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The Hindu
20 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Justice Tiruvarur Muthuswami Iyer statue in Chennai: Remembering an icon of the Madras High Court
The history of Chennai can never be complete without a reference to the 163-year-old Madras High Court functioning from a 133-year-old heritage building. The history of the High Court as well as its building can never be concluded without recording admiration for the imposing white marble statue of Sir Justice Tiruvarur Muthuswami Iyer. Born on January 28, 1832 at Uchuvadi in Thanjavur (then called Tanjore) district, his childhood was a grim struggle due to poverty. Yet, he rose to become the first Indian judge of the Madras High Court in 1878 and held the office till his death on January 25, 1895. In 1898, the then Chief Justice Sir Arthur John Hammond Collins installed his marble statue. Located at a commanding position that serves as the nucleus to the High Court building, the statue of Justice Muthuswami Iyer is a tribute to a judge who used to remove his footwear before climbing up the court dais to deliver justice. Even today, scores of lawyers and court staff begin their daily work only after circumambulating his statue and paying floral tributes. What could never be missed in the pages of history is that there was strong opposition from a section of Europeans to the appointment of an Indian as a judge of the High Court. It was this opposition that triggered the birth of The Hindu in 1878 primarily to support the elevation of an Indian to the very high judicial office during the British Raj and to counter the opposition.
The Hindu
20 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Cotton import duty exemption a death warrant to farmers, says Samyukt Kisan Morcha
The Union Textile Ministry said in New Delhi on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) that the decision to exempt all customs duties on the import of raw cotton until September 30 was meant to stabilise domestic cotton prices and support the textile industry. Meanwhile, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of several farmers' outfits, alleged that the move signalled a death warrant to cotton farmers. The SKM said it strongly protested the notification to eliminate the import tariff on cotton as it would have a direct impact on the domestic price of cotton. 'Cotton price will definitely fall and farmers will face further distress and indebtedness,' the SKM said, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of duplicity and betrayal, and asking him to explain his earlier statement that farmers were his government's highest priority. In the past 11 years, the SKM said cotton farmers were never given a minimum support price for cotton, as recommended by the M.S. Swaminathan Commission. 'The entire cotton area is the highest peasant suicide prone region of India. The elimination of import duty on cotton will further eliminate the livelihood of lakhs of cotton farmer households,' the SKM said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Textiles said in a statement that the exemption includes the removal of both the 5% Basic Customs Duty, the 5% Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess, and a 10% Social Welfare Surcharge on both, cumulatively resulting in an 11% import duty on cotton. 'The decision, notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, is expected to lower input costs across the textile value chain encompassing yarn, fabric, garments, and made-ups and provide much needed relief to manufacturers and consumers alike,' the Ministry said, adding that the government aims to enhance the availability of raw cotton in the domestic market, stabilise cotton prices, and thereby reduce inflationary pressure on finished textile products, and support export competitiveness of Indian textile products by lowering production costs. The move will protect small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the textile sector, which are more vulnerable to price fluctuations, the government said.
The Hindu
20 minutes ago
- The Hindu
After CSDS psephologist deletes X post, BJP accuses Congress of making 'baseless claims' on voter fraud
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) accused the Congress of making 'baseless' claims about 'vote theft' and targeting the Election Commission of India in 'collusion' with a Delhi-based think tank. This came after Sanjay Kumar, a psephologist and a professor with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), who had shared voter data from two Maharashtra Assembly seats related to last year's State election in a post on X on Sunday (August 17, 2025), subsequently deleted his post on Tuesday (August 19, 2025), apologising for posting erroneous data. The post had claimed a significant decrease in voter numbers in two Assembly seats in the State election compared to the 2024 general election, which was held nearly six months earlier. 'Fake data' Reacting sharply, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia lashed out at Mr. Kumar for posting 'false data' which he claimed was used by the Opposition to target the EC, calling it a 'dangerous game'. 'This survey organisation [CSDS] is nothing but a puppet at the hands of leaders like Rahul Gandhi who could not win people's trust. He needs such an organisation which can provide fake data and facts so that he can make baseless allegations,' Mr. Bhatia said. 'Congress leader Pawan Khera tweets on this and then deletes. Rahul Gandhi's baseless allegations are also based on CSDS data,' he added. Deleting his post on Tuesday (August 19, 2025), Mr. Kumar wrote on X, 'I sincerely apologise for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. An error occurred while comparing the data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in the row was misread by our Data team.' The erroneous tweet has since been removed, he said, adding, 'I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation.'
