Top News: April 2025

Hyderabad: The leaders of rights organisations have appealed to President Droupadi Murmu, urging her to advise the Government of India to declare an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and to initiate ‘Peace Talks’ with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on an urgent basis.

Enclosing a memorandum endorsed by hundreds of organisations and individuals across the country on April 4, the activists wrote a letter to Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, April 24, drawing her attention to Schedule 5 of the Constitution, together with Articles 339(1) and 275(1), which conferred upon her office a clear constitutional mandate concerning the welfare of scheduled tribes and the governance of scheduled areas.

“Given the scale and urgency of the present crisis, the constitutional responsibilities vested in your office under these provisions now call for immediate and decisive action,” the activists appealed.

The activists claimed that the constitutional rights and the very lives of Adivasi communities in Bastar (Chhattisgarh), Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), West Singhbhum (Jharkhand), and the adjoining areas
were under an unprecedented and immediate threat.

The activists stated that since January 2024, due to a dramatic escalation in militarisation and intensified operations in Bastar alone, over 400 people have been killed, including civilians and children, with many of these deaths alleged to be fake encounters.

“As the constitutional head of the state, and the first Adivasi President of India, you hold a unique position of moral and political responsibility. In this moment of escalating violence and the resultant loss of hundreds of lives, your voice and urgent intervention are critically needed to impress upon the government, to resort to dialogue as a means of conflict resolution,” the activists urged.

The civil rights activists reminded the president that in the last three weeks, the Maoist party has released three public statements expressing their readiness to observe ceasefire and for peace talks, contingent upon the government halting armed operations.

“It is now incumbent upon the Government of India and concerned state governments to halt all armed
operations immediately, and agree to a ceasefire. While the government has claimed openness to
‘unconditional’ dialogue, in practice, it has imposed pre-conditions—demanding surrender and return to
the mainstream. “Meanwhile, military operations have intensified dramatically. This is not, in our view, how a government committed to peace responds to overtures for dialogue. What is unfolding is a state-driven campaign to shut down the possibility of political resolution altogether,” the letter read.

“Your intervention could determine whether what follows from this moment is more bloodshed or a door is opened to a principled, and constitutional resolution,” the activists implored President Droupadi Murmu.

Urgent demands put forth by activists to initiate the peace process

The government should stop the offensive in Adivasi areas, in order to facilitate a ceasefire.
The CPI (Maoist) should cease all hostilities against the state forces to facilitate a ceasefire.
Dialogue must begin between the government and CPI (Maoist).
Free access to the affected areas should be provided to the independent civil organizations and media.
People’s livelihood needs and constitutional rights must be addressed urgently.
The state should immediately release Adivasis and other activists jailed for asserting their democratic rights and disagreeing with state policies inimical to Adivasis, so that they can participate in the talks and remain equal stakeholders in this dialogue. (For example, the activists of Moolvasi Bachao Manch).

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Rahul Gandhi moves SC in Savarkar defamation case

Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.

New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has petitioned the Supreme Court to quash a 2022 defamation case filed against him over his alleged derogatory remarks on freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

In November 202, Rahul Gandhi, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, allegedly passed defamatory comments on Savarkar at a rally in Maharashtra’s Akola.

As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan will take up the plea of the Rae Bareli MP for hearing on April 25.

Trade, geopolitics and climate change-Balancing global commitments with domestic equity

U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to impose sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods and taxes on imports will have potential ramifications for global trade. As trade wars escalate, countries across the world will feel the heat of inflation, dwindling supply, and market volatility.

Multilateralism thus faces increased pressure from the rising protectionism and growing unilateralism in international affairs. The impact will be felt across globally relevant issues such as climate commitments, development aid, and international migrations.

