage over a white pathway painted in a Mumbai housing society for the convenience of Jain monks.
What could have remained a simple conversation about a religious accommodation rooted in centuries-old traditions was transformed into a communal flashpoint after Vedpathak chose to describe the practice as “Jain Jihad”, a loaded and provocative phrase that immediately invited backlash from Jains and non-Jains alike.
Source: X
The controversy once again raised an important question: Who exactly is Prasad Vedpathak, and why is he attacking Jains over a practice that is rooted in compassion and humanity?
How a white pathway became “Jain Jihad”
The controversy began when Vedpathak posted videos from a housing society in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area, objecting to white-coated pathways created to facilitate the movement of Jain monks.
For those unfamiliar with Jain traditions, Jain monks often travel barefoot and follow extremely strict principles of non-violence and asceticism. White coatings are sometimes applied temporarily on pathways during peak summer months to keep surfaces cooler and make walking easier for monks.
In the monsoon season, cement pathways often become covered with algae. According to Jain philosophy, algae are not inert growths but living entities that contain countless microscopic organisms. Since Jain monks dedicate their lives to the principle of ahimsa (non-violence) towards all living beings, they avoid walking on algae as doing so would inevitably harm or destroy the organisms residing within it.
This is also one of the reasons why sections of pathways are often coated with white paint or whitewash. Apart from helping keep the surface cooler for barefoot monks during summer, the coating also inhibits algae growth during the monsoon. The objective is not exclusivity, segregation, or territorial marking, as Vedpathak and others attempted to insinuate, but ensuring that Jain monks can travel safely and continue their religious practice of visiting households for gochari (seeking food) without unintentionally causing harm to living organisms.
In other words, what Vedpathak portrayed as some sinister assertion of religious dominance was, in reality, an expression of one of Jainism’s most fundamental principles: compassion towards even the smallest forms of life.
Rather than first attempting to understand the custom, Vedpathak labelled the practice “Jain Jihad”, an inflammatory term designed to provoke outrage and rally support against Jains from non-Muslims.
Responding to his claims, several social media users, including Jain community members, explained the purpose behind the practice. A social media user tried to explain the Jain tradition of having a white pathway in society. The video could be viewed below:
Yet, despite receiving explanations, Vedpathak persisted in portraying the issue as one involving “territorial assertion”, “religious politics”, and alleged encroachment by the Jain community.
He eventually got the pathway painted that appeared even more jarring. But by then, the objective appeared to have been achieved: claim a symbolic victory, portray himself as the aggrieved party, and keep the controversy alive for continued attention and engagement.
Playing victim after fanning the flames
As criticism mounted against his remarks, Vedpathak suddenly adopted a different tone.
In a lengthy social media post, he claimed that he had always admired Jainism for its compassion, humility and non-violence. He appealed to Jain followers to show empathy towards residents allegedly hurt by the white pathway.
However, the statement conspicuously avoided addressing the central issue: why did he choose to target Jains as ‘hegemons’ and label a harmless religious custom as “Jain Jihad” in the first place?
Even while claiming respect for Jainism, Vedpathak continued to insinuate that the pathway represented a form of religious assertion and repeatedly suggested that Jains were imposing themselves upon others.
The contradiction was hard to miss.
If the issue was merely about society’s consent, why invoke language specifically designed to provoke communal reactions?
Attempting to rally Hindus against Jains
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the controversy was Vedpathak’s apparent effort to frame the issue as one involving “ordinary Maharashtrians” versus Jains.
Through videos, captions and repeated social media commentary, he attempted to portray Jains as a powerful community allegedly exercising disproportionate influence.
The messaging resonated with some habitual social media bigots who quickly amplified the narrative.
One such individual was controversial ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad, who was arrested by the Gujarat ATS in 2022 in a case of forgery, influencing witnesses, and the investigation of the Gujarat riots in 2002 that occurred after 59 Hindus were burned to death in a train in Godhra.
Weighing on the white pathway row, Setalvad astonishingly suggested that Jains were becoming “new hegemons” and acting against Mumbaikars.
Jains constitute barely 0.4 per cent of India’s population. Yet, according to the same ecosystem that routinely dismisses concerns about Islamism and Muslim supremacism as products of a majoritarian imagination, this tiny community has suddenly been cast as a threat to social harmony. When objections are raised to land encroachments, coercive conversion attempts, or cases involving religiously motivated targeting of Hindu women, activists such as Teesta Setalvad are often quick to portray Muslims as victims of majoritarian prejudice. But when it comes to Jains, the narrative is reversed: a small minority community is vilified for adhering to a centuries-old tradition rooted in ahimsa, compassion, and respect for all forms of life.
The entire episode, from Vedpathak’s unwarranted targeting of the white pathway to the subsequent attempts to portray Jains as oppressors, carried the unmistakable signs of a manufactured campaign aimed at driving a wedge between Jains and the broader Hindu society.
Vedpathak’s refusal to call out Islamic Jihad underpinning the Pahalgam terror attack
Vedpathak’s selective outrage becomes even more apparent when contrasted with his reaction to the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, in which Pakistani terrorists identified tourists by their religion before murdering them.
Rather than calling out the Islamist Jihadist ideology that underpins such acts of targeted violence, Vedpathak chose to sermonise about unity, cautioning people against discussing the Hindu identity of the victims and arguing that those doing so were merely advancing the terrorists’ agenda.
He urged citizens to “hold those responsible for our security accountable” and portrayed the attack primarily as a governance failure rather than an expression of religiously motivated hatred.
The contrast is striking. When terrorists singled out Indians for being Hindu, Vedpathak echoed familiar liberal platitudes about avoiding communal discourse and focusing on administrative accountability. But when confronted with a harmless Jain religious accommodation rooted in ahimsa, he had no hesitation in branding it “Jain Jihad” and portraying a tiny minority community as a social menace.
The inconsistency suggests that Vedpathak’s positions are guided less by principle than by whichever narrative is most likely to generate outrage and engagement at a given moment.
Not the first time Vedpathak has targeted Jain traditions
Interestingly, the white pathway controversy was not Vedpathak’s first confrontation with Jain customs.
In April 2025, he publicly complained after visiting the famous Ranakpur Jain Temple. Vedpathak expressed outrage that visitors were required to remove leather items such as belts and wallets before entering the temple.
He was also unhappy with the temple’s rule regarding the entry of menstruating women. Yet neither of these practices is unusual within Jain religious traditions.
The prohibition on leather products stems directly from Jainism’s foundational principle of ahimsa, or non-violence towards living beings. Similar restrictions exist in numerous religious institutions across faiths.
Similarly, the Jain Agamas, the most authoritative scriptures in Jainism, prescribe that menstruating women should refrain from entering temple premises. This is not a practice unique to the Ranakpur temple; it is a long-standing religious norm observed across Jain temples worldwide. While the degree of enforcement may vary from place to place, the underlying principle is rooted in traditional Jain religious doctrine rather than any temple-specific rule.
Instead of understanding the theological basis behind these customs, Vedpathak once again chose public outrage.
One can reasonably infer that Vedpathak was attempting to manufacture a controversy by provoking self-described feminists into taking offence at the restriction. However, the effort failed to gain any meaningful traction at the time. In hindsight, though, the episode appears to fit into a broader pattern, suggesting that Vedpathak has been targeting Jain religious practices and traditions for quite some time.
The Hindu activist who dislikes idol worship
What makes Vedpathak’s self-branding particularly interesting is his frequent attempt to position himself as a defender of Hindu interests.
Yet his own social media history tells a rather different story.
In one widely circulated post, Vedpathak expressed anger after being gifted a Ganesh mural, declaring that he did not believe in idol worship.
“Remember you gifted me a Ganpati mural even after knowing that I don’t believe in idol worship,” he wrote while attacking another user.
Idol worship is central to the religious practice of hundreds of millions of Hindus.
Yet the same individual who now claims that a white pathway hurt his family’s religious sentiments appears to have no hesitation in expressing disdain for practices cherished by large sections of Hindus.
Beef enthusiast a Hindu sentiment crusader?
Vedpathak’s social media history also contains posts in which he openly speaks about consuming beef, which is considered a taboo by an overwhelming section of the Hindu society.
In one post, he asked followers for suggestions regarding having a “Beef and Bacon Burger.”
