FIR against veteran Gandhian: Why can't RSS debate on historical facts?: PADS

By A Representative
The civil rights organisation People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) in a statement has expressed concern over two FIRs being filed in Odisha (Kandhmal and Katak) against Kumar Prashant, president of thr Gandhi Peace Foundation, allegedly for hurting sentiments of local RSS members, spreading lies about RSS and instigating people against the actions taken by the Union Government in Kashmir.
Battini Rao, convenor, PADS, said, "Instead of proving Kumar Prashant wrong by publishing or speaking their refutation of his views, RSS has taken recourse to court. The role of RSS, Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League during our India's independence movement is well documented and is still being debated."
He added, "Historical controversies cannot be resolved or put to rest in courts of law. They are academic and political matters. The RSS leadership, must be well aware of this fact but it has chosen to take recourse to intimidation and threats to suppress a democratically expressed opinion by Kumar Prashant."
Insisting that this is nothing other than "an attempt to police public opinion by threats" and "is an example of the totalitarian habit of mind of the RSS", PADS said, "We trust in our judiciary and are confident that the Kandhmal and Katak courts will do justice to the veteran Gandhian. We also expect of the Naveen Patnaik government to intervene and prevent the Odisha Police from taking any unlawful action against him."

Comments

Tibetan activist’s self-immolation sparks fresh concerns over cultural rights

By Kumar Krishnan* The question of Tibet has once again entered international discourse, raising difficult questions about human rights, religious freedom, cultural identity, language, and the relationship between political power and the rights of indigenous communities. On 20 August 2026, the Kashag and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile jointly organised a solidarity prayer service and peace march to mark the 49th day since the death of Lobga Rangzen, a Tibetan activist who died after self-immolating on 2 July in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The “Dr” debate masks a larger crisis in allied-health education

By Dr P K Gupta* India’s allied-health professions have long operated in a fragmented landscape of universities, hospitals, State authorities and private institutions, each with its own nomenclature, curriculum and standards. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 was meant to correct this by creating a unified national framework for education, professional regulation and institutional recognition. Few dispute the need for such oversight. The real question is whether standardisation is quietly becoming synonymous with longer courses, additional internships and new professional titles—changes that risk masking deeper gaps in clinical training, institutional capacity and affordability.

IMF's policies 'stabilise' external creditors' balance sheets, 'generate' crisis in Africa

By Grieve Chelwa, Vijay Prashad Across Africa, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) presents itself as the custodian of macroeconomic stability. Its latest Article IV staff reports on Ethiopia . Malawi , Nigeria , South Africa , and Zambia are written for economies with very different histories and institutions. Yet they converge on a familiar prescription: fiscal consolidation, tighter monetary policy, market-determined exchange rates, subsidy reform, deregulation and ‘private-sector-led growth’. No serious economist can dismiss macroeconomic stability.

Counterview

Search This Blog