The 16th Finance Commission (report submitted Nov 2025) is currently the biggest political flashpoint in India. Southern states (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka) argue they are being "punished for success" because their tax share is dropping due to their successful population control. Northern states (UP, Bihar) argue they need more funds due to poverty and population size ("Income Distance").

India abolished the jury system after the infamous K. M. Nanavati case (1959), where a naval officer was tried for killing his wife's lover. The jury initially acquitted him, but the verdict was overturned by the Bombay High Court, citing media influence and public sentiment swaying the jury's decision. This led to India formally phasing out juries with the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) reforms in 1973. Since then, India has relied solely on bench trials, where judges deliver verdicts based on law and evidence.

You are dead. You just died in a car accident at the age of 20. Your life was average, but unfulfilling, and you have many goals and milestones that were left incomplete. God is in a good mood and offers you a choice: To reincarnate at a similar level and try again, or to escape the cycle of reincarnation and attain eternal salvation or Moksha. You would cease to exist as an individual conscious soul and join the cosmic ocean of collective consciousness. This is a one-time offer. If you refuse, you would have to keep climbing higher in the karmic ladder across multiple lives to attain Moksha.

"The Nuremberg Defence, or "I was just following orders", is a plea that an individual should not be considered guilty of actions that were ordered by a superior officer

Odious debt is the legal doctrine that holds that the national debt incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the interests of the nation should not be enforceable.

For the purposes of this debate, the concept of 'Genius' refers to all forms of measurable intelligence.

For the purposes of this debate, a 'temple' is any place of worship where many people get together to worship a deity, perform rituals etc. It may be temporary or permanent.

Secularism has 2 common definitions:

Definition A: The state does not interfere in religious practice whatsoever (the separation church and state)

Definition B: The state actively intervenes to ensure equality between religions, including regulating or restricting religious practices where necessary to protect constitutional values, public order, or individual rights.

 Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark with significant deposits of critical minerals such as rare earth elements, which are vital for clean energy, technology, and defence supply chains. Due to its Arctic location and mineral potential, Greenland has attracted strategic interest from major powers, particularly the United States, China, and the European Union. The US views Greenland as crucial for Arctic security and allied supply chains, while China has sought limited mining involvement as part of its broader global resource strategy. The EU has recently pursued closer cooperation with Greenland through strategic partnerships focused on sustainable mining, reducing dependence on Chinese rare earths, and respecting Greenlandic autonomy.

'Helicopter drops' is the term for economic policy which seeks to place cash in the hands of the general public directly. This often takes the form of stimulus cheques, but can also be done via tax relief.

You are a middle-aged person who has been in a committed monogamous relationship for over 15 years. You have built a life together and sworn to love each other for better or for worse and in sickness and in health. You have until now been madly in love and believed you would die old together. For the purposes of this debate, worms are sentient creatures who cannot verbally communicate, apart from one day a year when they can verbally communicate on Halloween. Just over 10% of humans that turn into worms turn back into humans. Your partner has turned into a worm.

Taylor Swift is among the world’s wealthiest entertainers, with a net worth exceeding a billion dollars, placing her far beyond the economic reality of most women globally. She is one of the few women to wield such concentrated cultural and economic power in a male-dominated industry, while facing criticism for political disengagement and environmental impact, including extensive private jet use