While Vedpathak has attempted to present himself as a champion of Hindu sentiments, he has repeatedly displayed contempt for beliefs and practices regarded as sacred by many Hindus.
A Dhruv Rathee admirer
Vedpathak’s ideological influences are hardly a mystery. In April 2024, he shared an old interview with Germany-based pro-AAP propagandist Dhruv Rathee and described him as the future of Indian media.
This is noteworthy because Rathee and the ecosystem surrounding him are notorious for promoting diabolical narratives that divide sections of Hindu society while presenting themselves as neutral commentators.
Vedpathak’s conduct during the Jain pathway controversy follows a remarkably similar pattern: identify a sensitive issue, frame it in the most provocative way possible, generate outrage, and then portray oneself as a victim once criticism mounts.
Outrage as a business model
Viewed in isolation, the white pathway controversy might appear trivial. Viewed alongside Vedpathak’s past conduct, a pattern emerges.
A harmless Jain tradition becomes “Jain Jihad”. Temple customs become evidence of discrimination. A gift featuring Lord Ganesha becomes a source of anger.
Religious sentiments become selectively invoked depending on what generates engagement.
The common thread is not principle. It is attention.
As outrage increasingly becomes a monetisable commodity on social media, influencers often find themselves incentivised to manufacture controversy where none exists. The more divisive the claim, the greater the engagement.
The Jain pathway episode appears to fit squarely within that template.
Rather than seeking understanding, Vedpathak chose provocation. Rather than learning about a centuries-old tradition rooted in compassion and non-violence, he attempted to portray it as a communal threat. And when the backlash arrived, he attempted to recast himself as the aggrieved party.
From attacking idol worship to flaunting beef consumption while simultaneously projecting himself as a defender of Hindu sentiment, Prasad Vedpathak’s public record suggests not a principled activist but a habitual rage-baiter willing to manufacture controversy for clicks, followers and relevance.
The white pathway may have disappeared from the society. The attempt to create suspicion and resentment against an entire community, however, revealed far more about Vedpathak than it ever did about the Jains.
“Rs 370 ki biryani” spoken during an audience interaction at a stand-up comedy show, has sparked a broader discussion regarding consent, forced intimacy and revealed unsettling details of a pervasive patriarchal mindset that reduces the opposite gender to mere sexual objects, while simultaneously endorsing toxic, misogynistic and unsafe behaviours.
The uproar began after a video of a young man named Himanshu Jangra narrating his dating experience during a crowd work session in comedian and ex-Bigg Boss contestant Pranit More’s show went viral on social media.
The 23-year-old suggested that he was entitled to a sexual favour in exchange for spending Rs 370 for chicken biryani. He recounted that the girl asked him to drop her off, but he did not want to because, “Maine kaha ki Rs 370 lage hain toh wasool toh karunga. (I have invested 370 in her and I will recover the amount).”
The statement, rather than encountering any sign of opposition, was welcomed with resounding applause from an eager audience as More merrily responded, “Peak Gurgaon content. Kha gayi mere paise. (She consumed my money).” Encouraged by the thunderous reception, Jangra revealed that he contemplated taking her to his room but hesitated, as it would seem “awkward” to pursue a sexual encounter after just one date.
Hence, he figured out an alternative method to execute his deviant plan and brought her to a park that was largely shrouded in darkness, offering minimal visibility. He stated, “I asked her to sit in the park for a short period so we could enjoy each other’s company for some time. She wished to leave, ve but I told her to stay for only half an hour.”
Afterwards, what could only be described as the most horrifying moments of his confession occurred, where Jangra demonstrated how he tried to sexually exploit her while More and others laughed, giggled and hooted in excitement. He utilised his friend, who was seated beside him,m to recreate the uncomfortable scene as More egged him on.
Jangra conveyed, “She clasped my hand (in a bid to halt him) and expressed that we are friends.” He then claimed that she gave him a cue to kiss her and added, “I was already charged,” as the 35-year-old comedian helpfully supplied, “Because you have suffered a loss of 370. Only Rs 12 have been collected in return so far.”
Jangra recalled that he was not relishing the kiss. Hence, he put his hand inside her leggings as More chanted “Lyra Lyr, a” and the former added that his hand also went inside her top. He informed, “Afterwards I dropped her off, but I was upset because I could not do it completely,” as More quipped, “You have recovered Rs 185.”
The place roared with raucous laughter and clapping when Jangra expressed how he had violated her modesty, graphically outlining it just for the sordid pleasure. He highlighted that the two met each other after a few days on a Tuesday when she arrived at his room.
She requested payment for her Rapido ride, and Jangra complained, “I could not recover my initial amount, and I had to pay more money,” to which More also agreed. The former again disclosed the private moments and stated that she rejected his advance,s much to his frustration, but he continued to press her against her will.
On the other hand, More joyfully noted the audience’s enthusiasm for the nauseating account, pointing out that it was the first time they had given a standing ovation to someone sitting amongst them. Expletives, sexual innuendos, vulgarity, sexism, objectionable conduct, alongside a thrilled host and audience who continuously hailed Jangra pervaded the whole interaction.
The furious netizens react
The clip blew up on the internet,rnet eliciting intense reactions from people who pointed out that the girl had clearly communicated her reluctance multiple times, but Jangra chose to disregard this in a revolting display to seek sexual gratification. Similarly, More and the audience appeared to revel in the glaring discomfort of a female and a potential sexual assault she could have experienced at the hands of her date.
A person remarked that Jangra was punished for the wrongdoing. However, More, who is significantly older, rewarded him instead of reprimanding and questioned, “How can peeps still watch his show? This is his pattern. Every time he gets away with it. He also needs some belt treatment worse than this boy.” He intentionally focused on Jangra and demanded further details for the sake of content.
He did wrong & got punished. What about #PranitMore This boy is 22 but Pranit is 36 years old who rewarded him instead of rebuking. How can peeps still watch his show? This is his pattern. Every time he gets away with it. He also needs some belt treatment worse than this boy. https://t.co/6pd7jQwTVapic.twitter.com/8UJR46rJ6a
A social media user accused More and his fans of promoting and celebrating misogyny.
—people like pranit more give these fckers a platform to celebrate misogyny and fans like pranit more's celebrate him in comment sections— pic.twitter.com/xbOZ9HxKYQ
Furthermore, the digital footprints have once more proven to possess more extensive repercussions, resulting in Jangra’s termination from his employment. He is a web developer who worked for a social media and branding firm, Starvik Design, in Gurugram.
“What happened outside the workplace has now affected the workplace. I have a responsibility towards the company, our team, our clients and the environment we create here. That’s why we have decided to part ways with Himanshu,”declared its founder, Vivek Vishwakarma. Jagran has issued an apology and has deactivated his account, but the backlash seems unlikely to subside anytime soon.
Meanwhile, the footage exposed a man who believes that spending money (irrespective of the amount) on a woman grants him a right over her body. How can females who have to work, study, or participate in any activity with such an individual ever feel secure? This kind of mentality only exacerbates the threat of sexual assault and rape towards women in a nation like India, which is afflicted by an overwhelming number of these instances.
Women feel terrified to step outside their homes, and those with such dangerous intentions and a cheap outlook can conveniently misinterpret anything as an excuse to target them and, importantly, most times these predators do not even need an excuse. They have reduced women to mere sexual objects intended for pleasure, and thus, their inconsequential objections are of no concern, specifically if an “investment” has been made in them.
This is the reason that sexual harassment has been reduced to a punchline in the nation,n and consent has no relevance. The vile comedian and the ecstatic audience are also aspects of the same problem,m as they deem women as commodities rather than as human beings with agency.
The acute deterioration
The incident has shed light on the larger pattern of similar episodes, which are frequently passed off as humour and entertainment. The conversation between Jangra and More is an extension of this troubling and widespread trend that is plaguing the genre. The leading figures in today’s comedy landscape have, in fact, utilised crass jokes not only to carve out their niche but to shape their entire careers around such distasteful material.
Comedian Tanmay Bhat, co-founder of now-defunct All India B*kc*od (AIB), has a history of creating problematic content. He was even removed from a campaign by Kotak Mahindra Bank after netizens criticised the decision due to his track record.
