Commentaries by Jishnutosh Majumdar

India Must Reform its Anti-Defection Law to Prevent Further Corrosion of Democracy

Indian Parliament - Lakun Patra

India Must Reform its Anti-Defection Law to Prevent Further Corrosion of Democracy

Jishnutosh Majumdar

July 19, 2022 09:17:15 am

“Defectors often cause more difficulty than disinterested disbelievers” – Neal Ash Maxwell, American scholar, educator, and religious leader. Recent events in the Indian state of Maharashtra reaffirm the existence of glaring loopholes in a law aimed at bolstering political stability in India. The recent fall of the democratically elected government led by the state’s former [...]

THIS DAY @ LAW

First impeachment trial began in US Senate

On December 17, 1798, the US Senate began its first impeachment trial. Senator William Blount of Tennessee, a land speculator, was accused of plotting with England to wrest control of Florida from Spain. The Senate ultimately dismissed the charges for lack of jurisdiction—and, perhaps incidentally, lack of Blount, who had gone to Tennessee and had refused to return to the Senate for trial. Read more on the trial of William Blount.

Simon Bolivar dies

On December 17, 1830, South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar died in Colombia. During his lifetime, Bolivar led successful revolutions against Spanish colonial rule throughout South America. His efforts led to the independence of the modern-day nations of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia, a nation named in his honor.