The Problems with Westphalian Nation-State System

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We all associate ourselves with various identities such as Indians, Chinese, Pakistani, Americans, Canadians, French, British and much more. Why do you think we all associate with all these more? Are there any other identities which people associate with?  The identities which I mentioned before are relatively new compared to other identities such as religion, language, caste, and various other identities. It is not to say that people never had such feelings towards nations or the state. But the idea of loyalty and love for the motherland was very important which offset various other identities. The question we are arriving at is what is the motherland, who made and how it formed.  What we refer to today as a Nation or Country refers to what we know in political science as a Nation-State. Today almost all the countries we know are categorised Nation-States and some even as State-Nations. International Relations and Political Science suggest that states are the most important a...
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Newscapsule for the Month of July 2022

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 Following are the top news for the month.  If you wish to follow and get notifications of future articles, you can signup using the email on the left sidebar. 



Kerala 


  • MP Rahul Gandhi’s office was vandalised, and SFI leaders were held responsible for the same. 
  • Attack on Rahul Gandhi's office: SFI dissolves its Wayanad District Committee.
  • Electricity rates in the state were hiked by the Regulatory commission.
  • Kerala Youth Congress WhatsApp chats reveal pre-planning of protest against CM in the Indigo flight. ‘Leaked’ WhatsApp chats suggest Sabarinathan was the mastermind. He was arrested and later sent on bail.
  • Man arrested at Kochi airport for uttering the word Bomb.
  • Intervene in rising airfares, Nemom coaching terminal project: Pinarayi Vijayan to PM
  • Heavy rains in Kerala, orange alert issued in five districts.
  • A Woman and her newborn die in a private hospital in Palakkad.
  • Kerala Culture Minister Saji Cherian Resigns After Sparking Row Over Indian Constitution. Support for him stays intact in his home constituency of Chengannur.
  • Kerala Assembly passes unanimous resolution to exclude populated areas from ESZ.
  • CM Pinarayi hands over portfolios of Saji Cheriyan to three ministers.
  • Youth kills himself in broad daylight at the busy Kaloor junction in Kochi.
  • Kerala, an 'ecotourism hot spot', is among TIME magazine's list of the world's greatest places of 2022. Ahmedabad from the rest of India also got featured.
  • Aviation Min Scindia praises Kochi and TVM airports for helping Lanka-bound planes.
  • Actor and filmmaker Pratap Pothen was found dead at a flat in Chennai. Kochi metro completes 60 million passengers record in five years.
  • Kerala HC allows abortion of a 15-year-old who is 24 weeks pregnant.
  • Indigo Airlines blacklists Minister E P Jayarajan for three weeks and Youth Congress workers for two weeks for protesting on the plane.
  • A day after criticising PK Kunhalikutty in the party meet, KS Hamsa was removed from all positions of IUML.
  • Estonian entity attempts to prevent Russian ships from entering Kochi port.
  • MLA M M Mani was forced to retract his statements on K K Rama MLA made in the assembly.
  • No more boys-only or girls-only schools in Kerala orders Child Right Commission.
  • India Rubber Meet 2022 Begins at Kochi.
  • Ernakulam archbishop 'decides to step down after a visit by a Vatican representative.
  • CM Pinarayi Vijayan announces a food kit with 14 items for Onam-2022.
  • New collectors take charge in the state in the recent reshuffle.
  • Kerala tops Indian states in promulgating ordinances. 

