Table of Contents
The Hindu Editorial Analysis
We understand the significance of reading The Hindu newspaper for enhancing reading skills, improving comprehension of passages, staying informed about current events, enhancing essay writing, and more, especially for banking aspirants who need to focus on editorials for vocabulary building. This article will explore today’s editorial points, along with practice questions and key vocabulary.
Mamata, ED clash over raid at I-PAC office
- On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of taking away evidence from two places during raids carried out on the political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) in Kolkata.
The ED claimed that the Chief Minister interfered with the search and removed both paper documents and electronic material from the locations. - Banerjee visited the I-PAC office and the home of its co-founder, Pratik Jain, while the raids were still going on. She said the searches were “politically motivated” and were meant to steal data related to her party.
She claimed that important Trinamool Congress documents, including strategy papers and candidate lists, were taken by the Central agency. - Blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ms. Banerjee called them “great killers of democracy” and asked how such actions could be justified.
She also questioned what would happen if her government started raiding BJP offices in West Bengal. - Banerjee reached Mr. Jain’s house in south Kolkata around 12:44 p.m. and later went to the I-PAC office in the Salt Lake area of the city.
She left the I-PAC office at about 4:20 p.m. - When she came out of Mr. Jain’s residence, she was seen carrying a file that she did not have when she entered the house.
- In a formal statement, the ED said that the Chief Minister and her associates had “forcibly removed physical documents and electronic evidence.”
The agency claimed that Ms. Banerjee took away important evidence, including documents and electronic devices, from Mr. Jain’s residence. - According to the ED, the Chief Minister’s convoy then went to the I-PAC office, where Ms. Banerjee, her aides, and State police officials again forcibly removed documents and electronic evidence.
The ED said these actions disrupted an ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). - The agency explained that the searches were connected to investigations into a coal smuggling racket and organisations linked to hawala money transfers.
It said the raids were carried out fully according to the law and proper procedures. - The ED stressed that the searches were based on evidence and were not aimed at any political party.
It also said that no party office was searched and that the raids had nothing to do with elections. - According to the agency, the raids were part of its regular efforts to crack down on money laundering.
- The ED approached the Calcutta High Court and asked for legal intervention.
In its petition, the agency said that the Chief Minister’s actions created obstacles during the searches. - During her visit to Mr. Jain’s residence, Ms. Banerjee was accompanied by Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma and other senior State police officers.
- Two FIRs were filed against ED officials at the Shakespeare Sarani police station.
One FIR was registered by the police themselves, claiming that ED officials did not inform the local police before starting the raids.
The second FIR was based on a complaint by Mr. Jain’s wife, who said that important documents were stolen from their home during the search. - Banerjee directly blamed Union Home Minister Amit Shah for planning the raids.
She said the BJP wanted to “forcefully bulldoze Bengal” and added that the people of the State would not bow down to the BJP. - She described the Home Minister as “naughty and nasty” and questioned whether the BJP had the courage to act differently.
Later, she appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to control his Home Minister. - The Trinamool Congress has been using I-PAC as its political consultant for the past few years.
The firm played an important role in planning the party’s election strategies during the 2021 Assembly elections and later elections in West Bengal. - Banerjee said that the people of the State would respond to the ED raids. She asked party workers and supporters to protest against the searches.
- After her call, a large number of Trinamool Congress supporters gathered outside the I-PAC office. They shouted slogans as ED officials left the building after finishing the raids.
Trump approves bill imposing up to 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil
- S. President Donald Trump has increased pressure on India to stop buying oil from Russia by approving a law that would allow him to impose tariffs of up to 500% on countries that purchase Russian oil or uranium, according to senior U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.
- Senator Graham, who is close to Mr. Trump, said on Wednesday that the President has approved the Russia Sanctions Bill, which could be put to a vote in the U.S. Congress as early as next week.
- Graham said the Bill would give President Trump strong power over countries like China, India, and Brazil, to push them to stop buying cheaper Russian oil that helps fund Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
- The Bill has strong support from both parties, with 84 co-sponsors in the 100-member Senate and 151 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, making it likely to pass once it is voted on.
- This move comes just before the arrival of U.S. Ambassador-designate to India, Sergio Gor, in New Delhi. Mr. Gor has said that making sure India stops importing Russian oil is a “top priority” for the United States.
- Gor, who was confirmed and sworn in months ago, will start his role as Ambassador to India and as “Special Envoy to South and Central Asia” on Monday. He is expected to explain his goals through a public statement.
- Earlier this week, President Trump and Senator Graham spoke to the media together, where Mr. Trump said that a “great legislation” was coming soon.
- Senator Graham explained that the Bill would allow the President to decide how high the tariffs should be, in addition to the 25% penalty tariffs already placed on India.
- Because of this, Mr. Gor’s first major task in New Delhi is likely to be pushing India to completely stop buying Russian oil, not just reduce imports.
- Reliance Industries said this week that it has not received any Russian oil at its Jamnagar refinery for most of December and does not expect any shipments in January, showing that it has temporarily stopped ordering Russian oil.
