By Shankar Sharma*  Few recent developments and news reports from around the world indicate the gravity of multiple crises facing almost everyone in our country because of the escalating threats of climate change, and they also should indicate towards some of the critical sustainable options to minimise the associated hardships to our people.

Counterview Desk  The civil rights network* Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) has demanded judicial probe in the "killing of an Adivasi peasant Sono Juri during an anti-Maoist operation", and simultaneous "suppression of anti-militarization protest by Indravati Jan Andolan at Tadopot village ."

By Rosamma Thomas*  First-time director Subhadra Mahajan’s film Second Chance will premiere at the 58th edition of Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, to be held from June 28 to July 6, 2024. Karlovy Vary, about 100 km west of capital Prague, is a city of about 50,000 residents at the confluence of two rivers, one of which, Tepla, is a warm-water river; the area has several hot springs – the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, among the Great Spa Towns of Europe.

Ram Puniyani*  Democracy is a system of society won after long and intense struggles. The preceding society had mostly Kingdoms. A typical kingdom was an alliance between the Feudal lord-King and clergy. While clergy was representative of the religious power, the king was presented as the son of God whose decisions and actions had the sanction of clergy. Clergy very cleverly cultivated the concept of heaven (Swarga, Jannat) and hell (Narak, Jahannum). 

By NS Venkataraman*  Now that the curtain has almost been drawn on India’s parliamentary election, the toxic speeches delivered by leaders of political parties have virtually disturbed India’s social and political climate. In any case, this appear to be the scenario in every democratic country including USA and UK on the eve of the elections. Around 28 opposition parties in India which call themselves as INDI Alliance have not coordinated their efforts with firm policy programmes to oppose Modi and a few of them have been fighting against each other in a few state elections . Some unimplementable promises like providing Rs.1 lakh annually to the poor and controversial promise of providing reservation for muslim in government jobs have been made by a few opposition parties. However, the main criticism against Modi government by the opposition parties is centred around unemployment scenario, the so called threat of Modi government tampering with the provisions of const

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  After spreading the venom of deceptive Hindutva politics during his election campaign meetings, the master propagandist, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, plans to meditate for forty-eight hours at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Tamil Nadu as the general election campaign comes to an end in India.  

By Prem Singh*  I have been living in Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, for the past one month. In my general conversations with many people living in Shimla from different parts of Himachal Pradesh, there has been some discussion about the Lok Sabha elections also. The election is to be held in the last phase (June 1) on four Lok Sabha seats here. 

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The brutal and barbaric murder of a young Dalit girl, who was sexually harassed way back in 2019 and was seeking justice for herself in the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh ever since, is a reminder of the impunity these casteist criminals and thugs enjoy in that state. A case of sexual harassment since 2019 did not result in any punishment and conviction of the criminals, who got so emboldened that they killed everyone close to her, including her 18-year-old brother, followed by killing of her mother and uncles. 

By Harsh Thakor*  On May 26th, tens of thousands people of Punjab converged at the Barnala grain market for what was called Lok Sangram rally. Around 24 organisations participated, encompassing peasants, agricultural labourers, industrial workers, students, government employees, unemployed teachers and women. People flooded in large numbers from across the state, with most of them coming from Barnala Sangrur, Patiala, Mansa, Bathinda and Ludhiana, which are nearby.

By Dr TV Sajeev*  In August 2023, India celebrated the successful soft-landing of Chandrayan on the south pole of the moon. That mission too led to some questioning about whether scientists could believe in God. The culture of temple visits and poojas before the launch of rockets with or without payload had been a mocking point for a long while. 

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The history of human and social progress intertwines with the narrative of resistance. Throughout the ages, the evolution of humanity and its societies has been deeply rooted in acts of resistance. The power of resistance serves as the nucleus from which all forms of progressive transformation emanate. It is through resistance that individuals and communities challenge the status quo, advocate for change, and strive for a better future. 

By Rajiv Shah  This was one of the most interesting reports I read on the Lok Sabha elections. Titled, "If Sangam Pilgrims Are Bellwether, They Indicate Clear Majority for Modi",  published  in what is considered to be an anti-Narendra Modi site, "The Wire", it reports on interaction with boatmen and pilgrims from across India, even as pointing towards why Modi would get a "clear majority."

