Counterview

By Neha Desai    Arunachal Pradesh has once again borne the brunt of nature's fury. Weeks of torrential monsoon rains, cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides have destroyed homes, washed away roads and bridges, isolated communities, and claimed lives across several districts. Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army, and local authorities have been stretched as thousands struggle to recover. Yet to describe this devastation as merely a natural disaster would be to overlook a deeper and more uncomfortable truth. 

By  Bhabani Shankar Nayak*    Various forms of crisis, risk, and insecurity are intensifying, even as governing elites drum up patriotism, nationalism, and ethnic and religious unity to hide the failures of the ruling classes and their capitalist system, with all its powers. Labour is more productive than ever before, yet it continues to face archaic forms of marginalisation. 

By Bharat Dogra   In the Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh, a new piped water network is bringing tap water to villages, offering tremendous relief—particularly for women who no longer bear the daily burden of fetching water. However, the transition has not been smooth, and numerous challenges persist. Many villages remain without tap water, while in others, certain hamlets or households have been left out. Jaipal Singh Yadav, sarpanch of Kulua village in Niwari district, explains: "From early morning, I start getting calls from different parts of the village—'Sarpanch Ji, there is no water in my tap today.' If one person is getting water, another is not. Often I am helpless, yet expected to solve problems immediately. What exactly can I do?"

By Raqif Makhdoomi*  Raizada Trilok Chand, the Governor of Kashmir, ordered his forces to open fire on protesters on July 13, 1931, leaving 22 people dead. Their deaths marked the beginning of what came to be observed as Martyrs' Day in Kashmir. Every year on July 13, many Kashmiris remember those who lost their lives while resisting what they regarded as an oppressive and autocratic regime.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The digital revolution has not only created a post-truth society shaped by an industry of manipulation, misinformation, and deepfakes; it has also fundamentally transformed the global scam economy, affecting millions of people worldwide. Criminals increasingly exploit digital platforms and technologies to defraud unsuspecting individuals. According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), people lost more than US$1.03 trillion to digital scams, while the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has described the rapid growth of online fraud and cybercrime as a "scamdemic."

By Jeremy David Engels*  “Namaste,” a common greeting in India and South Asia, has become a global cultural phenomenon – the word appears everywhere, from wellness retreats to political events to pop culture.