By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The more than three million Epstein files, including those already released, reveal not only an entrenched criminal network of perverted ruling elites and decayed capitalist socialites with an inhuman sexual appetite for young girls, but also expose their immense power, influence, and complete lack of accountability. Sexual trafficking and the exploitation of young girls lie at the heart of this criminal network of social, political, and economic elites. 

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan   Recent developments have renewed debate over the Modi government’s handling of national security, particularly in relation to the India–China standoff in eastern Ladakh. The discussion follows the publication of excerpts from the forthcoming memoir of former Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Naravane, which raise questions about decision-making during a critical moment in 2020.

By A Representative   Farmers’ organisations and political groups have sharply criticised the emerging contours of the US–India trade agreement, warning that it could severely undermine Indian agriculture, depress farm incomes and open the doors to genetically modified (GM) food imports in violation of domestic regulatory safeguards.

By Bharat Dogra  India has recently concluded a number of trade agreements and interim trade arrangements. Although not all aspects and full texts of these agreements are yet in the public domain—and some are still works in progress—they have already raised serious questions. The latest interim trade agreement with the United States has proved to be the most controversial. While the Indian government has strongly asserted that the key interests of agriculture, and particularly the dairy sector, have been safeguarded, opposition parties and several farmers’ organisations allege that the interests of the people, including farmers, have been compromised.

By A Representative   A broad coalition of farmers’ organisations, trade unions, traders, public health advocates and environmental groups has raised serious concerns over India’s recently concluded trade agreements with the European Union and the United States, warning that the deals could have far-reaching implications for livelihoods, policy autonomy and the country’s long-term development trajectory. In a public statement issued, the Forum for Trade Justice described the two agreements as marking a “tectonic shift” in India’s trade policy and cautioned that the projected gains in exports may come at a significant social and economic cost.

By N.S. Venkataraman*  In recent years, India has entered into trade agreements with several countries, the latest being agreements with the European Union and the United States. While the India–EU trade agreement has been widely viewed in India as mutually beneficial and balanced, the trade agreement with the United States has generated comparatively greater debate and scrutiny.

By Nava Thakuria*  Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of over 170 million people, goes to the general election on 12 February 2026 to elect its 13th Jatiya Sansad in Dhaka. According to the Bangladesh Election Commission, a total of 127,711,895 voters are eligible to cast their ballots, including more than 4.5 million newly registered young voters who have attained the age of 18. Voting will take place at 42,766 polling stations across the country, with 785,225 presiding and polling officers deployed. More than 900,000 security personnel are expected to oversee the process and ensure the safety of candidates and voters.

By Aysha*    Cities are often portrayed as spaces of opportunity—jobs, services, and the promise of a better life. Nearly 30 years ago, Meenakshi’s parents came to Delhi with the same hope. When steady employment did not materialise, her father began working as a waste picker in North East Delhi. Life was never easy, but the family managed to survive. Today, however, they face a new crisis. With the introduction of SIR , their fragile existence has been pushed to the brink—there is not a single identity document in their household.

By Prof K S Chalam*  Vidya Bhushan Rawat ’s three-volume body of conversational works constitutes an ambitious and largely unprecedented intellectual intervention into the study of marginalisation in South Asia . Drawing upon the method of extended dialogue, Rawat documents voices from across caste, region, ideology, and national boundaries to construct a living archive of dissent, memory, and struggle. 

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin recently unveiled a statue of Karl Marx on February 6 at the historic Connemara Public Library in Chennai. While the gesture may appear merely symbolic to some, it carries deep-rooted resonance within Periyarist and Dravidian political thought, which has long accorded importance to Marxist philosophy and regarded the Left as part of the larger Dravidian ideological universe.

By Vikas Meshram   The proposed trade agreement between India and the United States has triggered intense debate across the country. This agreement is not merely an attempt to expand bilateral trade; it is directly linked to Indian agriculture, the rural economy, democratic processes, and global geopolitics. Free trade agreements (FTAs) may appear attractive on the surface, but the political economy and social consequences behind them are often unequal and controversial. Once again, a fundamental question has surfaced: who will benefit from this agreement, and who will pay its price?