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  From dawn till dusk, and dusk till dawn, she toils within the confines of an unjust patriarchal framework as a grandmother, mother, sister, lover, girlfriend, wife, partner, professional, worker and relationships in any other name. When misfortune strikes or accountability evades a man's actions, the burden of blame often unjustly falls upon her shoulders. 

By Our Representative Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a Hooghly-based human rights group, has asked additional director general of police (ADGP), CID, West Bengal, to ensure quick investigation into the trafficking of a 17-year-old girl, alleging police inaction despite complaint filed more than one-and-a-half months back.  The girl belongs to a poor scheduled caste family from village Hariharpur, Police Station Basirhat of 24 Parganas (North) district, said Roy, naming a resident of village Pathankhali, Police Station  Gosaba, district 24 Parganas (South), for abducting the girl daughter when she had out of her residence to buy some items on March 26.  "Hariharpur village is situated at the bank of river Ichamati and adjoined to India-Bangladesh border. The villagers were mostly dependent on fishing in Ichamati river, but now fishing is being restricted by the posted Border Security Force personnel and forced the villagers to sustain their fam

By Mohan Guruswamy*  Jawaharlal Nehru died sixty years ago on May 27, 1964. He was seventy-four. He had a stroke that morning at 6.25 am and lost consciousness almost immediately. He died without regaining consciousness, and according to a member of his household, his death was due to "an internal hemorrhage, a paralytic stroke, and a heart attack." He had returned the previous day from Mussourie, “hale and hearty” but Nehru was clearly ailing. Parliament, then in session, and the nation were told about his death at 2.05 pm. A major event such as this inevitably gives rise to “where were you?” questions. Where were you when Kennedy was assassinated? Where were you when Indira Gandhi was killed? Where were you when the World Trade Center was brought down? The shock of the event magnifies the immediate around you and imprints it in your mind. I still can vividly recall the day Nehru died and the moment I learnt about it. I was in Poona studying German at the Goethe Institute, a

By Bharat Dogra*  While observing the 50th anniversary of the Chipko movement for saving forests many inspiring stories were related but we did not hear much about the highly inspiring Appiko movement of Karnataka and some other parts of South India. I visited some of the villages where the movement gained strength and found that  while many persons, particularly villagers, contributed so much to this collective effort, the most central and pioneering contribution was  by Pandurang Hegde.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  Education stands on the twin pillars of essentialist and emancipatory consciousness. Education, in terms of skills, qualifications, grades, marks, and employability, reflects the essentialist criteria of consciousness, which are crucial for meeting the everyday requirements of human life and ensuring a dignified living. It plays a vital role in helping individuals recover from poverty, homelessness, hunger, and illiteracy.

Counterview Desk  The civil rights network* Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), has said that the police action against members of the  Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM) in Delhi University (DU) campus for putting up wall paintings asking people to boycott elections is an assault on democratic right of citizens to express their view.

By Harsh Thakor*  The entire country has been engulfed with barbaric oppression, with unparalleled destruction of constitutional organs for the past ten years. The emergency of 1975-77 has been more than ressurected by the present regime. and more repressive than the post-liberalisation period ushered in by PV Narasimha Rao. Neo-fascsim has been on ascendancy, as never before. When two revolutionary parties merged to form the CPI-Maoist, PM in 2009 declared that “Naxalites are the biggest threat to internal security. It was the precursor of unprecedented military campaign in the name of Operation Green Hunt .Operation Kagar even if being an offshoot of is even more merciless than Operation Green hunt, with aim to establish a Corporate Hindu Rashtra. Dandakaranya, sowed seeds for a wave of social upheavals and cultural experiments imperative, for India. It has witnessed waves of unparalleled violence for four decades. However at this juncture, in Operation Kagar (The Final Mission),

By Erica Cirino*  Louisiana’s “River Parishes,” located along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, shoulder some of the worst industry impacts in the United States. As a result, this region has acquired a grim reputation as “ Cancer Alley .” 