At a recent conference organised by the Centre for Development Policy and Practice, Hyderabad, an eminent panel of experts discussed the shifting global order and highlighted several crucial themes:

Trade wars

The ongoing trade wars severely undermine the credibility of multilateral platforms such as the World Trade Organisation. With the US-China imposing heavy tariffs on each other, rule-based trading may lose credibility. The erosion of multilateral dispute resolution systems will lead to countries imposing tariff unilaterally. The larger impact of this unilateral dealing will be felt across the developing countries, who will no longer be able to protect their interests. The strategic shifts in trade regimes are increasingly ideological, often offering an economic rationale. In this scenario, developing nations are left to navigate a game where the rules are constantly rewritten.

Development aid

Global aid now faces increased conditionalities and nationalist retrenchments and thus severely limits the capacity of civil society. With over $75 billion in aid cuts from key donors such as the U.S., the U.K., and the E.U., developing countries are now grappling with reduced fiscal space for rights-based interventions. India, though, has been cautious with the foreign aid it has received. However, it is not immune. The domestic development sector faces severe job losses compounded by stringent FCRA regulations. Civil society must now stay afloat, whilst battling pressures of geopolitics, domestic regulations, and a funding crisis. The development sector in India must shift its reliance on domestic public expenditure, CSR funding, and religious philanthropy.

Climate commitments

Global Climate change commitments will face increasing uncertainty in the present scenario. The year 2024 has been the hottest year on record, and notable for massive climate-induced displacements. The Paris Agreement set ambitious targets; however, global contributions fell short. Climate justice must be accountable to historical injustices and be mindful of global inequalities. Wealthy and industrialised nations must work towards fulfilling the pledges made towards climate finance for funding climate action in the developing South. Moreover, richer, industrialised, and developed countries should take on the responsibility to meet their green targets.

India presents a complex picture—committed to renewables, yet expanding coal use. Encouragingly, 92% of new energy additions in 2024 were renewable. However, there is a need for robust, enforceable policies to bridge the gap between climate commitments and action.

Migration and labour mobility

India’s global remittance amounts to nearly $125 billion. Despite being the top recipient of remittances globally, international migration in India suffers from a governance deficit. While global migration policies tighten, internal systems remain fragmented, leaving workers vulnerable to exploitation. The absence of data and institutional frameworks mars effective diaspora engagement. Migration contributes to development. However, in the absence of accountability and data, migrants live in insecurity—unstable jobs, no access to healthcare, risk of deportation, or abuse from employers.

Another aspect that needs immediate attention is the unregulated student migration and the role of fraudulent agencies in facilitating exploitative labour conditions abroad, especially in Southeast Asia. Thus, the need is to humanise international migration, urging policymakers to look beyond remittance figures and to make systems more robust and accountable.

Whether it is imposition of reciprocal tariffs on developing countries, the cuts in development funding or the hesitancy in executing climate commitments¾the new world order is increasingly leaning away from collective responsibility. In a fragmented world order, without consensus on some of the most critical concerns, it is the vulnerable that will continue to bear the brunt. The least developed countries with the poorest majority will suffer from the impact of climate change, volatilities in trade and migration policies, and cuts in international development aid.

(The Centre for Development Policy and Practice held a conference in Hyderabad on March 28, 2025, titled “Development Policy and Practice Conference, March 2025.” This article is based on the panel discussion on “Trade, Geopolitics, and Climate Change.”)

Nahia Hussain is Vice President (Policy Affairs) at CDPP. She has a Master’s degree from the National Law School of India, Bangalore. She has work experience in diverse issues like gender rights, sustainability, foreign policy, health, and criminal justice.

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Pahalgam all-party meet: Asaduddin Owaisi gets call from Home Ministry

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi speaks during the Save Waqf Conference.

New Delhi: Hours after he found fault with the Centre for not inviting smaller parties to the all-party meeting convened by it on the Pahalgam terror attack, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said he was extended an invitation.

Owaisi, in a social media post on Thursday, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite all political parties irrespective of their strength in the Parliament for the meeting.

Terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly tourists.

Speaking to reporters here, the Hyderabad MP said the all-party meeting is of national importance.