Bhatt not only made a mockery of icons like Lata Mangeshkar but also trivialised the sensitive subject of child rape in a deeply derogatory fashion. He exhibited extremely repugnant and pedophilic behaviour, ranging from telling Parsi youngsters to “sl*t it up and f**k more” to basking in a sadistic amusement of viewing naked photos of little girls.
Bhat also used a racist slur, “chi*ki,” in relation to a Northeastern man in an overly nasty tweet in 2012.
AIB, whose name should act as a cautionary indicator of the nature of content it offered to people,e including impressionable young minds, ds had to shut down their operations in May 2019. It was created by Bhat, Gursimran Khamba, Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya.
The group regularly landed in massive controversies for their provocative videos, which included a particularly crude Bollywood roast featuring actors like Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and filmmaker Karan Johar. The event was attended by popular personalities from the industry, such as Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt.
AIB members,s including Bhat and Kham, ba were even accused of sexual harassment and turning a blind eye to similar actions perpetrated by other members of their team, especially against minors. However, Bhat continues to run a popular YouTube channel and continues to be associated with OTT (Over-The-Top) giants like Netflix.
Harsh Gujral, whose rise in the comedy scene was propelled by a highly insulting remark directed at women, especially Russians, exemplifies the same. His statement, “6000 mein toh Russian aa jaati hai (You can get a Russian for Rs 6,000),” which was part of his commentary on the costs of an Indian wedding,s went viral six years ago on his official channel, helping him to establish a career while simultaneously reinforcing abhorrent stereotypes against women.
Last year, YouTuber named Mithilesh Backpacker unveiled that some men started to stalk his Russian wife, Lisa and 2-year-old son during their visit to Udaipur and asked her, “6,000 INR?” They harassed his wife,e leading to a confrontation between the two sides. The instance was captured on camera,ra illustrating the far-reaching and tangible effects of these “comedy routines.”
Samay Raina, who presents himself as a dark comedian, gained prominence with his show “India’s Got Latent,” which he uploaded on his official YouTube channel. It was later taken down following disparaging utterances of influencer Apoorva Mukhija, alias Rebel Kid, and fellow YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia involving parents and sex when they appeared as guests on an episode.
The entire show, however, was similarly abundant with demeaning material from both contestants and guests. In 2025, the Supreme Court had to instruct him and five others to apologise for their distasteful comments about persons with disabilities, which were made during the show. Moreover, Raina is already infamous for using expletives and offensive “jokes” during his performances and otherwise.
“Parso maine aadha ghanta sochke meri girlfriend pe ek funny tweet likha tha, usko pasand nahi aaya toh usne delete karwa diya, kal ko jabh mai abortion karwaane bolu tabh mat bolna my body my choice. (I dedicated 30 minutes to craft a funny tweet about my girlfriend, but she did not like it and forced me to delete it. Tomorrow, if I ask her to terminate the pregnancy, do not respond with my body, my choice,” he wrote in 222, sparking outrage. However, he insisted on his right to produce dark and edgy humour despite the criticism.
More who provided a platform to Jangra to perpetuate his filthy mindset has a similar history under the guise of comedy. During the same show, he asked another person to talk about his friend’s equally disgusting encounter with an alleged sex worker, which was also delivered in vivid detail to the captivated audience.
More in a distinct show pushed a married man to discuss his physical affairs and partners before shamelessly dragging the latter’s wife into the same conversation. Furthermore, porn seems to be a preferred theme during these interactions, as he pressed an uncomfortable female audience member to share her favourite “category.” Ironically, even Bigg Boss host Salman Khan had warned More against passing “below the belt” comments in the name of comedy.
The broader picture
Jangra may have lost his job, but the reality is that this will not lead to any fundamental change, neither in the perceptions of those who appreciate such content nor among the comedians who have been its longstanding flagbearers. Raina, Bhat, Gujral, Pranit and other members of this clique, who have been creating this content, are showered with ample opportunities and greater platforms. Major corporations and online platforms offer substantial amounts to hire them for gigs and events.
They even manage to sell out venues internationally. They are regarded as idols and role models, particularly by the youth. The current row is just a blip and will quickly be forgotten, much like the uproar against “India’s Got Latent”, whose second season has been announced by Raina. Far from course-correcting, Raina appeared to have gained more confidence in his fan base following the incident.
However, it would be dishonest and incorrect to solely blame them, as the general public, brands, and organisations are all responsible for appreciating, rewarding, and promoting problematic content in the name of humour. They are a key factor in the popularity and continuation of such reprehensible content. Therefore, these “comedians” will continue to be relevant, and the cycle will persist until a seismic change occurs in this system.
When watching the final whistle of a group stage match or holding their breath during a penalty shootout, almost no one takes into account this detail, every single moment of brilliance, every knuckling free kick that bends around a wall, every goalkeeper’s desperate dive, and every striker’s celebration that lights up a stadium, all of it is carried by the same object, which is about 22 centimetres across and weighs no more than 450 grams, travelling at speeds that would be too quick for most people’s eyes.
The ball is the real star of the game, the one constant in a competition played in many cities, climates, altitudes, and cultural contexts. However, for the majority of football’s history, the ball had no stable identity at all. There wasn’t a single official FIFA World Cup match ball prior to 1970. Within the same event, different vendors, matches, and specifications may exist. Any farmer will tell you that leather absorbs water rapidly, which is why early balls were made almost entirely out of leather.
In the days of leather and water, heading the ball was not only painful to the body but also a small-scale version of roulette. In 1970, FIFA awarded Adidas a contract that would alter football’s history and create some of the most fascinating chapters in the history of sport, science, and culture that the modern world has ever witnessed against this backdrop of stunning but delightfully inconsistent chaos.
Telstar: Born from a satellite, designed for a black and white screen
By all accounts, the 1970 World Cup in Mexico marked a turning point for football as a worldwide spectacle because, for the first time, the competition aired live to viewers across continents. Not only that, but the majority of the broadcasts were black and white, making it impossible to tell the difference between the traditional brown leather ball and the green grass of the field. In response to this challenge, Adidas came up with a design choice that has been the universal shorthand for the concept of football for more than fifty years, thirty-two panels arranged in a truncated icosahedron, consisting of twelve black pentagons and twenty white hexagons, that produced stark, high contrast visibility even on the grainiest monochrome screen.
The ball’s name, Telstar, originated from the word combination ‘Television Star,’ according to NASA science archives. However, both its name and its unique patterning style were similar to those of the Telstar communications satellite, which NASA had deployed in 1962. The solar panel hull of the first operational commercial communications satellite in space bore a striking visual resemblance to the chequered geometry of the ball. This coincidence was so poetic that no one has been engaged in debating whether it was a coincidence, either back then or now.
The Durlast polyurethane coating, a thin plastic layer added to the leather panels that significantly increased durability and water resistance, was first used on the Telstar. It was produced using a 32-panel truncated icosahedron construction with an interior latex rubber bladder instead of the traditional animal tissue alternatives. It was taken from the mathematical field of geodesic geometry, where it was known as a Buckminster Fullerene-style structure long before it was known as a football shape. According to the Adidas Group’s history, it became the nearly universal visual symbol for a football across all subsequent art, cartoons, and signage, regardless of whether actual footballs maintained that design.
The Tango years: Elegance, waterproofing and the design that refused to leave
Adidas created the Telstar Durlast for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, improving the polyurethane coating and introducing significant advancements in seam technology. In addition, 1974 was noteworthy because, according to the Adidas archive, it was the first World Cup where match balls were allowed to display names and logos, a minor modification that represented football’s expanding commercial machinery. Adidas debuted the Tango in 1978, when Argentina was hosting a Globe Cup amid political unrest and intense football passion that the globe could not ignore.
Named for the dance most closely connected with the Argentine spirit, the ball’s visual design consists of twenty similar panels, each with a curving triad pattern that, when combined, generates twelve apparent circles over the surface. The pattern is both rhythmic and graceful. It was so popular that it was used in five World Cups in a row, with each successive version maintaining that unique look while enhancing seam quality, water resistance, and synthetic content. A true manufacturing evolution, the Tango España of 1982 included rubber lining over seams to stop water infiltration while keeping a large number of leather components. Made for Mexico’s second World Cup in 1986, the Azteca was the first ball made completely of synthetic materials, doing away with leather completely and symbolising the shift from traditional craft to material-based technology.
