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Can’t English be considered an indigenous Indian language, asks Supreme Court

The Hindu – National

1h ago

Can’t English be considered an indigenous Indian language, asks Supreme Court

Summary

Subscribed with another email? The three-language scheme, which is under dispute, requires Class 9 students to study at least two languages “native to India”. Can it be understood as indigenous Indian language,” Justice Bagchi asked. It was either ‘mother tongue’, ‘regional language’ or ‘Indian language’. Justice Bagchi, however, said the push for the three-language scheme may be in the spirit of the Constitutional goal to use Indian languages for official purposes throughout the country. The court issued notice in his petition highlighting the impact of the three-language scheme on children in Classes 5 and 6, and listed the next hearing on July 22. The Board reasoned that out of the 28,848 schools sponsoring Class 9 candidates, 47.3% already offer two or more native Indian languages and were fully compliant without the need for any additional teachers. The CBSE said that 99.9% of schools already have at least one Indian language teacher. The CBSE has described the three-language policy as a crucial part of the National Education Policy, 2020, and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2023, to “promote multilingualism and the power of language in teaching and learning”. The Centre’s separate affidavit agreed with the CBSE that the three-language policy served “legitimate public objectives”.

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SC questions the use of the colonially loaded term ‘native’ in CBSE circular, says the push for three-language scheme may be in the spirit of the Constitutional goal to use Indian languages for official purposes

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Wisconsin panel finds probable cause against Musk over USD 1 million voter cheques

A bipartisan panel in Wisconsin has found probable cause that billionaire Elon Musk likely broke state law when he handed out USD 1 million cheques to voters during the 2025 state Supreme Court election. The Wisconsin Elections Commission has referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney's office, which can decide whether to bring criminal charges under the state's law against election bribery. The complaints relate to Musk's role in a high-stakes contest for control of Wisconsin's highest court. Musk and groups he supported spent at least USD 20 million backing Republican-supported candidate Brad Schimel, who lost by 10 percentage points to Democratic-backed Susan Crawford in a race that cost more than USD 100 million and became the most expensive judicial election in US history. The complaints, which are confidential under state law, were filed by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay in Brown County. The motion approved by the commission said it found probable cause that Musk violated Wisconsin law by making a social media post offering USD 1 million to people who voted in the Supreme Court election "in order to induce them to vote in that election". Two weeks before the election, Musk's political action committee, America PAC, offered USD 100 to voters who signed a petition opposing "activist judges" or referred someone else to sign it. Crawford's victory kept liberals in control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Musk's political action committee had used a very similar approach before the 2024 presidential election, offering USD 1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. The Wisconsin case now centres on whether Musk's payments in the 2025 Supreme Court race amounted to unlawful inducement for voters.

General U.S. News45m ago

‘New York will lead the way’: NYS Gov. Hochul’s data center moratorium includes a new model for funding AI infrastructure

New York became the first state to enact a statewide moratorium on hyperscale data centers, halting any new development until July 2027, giving state regulators a year to create new standards regarding environmental impacts and energy demands, and marking one of the biggest political pushbacks against the AI infrastructure boom yet. “New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development, ensuring that when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul in a statement. Hochul signed the executive order Tuesday morning, establishing the one-year moratorium in state environmental permitting in response to the growing public concern over rising utility costs and demand for energy and water resources. The temporary pause applies to data centers requiring 50 megawatts or more of power while the state develops a new regulatory framework. Data center projects that have already received permits are exempt from the order. Also in the order is a special carveout: The creation of the New York Grid Acceleration Fund, a proposed fund that would require data centers to invest in the state’s aging grid infrastructure and energy needs. Hochul, in signing the order, directed the Department of Public Service (DPS) to consider creating the fund to help support the procurement of a clean energy supply and establish an insurance pool to protect against large loads. Hochul tasked DPS with several projects including the start of the Energize NY proceeding where data centers pay more for their energy or supply their own, keeping energy more affordable for New Yorkers. In Hochul’s executive order Tuesday, the governor directed Empire State Development to issue a Community Investment Framework within 60 days to help local governments negotiate benefits such as infrastructure improvements, workforce development, child care investments, and direct financial support. The AI boom isn’t slowing, but New York’s move suggests its infrastructure phase is entering a new era, where expansion comes with conditions, and resistance is becoming policy.

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Senate Democrats block defence bill over Iran war, Israel provisions

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked debate on an annual defence policy bill, objecting not only to President Donald Trump’s war in Iran but also to provisions that would more closely integrate the United States and Israeli militaries. The Senate voted 50-46, almost entirely along party lines, against opening debate on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), in a rare setback for one of the legislature’s few must-pass pieces of legislation. The annual defence policy bill sought to authorise much of a $1.15 trillion military budget proposed by Trump. The motion needed 60 votes to advance in the 100-member Senate. Democrats had argued Congress should not move ahead with the legislation while Trump escalates the war in Iran. Some members of the party also objected to provisions that would deepen US military and intelligence cooperation with Israel, as well as the record size of the Pentagon budget. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had urged Democrats to oppose the bill, calling it “a permission slip” for the Trump administration to continue military operations in Iran without congressional oversight. “Republicans want the Senate to take up the NDAA … as though Congress can debate the nation’s central national security bill while ignoring the nation’s most urgent national security crisis,” Schumer said before the vote. “We cannot.” Outside Congress, a coalition of 14 civil liberties, foreign policy and anti-war organizations also urged lawmakers to oppose advancing the NDAA unless senators were guaranteed a vote on an amendment barring funding for what they described as Trump’s unauthorised war against Iran. The coalition, which includes the American Civil Liberties Union, J Street, CODEPINK and Win Without War, argued Congress should use its constitutional “power of the purse” to enforce its authority over decisions about war.

Can’t English be considered an indigenous Indian language, asks Supreme Court

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Wisconsin panel finds probable cause against Musk over USD 1 million voter cheques

‘New York will lead the way’: NYS Gov. Hochul’s data center moratorium includes a new model for funding AI infrastructure

Senate Democrats block defence bill over Iran war, Israel provisions