What to Read in The Hindu Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1: ​An unravelling

Context

The Malegaon acquittals highlight deep-rooted flaws in the investigative system.

Introduction

The 2008 Malegaon blast, occurring during Ramzan and claiming innocent lives, marked a disturbing chapter in India’s battle against terrorism. Initially traced to Hindutva extremists, the case highlighted deep political and communal fault lines. From investigative breakthroughs to eventual acquittals, it reflects not just a legal saga but a broader struggle over justice, accountability, and the rule of law.

The 2008 Malegaon Blast: A Chilling Act of Terror

• The blast occurred during Ramzan, killing six peopleand injuring 95 others, marking a severe act of terrorism.
• The Maharashtra ATSinitially suspected a Hindutva extremist conspiracy, intended as a retaliatory “blast for a blast,” mimicking Islamist terror tactics.
• Evidence included:
  • Electronic transcriptsof covert meetings.
  • A confession by Sangh Parivar activist Aseemanand.
• The case was politically sensitive from the outset due to its implications for communal tensions.

ATS Investigation and the Shift in Approach

• The ATS’s impartial investigationwas significant, especially after Muslim youths were wrongly implicated and acquitted in the 2006 Malegaon blasts.
• The probe initially attempted to break the stereotype of linking terror solely with one religion.
• However, this neutrality waned over time, particularly as Hindutva-aligned political forces consolidated power.
• The case was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
  • NIA filed a supplementary charge sheet.
  • Allegations surfaced that the NIA was pressured to go softon the accused.
• In 2018, a Special Court ordered a full trial, resisting dilution of the case.

Final Acquittal and Its Implications

• After 17 years, all accused—including  Col. Prasad Purohitand Pragya Singh Thakur—were acquitted.
• The verdict raised serious concerns about:
  • Investigative lapses.
  • Prosecution failures.
  • Political influenceundermining justice.
• Rather than disproving right-wing extremism, the judgment exposed the inadequacy of legal processes.

Evidentiary Collapse and Legal Shortcomings

• The court found the case was built on unreliable evidence:
  • Key witnesses turned hostile, alleging coercion by ATS—echoed even by the NIA.
  • Electronic transcriptswere rejected due to procedural failings in ensuring authenticity.
• Purohit’s claim of being a military intelligence officer infiltrating the groupwas dismissed.
  • Yet, he was acquitted due to insufficient legal proof.

Communal Reframing and Political Capital

• The narrative around the accused shifted from criminal accountability to communal justification.
• In 2019, Pragya Singh Thakur, still under trial, was fielded by BJP and elected from Bhopal.
  • Her candidacy symbolized political endorsementof her alleged extremist links.
• Her praise for Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, further highlighted the mainstreaming of extremist ideology.

Conclusion

The Malegaon blast verdict underscores how justice can falter when institutions fail to act impartially. Beyond communal narratives, it reveals the dangers of politicised investigations and prosecutorial lapses. Terrorism has no religion, and any failure to uphold this principle weakens democracy. The case stands as a somber reminder of the urgent need for institutional integrity in confronting extremism of any kind.

 

Editorial 2: ​​The ‘right to repair’ must include the ‘right to remember’

Context

As India advances in AI and digital systems, it must align these goals with the realities of repair and its tradition of frugal innovation.

Introduction

In May 2025, the Indian government advanced its commitment to sustainable electronics by approving a report that recommends introducing a Repairability Index for mobile phones and appliances. This index will rate products based on how easily they can be repaired, the availability of spare parts, and continued software support. Additionally, updated e-waste regulations now mandate minimum payments to encourage formal recycling. These initiatives are both timely and necessary.

• As India moves toward recognising repair as a consumer right, it must also acknowledge repair as a cultural and intellectual asset— a form of practical knowledge that needs preservation and support.
• While India’s digital and AI policies — such as Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)and the National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence (NSAI) — focus on innovation, data, and efficiency, they often overlook the invisible backbone of daily life: the informal repair and maintenance economy.
• In a world driven by cloud technology and algorithms, we risk neglecting tacit knowledge— the kind of understanding passed through hands-on experience, not formal manuals or code.
• From Karol Bagh’s mobile repairers in Delhito Ritchie Street technicians in Chennai, skilled workers extend the lifespan of gadgets through improvisation, sensory diagnosis, and component reuse, even without official guides.
• Their workspaces may be small and tools basic, but their creative problem-solving and resiliencereflect deep technological ingenuity.
• However, this traditional repair ecosystem is under threat — due to increasingly unrepairable product designs, consumer trends toward disposability, and exclusion from training schemes and policy focus.
• What’s at risk isn’t just livelihood loss, but the disappearance of a vast, undocumented knowledge systemthat has long bolstered India’s technological self-reliance and circular economy.
• As the nation embraces digital innovation, it must also integrate and protect the informal repair sectoras a vital part of its sustainable and inclusive development strategy.