Balls like the Etrusco Unico, Questra, Tricolore, and Fevernova all made significant advancements during the 1990s. The Questra added layers of polyurethane foam to improve energy transfer and shock absorption, which meant that a kicked ball returned more of its kinetic energy during impact. The Tricolore of 1998 was one of the first official match balls to be prominently multicoloured, subtly inspired by the French tricolour for the tournament held in France. The Fevernova of 2002 introduced vibrant triangular shape design elements and became the first ball that players heavily criticised for its uneven flight. Despite their incremental genius, none of these was getting football ready for what was about to happen in 2006.
Teamgeist: The day they threw thirty panels and reinvented the sphere
A materials engineer will almost certainly tell you that sphericity, the degree to which the ball resembles a perfect sphere, is the most significant structural feature of a football. If you ask them what the biggest obstacle to sphericity in a traditional hand-stitched football is, they will probably answer seams. Each stitched seam creates a ridge, which is a disruption in the surface geometry. A conventional 32-panel ball had 60 thread edges that met to create these ridges, each of which slightly impacted the airflow around the ball while it was in flight. Adidas recognised this and created the Teamgeist, which translates to ‘Team Spirit,’ for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Only fourteen panels were used, and instead of being stitched together with thread, they were thermally bonded together using heat and pressure, resulting in far smoother, fewer, and less aerodynamically consequential seams. The result was a ball that held its shape more consistently, absorbed nearly no water, and flew with noticeably more predictable trajectories than its predecessors, thanks to thermal bonding, which fuses the polyurethane panel edges directly together without the use of raised thread, creating a surface that was closer to seamless than anything football had ever seen. A feature that appeals to football fans was added to the 2006 Teamgeist; each official match ball used in the competition was uniquely printed with the date, venue, and participating teams of that particular match.
This meant that each Teamgeist used in a World Cup match was a special, one-of-a-kind item, a printed record of its own historical moment, distinct from every sporting spectacle it took part in. A lovely piece of symbolic unity, its gold accents were a purposeful visual echo of the FIFA World Cup Trophy itself. Fourteen thermally bonded panels represented a structural leap that was truly historic, but it was also only the beginning of a journey that would take four more years, several universities, a space agency, and a humble lesson in the difference between theoretical perfection and practical reality, as Adidas was about to discover in the most embarrassing and public way possible.
The Jabulani affair: The most scientifically scrutinised sports ball in human history
The Jabulani, an isiZulu word meaning ‘to celebrate,’ was the name of the ball that Adidas unveiled for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It had only eight thermally bonded panels, which further reduced the number of panels from the Teamgeist’s fourteen. It also had a textured surface pattern called the Grip’n’Groove profile, which was created at Loughborough University after what Adidas described as six years of wind tunnel development. All eleven of its colours represented South Africa’s eleven official languages, eleven different communities, and the eleven players on each side of the pitch at the same time.
It makes it one of the most culturally significant athletic artefacts in history. Also, a unique gold variant known as the Jo’bulani was only used during the final game. According to Loughborough University’s own pre-tournament statement, the ball was designed to be the most aerodynamically consistent football ever made based on the measurements available to its designers at the time, and the Grip’n’Groove surface was meant to provide exceptional stability and grip under all conditions. One of sport’s greatest cautionary tales about the difference between being almost perfectly round and exactly round is what followed next.
The Jabulani’s problem was that, as researchers would later discover, it was too smooth. In the exact speed range at which World Cup players most frequently strike a ball, roughly 80 km per hour, the average velocity of a free kick close to the goal, the reduced seams and nearly spherical profile created a phenomenon that goalkeepers worldwide found difficult to explain in terms other than the terminology of supernatural events. Rabi Mehta, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, provided a precise explanation of the effect: when a smooth ball flies through the air with little spin, the air near its surface is asymmetrically disrupted by the seams.
The Jabulani experienced the knuckling effect at a speed of between 72 and 80 kilometres per hour due to the asymmetric airflow it develops, which in turn produces a sideways force. This is how fast a free kick headed for the goal would go. Simultaneously, the ball’s shallow grooves and textured surface produced a turbulent to smooth airflow change that was significantly different from the transition experienced with a traditional 32-panel ball.
From a football player’s perspective, this translated directly into a ball that abruptly changed its mind mid-flight, according to engineers at the California Institute of Technology who tested an official Jabulani in the Lucas Adaptive Wall Wind Tunnel. Derek Leinweber of Adelaide University, an Australian scientist, used computer simulations to show that a rounder ball travels faster and more unpredictably than one with deeper grooves, capturing the counterintuitive essence of the Jabulani problem. Adidas had inadvertently created a physics anomaly in its quest to create the perfect ball.
The goalkeeping community reacted with fury rather than scientific research. The finest goalkeeper of his generation, Iker Casillas, publicly said that it was nearly impossible to read the ball. Júlio César described it as ‘a disgrace to the World Cup’ and ‘shameful.’ The unpredictable nature of the ball was used by England’s Robert Green to explain his fumble against the United States, which turned into one of the most reviewed goalkeeping errors in the tournament’s history. At the time, this explanation was met with some doubt, but later scientific research gave it significant support. Quietly, strikers flourished, especially those who were familiar with the non-spinning long-range attempt. Using robot kickers in a wind tunnel, physicists Sungchan Hong and Takeshi Asai of Japan’s University of Tsukuba tested all of the major World Cup balls. They discovered that the Jabulani performed arguably the worst of all those examined, with the 32-panel standard ball coming in second after the Brazuca.
In retrospect, the Jabulani story is truly remarkable, not because the ball was poorly designed, in many ways, it was incredibly advanced, but rather because its designers were so focused on achieving a certain level of perfection that they went beyond precise to unpredictable. The Jabulani’s knuckling effect reached its maximum intensity at a speed that was exactly at the free kick range of about 80 kph, according to NASA’s Rabi Mehta. This is why the 2010 World Cup players saw the effect so frequently and so dramatically.
Brazuca and the redemption arc: Six panels, a million votes, and the science of listening
The ball that Adidas created for Brazil 2014 started its journey in the democratic chaos of a public vote rather than in a materials lab or a wind tunnel. This fact alone represents a dramatic shift from the corporate assurance that had resulted in the Jabulani. Millions of voters took part in a poll designed specifically to allow the Brazilian public to name their own World Cup ball, and the result was ‘Brazuca,’ which reflects Brazilian slang for national pride and the Brazilian way of life. It became the first FIFA World Cup ball to be named by public vote. The vibrant woven wish ribbons, or fitas, that are customary in Brazilian culture and are tied around wrists at the Senhor do Bonfim church in Salvador, Bahia, served as the visual inspiration. Each colour represents a distinct prayer or goal. However, the Brazuca’s true significance lay beyond its visual appeal.
In an effort to reduce the critical knuckling threshold speed from the problematic 80 kph range to about 48 kph, Adidas worked with hundreds of active professionals during the Brazuca’s development. This resulted in the Brazuca’s flight being fundamentally more predictable at typical World Cup striking speeds without sacrificing the quality of genuine aerodynamic interest that makes free kicks worth watching. Adidas ultimately decided on six large thermally bonded panels, which are fewer than the traditional 32 but more than the Jabulani’s eight.
After testing the Brazuca at the Ames Research Centre using wind tunnels, water channels, lasers, and fluorescent dye to visualise airflow patterns, NASA’s Rabi Mehta verified this computation and concluded that players should be pleased with the new design because it would produce a more predictable flight path at typical striking speeds. Players and goalkeepers praised the Brazuca almost universally; it was considered one of the best-performing tournament balls in modern football history, and it gave rise to a limited ‘Brazuca Final Rio’ variant that was used in the final, something that has since become common.
Every succeeding World Cup ball has been conceptually based on the interlocking six-panel design, which resolved the knuckling issue by offering enough surface texture to anchor the boundary layer of air flowing around the ball without producing the smooth-to-turbulent transition anomaly that had impacted the Jabulani.