India 


  • The case against Nupur Sharma for comments against Prophet Muhammed combined into a single one.
  • Udaipur killing shocks the country.
  • Govt approves deregulation of domestic crude oil.
  • Lashkar member arrested in Kashmir has ties with BJP.
  • Talib Hussain Shah, Terrorist Arrested From Jammu after villagers helped the police in arresting two armed Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
  • Eknath Shinde wins the floor test in Maharashtra Assembly to continue as the CM. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met Sharad Pawar at midnight.
  • Floods were reported extensively in Assam.
  • Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigns as Union minister a day before the end of the RS term. BJP no more has any Muslim MP or MLA.
  • Muslim man arrested after he sold meat-based food packed with a newspaper that had Hindu goddess. The family claims it was rotis and not chicken.
  • P T Usha was nominated for Rajya Sabha.
  • KSRTC to cut 5098 permanent posts, plans to introduce single duty system.
  • Congress's Manish Tewari Refuses To Sign Opposition's Letter on Agnipath.
  • Supreme Court extends interim bail granted to Mohammed Zubair in a case registered in Sitapur.
  • Rocket-propelled grenade attack on Punjab Police Intelligence HQ in Mohali.
  • 65 words are banned in Parliament as they are termed unparliamentary.
  • Flood was also reported in Surat and Telangana.
  • NIRF rankings for colleges and universities released.
  • Draupadi Murmu vs Yashwanth Sinha Presidential Election- Draupadi Murmu wins the election to be India’s first Tribal President.
  • National Film Awards 2022 announced Soorarai Pottru wins best feature film.
  • India tweaks its flag code, now flag can be flown at night also.
  • Sivadasan, Rahim, Santhosh Kumar, and 16 other opposition MPs were suspended from Rajya Sabha for a week.
  • BJP youth wing worker hacked to death in Karnataka.
  • ED sends notice to Sonia Gandhi, the President of INC; Rahul Gandhi was detained during Congress protest against Sonia Gandhi's questioning. 
  • Youth hacked to death in Mangaluru, section 144 imposed.
  • '750 Kg Pulao, 1.2L Pieces of Sweets': What Remained 'Uncancelled' After Bommai's Event Was Called Off.

World/International


  • Taliban hikes the price of Afghan Coal.
  • Massive shooting takes place on July 4th- Independency of the US.
  • Highland Park shooting: Man arrested after 4 July mass shooting.
  • Australian PM visits Kyiv in civilian clothes.
  • UK ministers quit forcing, PM Boris Johnson to resign. New PM will be decided by the Conservative party.
  • Shinzo Abe: Japan ex-PM injured after reported gunshot attack in the city of Nara; His death confirms assassination. World leaders express their condolences.
  • Killer of George Floyd Sentenced to 21 Years for Violating Civil Rights.
  • Protesters set the Sri Lankan prime minister's private residence on fire.
  • Dutch police open fire on a farming protestor in a tractor.
  • Shinzo Abe's party sweeps to election victory in Japan days after his assassination.
  • AIADMK expels O Panneerselvam, supporters; defiant leader announces similar action against EPS.
  • Sri Lanka's President Rajapaksha was blocked from leaving the country by airport staff. Sri Lankan president flees the country; lands in the Maldives. He resigns later.
  • Sri Lanka Declares Emergency As President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Flees.
  • Sri Lanka PM Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed acting president, wins Presidency later on. Protest continues.
  • Mario Draghi resigned as prime minister of Italy.
  • US House Votes For India Sanctions Waiver Over Russian S-400 Missile Deal.
  • Biden, Saudi Crown Prince met in a Meeting with the U.S. Looks to Reset Ties With Riyadh.
  • Wildfires rage in France and Spain amid a heat wave, while the UK faces the hottest day ever.
  • Japan’s passport was declared the most powerful.
  • 60% of Americans approved of the Supreme Court last July. Now, it's 38%, according to a new poll.
  • Ukrainian First lady addressed the US Congress during her visit to Washington D. C. and appealed for more arms.
  • Bipartisan House delegation meets with Zelensky in Kyiv.
  • The US reports 1st polio case in nearly a decade.
  • House votes to guarantee contraception access in federal law. The majority of the Republicans opposed it.
  • Dinesh Gunawardena was Appointed Sri Lanka's New Prime Minister.
  • Israeli air raid kills three Syrian soldiers.
  • Steve Bannon was found guilty of criminal contempt charges.
  • WHO declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
  • President Joe Biden Tested positive for COVID-19; tested negative only to be positive again.
  • The US state of Kentucky sees massive flooding with deaths in double digits. 
  • U.S. Congress passes a long-awaited bill to boost chipmakers and compete with China. 
  • Biden clashed with China's Xi over the economy, and Taiwan during the call.
  • North Carolina's town police department resigns after a Black woman joins forces.
  • US House of Representatives passes a bill banning certain semi-automatic guns.