Why tacit knowledge matters

Theme	Explanation
What is Tacit Knowledge	Tacit knowledge means skills and understanding that are hard to explain in words or write down. It comes through experience, not books or formal classes.
How It’s Passed On in India	In India, repair knowledge is shared through mentorship, watching others, and practice, not through formal training or certificates.
Why It’s Unique	This kind of knowledge is flexible and based on real-life situations. That makes it hard for digital systems, including AI, to fully copy or replace.
AI and Tacit Labour	AI systems are improving by using insights from this kind of hands-on work. But the people behind it often don’t get credit or benefits.
Current Imbalance	While AI gets smarter, the communities who help shape this learning remain invisible and under-recognised.
Right to Repair: Global	The European Union has made rules that companies must share spare parts and repair manuals.
Right to Repair: India	India’s Consumer Affairs Department started a Right to Repair policy in 2022 and launched a portal in 2023 for electronics, cars, and farm equipment.
Global Sustainability Push	The United Nations’ SDG 12 promotes repair as a way to support sustainable consumption.
India’s Opportunity	India can lead the way by seeing repair not just as a service, but as valuable knowledge work that deserves support and respect.

The blind spot in India’s digital policy

• India’s E-waste Status: In 2021–22, India produced more than 6 million tonnes of e-waste, making it the third-largest generatorin the world.
• E-Waste Rules, 2022: These introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where manufacturers must manage their products even after consumers discard them.
• Neglect of Repair in Policy: The rules mainly focus on recycling, with very little attention to repairas a way to reduce waste in the first place.
• Skilling Gaps: Government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)offer short-term training for factory roles, but repair work needs creativity, problem-solving, and reuse — skills that don’t fit easily in formal modules.
• Education Policy Oversight: While the NEP 2020talks about traditional knowledge and hands-on learning, it does not explain how to support local repair skills or pass them on.
• Mission LiFE and Repair Culture: Campaigns like Mission LiFEpromote eco-friendly habits like repair and reuse, but they rarely support the actual workers doing the repair work.
• Policy-Workforce Disconnect: Circular economy ideas are growing in India’s policy space, but the informal repair sector is often left outdespite being central to sustainability.
• Rise of ‘Unmaking’ Concept: A new idea in research is “unmaking”— taking apart, repairing, or reusing products to understand flaws and improve future designs.
• Learning from Repair: Broken items are not just waste; they teach us valuable lessons. A faulty phone part can help someone reconnect to life, and a damaged circuit board can be a learning tool.
• Repair is Central, Not Marginal: Informal repairerswork daily to extend the life of goods. Their efforts support a true circular economy, where repair is part of the product’s journey.
• Need for Recognition: By valuing repair workersas key contributors to environmental innovation, India can lead in both sustainability and digital inclusion.

AI-enabled solutions for repair justice

• India’s Repair Culture is Old and Resilient: India’s long tradition of jugaad(creative problem-solving) and frugality existed well before today’s tech-driven policies.
• Repairers have been adapting to changing technologies for decades, often without formal support or recognition.
• Tech Progress vs. Ground Reality: While India is investing in AI infrastructureand digital public goods, these plans must align with the real-world challenges of repair work.
• Modern Gadgets: Hard to Repair: Today’s devices are designed for compactness and control, not for easy fixing.
  A 2023 iFixit reportfound that only 23% of smartphones sold in Asia are easily repairable due to tight, non-modular designs.
• Need for Repair-Friendly Design: To make technology truly sustainable, we must consider the entire product lifecycle— not just production and use, but also breakdown, repair, and reuse.
• Designing for “Unmaking”: Products should be built with repair and disassembly in mindfrom the beginning.
  This approach should shape both hardware standards and AI-integrated systems.

Institutional Actions Needed

• Ministry of Electronics & IT: Should include repairability standardsin AI policies and government procurement rules.
• Department of Consumer Affairs: Can expand the Right to Repairframework to cover more product categories and include community participation.
• Ministry of Labour & Employment(via e-Shram): Can officially recognise informal repair workers and link them to social security and training opportunities.
• Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship: Should design training that reflects the hands-on, intuitivenature of repair work, not just industrial skill templates.

Tools for Preserving Repair Knowledge

• Decision Trees: Can help document common repair processesin simple, structured formats.
• Large Language Models (LLMs): Can be used to record, summarise, and sharelocal repair knowledge in many languages — without losing its context or creativity.

Conclusion

Supporting this ecosystem goes beyond issues of intellectual property or technical performance. It means recognising the skilled, hands-on labour that quietly keeps our digital and physical worlds running — a key step toward a fair, repair-friendly tech future. As philosopher Michael Polanyi said, “We know more than we can tell.” By valuing what can’t be digitised, we honour the human wisdom that gives technology its true depth and purpose.