Telstar 18: The classic returns, this time with a silicon chip inside
Built directly on the Brazuca’s structural language, the 2018 Telstar 18 pays homage to the 1970 original with pixelated metallic graphics that reinterpret the classic black and white pattern for a modern digital aesthetic. It also features an embedded NFC chip that fans can scan with their smartphones to access exclusive content, which is a first for any official match ball and a reminder that football equipment increasingly exists at the intersection of sport and technology platforms. With its name derived from the Russian term for dream or ambition, the Telstar Mechta, which was utilised for the knockout stages in 2018, added another level of linguistic and cultural narrative to the custom.
Al Rihla: Qatari dhow sails, water based ink, and a sensor that rewrote VAR forever
The 2022 Al Rihla, or ‘The Journey’ in Arabic, was perhaps the most technologically and culturally innovative ball in the entire Adidas era. Its graphical design was inspired by Qatari architecture, traditional art, the colours of the national flag, and the unique triangular sail geometry of the Dhow, the country’s famous traditional wooden boat, as a symbolic nod to the cross-cultural and cross-generational journeys that football takes. Its CRT-CORE technology, a novel carcass construction, enhanced speed retention, form stability, and rebound consistency beyond any prior ball, and its Speedshell surface included both macro and micro texturing patterns that operated at multiple scales to control airflow.
The VAR, Video Assistant Referee is a system in which a team of officials in a distant control room analyse match deciding situations (goals, penalties, red cards, and offsides) on video replay in real time and warns the on-field referee if an obvious error has occurred, decisions in Qatar were significantly quicker and more accurate than in any previous tournament thanks to an embedded sensor unit that operated at 500 measurements per second in several versions of the Al Rihla used in later stages of the competition. This sensor unit provided real time positional data to the semi automated offside technology. Most notably, the Al Rihla was the first FIFA World Cup ball made entirely of water based inks and water based glues, doing away with the solvent based chemicals that had been used for decades in ball production. This was a real step toward environmental responsibility in sports equipment manufacturing, something that would have seemed almost luxuriously irrelevant to the engineers who were just trying to keep the Telstar dry in 1970.
Trionda: Three nations, four panels, and the ghost of Jabulani finally laid to rest
Then, for 2026, Adidas did something that would have looked almost stupid to any engineer who remembered the Jabulani, they lowered the panel count once more, all the way down to four, which is less than any official match ball in World Cup history. This number is so low that it sounds like an error until you understand the approach to design that justifies it, which is nearly the exact opposite of what led to the 2010 disaster. The ball, known as the Trionda, was unveiled in New York in October 2025. Its name, which combines the Spanish words tri (three) and onda (wave), serves as both a description of the wave geometry that flows across the ball’s surface, which is inspired by La Ola, the rippling Mexican wave of stadium crowds, the human gesture of collective celebration made physical in the very object the celebration is about, and a tribute to the three co-host nations of a tournament, the first World Cup ever shared by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The national colours of each of the host countries, red for Canada, green for Mexico, and blue for the United States, converge at the centre of each panel in a triangular motif that represents three nations coming together as one. A gold finish runs throughout the design as a recurrent reference to the FIFA World Cup Trophy, a custom that the Teamgeist started back in 2006 and has since evolved into a kind of visual language for the entire Adidas era. A maple leaf for Canada, an eagle for Mexico, and a star for the United States are representations of the host nation iconography that is not just printed but embossed into the ball’s surface. These raised icons serve as both identity markers and grip-enhancing texture elements that help players maintain control in the wet and humid conditions that a multi-climate tournament spanning North America is bound to produce.
Adidas has intentionally added texture and aerodynamic resistance to a ball with the fewest panels ever, basically taking lessons from the Jabulani, with the objective is to control and distribute the boundary layer’s influence symmetrically so the ball responds consistently across all strike and speed positions. In a subtle sense, the entire post 2010 philosophical lesson is condensed into a design, fewer panels with deeper, purposefully built seams that perform a dependable job, rather than fewer seams for a smoother appearance.
The Trionda’s Connected Ball Technology has also been redesigned structurally for 2026. Instead of being a centre-mounted system held in suspension, the 500Hz inertial measurement unit motion sensor chip now sits inside a specially designed layer within one of the four panels itself. This is a truly innovative engineering solution that calls for counterweights arranged across the remaining three panels to maintain the flight balance that a lopsided internal mass would otherwise destroy. The problem sounds almost unremarkable until you realise that engineers were asked to place a piece of precision electronics inside an inflated sphere that is repeatedly struck at 80 km per hour and still travels straight ahead. The sensor records contact point, ball speed, spin rate, trajectory, and direction 500 times per second. This data is sent in real time to the VAR system, where it is combined with AI and player positioning data to produce offside decisions more quickly and accurately than any past tournament. It can also determine whether a handball originated from a header or an intentional touch in an occupied part of the field.
Why reinvent a sphere every four years?
Each new ball is a marketing event, a collector’s item, and a cultural product that produces cash much beyond the sale of match balls themselves; thus, the answer is partially commercial. However, the commercial reasoning is actually the least attractive. The deeper explanation is that manufacturing technology, surface engineering, and materials science truly advance between competitions in ways that make earlier balls significantly inferior to what can now be accomplished. Each host nation’s culture deserves a ball that speaks its unique visual and linguistic language in a way that a generic, good-enough design could never.
As the switch to water-based inks and glues in Al Rihla showed, the drive toward environmental sustainability in manufacturing calls for changing the entire production process. Additionally, football is a sport whose competitive margin is narrow enough that small improvements in a ball’s consistency, rebound accuracy, and flight predictability have real performance implications for players at the highest level of the sport. However, there is another factor that is more difficult to measure but impossible to ignore: the relationship between the ball and the competition is almost symbolic, and a World Cup with a ball that has its own name, story, colours, and cultural significance produces a richer, more memorable event than one that merely uses the design from the previous cycle.
No individual who watched the 2010 World Cup has forgotten the controversy surrounding the Jabulani, and the scientific community’s reaction to it, university wind tunnels, NASA researchers, peer-reviewed papers on boundary layer behaviour, a Japanese physics team with a kicking robot, represents a level of institutional attention that very few sporting materials have ever received. The Brazuca was the result of that controversy.
Conclusion: The ball that carries the world dreams
The sport of football is a straightforward game played with a round object and a set of rules that children in every single country on the globe understand naturally. However, the object at the centre of this simplicity has evolved into an incredibly complex engineering challenge, a cultural artefact, a political symbol, a scientific subject, and a means through which the aspirations of billions of people flow every four years during the world’s greatest sporting event.
Every one of those moments, Pelé playing with a Telstar, Maradona’s Hand of God arriving via a leather ancestor, Zidane’s 2006 penalty kick in final off a Teamgeist, Iker Casillas’s gaze tracking a Jabulani through difficult space, and Messi curling an Al Rihla in Lusail, was made a reality, crafted, and in some cases defined by the specific physical properties of the ball in that exact moment. The balls were the result of years of work by engineers, designers, players, and factory workers in Sialkot and elsewhere, as well as scientists who chose to dedicate their professional time to consider what happens when leather, air, and polyurethane meet the human foot at a substantial speed.
The next time you see a goalkeeper make a save that appears to ignore physics or watch a free kick bend over a wall and dip into the far corner, stop for a moment before the celebration takes over and think about the unspoken central character spinning through the air, carrying all of that history, all of those hands and all of that accumulated knowledge, but still just a sphere, which remains simply a football, the most essential thing in arguably the most majestic sport.
The case of religious conversion of a young Hindu man, Ayush Malik, in the Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, has shed light on the growing menace of inorganic Islamic religious conversion in the country. 27-year-old Ayush Malik, born into a wealthy Hindu family, converted to Islam against his family’s wishes. He even married a Muslim woman, Chandni Qureshi, who is also a resident of Shamli, in a secret Nikah ceremony in Delhi, to avoid interference from his family.
The incident has led to the filing of an FIR against nine persons, including Chadni Qureshi and her father, Islam Qureshi, at the City Kotwali police station. The father-daughter duo was arrested by the police and sent to judicial custody on Sunday (9th June).
