Counterview

By A Representative   In an extraordinary display of institutional dissent, a group of 93 former top civil servants, police officers, diplomats, and members of the All India and Central Services has issued a searing open letter condemning the police action against student protesters in the national capital on July 20, 2026, describing it as "unacceptable," "illegal and disproportionate," and a grave violation of constitutional governance that threatens to erode public trust in democratic institutions.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  Every generation gets the India it deserves—but this one is demanding the India it was promised. For too long, students and young people have been dismissed by older generations as apolitical, self-absorbed, and glued to screens, too distracted to care about the nation’s direction. This condescending stereotype has suited the ruling classes just fine. It has allowed them to underfund education, neglect science-based learning, and undermine secular institutions—without fear of pushback from the very demographic that should matter most.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The people of this country must be far more careful the next time someone invokes Gandhi and sits on a fast for a public cause. It is important not to elevate every protester into a Gandhi or a Bhagat Singh. Time and again, people have been betrayed because Gandhism itself has often been used as a tool to manage contradictions and confuse public opinion. It is also a fact that fasting has historically been a practice associated with dominant castes, and not the political path of Ambedkar, Phule, or Periyar.

By Guillermo R. Barreto   It is 19 April 2025. A 12-year-old girl and her 3-year-old brother are playing in front of their house in the village of Bert-Furik. A group of Israeli settlers kidnaps them. At knifepoint, they drag the children to an olive grove where they are tied to a tree and gagged. Fortunately, the family manages to arrive and untie them. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. A report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, dated 8 May 2026, and identified by the acronym A/HRC/62/22 , reveals a bleak picture.

By Biljana Vankovska  The history of warfare shows that conflicts end either with a clear victory by one side or through negotiations when both face the exhaustion of resources and the will to continue sacrificing lives. There is also a third way: a silent ending of hostilities, the establishment of a 'cold peace,' and the freezing of the conflict without an explicit acknowledgment of defeat.

By Laura Violeta Devia López  There are just over three weeks left before Abelardo De La Espriella takes office as Colombia’s new president, despite the numerous allegations that cast a shadow over his election and, as usual, discredit the Colombian electoral system. The announcements already being made by Abelardo and his designated cabinet mark a significant change of course, not only for the Colombian people but also for the country’s place in the world.