A video showing hundreds of people participating in a vibrant Indian cultural festival in Toronto has gone viral on social media, sparking intense discussions about immigration, diversity and multiculturalism in Canada.

The clip was widely shared alongside the caption: “Canada has turned into an Indian colony!!!! Canadians are now a minority in Toronto and the flood of immigrants is larger than ever before. We cannot let this happen to us. Wake up!!!!”

The event, reportedly held in Toronto, highlighted different aspects of Indian culture, with visitors enjoying regional cuisine, folk performances, cultural showcases and family-oriented activities celebrating India’s rich heritage.

Mixed reactions:

A user wrote, “Horrible dancing and they continue to do this everywhere.”

Another reacted, “Completely unwanted. I too lived in the US for a decade but I felt that time was exploratory – melting pot, variety of food, freedom to go to clubs & casinos etc etc. Let America and Canada be what it is. Keep your traditional stuff in a private ground or at home.”

A third commented, “How miserable you have to be to hate people for having fun.” A fourth said, “Isn’t Canada built on immigrants? Just like the USA, Australia, and New Zealand? Who are the original people of Canada?”

Pilot who proposed to his fiancée in front of an Army helicopter after completing flight training faces objection over use of official event and operational backdrop

A day after an Indian Army pilot, Captain Bharat Bhardwaj, proposed to his fiancé at the passing-out parade, Army authorities in New Delhi have conveyed ‘displeasure’ to the pilot for making a ‘love proposal’ at an official function.

Army sources confirmed that the young Captain’s Commanding Officer has been informed for further conveying it verbally. 

“A written note conveying the displeasure has not been given,” sources said, adding that the move was intended to maintain the sanctity of the official function.

There is no bar for an officer proposing to his lady love while wearing a uniform, however, such proposals cannot be made at official functions like a ‘passing-out parade’.

Moreover, such proposals cannot be made with operational equipment in the background.

Army helicopters could be seen in the pictures and videos of the proposal, which have gone viral over social media.

The pilot made the proposal to his fiancé, Arushi, in front of an Army helicopter, after completing his flight training at the Combat Army Aviation Training School (CAATS) in Nashik, Maharashtra.

The proposal took place on June 2, shortly after the passing-out parade and aviation display, marking the completion of the training program. Having achieved a major professional milestone, Captain Bhardwaj chose the occasion to celebrate something personal as well.

Dressed in his ceremonial military uniform, the newly commissioned pilot walked onto the tarmac, knelt before Arushi and proposed with an engagement ring.

An Army helicopter parked nearby provided a dramatic backdrop to the occasion.

Videos of the proposal quickly gained traction online, with many viewers praising the unique combination of military achievement and romance.

The footage shows the emotional exchange unfolding amid the celebrations following

Vijay Mohan

Upholding the sentence of life imprisonment awarded by a general court martial (GCM) to a soldier accused of shooting dead a colleague, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has held that lack of motive or inadequacy thereof cannot stand in the way of conviction where the direct evidence of eye-witnesses is available.

Referring to an earlier Supreme Court judgement on the subject, the Bench said that the motive may be considered as circumstance which is relevant for assessing the evidence but if the evidence is clear and unambiguous and the circumstances prove the guilt of the accused, the same is not weakened even if the motive is not a strong one. “The motive loses all its importance in a case of direct evidence of eye-witnesses,” the Bench said.

The accused soldier was serving as a Lance Dafedar in an armoured unit and was part of a quick reaction team (QRT) detailed for unit security at the time of the incident in April 2015. He was tried by a GCM for committing a murder, which found him guilty in July 2016. He was reduced to the ranks, ordered to undergo imprisonment for life and dismissed from service. In 2017, he moved the AFT against his trial and conviction.

According to court records, another Lance Dafedar who was part of the same QRT, was murdered by use of a 5.56 mm rifle from which three rounds were fired, allegedly by the appellant. He was found holding the weapon from which the rounds had been fired. The weapon had been allotted to the deceased.

The appellant’s counsel submitted before the Tribunal that the GCM had failed to appreciate the evidence on record in its correct perspective. The evidence had been misread and misinterpreted and the same has resulted in gross injustice and hence the findings of the GCM were perverse and deserved to be set aside.

