The great Indian shake-up: Is India ready for political storm of Census 2027?

Clearly committed: Having taken up the cause of dogs for a bunch of NGOs, senior advocate Kapil Sibal announced he had renounced non-vegetarian food altogether. The case before the Supreme Court is debating how to balance public safety and animal welfare, including how state governments should manage rising incidents of dog attacks while protecting stray animals. As passionate arguments and counterarguments continued, Sibal chose to underline his commitment to the cause with the personal disclosure. Whether the decision was driven by conviction or circumstance, the message was clear—and duly noted | Illustrations by Job P.K.

House rules: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, known for his ever-present smile, also carries the less enviable responsibility of playing the strict schoolteacher when required. He stepped into that role with ease during question hour in the ongoing budget session, reprimanding members for talking while proceedings were on. Calling such conduct “against the dignity of the house”, Birla warned that those keen on prolonged discussions could take them outside the Lok Sabha chamber. He also announced that henceforth, members disrupting proceedings would be named.

Hard evidence: The special investigation team probing the alleged phone tapping in Telangana during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi regime is having a tough time. During the recent questioning of former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, he was asked whether he personally decided everything. KCR smiled and said that people assume the chief minister decides all matters, whereas in reality, systems do. As the questioning continued, he remarked that the questions were beginning to sound familiar. When asked if he remembered everything discussed in meetings, he responded that human memory does not come in hard disks. Ironically, the investigation is said to be moving slowly because a former special intelligence bureau officer allegedly removed hard disks from the bureau office.

Reflections on peace: It seems the Dalai Lama is spreading peace and compassion, not just through his words and actions, but through the arts as well. At the age of 90, he won his first Grammy in the best audio book, narration and storytelling recording category for his spoken-word album Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness. “I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility,” he said. “I don’t see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility.” This is not the first time that someone outside the entertainment industry is winning in this category. Other winners include Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. The irony is that an award for a leader promoting peace is destroying the peace of some in another part of the world, with China angrily calling the win “an anti-China political manipulation” | PTI

Pop star for president: After a two year run, Taylor Swift has been dethroned. Billboard officially named Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, as its greatest pop star of 2025. With three Billboard no. 1 albums, a stunning performance in Happy Gilmore 2 and a hit appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he swapped roles with Fallon to interview him, the Puerto Rican star is on a dream run. When he faced criticism from Republicans for his pro-immigrant stance, he jokingly stated on Saturday Night Live that he is so popular that even Fox News anchors want to make him the next American president. Maybe not such a bad idea? | Reuters

Back to business: A good reputation takes years to build and seconds to destroy. Ever since Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, his actor-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty (she was implicated and arrested for alleged drug links, but was cleared of all charges last year) has been lying low. Not out of choice, though. “I tried contacting people in the [Hindi film] industry, asking for roles, any roles,” she said earlier. “But then, I realised that people won’t cast you because of all that had happened.” Now, she’s making a comeback with the Netflix show Family Business—about a Succession-style power struggle within a wealthy family—co-starring Anil Kapoor and Vijay Varma. After what she has gone through, with trolls calling her a “witch”, “murderer” and “gold digger”, this must be a sweet victory, whether the show succeeds or not | PTI

First lady comes first: The critical reception to the new documentary on Melania Trump has been savage. The New Yorker called it a “forty-million-dollar journey into the void” (Amazon spent a mammoth $40 million to purchase its rights). The Guardian called it “guilded trash”. The film might be all about heels and haute couture, but Americans, it seems, are captivated. Melania earned $8 million on its opening day, the best start for a documentary in 14 years. The majority of viewers were female and over the age of 55. For a movie whose subject could only come up with one adjective to describe it (“cinematic”) when she was asked for three, Melania might just have outperformed its own expectations | AP