Section 7 of the Right to Information Act of 2005 gives a public information officer thirty days to decide on a request. If the officer “fails to give decision on the request for information within the period specified,” the officer “shall be deemed to have refused the request.”
The Pocket Veto
In 1986 Parliament passed the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill. President Zail Singh neither signed it nor sent it back to Parliament. The bill remained in limbo. His silence became known as a pocket veto.
In 1990 the government of V.P. Singh withdrew the bill.
Sitting on Bills
The governor of Tamil Nadu, R.N. Ravi, held back ten bills that the state assembly had passed a second time. On April 8, 2025, two judges of the Supreme Court found his delay illegal. They set time limits for governors and the President and declared the bills assented to.
On November 20, 2025, answering a reference from the President, a Constitution Bench held that courts cannot fix such timelines and that deemed assent is not consistent with the Constitution. It added that governors “cannot sit on Bills indefinitely.”
No Gifts for Doctors
In March 2024 the government notified the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices. It states that “no gift should be offered or provided for personal benefit of any healthcare professional or family member.” Companies may not give doctors travel, hotel stays or resort accommodation.
In August 2022 a federation of medical representatives told the Supreme Court that the maker of Dolo-650, a paracetamol tablet, had spent about 1,000 crore rupees on freebies for doctors who prescribed it. The figure came from an accusation by the tax authorities. The company, Micro Labs, denied it.
The Thread of Protection
Raksha bandhan means “the bond of protection, obligation, or care.” On the festival, sisters tie a rakhi around their brothers’ wrists. The sisters receive a gift in return and give their brothers a share of responsibility for their care.
A popular story says that Rani Karnavati of Chittor sent a rakhi to the Mughal emperor Humayun to ask for his help. Historians such as Satish Chandra consider the story a fable.
The Vocabulary of Favors
Ehsaan. A favor, a kindness, the conferring of an obligation, in the Rekhta dictionary.
Ehsaan maanna. To acknowledge a favor, to feel obliged.
Ehsaan utaarna. To return a favor.
Ehsaan-faramosh. Forgetful of favors received, ungrateful.
I Have Mother
In Deewaar (1975), Vijay, played by Amitabh Bachchan, faces his brother Ravi, a police inspector, played by Shashi Kapoor. Vijay lists what he owns. Aaj mere paas building hai, property hai, bank balance hai, bangla hai, gaadi hai… kya hai tumhare paas? Today I have buildings, property, a bank balance, a bungalow, a car. What do you have? Ravi answers: Mere paas maa hai. I have mother.
The line was written by Salim-Javed. It is widely known in India and has become part of its popular culture.
The Fast at Yerwada
In September 1932, in Yerwada jail in Poona, Gandhi began a fast unto death against separate electorates for the Depressed Classes. On September 24, 1932, the Poona Pact was signed, a settlement between Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar. Instead of separate electorates, it gave the Depressed Classes reserved seats within the general electorate.
Ambedkar later wrote of the fast: “It was against them and was the worst form of coercion against a helpless people to give up the constitutional safeguards.”
Reunion
In November 2013 Google released an advertisement called Reunion, made by Ogilvy & Mather India. Two old men, Baldev in India and Yusuf in Pakistan, were separated as children during the partition of 1947. Baldev’s granddaughter uses Google Search to find Yusuf’s family in Lahore.
Dawn reported that the film had been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube. It wrote that it “struck a cultural chord with Indians and Pakistanis.”
The Vocabulary of Bargaining
Mol-tol. Bargaining, haggling, valuation, concession, in the Rekhta dictionary.
Mol-bhaav. To bargain, to make a bargain. Rekhta’s Hindi definition adds the talk that settles a deal and the fixing of a price.