MLC Daily Current Affairs – 17 April 2025

Today in History (April 17^th,1952)

India’s first Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April 1952. The first Speaker of the Lok Sabha was Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar. He was the Speaker till February 1956. The first Deputy Speaker was M A Ayyangar and the Secretary-General was M N Kaul.

Summary of Today’s News

India-China Efforts to Resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a significant spiritual journey for Indian pilgrims to the sacred sites in Tibet, has been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising India-China border tensions. In recent developments, both Indian and Chinese officials have begun intensifying talks to revive the pilgrimage, with the aim of reopening the routes before the upcoming pilgrimage season. The efforts involve multiple government agencies, discussions at high diplomatic levels, and significant logistical planning on both sides.

Key Developments and Ongoing Efforts

• Resumption Talks in Advanced Stage
  Indian and Chinese officials have recently held detailed discussions focused on reviving the Kailash Man Sarovar Yatra, with expectations of reaching a final agreement soon. The dialogue aims to resolve outstanding issues, particularly related to infrastructure readiness and logistical arrangements for a smooth travel experience.
• Upcoming Deadline to Select Pilgrims
  With the deadline to finalise the list of pilgrims approaching in a few weeks, Indian authorities are keen to expedite the agreement to ensure that the annual pilgrimage can be resumed without delays or reductions in the travel window.
• Coordination Among Indian Agencies
  The Ministry of External Affairs has scheduled a coordination meeting on April 21, involving all relevant Indian agencies. These include the Ministry of Home Affairs, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, state governments of Delhi, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand, as well as the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), which plays a key role in logistics.
• Logistical Preparations on the Ground
  Preparatory work is already underway on the Indian side. The KMVN is making arrangements to transport pilgrims via special vehicles from Dharchula to the Lipulekh Pass, reducing the traditional 80–100 km trek and saving several days of strenuous travel.
• Historical Context of the Suspension
  The Yatra was conducted annually from June to September through two official routes:
  • Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand (since 1981) and
  • Nathu La Pass in Sikkim (since 2015). However, it was suspended first due to China halting access during the COVID-19 pandemic, and later due to deteriorating bilateral ties following the Galwan Valley clash in 2020.
• High-Level Diplomatic Engagements
  The resumption of the Yatra was discussed between India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during the G-20 summit in Brazil in November 2024. This followed a conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October 2024.
• Follow-up Talks and Border Mechanism Dialogue
  In January 2025, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing, where the pilgrimage was a top agenda item. The matter was further addressed during the 33rd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Coordination and Consultation (WMCC) on India-China border affairs, where both sides expressed a mutual interest in resuming cross-border exchanges, including the Yatra.
• Increased Costs for Pilgrims in 2025
  An official has indicated that the cost of the Yatra this year will be significantly higher compared to six years ago. This increase is attributed to the upward revision in accommodation and transport rates on both the Indian and Chinese sides.

Supreme Court Raises Concerns Over Denotification of Waqf-by-User Lands

The Supreme Court of India has expressed serious concerns regarding key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, particularly those affecting Waqf-by-user properties. During a two-hour hearing on Wednesday, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna led a three-judge bench in reviewing nearly 100 petitions challenging the amendments. The court refrained from passing an interim order but discussed a potential three-point plan aimed at balancing competing interests in the sensitive case, which touches on religious rights, historical land usage, and state control over religious endowments.

Key Highlights from the Hearing

• Concerns Over De-recognition of Waqf-by-User Properties
  The court questioned the constitutionality of the new amendment that de-recognised the longstanding category of Waqf-by-user—properties that have historically functioned as Waqf without formal documentation or registration. The CJI warned that denotifying such properties could cause major issues, especially for older religious sites like Jama Masjid.
• Three-Point Interim Proposal by CJI Khanna
  To “balance equities,” CJI Khanna floated a possible interim order with three key suggestions:
• No Immediate Denotification: Properties already declared Waqf by courts, including Waqf-by-user or Waqf by long-standing usage, declaration, or otherwise, should not be denotified or treated as non-Waqf for the time being.
• Limited Government Role: While allowing a designated government officer to assess if a property is Waqf or government-owned, the CJI suggested staying the clause that freezes the use of such property as Waqf during the inquiry.
• Non-Muslim Appointments Allowed with Caveats: The CJI proposed permitting non-Muslims as ex-officio members in the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards, provided the majority of members remain Muslims.
• Government Opposes Interim Order
  The Union Government, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, sought more time to argue, which led the court to adjourn the hearing without issuing an interim order or notice to the Centre.

