Morning Digest | China releases new official map, showing territorial claims; Assam Rifles files defamation suit against Manipur politician, and more

Read a daily selection of top stories from across India and the world by The Hindu to start your day

Assam Rifles files defamation suit against Manipur politician, seeks apology

Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force in the country, has slapped a legal notice against a Manipur politician for causing “considerable harm to the reputation and standing of the organisation in the public eye.” It said the notice is being served for tarnishing the reputation and “discouraging and demoralising” the Central armed police force. Assam Rifles sought a “written” and “public” apology for the false allegation and defamation asking him to retract the statement he made at ‘Condolence of Meitei Martyrs’ in Delhi on June 30.

China releases new official map, showing territorial claims

China’s government released the “2023 edition of the standard map of China”, which continues to show the entire State of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region within China’s borders. The latest map follows Beijing in April announcing it would “standardise” the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including a town close to the Arunachal Pradesh capital of Itanagar. This was the third such list “renaming” places in Arunachal Pradesh, and was seen by observers as a response to India holding events in the lead-up to the G-20 summit in the State, which Beijing had opposed. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the September 9-10 summit in New Delhi.

Only Centre can conduct census, Union tells SC in Bihar caste survey case

The Union government saidonly the Centre is entitled to conduct census, in its reply to the Supreme Court on the Bihar government’s caste-based survey. The Centre had filed an affidavit earlier on August 28 morning which said in its penultimate paragraph that “no other body is entitled to conduct the exercise of either census or any action akin to census”. Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the uploading of data collected in the recently concluded Bihar caste-based survey while debunking claims that the Nitish Kumar government had violated the fundamental right to privacy by compelling people to reveal their caste.

Rajnath Singh to visit Sri Lanka this weekend, say defence sources