Counterview Desk  As many as 102 former civil servants, who are part of what is called Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), apprehending a hung Parliament, have said that "onerous responsibilities will be placed upon the shoulders of the President of India" to follow "the established democratic precedent of first inviting the pre-poll alliance that garnered the largest number of seats", even as preempting the "possibilities of horse-trading."

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  No amount of propaganda can hide that Narendra Modi is riding on the rising tides of debt and destitution. The Modi-led Hindutva government of India is pushing the country into an economic landscape that breeds billionaires while increasing the central government debt to 58 percent of GDP in the financial year 2024. 

By Harsh Thakor*  Sarfraz Nawaz in many ways was the pioneer of the art of reverse swing bowling. The veteran who was born in 1948 was hardly remembered on his 75th birthday, on December 1st, last year.

By Ram Puniyani*  As the election season (April-May 2024) is in progress there are observations by some that this time RSS volunteers (swayamsevaks) are not on the field to help the BJP for electoral mobilization, barring the one of 1984, in the aftermath of the anti-Sikh pogrom. 

By Nimisha Agarwal*  In many bustling cities and towns across India, residents face a recurring and escalating challenge, intense heat waves. Known for their vibrant culture and dense populations, urban areas across the nation are now also becoming known for sweltering temperatures that impact daily life each summer. 

Counterview Desk  The legal rights network, National Alliance for Justice, Accountability and Rights (NAJAR), has said that the Election Commission of India's (ECI's) affidavit regarding disclosure of voter turnout data before the Supreme Court is "misleading, legally untenable and violative of democratic principles".

By Nava Thakuria*  Amid the national elections of India, where five phases of polling were successfully completed (another two are waiting), various sections have expressed concern over the low voters’ turn out in the largest electoral show on earth. Election Commission of India (ECI), which conducts all important polls under constitutional provisions in the country of 1.4 billion populations, reveals the polling percentages as 66.14, 66.71, 65.68, 67.25 and 60.09 in the concluded five phases of voting respectively. 

By Vijay Prashad*  In the apartment of my friends in Baghdad (Iraq), they tell me about how each of them had been impacted by the ugliness of the 2003 U.S.-imposed illegal war on their country. Yusuf and Anisa are both members of the Federation of Journalists of Iraq and both have experience as “stringers” for Western media companies that came to Baghdad amid the war. 

By Pranjal Pandey*  Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian President, and the country’s foreign minister were tragically found deceased on May 20, 2024, shortly after their helicopter crashed in foggy conditions. In response, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei swiftly appointed a relatively unknown vice president as the interim leader.

By Aneesh Parnerkar, Bhavi Lunawat, Jaisila Menon*  The rivers of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad face a critical moment, challenged by ambitious development projects, uncontrolled sewage, and dam-based water management constraints. 

Counterview Desk  In an an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with copies to concerned Cabinet ministers, bureaucrats and MPs,  health rights network  People’s Alliance for Public Health (PAPH alias JanSwasthya Morcha), has urged that India should not be a signatory to the World Health Organization ( WHO) Pandemic Agreement and Amendments to the  International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005  to be adopted at the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva from 27th May to 1st June, 2024.

By Our Representative  On 20 May, Vijay Valmiki, a sanitation worker who was posted at Paschimabad was found hanging from a tree in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Earlier in the day, he had performed his duties, and then within a short time died a tragic death.  Vijay Valmiki was a resident of Kusumpur Pahari. His wife and three minor children along with the family, and co-workers are in a state of shock. 

Counterview Desk  In a letter to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director, the Universal Health Organisation (UHO) which consists of prominent health experts, has insisted that the Government of India’s top medical research agency should lead high quality research on vaccine safety and “desist from academic censorship”.

By Deepika*  In 2024, the news outlets have suddenly started reporting about covid vaccine side effects in a very extensive manner. Sadly, the damage is already done.

Counterview Desk  Top civil rights network, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), has demanded urgent government action to protect millions of outdoor workers from extreme heat and heatwaves, insisting declaration of heatwaves as climatic disaster.

By Our Representative  Watan Ki Raah Mein, a civil society campaign of the Samvidhan Bachao Nagrik Abhiyan, has released a short video conversation on social media of an exchange of letters between a dadi and her poti discussing poverty, unemployment, corruption and women’s safety. The letters also raise the question of  suppression of our fundamental rights of speech, expression and justice. 