Major Issues Raised by Petitioners

• Burden of Proof on Practising Muslims
  Petitioners challenged a new provision in the 2025 Act that requires a person to prove they have been a practising Muslim for five years before dedicating their property as Waqf. They argued this infringes Article 26 of the Constitution, which ensures the right to establish and manage religious institutions.
• Question of Documentation
  CJI Khanna highlighted the impracticality of requiring historical Waqf properties to produce registration or sale deeds, especially since many mosques and endowments date back to the 14th–17th centuries, a period with no land registration laws.
• Religious Autonomy Concerns
  Senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that state control over who can create Waqf violates religious autonomy, questioning the legitimacy of the state determining such spiritual matters.
  Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi added that four out of eight lakh Waqfs are Waqf-by-user, illustrating the scope of the impact.
  Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan emphasized that Waqf is essential to Islamic practice, particularly because charity is a core tenet of the faith.

Debates Over Non-Muslim Inclusion in Waqf Administration

• Justice K.V. Viswanathan questioned the logic behind allowing non-Muslims to govern Muslim religious endowments, comparing it to the Hindu endowment system which is controlled by Hindus.
• Solicitor-General Mehta countered that Muslims could still do charity outside the Waqf framework, while objecting to claims that the Centre had usurped the Central Waqf Council.

Context of Wider Social Tensions

• CJI Khanna noted that the Act has already sparked communal unrest in West Bengal, calling the violence and polarization it triggered “very disturbing.”

IIT-B Graduate Launches Free Website to Promote Sanskrit Literature

To bridge the gap between ancient Sanskrit literature and modern technology, Antariksh Bothale, a software engineer from Jodhpur and an alumnus of IIT Bombay, has launched SanskritSahitya.org. The platform aims to make Sanskrit literary works freely accessible and easier to study by integrating computational tools and linguistic resources. With his academic background in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Computational Linguistics, and professional experience at Google, Bothale seeks to modernize how people interact with classical Sanskrit texts.

Key Highlights of the SanskritSahitya.org Initiative

• Free and Accessible Platform for Sanskrit Texts
  org is a free website offering quick access to some of the most important works of Sanskrit literature, including the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Mahakavyas, and poetry by Kalidasa and other classical poets.
• Vision Behind the Project
  Bothale’s goal is to create the best reading and analysis experience for Sanskrit literature. He aims to support both casual readers and academic experts by:
  • Leveraging advancements in computational methods to aid study and teaching
  • Building a rich, structured, and consistent corpus of Sanskrit texts for future computational research
  • Creating an interface that merges traditional literature with modern technology
• Comprehensive Features of the Website
  The site is designed with several scholarly tools and reader-friendly features:
  • Structured navigation based on literary divisions such as sarga, adhyaya, kaanda, and shloka
  • Metrical tagging, commentaries, and translations alongside the original text
  • Morphological analysis for deeper linguistic understanding
  • Easily shareable web pages for educational use
• Offline Accessibility
  The website supports offline access, allowing users to download the entire content within seconds and view it later on any device, be it a phone or desktop.
• Open Data for Researchers
  Scholars interested in bulk analysis can directly access the data via the site’s GitHub repository:
  com/sanskritsahitya-com/data
• Personal Background of the Creator
  Antariksh Bothale holds a Master’s degree in Computational Linguistics from the University of Washington. Currently working at Google, California, on the Smart Home Assistant product, he also runs a long-standing blog on languages, Linguistrix, since 2011.

Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna Recommends Justice B.R. Gavai as His Successor

As Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna prepares for retirement on May 13, 2025, he has formally recommended Justice B.R. Gavai to succeed him as the 52nd Chief Justice of India. The recommendation follows the established tradition of appointing the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court to the position of CJI.

Key Points on the Recommendation and Appointment

• Justice B.R. Gavai Recommended as Next CJI
  Chief Justice Khanna, as per the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), has recommended Justice Gavai’s name to the central government, initiating the official process for his appointment as the next Chief Justice of India.
• Current Position and Tenure
  • Justice Gavai was elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019.
  • He is scheduled to retire on November 23, 2025, which would give him a tenure of a little over six months as Chief Justice.
• Adherence to Seniority Norm
  Justice Gavai is next in line based on the seniority convention, which plays a central role in appointments to the post of Chief Justice.
• Official Process for CJI Appointment
  • The process begins when the Law Ministry seeks a recommendation from the outgoing Chief Justice.
  • The recommendation of Justice Gavai by CJI Khanna sets this process in motion.

Background of Justice B.R. Gavai

• Early Life and Legal Career
  • Born on November 24, 1960, in Amravati, Maharashtra
  • Enrolled as an advocate and joined the Bar on March 16, 1985
• Family and Legacy
• Justice Gavai is the son of Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai, a prominent Dalit leader and former Governor of Bihar