India’s greatest strength lies in the idea that no single religious, linguistic, ethnic or social identity forms the basis of our nation, which requires vigilance on our part to avoid the problematic fusion of religion and the state.

Facebook whistleblower Zhang had sought to appear before the Standing Committee on IT to reveal facts about Facebook users in India. However, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had, against precedent, said that foreign nationals cannot do so.

She challenged patriarchal societal norms, religious orthodoxy and the arbitrary exercise of power by the state. She was a positive disruptor of the status quo of Kerala society.

When the state backs a particular text such as the Gita, to the exclusion of others, its message is that Hindu texts have primacy over the rest, and that these texts, unlike the rest, represent ‘Indian ethics’ or ‘Indian culture’.

Such an inquiry discounts individual agency and fails to understand that not all forms of religious doctrines are given – they are also lived, experienced and seen in different ways.

“My presence in parliament will be an opportunity to project the views of the judiciary before the legislature and vice versa," the former chief justice of India had said. So what exactly has he projected?

The rule on sub judice can be a convenient tool for the political establishment to block parliamentary oversight, especially on sensitive issues such as corruption or abuse of powers.

After Tharoor responded with a privilege notice against Nishikant Dubey for casting aspersions on the committee's proceedings, BJP MPs sought to replace him as the head.

A mature democracy should provide MPs more elbow room to ask difficult questions.

Rules under an Act are not legislated by parliament and delegated to the executive. While a process to oversee the rules exists, it is rarely followed.

Some of the factors used in the ranking systems are dependent on random ballots and contingencies.

Irrespective of the politics involved, as the presiding officer of the house, it is Sumitra Mahajan's moral and constitutional duty to maintain order in Lok Sabha.

Instead of tinkering with the electoral edifice for short-term political gains, the government must realise that proxy voting is highly susceptible electoral fraud as it purely depends on the trust of a third party.

Various persons accused of economic offences have managed to flee due to the failure of the investigating agencies, not due to the lack of laws.

The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2017 removes the security net that exists around our nationally protected monuments. 

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, needs critical deliberation, and one can only hope that the Rajya Sabha acts as a check on it.