The Bench observed that several eye witnesses present at the site of the incident have proved the fact that the appellant shot the deceased with a rifle. When this evidence is co-related with the evidence of some other witnesses, it becomes very clear that the appellant’s actions were pre-meditated and that he was the perpetrator of the crime after he stole the weapon allotted to the deceased.

The Bench also observed that it is evident from the appellant’s own sworn statements that he has admitted that the death was caused by him, though he has claimed that it was an accident. The facts which he claimed led to the accident were not recorded in the Court of Inquiry and Summary of Evidence.

Pointing out that the only thing that remains to be established is the motive and the same has not come on record as none of the witnesses have stated that the accused and the deceased had bitter relations, the Bench ruled that the motive loses all its importance in a case of direct evidence of eye-witnesses

From a Supreme Court battle to a Ropar farmer’s daughter topping the nation, here’s what aspirants and parents need to know about India’s most competitive defence entrance exam and how Mohali’s Mai Bhago AFPI is preparing girls for it

When Mehakpreet Kaur of Paprali village in Ropar secured All India Rank (AIR) 1 in the Air Force Academy merit list, she did not just top a competitive exam — she stood first in a national pool where vacancies for women in defence services remain extraordinarily scarce. That scarcity is not accidental. It is the product of decades of policy, a Supreme Court battle, and a still-evolving institutional reckoning. For lakhs of families across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh whose children dream of a uniform, this result is a signpost worth understanding in full.

What is NDA — and why does it matter

The National Defence Academy (NDA), situated at Khadakwasla, Pune, is one of the most prestigious military training institutions in the world, training cadets for the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. Entry through NDA is the earliest possible route into a career as a commissioned officer, open to candidates, right after Class 12. The NDA exam is conducted by UPSC twice a year, with candidates appearing for two papers: Mathematics and General Ability Test (GAT).

The total marks for the NDA exam are 1,800 — 900 for the written exam and 900 for the SSB interview. Only candidates who clear the written exam are called for the SSB (Services Selection Board), a rigorous five-day process. The SSB tests mental agility, leadership qualities and decision-making abilities, and also includes a medical and physical fitness assessment.

For Air Force aspirants like Mehakpreet, there is an additional hurdle: candidates aiming for the Air Force wing must clear an additional Computerised Pilot Selection System (CPSS) test, which is conducted only once in a lifetime.

The vacancy crisis for women

This is where numbers tell a story of their own. UPSC announced 394 vacancies for NDA 2, 2026 across the Army, Navy, Air Force and Naval Academy wings. Of these, female vacancies across all branches are a fraction — reflecting the institutional architecture of a system that opened its doors to women only in 2021.

In a landmark ruling in August 2021, the Supreme Court passed an interim order allowing women to appear for the NDA exam for the first time in the history of the institution, which was founded in 1954. The bench described the exclusion as a “mindset problem” and called the policy “gender discriminatory.” On September 8, 2021, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that a decision had been taken at the highest level of the armed forces and government to induct women into the NDA through permanent commission.

Prior to this, women were barred from entry through the NDA examination, and inclusion was only allowed through the Officers Training Academy (OTA) — which granted only Short Service Commission, not permanent commission. (Student Law Journal)

After the Supreme Court’s order, the Ministry of Defence revised vacancies to earmark seats for women: Army — 10 out of 208; Navy — 3 out of 42; Air Force Flying Branch — 2 out of 92. The numbers have grown incrementally since, but women still account for a tiny sliver of total intake — which is precisely why securing AIR 1 in the AFA merit list is, as Mai Bhago AFPI Director Major General Jasbir Singh Sandhu described it, “extraordinary.”

What is Mai Bhago AFPI — and how does it work

Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI) for Girls was set up by the Punjab Government as an exclusive all-girls training institute — a unique, first-of-its-kind initiative in the country for the girl child.

The institute operates at two levels. Its existing graduate-entry wing prepares women for CDS/AFCAT-route commissions after graduation. The NDA Preparatory Wing — launched in 2023 — is specifically for girls who want to join the NDA route as commissioned officers, and is the first such initiative of its kind in the country exclusively for girls.

To apply, girls must have passed their Class 10 examination and be residents of Punjab. Girls studying in Class XI can also apply, subject to age criteria. The state government bears the entire cost of training, including boarding and lodging.

