Issue ordinance to undo damage done by SC order to "evict" tribals: Letter to Govt of India

In a letter to Union minister for tribal affairs Jual Oram, former secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Welfare, PS Krishnan, IAS (Retd), who was also member, National Monitoring Committee for Education of SCs, STs and Persons with Disabilities, has said that emergency action is required to immediately stay eviction of lakhs of STs and find complete solution to the situation that has arisen following the Supreme Court order of February 13.
The order, says Irishman, directed 21 States to evict a mind-boggling number, mainly of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and of some other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs), in the case of the Wild-Life First and Ors vs the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Ors.
The letter regrets, "It appears that your Ministry was not in the picture in this case. In view of the orientation of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, there is room for apprehension that the facts and the Constitutional and legal position pertaining to STs may not have been placed properly before the Court."
Asking the minister to get the order stayed, reviewed and revised, Kishnan says, since there is only a small window of time available, one must consider issuing an ordinance, warning him, "Failure to take immediate action will become a major election issue adverse to the Government", creating doubts "about the sincerity of government’s affirmation of commitment to the interests of STs."

Right to walk, right to livelihood: Clearing footpaths 'can't mean' clearing out the urban poor

By Aseem Mishra* India’s cities are locked in a quiet but intensifying struggle over one of their most contested public spaces: the footpath. For pedestrians, a footpath is basic infrastructure—a strip of ground that should allow people to move safely, independently and with dignity. For millions of informal workers, the same stretch of pavement is a workplace, a source of daily income and often the difference between survival and destitution.

A fearless spirit lost: Rebecca Thomson dies at 17-hour Catalina Swim Mark

By Harsh Thakor On July 26, 2026, Rebecca “Becky” Thomson suffered cardiac arrest while attempting the Catalina Channel Swim — a marathon open water crossing from Catalina Island to the California mainland. After swimming for 17 hours, Thomson collapsed in the water. Despite the painstaking efforts of emergency responders and the medical staff at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, she succumbed to a devastating hypoxic brain injury and died Friday evening.

As luxury home prices surge, India’s affordable housing market faces a squeeze

Counterview News India’s housing market is increasingly showing two very different faces: affluent buyers are driving demand for premium homes, even as the supply of genuinely affordable housing continues to shrink.

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