The next big thing the Modi Government is set to offer the nation is the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a huge reformatory step that forms part of the Directive Principles of the Constitution and for which the top court has also been pushing from time to time. Our Cover Story focuses on this epochal move, which is likely to see the light of the day before the next General Elections. The process has been set in motion in Uttarakhand and two other BJPruled states, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are ready to follow the suit. Once the ground has been prepared, the Centre will be ready to put the UCC in place at all India levels, says our report. With numbers on its side in both the Houses of Parliament as well as in most state Assemblies, the party seems to have decided to give to the country what it has waited for for more than seventy years. A supporting story deals with another key social legislation – the law against the practice of triple talaq.
The Centerspread this week is about PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat, which has become one of the most popular programs in the history of radio, not just in India but worldwide. Besides detailing the origins, the content, and the audience profile of this program, our story cites survey findings that prove beyond doubt that PM Modi is the single biggest influencer online in the country today. The page also carries a box about a book that gives the behind-the-scenes story of the popularity of this program, which is now broadcast in 21 regional languages, 31 local dialects, and 16 foreign languages.
As part of our Globetrotting series, we visit the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan, whose relations with India go back in history. In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in bilateral ties, mainly due to the high-level visits of leaders of the two countries and the Modi Government’s outreach to India’s extended neighborhood. The common concern about Islamic extremism has propelled the two nations to deepen cooperation on counter-terrorism operations, and that aspect is covered in an accompanying story on the page.
The shift in the political and developmental process of Jammu & Kashmir became evident during Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to the UT, his first since the abrogation of Article 370. We cover the visit on one of the news pages. The other important news story we cover is about the three-day Raisina Dialogue where India pulled off a strategic victory by making it clear that it would engage the world on the basis of its confidence in its identity.
Over to you!