A dedicated Rs 2.46-crore hostel for the NDA Preparatory Wing — named after Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw — was also established, featuring a cyber lab, indoor shooting range and top-notch fitness facilities, providing an ideal environment for 40 girl cadets preparing for the NDA.

The institute’s track record has been building steadily. Three alumnae of Mai Bhago AFPI were commissioned as Flying Officers in the Indian Air Force from the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Hyderabad — their passing out parade reviewed by IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh. Another alumna, Nisha, was commissioned as Sub Lieutenant in the Indian Navy after passing out from the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala in Kerala. Now, with the Class of 2023 — the NDA wing’s inaugural batch — producing an AIR 1 and an AIR 18, the institute’s approach has achieved a national validation.

What happens after selection — the road from merit list to uniform

For a student and parent staring at a merit list number, here is the full journey ahead:

Selected candidates join the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla, Pune, or the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, Kerala. They undergo three years of academic and military training. On completion, they are awarded a Bachelor’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Science, Arts or Computer Science. Following this, cadets move to specialised academies — Indian Military Academy, Dehradun for the Army; Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala, for the Navy; Air Force Academy, Hyderabad for the Air Force.

Air Force cadets are given flying training for one and a half years. At the end of one year of training, they are given provisional commission in the rank of Flying Officer. After successful completion of a further six months of training, they are granted permanent commission. On commissioning, Army officers receive the rank of Lieutenant, Navy officers are commissioned as Sub Lieutenants, and Air Force officers as Flying Officers. During training, cadets receive a stipend of Rs 56,100 per month.

What next — for Mehakpreet, for aspirants, for the programme

Mehakpreet Kaur, as AIR 1 in the AFA merit list, will now proceed to the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Hyderabad, for her flying and officer training. Komalpreet Kaur, AIR 18 for NDA entry, will report to Khadakwasla, Pune, for three years of tri-service training before moving to her specialised academy.

For aspirants across Punjab, the practical upshot is clear: the NDA Preparatory Wing at Mai Bhago AFPI is currently training its third batch, and applications for the next intake are conducted through the institute’s online portal. Eligibility remains Class 10 pass or Class 11 studying, with Punjab domicile mandatory and the state government covering all costs.

The bigger structural question — of expanding women’s vacancies in the NDA — remains a live policy conversation. What Mehakpreet and Komalpreet have demonstrated, however, is that when access and preparation are provided, daughters from farming families and army households in Punjab’s villages can compete with — and beat — the entire country.

The human architecture of Indian power

Lt Gen SS Mehta Retd

AN earlier piece in this series, “The Covenant and the Contract”, argued that military service constitutes a covenant, not a transaction. This piece extends that argument into the strategic architecture of a rising India.

India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat rests upon visible investments. Highways and rail corridors. Ports and logistics networks. Digital infrastructure. Semiconductor missions. Manufacturing ecosystems. The ambition is clear: a developed nation by 2047.

Beneath these visible investments lies an invisible foundation without which none of them can endure.

Every national ambition assumes something rarely discussed: that the Republic will remain secure. That its borders will hold. That its sea lanes remain open. That coercion will be deterred. That India’s rise is protected.

These assumptions are presumed. They are nevertheless indispensable and are underwritten every day by the Armed Forces of India.

This reality acquires greater significance as the strategic certainties of the post-Cold War era weaken. Great-power competition has returned. Regional conflicts are multiplying. Technology is compressing decision cycles. Artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber warfare and information operations are transforming the character of conflict.

India sits at the centre of this changing geometry — not as a bystander but as a principal stabilising power of the Indo-Pacific.

Economists can calculate expenditure. Deterrence is far harder to quantify. Sovereignty, stability and investor confidence do not emerge by accident. They are secured before they are enjoyed.

The perimeter protects the covenant. The covenant protects the Republic.

The covenant is the quiet agreement between the Republic and its citizens: that businesses will invest with confidence and aspirations can be pursued without fear. Standing upon that perimeter is the Indian soldier — soldier, sailor and air warrior.

Few democracies impose a comparable burden. The same institution that watches the Saltoro Ridge and the heights of Eastern Ladakh also guards deserts, jungles, island territories and maritime approaches spanning the Indian Ocean. No single terrain defines the Indian military. Every terrain does.