थाना कोतवाली क्षेत्रान्तर्गत मौहल्ला काजीवाडा में आर्थिक लाभ कमाने के उद्देश्य से योजनाबद्ध तरीके से युवक पर दबाव बनाकर उसे प्रेमजाल में फंसाकर उसे ब्लैकमेल कर उसका धर्मांतरण करने के मामले में 02 अभियुक्तगण गिरफ्तार । @Uppolicehttps://t.co/b3msmlHwIRpic.twitter.com/uUZgLG4c2m
Initial police investigation revealed that Ayush met Chandni in 2022. They kept in touch with each other since then and even joined the same gym, where Chandni joined as a trainer. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed by the police to investigate the case. The SIT is probing the involvement of a larger network and the possible links to Pakistan and Palestine. The police are also looking for a possible financial trail in the case.
What the FIR filed by Ayush’s family states
Ayush Malik’s family suspects foul play behind the religious conversion of their son. His father, Devraj Malik, is a prominent pharmaceutical businessman in the area, having a medical store and several showrooms. His family believes that Chandni Qureshi and her family had their eyes on Ayush’s wealth, and this is the reason they brainwashed and converted Ayush Malik to grab his wealth. An FIR was registered by the police in connection with the case on 6th June based on a complaint filed by Ayush’s father, Devraj Malik.
Source: UP Police
As per the FIR accessed by OpIndia, Ayush’s father said that Chandni Qureshi plotted with her sisters, Rahil Qureshi, Sumaila Qureshi, Rabia Qureshi, brother Aas Mohammad alias Aasoo Qureshi, father Islam Qureshi alias Niddu, Huma Qureshi, her wife of Shadab, Salim alias Bhola and a Maulana named Munavvar to trap Ayush Malik. She lured their only son into a relationship, blackmailed him, and forced him to convert to Islam. All these people have been named as accused in the FIR filed under Sections 318(4), 336(3), 338, 61(2), 351(3), 308(5) of the BNS and Sections 3 and 5 of Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
Source: UP Police
According to Devraj Malik, Chandni’s family members and relatives were involved in the 2013 Muzzaffarnagar riots. They said Chandni Qureshi’s family has been making undue demands from Ayush Malik, using a fake Nikahnama that was prepared 4 years ago. The FIR states that Chandni’s family also exerted pressure on Ayush’s family to adopt Islam. When they refused, her family members, along with some other Muslims, threatened to kill the entire family.
Ayush’s father further said that Chandni and her family have been misappropriating the earnings of his son for the past 5 years. He added that they even built a house using his money and continue to derive illegal financial benefits from him. Ayush’s father suggested the involvement of some outsiders in the conspiracy to trap his son.
Source: UP Police
The FIR states that the accused people intend to usurp his property, and for this end, they have hatched the entire conspiracy. It further states that Ayush’s family has been receiving constant death threats from the accused for refusing to convert to Islam. Ayush’s father has demanded protection for his family from the police, considering the threat from the accused and their associates.
Ayush Malik says he is not brainwashed, voluntarily converted to Islam
While his family maintains that Ayush Malik was targeted and brainwashed into converting to Islam by Chandni Qureshi and her family, Ayush, who is now Mohammad Ali, claims that he converted out of his own free will. Speaking to the media on Monday (8th June), he said that he has been practising Islam since 2008. However, he kept his conversion and Nikah hidden from everyone, including his family, not to adversely affect the marriage prospects of his sisters. He informed his family about his conversion and Nikah after his sisters got married.
According to Ayush, he used to watch the videos of Pakistani Islamic scholar Dr Israr Ahmed and was deeply influenced by the Islamic ideology. He said that he started watching the videos at a time when he was going through mental and health-related issues and found them comforting. Ayush said that he found Dr Israr Ahmed’s teachings convincing and that he did not come across any counter to them. He rejects the claims of being brainwashed and blackmailed into converting to Islam. Regarding the FIR filed by his father, Ayush said that his father acted out of social pressure.
Speaking about Chandni Qureshi, Ayush said that he met her in a physiotherapy centre, which he visited after suffering a fracture in his shoulder. Chandni worked there as a physiotherapist. He said that he was not aware of her religion at that time and found out later that she was a Muslim. They grew close and eventually got married.
Left media jumps in to defend Ayush’s conversion
The incident has sparked a countrywide debate regarding the issue of religious conversion, which in recent times has emerged as a growing threat. While Ayush’s grieving family believes that their only son has been trapped and brainwashed into converting to Islam, the Left media has found an opportunity to peddle their agenda.
Left media website Newslaundry has passed a judgment in the case even before the case went into trial. An article was published on the website justifying and defending Ayush Malik’s religious conversion while the matter is under investigation. The article cites Ayush Malik’s statements, where he said that he converted to Islam of his own will and that he was not brainwashed, to claim that the case has been unnecessarily hyped by the media.
The left propaganda website fails to grasp the basic logic, assuming that Ayush’s family’s claims regarding his brainwashing are true, that a brainwashed individual wouldn’t know that he is brainwashed. If he was so aware of his mental state, he wouldn’t be brainwashed in the first place. Notably, propaganda websites like Newslaundry do not show the same zeal in defending the cases where the religious conversion happens the other way round.
Besides, hundreds of cases of targeted religious conversion of young Hindu men and women have come to light recently. Investigation into several such cases revealed the involvement of foreign funding and networks. Therefore, the concerns of Ayush Malik’s family, whose only son and heir has left the Hindu fold, cannot be dismissed as baseless.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a two-day visit to Norway in May 2026, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig, asking if Norway agreed to his “personal request” to remove Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani from the pension fund blacklist. Weeks later, controversial Norwegian journalist Hella Lyng Svends said that there were no discussions about Adani between Norway and the Indian delegation.
On 19th May, Rahul Gandhi published an X post wherein he shared a picture of news reports from 27th February saying “Norway’s sovereign wealth fund drops Adani Green Energy from its portfolio” and May 18 saying “PM Modi begins historic Norway visit – the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 43 years”.
Gandhi was so desperate to attack PM Modi that he did not even care to check that the image he shared on his social media accounts contained the flag of Sweden instead of Norway. “We get very good information these days. Modi ji, did Norway agree to your personal request to remove Adani from their pension fund black list?” Rahul Gandhi posted.
We get very good information these days.
Modi ji, did Norway agree to your personal request to remove Adani from their pension fund black list? pic.twitter.com/UK9PKD514r
Quoting this post on 9th June, Helle Lyng, the Norwegian journalist who gained the support of the Indian opposition and liberals online for attempting to heckle PM Modi after a joint briefing during his visit to Norway, has debunked Gandhi’s lies.
Lyng said that in the days following PM Modi’s visit to Norway, she asked the Norwegian government whether the Indian delegation had discussed Gautam Adani and his companies with them. She said that the countries held no discussions before, during or after PM Modi’s visit to Norway.
“So I asked the government about this in the days following the visit from Modi. The Norwegian government says that Adani and his companies were NOT a part of the conversations they had with the Indian delegation before, during or after the visit,” Lyng posted.
Did the Norway pension fund ‘remove’ Adani from its black list?
Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi claimed that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the Government Pension Fund Global, managed by the Norges Bank Investment Management or NBIM, “removed” Gautam Adani from its pension fund black list.
However, the world’s largest stock market investor did not ‘remove’ Adani or his companies from any blacklist. Between May 2024 and February 2026, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund excluded more Adani companies.
In May 2024, the NBIM excluded Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ), citing a supposed “unacceptable risk that the company contributes to serious violations of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict.” In February 2026, the sovereign wealth fund of Norway announced the exclusion of Adani Green Energy Ltd. (AGEL) over what it described as concerns of “gross corruption or other serious financial crime.”
This decision was reportedly taken in November 2025, though announced in February 2026.
It must also be recalled that in February 2023, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global divested its stakes in three Adani companies, citing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks. The Government Pension Fund Global had stakes in Adani Total Gas valued at $83.6 million, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone at $63.4 million, and Adani Green Energy shares worth $52.7 million.
The decision came when Gautam Adani was grappling with the aftermath of the hit job by the now-dissolved US-based short seller. Over the past few years, Norway has consistently been severing all ties with Gautam Adani and his companies.
Did PM Modi visit Norway to lobby for lifting sanctions on Adani?
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “personally request” remark against PM Modi suggested that the Indian Prime Minister went to Norway on an official visit as a lobbyist for Gautam Adani. Linking the NBIM-managed pension fund’s exclusion of Adani companies to PM Modi’s visit, Rahul Gandhi, the entire anti-Modi cabal furthered the ‘compromised PM’ bogey.
