Firstpost Editor's Picks: West Bengal violence, Karnataka rift and Cummins' summer of fun; today's must-read stories

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Amit Shah and Mamata turn up the heat; but this is par for the course for West Bengal

Which side cast the first stone cannot, obviously, be ascertained at this juncture, but it is clear that both parties were guilty of lawlessness. It is equally clear that the administration should have been better prepared to stamp out any attempt at disturbing the peace. As far as Singh's call is concerned it cannot be gainsaid that it is within his jurisdiction to make inquiries. It would be interesting to find out, however, how often and with what kind of alacrity, the Union home minister has made such inquiries when violence has broken out in states ruled by his party.

Mutually assured destruction in Karnataka: Not-so-internal rift between JD(S), Congress leaves no winners, only losers

What is unfolding in Karnataka can be described as the mutually assured destruction. MAD is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. It is based on the theory of deterrence, which holds that the threat of using strong weapons against the enemy prevents the enemy's use of those same weapons.

India's melting pot struggling to assimilate Kashmiri youth because politics keeps getting in the way

If there is any bias, it is against a certain political view which doesn’t go down well with a class of people who are thin-skinned, overzealous and often conservative. For instance, an engineering student from the Hindi heartland would always take great offence to any individual supporting the Pakistan cricket team over India. Similarly, an emotional Kashmiri will not tolerate any abuse against his favourite failed batsman Shahid Afridi. And certainly the emotions become issues of great confrontation.

Firstpost at Sundance: Ted Bundy biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is incredibly problematic, shallow

Zac Effron is more than convincing as Bundy but the film's limited focus means we don't see Bundy's more chilling, unhinged avatar. As Michael Fassbender showed with Steve Jobs, you don't need to look exactly like the character you're portraying as long as the film has a tightly structured narrative and an engaging script. Extremely Wicked would have been a much more fascinating and insightful film if it had better explored Lily Collins' character arc in the second half, rather than repeatedly showing her smoking and swigging down bottles as she watches Bundy's trials on television.

Australia vs Sri Lanka: After years of pain, Pat Cummins' summer of fun finally arrives

Battling through injuries and going through the healing processes are not new to Cummins, but in the past, he has had university studies to distract his frustrations and overcome the mental barriers. However, the 2018 winter is different. He has finished his degree and needs a diversion or a leisure activity in between all his training. Cummins decides to read various books, cooks nearly every night and chooses to train a puppy. As he goes about his business, he can't help think about the summer of cricket that lies on the horizon.