Military service is unlike any other profession in the Republic. Its defining feature is not hardship. It is unlimited liability.

The possibility of injury, disability, captivity or death is not an occupational hazard. It is an accepted condition of service.

That acceptance is carried not by the soldier alone but by every family that watches a young officer disappear into a posting in Siachen or a counter-insurgency grid, and waits.

Unlimited liability. Volunteered.

Contemporary conflicts have clarified both the power and the limits of technology. Ukraine has demonstrated the transformative reach of drones, precision strike and networked intelligence. Iran, Israel and the United States have similarly underscored the growing role of autonomous systems and stand-off capabilities. Operation Sindoor has shown that India too can project calibrated force across contested space, striking with speed and discrimination while holding the threshold against escalation.

Yet these same conflicts have reinforced an older truth.

Technology can disrupt, punish and shape outcomes. By itself it struggles to deliver political closure. Objectives involving the control of territory, the reassurance of populations and the restoration of stability continue to depend upon volunteer boots on the ground.

Recent conflicts reveal a paradox. As technology becomes more sophisticated, volunteer service for unlimited liability becomes more precious. Autonomous systems can extend reach and reduce exposure, but they cannot replace the legitimacy, reassurance and permanence that human presence provides.

The future battlefield may become increasingly autonomous. The future outcome will remain profoundly human.

Nations can procure platforms. They cannot manufacture willingness to serve. In an age fascinated by autonomy, commitment remains the scarcer strategic resource.

That willingness underwrites the Republic’s military strength. It cannot be taken for granted. It must be sustained.

If commitment is a strategic resource, then the institutions that sustain it become matters of national strategy rather than personnel administration.

The Armed Forces operate through a deliberately young and selective command pyramid. This is not an administrative flaw. It is an operational necessity.

Yet a large majority of officers encounter structural ceilings long before the end of their productive professional lives.

Scientists benefit from Flexible Complementing Schemes. Medical professionals have Dynamic Assured Career Progression. Organised Group A Services receive Non-Functional Upgradation. The military alone remains dependent upon promotion-linked advancement within a steep and intentionally selective pyramid.

The pressure will intensify as India deepens jointness through integrated theatre commands, placing officers with identical responsibilities within the same operational structures.

Some will come from streams defined by unlimited liability. Others will not.

Where the administrative architecture of the latter permits structured progression and that of the former does not, the disparity will no longer be abstract. It will be visible across the same table, every working day.

The challenge is sharper because in the military, pay and status are not separate ledgers. Rank is worn. It is seen across the table, in the corridor and at every morning briefing.

When financial progression diverges, status diverges with it. An officer benefiting from a more generous administrative architecture is seen to stand higher.

In a service where identity and rank are inseparable, that visibility becomes a daily institutional statement about the relative worth of unlimited liability.

The answer is a Military Specific Framework founded on a simple principle: command must remain selective; progression must become structured.

The design imperative of a military is a steep spire. At its apex stand those entrusted with command, selected through rigorous competition because the edge cannot carry unlimited numbers. Yet beneath that apex stand many of proven merit who carry the flag with distinction but cannot ascend further simply because the pyramid narrows above them.

For generations they have accepted this reality in the spirit of Naam, Namak and Nishan.

But no institution can assume that ethos alone will indefinitely absorb widening disparities.

Great institutions rarely weaken suddenly. They weaken incrementally when sustained performance ceases to earn visible recognition. Perception shapes motivation, retention and career choices. By the time indicators reflect the change, the damage has already taken root.

The purpose of reform is not to alter the pyramid. It is to ensure that those who uphold it do not become its unintended casualties.

Command appointments must continue to be earned through rigorous selection, but financial progression need not remain hostage to command vacancies.

A carefully designed framework can preserve operational selectivity while ensuring that officers who serve where the margin for error is zero and accountability is total are not institutionally diminished simply because the pyramid narrows above them.

Its purpose is to preserve competitiveness, dignity and motivation.

Viksit Bharat will be built by millions of Indians in laboratories, factories, farms, ports, startups and classrooms across the nation.

Yet every one of them operates behind a perimeter held by others.

The Armed Forces do more than defend territory. They underwrite national confidence and ambition.