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  Working people have historically fought against various forms of oppression, including feudalism, capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and religious fundamentalism, to advance democracy and secure citizenship rights. 

By Vijay Prashad*  In early April 2024, the navies of four countries -- Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States -- held a maritime exercise in the South China Sea. Australia’s Warramunga, Japan’s Akebono, the Philippines’ Antonio Luna, and the United States’ Mobile worked together in these waters to strengthen their joint abilities and -- as they said in a joint statement  -- to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight and respect for maritime rights under international law.” 

By Pranjal Pandey*  Nearly 315 people have died, and over 1,600 have suffered injuries in catastrophic flash floods that swept through various provinces in Afghanistan on Friday, May 10. Authorities have declared a state of emergency in response to the situation. Northern Baghlan province bore the brunt of the devastation, with a death toll of over 300 and thousands of houses either destroyed or damaged. Torrential rains have wreaked havoc in several provinces, including Takhar, Badakhshan, Ghor, and Herat.

By Shamsul Islam*  BJP president JP Nadda in a recent media conversation  has claimed that “RSS is a cultural organisation and we are a political organisation… It’s (RSS is) an ideological front. The RSS and the BJP have their own areas of working very clearly established”.

By Dipankar Bhattacharya*  On 7 May when the third phase of the ongoing elections was taking place in India, the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) issued a working paper ostensibly to present a comparative study on the changing share of religious minorities in 167 countries of the world between 1950 and 2015. 

By Ram Puniyani*  As the election season is in progress the divisive propaganda is also peaking. Chief propagandist of the ruling BJP is Prime Minister Modi himself. In these elections his narrative has been built around the falsehood that if the INDIA alliance comes to power they will give all the facilities to Muslims, they will ensure that Muslims have the first right to live and they will make changes in the Constitution whereby Hindus will become second class citizens. 

By Harsh Thakor*  On 14 April, 2024, at the ripe old age of 98 years, Kâthe Sasso, a resistance fighter, passed away. A courageous and relentless combatant against fascism, a model of how to wage resistance, the intensification of Austro-fascism in the mid-1930s and the rule of Nazi dictatorship from 1938 propelled the course of Kathe Sasso’s life. As political opposition was turning illegal, anti-government activists were compelled to function underground and beyond the boundaries of mainstream society.

By Our Representative  A new report , released by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties-Maharashtra, Fridays for Future-Karnataka, and Bahutva Karnataka has sought to contrast claims versus realities on the environment and climate change during the last ten years of NDA’s governance.

By Shankar Sharma*  In the larger context of the ever growing need and importance of renewable energy sources for a sustainable energy/ electricity sector in our country, the critical role of energy storage systems, especially the battery energy storage system (BESS), is being emphasised frequently at the global level, such as the one by  the International Energy Agency (IEA). Unfortunately, our authorities in India seem not to attach the same level of importance, which the BESS deserves.

By Sudhansu R Das  The heat wave in Odisha is increasing every year due to loss of forest cover and the green trees in urban and rural areas. It has made human survival difficult.  It adversely affects the socio-cultural and economic environment; it reduces productivity hours, devastates the livelihood of people. 

By Deepika*  Extending on to the subject of Misleading ads and acting responsibly , another aspect that needs highlighting is our right to health and to be made aware of quality of products, as pointed out by the Supreme Court.

By Vratesh Srivastava*   Vaccine passports were introduced in late 2021 in a number of places across the world, with the primary objective of curtailing community spread and inducing "vaccine hesitant" people to get vaccinated, ostensibly to ensure herd immunity. The case for vaccine passports was scientifically flawed and ethically questionable.

Couterview Desk  The civil rights network* Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) has said the death of two children caused by the mortar shell explosion  in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh,  highlights the grim reality of the larger Bastar area turning into a warzone in the name of countering Maoism. 

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava*  We are in the middle of the election now with 4th phase of voting on May 13th at 96 constituencies of 10 states . I am keen to share an experience of celebrating 100% voting for the first time in life in the past 30 years of my voting. In my immediate acquaintances, we are five people out of which only I exercised my voting and the rest four could/did not vote.