Counterview

By Shankar Sharma*  As we celebrate Deepavali,  the festival of lights,  it is imperative to shed light on a burning issue in our national energy landscape: the phenomenon of peak demand pushing power purchase costs to unsustainable levels.  Indeed, the phenomenon of escalating peak demand and the associated surge in power purchase costs has become a critical national issue, demanding the active involvement of policymakers and stakeholders alike. 

By Bharat Dogra   The people of the global south waited with eager expectation and hope that their climate efforts would get a massive boost when the climate finance promised by rich countries finally materialized. Recently, wealthy nations announced they had crossed the long-promised annual contribution of $100 billion in 2024. But as the ongoing COP31 international climate conference unfolds in Turkey, we must ask a uncomfortable question: Can we truly say that the cause of climate justice has been well served?

By Harsh Thakor*  Johnny Walker introduced a new model of the comedian, one who symbolised the ruthless realities of post-Independence urbanisation, migration, and the commodification of human life. He was one of the most defining actors of the 1950s and 1960s, with a considerable fan following. A simple man of great character, he was known for his clean comedy. On 11 November, we celebrate the centenary of his birth. His memories have left an indelible mark through his films and songs. Humility characterised his life journey. Walker always remembered his roots and the struggles he faced as the son of an impoverished mill worker in Indore. He was forced to leave school in the sixth standard, something he regretted all his life, and he later sent his sons to the United States for further studies. Few lives have made a more powerful testament to how an artist is a product of social circumstances. Away from the camera, Johnny Walker was a man of few words, and his approach to comedy w...

By Shawan Jabarin   On 13 October 2023, Al-Haq was among the first to warn states to intervene to stop Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The continuum of decades of dehumanisation of Palestinians, a population subjected to refugeehood, denial of return, killings, torture, property appropriations, and pillage – fragmented and subjugated by Israel’s violent settler-colonial apartheid regime – has resulted in an ongoing Nakba, an ongoing colonial erasure, and escalating destruction of the Palestinian people.

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan    After decades of being written about, judged, caricatured and criticised by others, Sonia Gandhi has chosen to narrate her own story. The considerable public interest in her memoir, along with the political reactions to its release, raises an important question: why does a woman's attempt to recount her own life become such a major political event?

Counterview News   A new analysis by climate justice advocate Soumya Dutta , published by the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA), has raised urgent concerns over the growing disparity in India’s climate finance landscape . The report warns that private capital is overwhelmingly flowing toward commercially profitable mitigation projects, while the adaptation needs of the country’s most vulnerable populations remain critically underfunded.

Counterview News   Just 11% of organisations in South Asia describe themselves as fully or very prepared for water-related supply-chain risks , according to a new report from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). The finding, released in the week before the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), exposes a significant preparedness gap as extreme weather intensifies pressure on production, transport, and access to critical resources across the region.

By A Representative   A prominent power and climate policy analyst has urged the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka to comprehensively reassess the rapid proliferation of large pumped storage projects in the ecologically fragile Western and Eastern Ghats. In a detailed representation, addressed to the three Chief Ministers with copies to the Prime Minister and the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, analyst Shankar Sharma warned that the current trajectory of energy storage development risks irreversible ecological and social damage.

By Sanjay Parate   The brutal murder of a police inspector in Khategaon, Madhya Pradesh , allegedly at the hands of the illicit liquor trade , is not an isolated crime. With reported cross-border links running deep into Gujarat, the incident exposes a comfortable inter-state sanctuary for organized crime. Commit an atrocity in one state, find refuge in another; in both realms, the political patron presides. Immunity is guaranteed, provided the requisite dividend flows upward.