Technology 


  • Byjus sacks hundreds of its employees.
  • Digilocker can now be accessed through WhatsApp.
  • India bans single-use plastics from July.
  • India bans service charges at hotels and restaurants.
  • Price of domestic LPG cylinder hiked in India.
  • HRDS company sacks Swapna Suresh who is involved in the Gold Smuggling case.
  • KFON gets operational permission from the Centre: Kerala first state to have its own internet company run by the government.
  • Kerala MVD’s AI cameras are catching traffic violations, but cannot impose fines yet. Fine to be paid via e-Challan.
  • India’s first underwater metro construction going on in Kolkata.
  • Elon Musk wants to terminate the $44 billion Twitter deal. Twitter takes him to court.
  • TDB to take over control of the Sabarimala virtual queue system.
  • 8 richest tech leaders lost more than $250 billion in 2022: Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos take a hit.
  • James Webb's telescope takes a super sharp view of the early cosmos.
  • Indian policymakers are not happy that 8 out of 10 UPI transactions are being done through PhonePe and Google.
  • Indian PM Modi inaugurated Bundelkhand Expressway; roads were damaged later due to rain.
  • Higher secondary schools in Kerala are equipped with robotics labs.
  • Forbes India releases the list of top 100 digital stars of India.
  • CBSE Class 10th and 12th results released.  
  • Google Maps in India finally gets Street View.
  • Meta crosses $1 bn annual revenue run rate for Reels ads. 
  • Kerala Man Builds His Own Airplane To Travel Around Europe With His Family.

Business and Finance


  • Cooking Oil to Get Cheaper as Indian Govt Asks Companies to Cut MRPs by Rs 10/Litre from the first week.
  • Gita Gopinath Features on Wall of Former IMF Chief Economists.
  • Russian McDonald’s pulls out Fries from its menu due to a shortage of Potatoes.
  • Lulu mall was inaugurated in Lucknow, hit by controversy from day 1.
  • Donald Trump says Elon Musk voted for him; Musk calls him a liar.
  • China tries to stem growing anger over frozen bank deposits.
  • Sudhir Chaudhary leaves ZEE News TV and joins Aaj Tak.
  • GST Council imposes 5% GST on packed food items.
  • Kerala opposes 5 per cent GST on pre-packed, labelled food items: Minister tells Assembly. Price of curd, lassi, and buttermilk soar from Monday; Milma to reduce the quantity of some products. Kerala says no state GST to be levied on items from Kudumbashree, small stores.
  • ED issues notice to Former Kerala Minister Thomas Isaac for KIIFB enquiry.
  • Indian Railways' new rule for lunch, dinner, and breakfast onboard trains.
  • Indian Rupee falls to a record low of Rs 80 vs Dollar.
  • The dollar is now a strong currency, with both Euro and Dollar falling parity with each other.  
  • Cabinet approves Rs 1.64 lakh crore revival package for BSNL. BSNL gets Rs 1.64 lakh crore revival package; cabinet clears BBNL, BSNL merger. 

Sports 



  • Citing Kashmir, Pakistan pulls out on Chess Olympiad eve.
  • 'A new beginning': Kerala Blasters FC announces the launch of a senior women's team
  • Neeraj Chopra was ruled out of Commonwealth Games due to a groin injury.
  • 1.2 million tickets sold, Indo-Pak cricket tie to be one of CWG highlights. 6
  • CWG Games begin in Birmingham, UK.
  • Indian Flag hoisted at CWG Village in Birmingham.
  • Chennai hosts World Chess Olympiad 2022. 

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