Technology can accelerate decision-making and extend reach, but it cannot replace professional judgment, courage and leadership. The decisive question is no longer whether nations possess advanced systems. It is whether they can continue to inspire citizens to stand behind them and, when necessary, stand in harm’s way as volunteers answering a calling greater than themselves.

The author led a tank squadron to Dhaka during the Liberation War in 1971

‘We are all Hindustani’: Man’s selfless act aids rescue amid Malviya Nagar tragedy, says helping victims was his duty

When thick smoke and flames engulfed a hotel and shrieks for help filled the air, a mattress trader opposite the fire-wrecked hotel in Malviya Nagar on Wednesday made a split-second decision: He sacrificed goods worth nearly Rs 2 lakh, laying out a makeshift safety net that helped save lives.

After rushing to the scene with his staff, Riyazuddin Mansuri spread dozens of quilts and mattresses on the ground outside the burning building, creating a cushion that allowed trapped residents to jump to safety.

Riyazuddin said they were the first to put out the mattresses and by the time the fire brigade arrived, they had already saved 8 lives, adding that he and his son sustained injuries during the rescue.

A fire that broke out at the Flourish Stay bed-and-breakfast hotel in the congested Hauz Rani area of Malviya Nagar killed at least 21 people, including 11 foreigners. The hotel largely catered to patients visiting the nearby Max Hospital. Nineteen of the 35 injured remained in critical condition across hospitals in Delhi, according to officials.

As the fire spread rapidly, several occupants were seen breaking window panes and calling for help.

Trader Riyazuddin’s son Arman said, “I reached the spot after a neighbour informed me about the blaze at 8.30 am. The ground floor was on fire. Nobody could go inside, and come out. People on the upper floors were shouting and asking if they should jump. I immediately brought out around 20 to 25 quilts and mattresses from the shop and spread them outside the building.” Arman’s family, who run the mattress shop opposite the hotel for around four decades, said several quilts and mattresses were stacked on top of one another so that people who jumped on them don’t get hurt.

“Around eight people jumped onto them and were safe. Only a few suffered minor injuries,” he said.

Eyewitnesses said scenes of panic unfolded as smoke filled the building. They said a woman jumped from the third floor with her child in her arms while other occupants desperately searched for ways to escape, and at that time the mattresses came in handy for some.

Riyazuddin said, “I suffered about Rs 2 lakh loss. We also gave bedsheets that were used to bring out the dead bodies and the injured. We also gave quilt covers. We gave away all our goods, whatever we could get our hands on. On the grounds of humanity, everyone is the same, whether Hindu or Muslim. We all are Hindustani. It was my duty to help our brothers, whether he is Hindu or Muslim.”

Arman said that had the fire not been brought under control in time, it could have affected my shop as well. “Emergency services reached the spot quickly and assisted in the rescue operation. Everyone arrived on time and helped us a lot,” he said.

The word “strategic” is used indiscriminately before any political visit, talks or deal

Rear admiral Raja Menon retd

MODERN military and strategic discourse is increasingly burdened by a creeping affliction: the substitution of clear thought with fashionable jargon. What masquerades as innovation is often little more than repackaging of long-understood principles in language designed to impress rather than illuminate. The result is not intellectual progress, but intellectual fog.

Take the term “layered defence.” It is now presented as if it were a novel doctrinal breakthrough. But when, in the history of warfare, has defence ever not been layered? From the Roman legions with their successive lines of infantry, to medieval fortifications with moats, walls and inner keeps, to the elastic defence-in-depth of the Second World War — layering has always been intrinsic to survival.

It is not innovation; it is amnesia. Similarly, “multi-domain operations” is offered as a revolutionary concept integrating land, sea, air, cyber and space. Yet war has always been fought across multiple domains. The Blitzkrieg combined armour, artillery, infantry and airpower in tightly coordinated operations. Naval warfare has long depended on intelligence, logistics and air cover.

Then there is “cyber warfare,” often described as an entirely new frontier. While the tools are undoubtedly modern, the underlying concept — penetrating, disrupting and manipulating the enemy’s information systems — is not.

During the Second World War, the Allied Ultra programme broke German codes, providing decisive intelligence that shaped operations across theatres. A favourite seems to be the new term, “cognitive warfare”. Have we forgotten the massive success of the BBC in retaining Britain’s soft power for decades after its economic decline, or the long-drawn success of the Russian and East European VOA (Voice of America) radio broadcasts that kept the idea of freedom alive and contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall?