Contrary to the opposition’s claims that PM Modi visited Norway to seek favours for his ‘friend’ Adani, just weeks after the Norway pension fund action, PM Modi’s May 2026 three-nation Europe tour was originally planned for May 2025.
As per the original plan, PM Modi was scheduled to travel to Croatia, Norway and the Netherlands from 13th to 17th May 2025. However, the visit was cancelled in view of Operation Sindoor against Islamic terror and military establishments in Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack.
Eventually, PM Modi’s visit to three European nations was rescheduled for May 2026. Even though the allegation that an Indian Prime Minister would plan a foreign visit to lobby for any individual, in itself, is outrageous. PM Modi’s Norway visit had nothing remotely to do with Adani, his companies and the action taken by the Government Pension Fund Global.
Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global has been acting against Gautam Adani’s companies from 2022 onwards, and yet PM Modi has never intervened. It has been weeks since PM Modi returned from Norway, yet Norway’s pension fund has not removed Adani companies from its exclusion list.
Helle Lyng’s post that Adani and his companies were not a part of any official discussion between India and Norway before, during or after PM Modi’s visit only reinforces the obvious fact.
Notably, Lyng, who is associated with a lesser-known media house, Dagsavisen, had only 800+ followers, and her social media handle on X was fairly dead, with the last post from April 2024, before she heckled PM Modi and proudly posted about it.
As PM Modi was leaving the podium after making the statement, she asked, “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press of the world?” PM Modi did not answer and walked away with his counterpart. This was exactly what Lyng was hoping for. She said, “Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, would not take my question. I was not expecting him to.”
Helle Lyng gained Indian attention, criticism, support, media interviews, followers and a ‘hero’ status among the left liberal ecosystem in India. Since then, Lyng has given multiple interviews to leftist propaganda outlets and endorsed many, including The Wire. In one of the interviews, Lynd admitted that journalists were told not to ask questions during the joint briefing of PM Modi and Norway’s PM.
Lyng had even sought to interview Rahul Gandhi, who had, in May this year, shared Lyng’s gimmick during PM Modi’s visit and wrote, “When there is nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear. What happens to India’s image when the world sees a compromised PM panic and run from a few questions?”
The entire episode, Norway wealth fund excluding Adani companies, PM Modi’s visit and Rahul Gandhi’s ‘personal request’ jibe, shows how the opposition leaders twisted the timeline and causality into a conspiracy and then pushed the ‘compromised PM’ bogey.
Rahul Gandhi has consistently relied on screenshots, innuendos, and alarmist claims rooted in half-truths, often lies, to score short-term political points against PM Modi to lend credence to his sinister ‘Modani’, ‘compromised PM’ propaganda.
On 9th June, RSS thinker and author Ratan Sharda criticised Maharashtra Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Girish Mahajan after he attended a “Shaheedi Samagam” programme in Amritsar, Punjab, where posters of Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were visible on the stage. Mahajan had attended the event held at the Damdami Taksal headquarters on 6th June to mark the anniversary of Operation Blue Star.
With all the possible humility may I ask Shri @girishdmahajan, does he really know Punjab history or Khalistani terrorism? We have lived through it. Bhindranwale presided over killing of nearly 30000 Hindus & 50000 Sikhs. Sangh or BJP never bowed to him. Please return to…
— Ratan Sharda 🇮🇳 रतन शारदा (@RatanSharda55) June 9, 2026
In his speech at the programme, Mahajan described Operation Blue Star as a “black day” and paid tribute to those killed during the military action as “martyrs”. He also compared the Army action at the Golden Temple complex with Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali’s attack and criticised then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Maharashtra BJP minister Girish Mahajan broke a taboo by speaking from the stage displaying a banner featuring Damdami Taksal’s 14th head Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and others while attending the June 1984 anniversary at the Taksal’s headquarters at Chowk Mehta ON June 06. pic.twitter.com/QwNx1hOVaP
— Kamaldeep Singh ਬਰਾੜ (@kamalsinghbrar) June 7, 2026
He said, “For us, Operation Blue Star is a black day. Our brothers and sisters were killed in it. It was a military attack on our sacred place. Indiraji forcefully sent them to Punjab and our sacred place.” He further added that the incident was not an accident but a “planned conspiracy” in which several people were killed, and stated that no one was punished for it.
Ratan Sharda questions Mahajan’s understanding of Punjab history
Reacting sharply to Mahajan’s participation in the event and his remarks, RSS thinker Ratan Sharda asked whether the BJP leader really understood Punjab’s history and Khalistani terrorism.
“With all the possible humility may I ask Shri @girishdmahajan, does he really know Punjab history or Khalistani terrorism? We have lived through it,” Sharda wrote on X.
He added, “Bhindranwale presided over killing of nearly 30000 Hindus & 50000 Sikhs. Sangh or BJP never bowed to him. Please return to Maharashtra. Don’t damage @BJP4Punjab & Sikh-Hindu relations. Lock your advisor.”
Notably, in a post on X, the BJP leader had announced that he had attended the event to pay homage to “Sikh heroes and heroines” who attained martyrdom during the “turbulent period of Sikh history in June 1984”.
📍 अमृतसर, पंजाब
जून १९८४ मधील शीख इतिहासाच्या संघर्षमय पर्वात शहीद झालेल्या सर्व शीख वीर-वीरांगनांच्या पवित्र स्मृतींना अभिवादन करण्यासाठी आयोजित ४२ व्या शाहिदी समागम कार्यक्रमास उपस्थित राहिलो.
या पवित्र प्रसंगी शहीदांच्या अतुलनीय त्याग, शौर्य आणि बलिदानाला कृतज्ञतापूर्वक… pic.twitter.com/PeVPTNzMxM
Ratan Sharda is an author and RSS thinker. He is a well-known panellist who presents the RSS point of view on different political, social and national issues on different forums and platforms. He has also written several books on the RSS, including RSS 360: Demystifying Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS: Evolution from an Organization to a Movement, and Conflict Resolution: The RSS Way.
In the book Conflict Resolution: The RSS Way, co-authored by Ratan Sharda and Yashwant Pathak, there is a separate section that discusses the period of Khalistani terrorism and the RSS’s role during that phase.
RSS workers were killed by Khalistani terrorists in Moga
On 25th June 1989, Khalistani terrorists opened fire at RSS workers attending a daily shakha at a park in Moga district of Punjab. The attack claimed the lives of 25 swayamsevaks and injured several others. A bomb explosion followed soon after, killing a couple and two policemen.
According to reports, the terrorists had asked RSS workers to take down the Sangh flag that was hoisted during the shakha. The RSS workers refused, leading to the terrorists opening indiscriminate fire. Despite the massacre, the RSS held a shakha at the same spot the very next day, which was attended by 100 swayamsevaks. During that meeting, they reportedly sang songs stressing Hindu-Sikh unity. The message was that Khalistani terrorism would not be allowed to break social unity in Punjab.
The park was later renamed Shahidi Park. A memorial was also built in memory of those killed in the Moga attack.
Who was Bhindranwale
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was the head of the Damdami Taksal and became the most controversial face of Khalistani terrorism in Punjab. He and his armed followers occupied parts of the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. In June 1984, the Indian Army launched Operation Blue Star to remove militants from the complex. Bhindranwale was killed during the operation.
On 10th June (Monday), Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX, has rebuffed a Bloomberg report alleging that the network’s launch in India has encountered a “security roadblock” over the tensions in West Asia. She maintained, “Starlink remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India contrary to misleading stories based upon unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources.”
Dreyer stated that the company collaborated with the Indian government in a “transparent and responsible” manner throughout all necessary “regulatory and compliance” procedures. She added that Starlink has established a “bespoke deployment model” for the nation that further highlights its dedication to operate within a strategic framework to comply with the latter’s sovereign technology, regulatory and security requirements.
Starlink remains in active and productive discussions with the Government of India contrary to misleading stories based upon unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources.
We have worked with the Government through all of the required regulatory and compliance processes in a… https://t.co/BQdcDHmPaf
Dreyer further asserted, “We have heard nothing but encouraging feedback on Starlink’s capabilities and its potential to advance India’s connectivity ambitions, especially in remote and underserved regions. We remain fully committed to India and to working with the Government to bring Starlink’s services very soon to the country.”
