Counterview

By A Representative   In an unusually sharp open letter addressed to serving members of the All India and Central Services, 98 former civil servants have warned that constitutional values in India are being openly breached and that democratic dialogue has virtually vanished, with any expression of dissent or difference of opinion being branded "anti-national." The letter, issued by the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) on 7 October 2026 and signed by retired officers of the IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, IFoS and other services, tells civil servants in no uncertain terms that when orders from the political executive conflict with statutory provisions, their duty is to follow the law "in letter and spirit, even where it causes personal inconvenience." The CCG, which describes itself as a collective of former civil servants that came into being nine years ago to uphold the primacy of constitutional values in India's polity and society, says it feels compelled to...

By A Representative   The Right to Food Campaign on Wednesday welcomed the Maharashtra government's decision to strengthen PM POSHAN and extend school meals from Class 8 to Class 10, while urging that the scheme be expanded to cover Classes 9–12, with a nutritious breakfast also introduced alongside milk, eggs and fruit.

By A Representative   A delegation of participants scheduled to attend a "Course on Green Socialism" in Pasighat, East Siang District, has been barred from entering Arunachal Pradesh by local district authorities. The event, organized jointly by the Socialist Party (India), India Greens Party, and Voters’ Party International, was set to take place from October 7 to 11, 2026. However, the plans were halted following written orders issued by the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate of East Siang, Sonalika Jiwani.

By Vikas Meshram*  In the tribal heartland of Banswara, four women have turned small family gardens into layered sources of nutrition, income and self-respect. At the southern tip of Rajasthan, where the Mahi River curls around a landscape of hills, slopes and small fields known as Vagad, lies Banswara. According to the 2011 Census, about 76 per cent of the district's population belongs to Scheduled Tribes, the Bhil being the largest community, and most households live off the land. In Anandpuri block, four women have each found their own way of drawing a livelihood from this terrain: Kokila Devi Damor of Seranagla, Kuni Devi Pargi of Navagra, Chhagan Devi Patel of Bawdi and Laxmi Garasia of Ubapan.

By Dr A.V. Yadappanavar *  In a small village called Takli, not far from the temple town of Pandharpur in Maharashtra, there is a home where children who were once abandoned because of their HIV status now find food, medicine, education, and something even rarer — love without fear. The home is called Palawi, and it was founded in 2001 by Mangal Shah, affectionately known as Mangaltai, a social worker who could not look away from children rejected by their own families.

By Bharat Dogra*  The recent successful BRICS summit, along with the preceding talks that resolved several contentious issues, has helped create conducive conditions for improving India-China relations. This is good news for both countries and for world peace.

By Harsh Thakor*  The arrest of Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen, commonly known as the “Gang of Four,” marked a major change in the political direction of the People’s Republic of China. Occurring shortly less than a month after the death of Mao Zedong on September 9, 1976,  the arrests brought the radical phase of the Cultural Revolution to an end and initiated a transition in the balance of power within the Communist Party and the state. The 50-year-old episode was followed by a reassessment of the Cultural Revolution and, over the subsequent years, by significant changes in China’s political and economic policies.

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ*   Every year, the Catholic Church dedicates the month of October to the Holy Rosary. The day of particular significance is 7 October, celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. One also remembers 13 October 1917, when the Virgin Mary appeared for the sixth and final time in Fatima, Portugal, to the three shepherd children, Lucia, Francis and Jacinta. She identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary and urged that the Rosary be prayed daily for peace in the world. Thousands also witnessed an extraordinary spectacle at that time, known as the Miracle of the Sun.

By A Representative   More than 200 concerned citizens, activists, academics, lawyers and people’s organisations from across India have appealed to national and Madhya Pradesh authorities to intervene in the ongoing protests by communities affected by the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project in Madhya Pradesh.