A favourite is “hybrid warfare”, the ultimate example of military jargon which is a catchword for using everything including the kitchen sink. This term replaced what has always been diplomatic and foreign intelligence meddling and used to describe any protest or fake news on X (Twitter) . But the more sophisticated would shun “hybrid warfare” and use “grey zone warfare” that would perplex the audience even more. The term “dropping bombs” is considered crass and has been replaced with “kinetic warfare”, a term which would dazzle most civilian audiences when it actually means “breaking things”.

Bureaucracies reward what looks like new thinking, or at least the appearance of it. New terminology creates the impression of fresh thinking, justifying financial outlays, reorganisations and doctrinal publications. It also signals apparent agreement with global trends, particularly those emanating from the US, where defence establishments are prolific producers of jargon.

Complex terminology creates an aura of expertise that discourages scrutiny. A good example is the sly answer to questions of the treatment of the prisoners in Guantanamo, to which the answer was — “enhanced interrogation”. Got it? Jargon distances strategic discourse from both historical understanding and common sense.

If policymakers believe they are confronting entirely new forms of warfare, they may neglect the enduring principles that govern conflict: logistics, morale, leadership and adaptability. Worse, they may overestimate the transformative impact of technology

while underestimating the resilience of adversaries. Another one that comes to mind is the alleged invention of a new strategy by China called “A2AD” against the maritime dominance of the US in the West Pacific; it turns out to be a rewording of “sea denial”, an old, well-established concept.

India, in particular, should be wary of using jargon as a substitute for rigorous thinking uncritically. Its strategic environment demands clarity, not fashion. The country has repeatedly suffered from strategic surprise — not because it lacked jargon, but because it misread emerging world scenarios. Clear thinking must also be rooted in history.

This is not an argument against innovation. New technologies — especially in cyber and space — require adaptation. But adaptation must be grounded in continuity. The past does not become irrelevant simply because the vocabulary changes. There must be a clear articulation of what is new; otherwise, it only causes confusion upwards and downwards. Quite possibly, other fields such as economics and diplomacy may be indulging in the same thing.

One term comes to mind to describe the tumult going on in the world where the established order has been upended, ideas of what constitutes power are fuzzy and long-established alliances are breaking. There is a suggestion that all this somehow becomes crystal clear if one says that the world has become “multipolar”. So, that is solved.

Words should clarify, not conceal. In the end, the test of any concept is not how impressive it sounds, but whether it sharpens judgment. Jargon that merely rebrands the obvious does the opposite. It dulls the mind, obscures the past and leaves us less prepared for the future. The political and business world is not immune to this disease either. Here, the most misused word is “strategic”, used indiscriminately before any political visit, deal, agreement or talks, as with any new commercial investment, whether it is in nuclear reactors or cosmetics.

Why, then, does this jargon proliferate? Part of the answer lies in institutional incentives. Bureaucracies reward novelty, or at least the appearance of it. New terminology creates the impression of fresh thinking, justifying budgets, reorganisation and doctrinal publications. It also signals alignment with global trends, particularly those emanating from the US.

Married daughters can’t be excluded from compassionate appointment and their omission from the definition of “family” is manifestly arbitrary, unjustified and constitutionally untenable, the Supreme Court has ruled.

“It is incompatible with the constitutional guarantee of equality and perpetuates historical notions of gender inequality which the Constitution seeks to eradicate,” a Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe said in an order on Tuesday.

Setting aside a March 2025 order of the Allahabad High Court that held the definition of “family” doesn’t include a married daughter for the purpose of compassionate appointment, it said marital status was irrelevant to dependency and exclusion of married daughters perpetuated gender stereotypes in violation of Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 15 (right to non-discrimination).

The order came on an appeal filed by one Kulsum Nisha — a married daughter of a deceased woman fair price shop dealer — challenging the high court’s order that had rejected her claim for appointment as a fair price shop dealer on compassionate grounds.

Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Aradhe ruled that dependency was not a matter of gender but was a question of fact and therefore can’t be conclusively determined by marital status alone.