Notably, a source from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) likewise mentioned, “Yes, because there is an issue pertaining to technical clearance and how allocation of spectrum will take place. The rest is sorted. I do not believe there is any concern because of the Iran war.”
What’s inside the Bloomberg report
On 9th June (Tuesday) Bloomberg published an article titled “Starlink India Launch Hits Security Roadblock Before SpaceX IPO,” claiming, “India has effectively frozen approvals for Elon Musk’s space-based internet service Starlink to begin commercial operations, due to concerns over the use of its satellite terminals in the Iran war, according to people familiar with the matter.”
It further cited insiders to emphasise that the final permissions that Starlink must obtain to commence operations have been withheld by security agencies under the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to the piece, this is because Starlink terminals were employed during the crisis in the Middle East, even though Iran did not have a license for the service. As a result, New Delhi is concerned about its capability to manage an operator based in the United States in times of geopolitical unrest.
Bloomberg mentioned, “The setback lands just days before SpaceX is expected to price what could be the largest initial public offering in history – a June 12 Nasdaq listing targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation. As the company’s primary revenue engine, Starlink is central to that valuation, and the delay highlights a risk investors may have overlooked: its global expansion is far from uniform.”
It added that China has effectively blocked access to the service while India, the most populous country in the world and one of the biggest untapped internet markets, is now unreachable. The article also declared that the satellite-spectrum price plan that is necessary for any commercial launch, whether by Starlink or others, has been stalled due to the stalemate. It invoked sources to assert that the framework has been completed by India’s Department of Telecommunications, but it has not yet been submitted to the Union Cabinet for approval.
“Starlink secured a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite license in India nearly a year ago, allowing it to enter agreements and prepare for operations, which had been expected months ago. But the license was only one step in a broader regulatory process that has since ground to a halt,” the media house insisted.
It conveyed that Starlink held security demonstrations last year, which were examined by a special security panel and telecom authorities. The article stated that Indian officials have since sought more enquiries and demanded greater compliance measures. According to Bloomberg’s sources, Starlink’s security clearance will continue to be pending until it clarifies how, given its global reach and US ownership, it can ensure adherence to Indian security regulations when geopolitical tensions lead to contradictory directives from foreign countries.
“The heightened scrutiny extends beyond Starlink. Indian officials have adopted a more cautious stance toward the satellite-communications sector following the Iran conflict, the people said. The concern reflects a broader unease about relying on overseas-controlled communications infrastructure amid rising geopolitical uncertainty,” the article read.
It mentioned that Starlink has persisted in interacting with Indian authorities, providing affidavits and demonstrating that it is compliant with regional data storage standards. Additionally, it built ground-level infrastructure, with a hub in Mumbai and roughly ten gateways in India and Senior firm executives have met with ministers along with government officials on a regular basis to try to move the process along. However, Bloomberg quoted sources to contend that India is presently hesitant to grant Starlink confirmation until its security issues are fixed.
Egg on the face moment
The claims put forth by Bloomberg have been strongly refuted by Starlink and a source from the central government. However, this is not an isolated incident, as the media platform was recently humiliated when it had to withdraw a fabricated article about the alleged sale of worth $12 billions of gold by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) gold to boost foreign-currency assets amid the ongoing conflict. However, the bogus story was busted, with the central bank stepping in to provide the facts, which led Bloomberg to retract the piece, blaming “incorrect analysis” as the reason for disseminating the lie.
In a major step towards cleaning up TMC-era corruption in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has restored the general sanction for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On 8th June 2026, the BJP government issued a notification restoring general sanction or consent under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
The CBI comes under the DSPE Act, and it requires states to give the probe agency consent to act against central government employees within a state, as public order and police are State subjects. To avoid issuing separate consents for each case, states generally issue a blanket consent to the CBI, which is routinely renewed. However, once the consent is withdrawn, the agency has to seek permission for each case it wants to probe in the states, and the states may refuse to grant such permission.
The 8-year standoff ends as the Suvendu government restores general sanction for the CBI that the Mamata regime revoked
The restoration of general sanction would enable the CBI investigations into offences by central government employees, central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), as well as private persons across West Bengal, without prior case-by-case approval.
“Whereas, the Government of West Bengal in pursuance of section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 hereby gives its Consent to the extension of powers and jurisdiction of the members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment in the whole State of West Bengal for investigation of the offences or classes of offences notified under section 3 of the Act, as amended from time to time, alleged to have been committed by employees of the Central Government. Central Public Sector Undertakings and Private persons (whether acting separately or in conjunction with the employees of Central Government/Central Government Undertakings),” the notification issued by the West Bengal government’s Home & Hill Affairs Department reads.
The notification, however, mentions a caveat. Despite the restoration of general sanction, investigations against West Bengal state public servants still require prior state permission.
“Subject, however, to the condition that no such investigation shall be taken up in cases relating to the public servants controlled by the State Government of West Bengal, except with the prior written permission of the State Government. All previous general consent for any other offences and consent accorded on a case-by-case basis for any other offence by the State Government shall also remain in force,” the notification adds.
The move to restore general sanction came shortly after the newly elected BJP government in West Bengal granted specific sanctions for the CBI to prosecute officials in several TMC-era scams.
With the state government’s general consent for CBI restored, the Central probe agency would be able to expedite action on pending cases, improve accountability, and enhance centre-state relations on law enforcement.
Why Mamata Banerjee revoked the general sanction for CBI in 2018
Back in November 2018, then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government withdrew consent, claiming that the CBI and other central probe agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, were being ‘weaponised’ by the BJP-led Central government for ‘political vendetta’ against opposition-ruled states.
Accustomed to unchallenged rule and unchecked corruption, the TMC government was frustrated with probes by Central agencies into various scams involving TMC leaders, including the coal, cattle smuggling, teachers’ recruitment scam, cooperatives scam, municipalities cash-for-jobs scam, Saradha chit funds scam, and other graft cases.
Consequently, Mamata Banerjee misused her power as Chief Minister. She withdrew general sanction to the members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment, including CBI, to shield her corruption-accused party leaders. This was essentially an act of political interference in investigations being conducted by the Central probe agencies while hiding behind the convenient argument of ‘attack on federalism’.
With general consent withdrawn, the CBI was forced to seek case-by-case permissions repeatedly, delaying action in several cases, and even birthed legal battles as the TMC government moved the Supreme Court, challenging the CBI’s jurisdiction.
Notably, other than the Mamata government in West Bengal, instances of withdrawal of general consent have also been reported in Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala in the recent past. General sanction revocations in these states were notified when anti-BJP parties were in power.
West Bengal withdrew the consent to CBI in 2018, immediately after Andhra Pradesh. The Congress-led Chhattisgarh government had done the same in January 2019. The Congress-ruled Rajasthan government had revoked the general consent in July 2020. Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Punjab in November 2020. The Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP govt had followed suit in October 2020. Congress-ruled Karnataka withdrew general consent in September 2024.
In almost all instances, the general sanction to CBI was withdrawn exactly when the agency was investigating scams and other irregularities in these states.
Suvendu Adhikari government fixing the TMC-era systemic rot
One after the other, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is initiating actions focused on restoring accountability and fixing the TMC-era systemic rot. In May this year, the BJP government granted permission for prosecution in the Teacher Recruitment Scam, Municipal Recruitment Scam, and the Cooperative Scam, discontinuing the TMC government’s practice of blocking probes for years.
On 6th June 2026, CM Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government ordered an investigation into the 2019 anti-CAA riots by Muslim mobs that caused extensive damage to the tune of Rs 93 crore, to Indian Railways in the state.
CM Adhikari directed the West Bengal Police under DGP Siddh Nath Gupta to review and probe all complaints of arson, vandalism, and damage to public property, particularly railway assets, during the 2019 protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The BJP government in West Bengal also constituted two inquiry commissions comprising retired high court judges to probe institutional corruption and atrocities against women on 18th May. These inquiry commissions commenced their work from 1st June 2026.
Earlier, CM Adhikari suspended three IPS officers on charges of mishandling of the 2024 RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case.
From the politicisation of police and bureaucracy, entrenched corruption networks, to cadre-based politics, the Suvendu government is taking measures to probe and fix the misdeeds of the TMC regime. The CBI general sanction restoration is yet another positive step in this direction.
