Counterview

​By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  ​We live in revealing times. When a television reporter recently confronted renowned development economist Jean Drèze and asked him who he was, social media erupted into debate. Many asked: what is so egregious about a reporter not recognizing someone? But aren't journalists expected to understand the public sphere, its key actors, and their backgrounds? Predictably, an establishment media figure rushed to frame Drèze merely as a former member of the UPA-era National Advisory Council headed by Sonia Gandhi.

By A Representative   In a strongly worded appeal addressed to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), ecologist and former UN Environmental Negotiator Dr. S. Faizi has urged the organization to remove Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from his position as Chair of its Council of Member States for 2026. The letter, addressed to International IDEA Secretary-General Dr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, also calls for the immediate establishment of an independent mechanism to monitor India’s electoral process.

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  Traditionally, women have been confined to the domestic sphere, with emphasis on their roles as wives, mothers and homemakers. But India is now witnessing a sweeping change in the role of women. Two recent large protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, one in July 2026 against the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and another in October 2026 against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, have drawn a new picture of the role of girls and women in Indian student politics and social movements.

By Ayush Bajpai, Sandeep Pandey  On 10 October, Delhi witnessed something that has become a familiar template of this regime over the past decade. It weaponised the police and paramilitary forces to stifle dissent, prevent people from speaking out, and unleash brutal violence against them—men, women and children alike. No one is spared. Advocates are being subjected to brutality; seeing someone like Shadan Farasat being manhandled by the police is both disturbing and cruel. The goons, without any fear or remorse, are beating children and women on the streets, right in front of the Delhi Police.

By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  The burning question on every Indian's lips is what the future holds for the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) agitation in Delhi and elsewhere. At the moment, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The protest may lead to regime change in Delhi, or it may fizzle out for reasons that are obvious and need not be enumerated. For now, the protest is not going to die. Stopping it and detaining people will only prolong it, and chaos and uncertainty are clearly written on the wall.

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy, who taught comparative politics and the Indian Constitution at the School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University, died on October 11. He was 75. A political scientist and public intellectual, he was known for his work on international relations, peace and conflict resolution, human rights and democratic values, and for his solidarity with students.

By Harsh Thakor*  The intellectual world has lost a towering figure whose work reshaped how we understand capitalism . Anwar Shaikh , who passed away on October 6 at 80 in New York after a prolonged illness, was among the most influential Marxist economists of the past half-century. His contributions transcended the boundaries of conventional economic thought, offering a framework that bridged classical political economy with rigorous empirical analysis. For over four decades, Shaikh stood at the forefront of efforts to develop a coherent alternative to mainstream economics —one grounded in the realities of competition, conflict, and crisis rather than abstract models divorced from actual capitalist dynamics.

By Sandeep Pandey, Niya Tapo  The Arunachal Pradesh government had been claiming that the majority of people in the Siang Valley were in favour of the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) survey being carried out to determine the viability of a proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, envisaging a large dam on the Siang River with a capacity of 11,000–12,500 MW. However, a visit by Chief Minister Pema Khandu to Yingkiong, the district headquarters of Upper Siang, towards the end of September provoked people to burn several government vehicles, set fire to a Central Armed Police Forces camp comprising CRPF, ITBP, SSB, RAF and IRBM personnel, vandalise the house of MLA Alo Libang in Yingkiong, and prevent Deputy CM Chowna Mein, Cabinet Ministers Ojing Tasing and Nyato Dukam, and Advisor Ninong Ering from attending the CM’s meeting with government officials and community representatives. 

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  Liberal commentators, journalists, and insular intellectuals from various fields often claim that there is a fundamental difference between Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, the two BJP Prime Ministers of India. It would be disingenuous to claim that there are no differences between the two individuals. In biological terms, cloning through the duplication of a genotype (genetic code) is possible, but environmental differences can still produce variations in phenotype, including physical traits and lifespan.