“The impugned provision proceeds on the assumption that upon marriage a daughter ceases to be a member of, or dependent upon, her parental family. Such an assumption is constitutionally impermissible. Marriage neither extinguishes the bond between a daughter and her parental family nor furnishes a valid basis to presume absence of dependency. Contemporary social realities demonstrate that many married daughters continue to reside with, support, or remain dependent upon their parents.”

The Bench directed the Uttar Pradesh authorities to allot a fair price shop in four weeks in favour of petitioner Kulsum Nisha who continued to reside with her mother and four sisters even after her marriage and supported the family.

Nisha had applied for running the fair price shop after her mother’s death in March 2024. But citing an August 2019 rule issued under the Uttar Pradesh Essential Commodities (Regulation of Sale and Distribution Control) Order, 2016 that excluded married daughters from the definition of ‘family’, the authorities turned down her application.

In March 2025, the Allahabad High Court upheld the definition of family that excluded married daughters for the purpose of compassionate appointment.

However, the Supreme Court reversed the high court’s decision.

Noting that the rule did not exclude all daughters and “unmarried, legally separated or widowed daughter” were entitled to continue running the fair price shop, it directed the UP authorities to henceforth include married daughters under the definition of ‘family’.

“A son continues to remain within the fold of the family irrespective of his marital status, whereas a daughter is excluded solely because she is married. The distinction is founded upon a gender-based stereotype that a daughter, upon marriage, becomes a member of another family and loses all ties with her natal family,” the top court said.

“We are, therefore, of the considered view that the exclusion of married daughters from the definition of “family” fails the test of reasonable classification and is manifestly arbitrary. The distinction created by Paragraph IV(10) of the G.O. lacks any intelligible differentia having a rational nexus with the object of the scheme. The exclusion is founded solely upon marital status and gender stereotypes and consequently, violates Articles 14 and 15(1) of the Constitution of India,” the top court said.

In a major boost to India’s air defence capabilities, the fourth squadron of the S-400 air defence missile system arrived at an Indian port on Monday. 

The system, which includes multiple missiles, launchers, sensors, and radars, is being transported from Russia to India in phases. Sources confirmed to The Tribune that the first consignment arrived today, with the rest expected in the next few days.

Once assembled, the S-400 will be deployed by the Indian Air Force in a designated operational area.

The squadron is part of a USD 5.4 billion contract signed in 2018 under which India was to acquire five S-400 squadrons from Russia. Three were delivered two years ago, while the remaining two were delayed due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The S-400 system was credited with intercepting Pakistani drones and cruise missiles during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. In February, the Indian Air Force released a video showing the S-400 in action, highlighting what the IAF called the “longest-ever air kill” in military history — a high-value aircraft struck at a range exceeding 300 km.

The fifth and final squadron of the S-400 missile system is expected to reach India by the end of this year.

Drawing on lessons from Operation Sindoor, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved the procurement of five additional Russian-origin air defence systems in March. The Defence Acquisition Council, the apex decision-making body at MoD, cleared the proposal at its March meeting. Sources said the five additional S-400 systems are expected to cost USD 6.1 billion.

The S-400 is designed to engage aerial targets, including those with stealth capabilities, at ranges of up to 400 km. It can also intercept ballistic missiles and hypersonic targets. Compared to its predecessor, the S-300, the S-400 has a firing rate that is 2.5 times faster.

MoD said in March that the S-400 system will counter enemy long-range air threats targeting vital areas, while UCAVs will enable offensive counter-air and coordinated operations, along with stealth intelligence and surveillance.

This expansion is part of a broader strategy announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day 2025 to create a near-seamless kinetic and electronic shield across India’s most vulnerable borders. For this, India is also working on an indigenous programme, codenamed Project Kusha, to develop its own air defence systems capable of engaging enemy drones at ranges similar to the Russian system.

An Iranian strike on Kuwait International Airport early on Wednesday resulted in the death of the Indian national and injuries to several others. The strike was part of the latest back-and-forth attacks by Iran and the US.

Reacting to the incident, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said: “We condemn the attack on Kuwait International Airport today in which an Indian national has died and several of our nationals are injured.”

“Since the onset of the conflict in West Asia, we have strongly urged that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure must not be targeted. We again call upon the parties to cease such attacks,” the MEA said.

The Indian Embassy in Kuwait is extending all possible assistance to those injured. “Indian missions and posts across the region are on alert and continue to proactively support our community,” the MEA