- Indian public sector oil companies sharply increased their Russian oil purchases in November 2025. However, since Reliance has stopped imports and Nayara Energy—the other major buyer—is under Western sanctions and cannot import oil, India’s overall purchases are unlikely to return to previous levels.
- In 2018, under similar pressure from the earlier Trump administration, India had fully stopped importing oil from Iran and Venezuela.
- Meanwhile, in Paris, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he was “satisfied” that India has reduced its oil imports from Russia. He made this comment while standing with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany.
- During his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September, Mr. Gor said President Trump had been very clear about India’s oil purchases from Russia.
- Gor said India must stop buying Russian oil and pointed out that nearly every member of the committee had supported Senator Graham’s Bill proposing a 500% tariff on countries that buy and resell Russian oil.
- He added that so far, the President has imposed only a 25% tariff under the Russia Sanctions Act.
Community-Led Conservation Voices
- Madhav Gadgil, a well-known scholar and strong supporter of people-led conservation, passed away in Pune on Wednesday after a short illness. He was 83 years old.
- He began his career as a conservationist with an elite, city-based view of protecting nature. Over time, he changed his thinking and became an ecologist who strongly supported the rights of poor and marginalized communities who depend on forests for their lives.
- He called these communities the “common people of India” and believed they were a natural part of the ecosystem. He felt that humans should be included in environmental thinking, not pushed out.
- This change in his thinking is clearly described in his autobiography, A Walk Up the Hill: Living with People and Nature, published in 2023.
- In the book, he wrote that in his early years he believed nature could be protected only through wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. At that time, he supported removing people from such areas to protect forests and animals.
- His views changed in the 1980s, when he started looking for ways to protect nature by working together with local communities instead of opposing them.
- In the foreword of his autobiography, the late M.S. Swaminathan called Gadgil one of India’s leading environmental researchers whose ideas were always linked with real action to protect nature and serve humanity.
- Gadgil later changed global thinking on conservation by placing human rights above strict wildlife protection.
He was troubled by governments focusing too much on business interests while ignoring the rights of farmers and tribal communities. - Over time, he came to see the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 as a tool used by forest departments to control and punish common people, especially hunter-gatherers and small farmers.
- The Western Ghats, where he was born in 1942, became the centre of his work and ideas.
- In 2011, he headed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel.
The Manmohan Singh government formed this panel after experts and local people warned about damage to the Western Ghats due to industries, climate change, and commercial greed. - Gadgil travelled widely across the region, studying the land closely and speaking with forest communities, village panchayats, and forest officials.
- He suggested strong but people-friendly measures to protect the Western Ghats.
He proposed setting up a Western Ghats Ecology Authority and recommended declaring a large part of the region as environmentally sensitive. - His report called for stopping new polluting industries in highly fragile areas and slowly shutting down existing harmful industries.
- These ideas faced strong opposition from groups with vested interests, leading to the formation of another panel.
The second panel, led by space scientist K. Kasturirangan, suggested in 2013 that only 37% of the Western Ghats should be protected. - Even this weaker proposal was not accepted.
As a result, the Western Ghats remains an area of conflict between development goals and environmental protection. - Gadgil also played an important role in the “Save the Silent Valley” movement in Kerala during the 1970s and early 1980s to protect rainforests.
He also actively supported forest protection efforts in Bastar. - Though educated at Harvard and known worldwide, his main concern always remained India’s fragile environment and the people who live within it.
- Paying tribute on X, former Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh described Gadgil as an outstanding scientist, tireless field worker, institution builder, great communicator, and a strong supporter of people’s movements, as well as a mentor to many.
- Historian Ramachandra Guha, who wrote two books with Gadgil in the 1990s, remembered him as a model scientist and citizen, and as a close friend and guide for over forty years.
- Gadgil leaves behind a powerful legacy for future generations.
He hoped that the third generation born in free, democratic India would live by constitutional values such as social justice, equality, dignity, openness, accountability, and respect for the law. - He believed that to achieve this, ecologists must speak not only about nature like air, water, and wildlife, but also about people, money, and economic systems.
Important Questions
- Why did the Enforcement Directorate allege that Mamata Banerjee interfered with the search operations at the I-PAC office and Pratik Jain’s residence during the raids in Kolkata?
- On what grounds did Mamata Banerjee describe the ED searches linked to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as “politically motivated”?
- How would the Russia Sanctions Bill approved by President Donald Trump allow the imposition of up to 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil or uranium, including India?
- Why has U.S. Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor said that ending India’s imports of discounted Russian oil is a “top priority” for the United States?
- How did Madhav Gadgil’s views change from wildlife sanctuaries to working with the “common people of India”?
- Why did Gadgil criticise the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 in relation to forest communities?
Important Vocabulary
- Interfered – tried to stop or disturb an official action
- Forcibly – done using force or pressure
- Obstruction – action that blocks or slows a process
- Judicial – related to courts or legal authority
- Tariffs – taxes placed on imported goods
- Bipartisan – supported by two political parties
- Leverage – power used to influence decisions
- Sanctions – penalties imposed by countries or governments
- Marginalised – pushed to the edges of society
- Constituents – essential or included parts of something
- Fragile – easily damaged or harmed
- Ideology – a system of ideas or beliefs
Download Online Mock Test Mobile APP
3