By Rosamma Thomas  Kerala held local body elections in December 2025. By February 2026, the first ward-level meetings chaired by newly elected local representatives were under way. Pala Municipality is divided into 26 wards and has an equal number of councillors. This time, Ward 23 was reserved for women candidates, and Princy Sunny emerged victorious after a closely fought contest, defeating former municipal chairperson Mary Dominic by 33 votes. Sunday, February 8, saw the first ward meeting in Ward 23, held at Brilliant College, Pala, near St Thomas College.

By A Representative   A federation of Adivasi gram sabhas from Nagarahole has strongly opposed the holding of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) summit in Nagarahole and Bandipur tiger reserves from February 9 to 12, 2026, accusing the Centre and the Karnataka government of ignoring long-standing human rights violations faced by Indigenous communities in the name of wildlife conservation. The objections were raised by the Nagarahole Adivasi Jammapale Hakku Sthapana Samiti (NAJHSS), which represents gram sabhas within the Nagarahole forests, following the Union Finance Minister’s recent announcement that the IBCA summit would be hosted at the two protected areas.

By Harsh Thakor*  "Anuradha—Through the Eyes of Her Contemporaries" by Kobad Ghandy  (28 March 1954 – 12 April 2008) is a biographical account of the late Anuradha Ghandy , drawing on personal recollections, political writings, and testimonies of her contemporaries. Written by her husband, the book traces her life as a revolutionary activist , intellectual, and organiser, and situates her work within broader debates on caste , gender , and revolutionary politics in India .

By Jag Jivan   A new study titled “From Tobacco to Ultraprocessed Food: How Industry Engineering Fuels the Epidemic of Preventable Disease”, published in The Milbank Quarterly , warns that ultraprocessed foods are deliberately engineered in ways similar to cigarettes and should be treated as a major public health threat rather than as ordinary food products.

By Alejandra Amor, Mansee Bal Bhargava  Indonesia, like many fast-developing nations including India, is grappling with a deepening water crisis driven by both human pressures and climate-induced impacts. Despite being home to more than 1,000 river basins, a majority of Indonesian households continue to face serious challenges in accessing safe drinking water and sanitation. Water resource management remains constrained by high levels of contamination, excessive dependence on groundwater, declining water retention capacity, and inadequate wastewater management systems.

By Carmen Navas Reyes  Venezuela, under threat following the attacks of January 3, and in perspective alongside the historical mirror that is Iran, allows us to study the models of classic oil nationalism and pragmatic resistance. But beyond the economy, some analysts have put forward the theory that Venezuelan and Iranian oil is not just a business, but vital ammunition in the war scenario being proposed by the United States.

By Kay Young   Since the American War on Vietnam, Bangkok has been a key hub for international journalists and academics in Southeast Asia. It offers modern infrastructure, easy travel, and a high quality of life, allowing them to chopper into the periphery and return home for drinks. These advantages foster a professional environment removed from the region it purports to cover. Western expatriates operate engulfed within a certain elite social and informational milieu, often resulting in confused, racially essentialist coverage aligning with the interests of the moneyed Bangkok elite.

By Celina della Croce   U.S. President Donald Trump has not shied away from admitting his thirst for Venezuelan oil. On 16 December 2025, in the leadup to the 3 January bombing of Caracas and kidnapping of the country’s president and first lady, Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, he claimed ownership over Venezuela resources, stating that “America will not… allow a hostile regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY”. 

By Tings Chak, Atul Chandra   We descended into Chibichibi Cave in southern Okinawa with the heavy feeling that this was not a site of distant history, but a warning. The cave is low enough that you have to bend forward as you walk. The air is damp, the light disappears quickly, and the air becomes suffocatingly warm. In April 1945, as US forces landed on the island, 140 Okinawan civilians—mostly elders, women, and children—hid here. Eighty-five of them would die by their own hands. Parents killed their children first, then themselves. This was not an act of collective madness, nor a cultural predisposition to suicide. What happened here was manufactured. It was the consequence of disinformation used as a weapon of war.

By N.S. Venkataraman*  The year 2025 closed with bloody conflicts across nations and groups, while the United Nations continued to appear ineffective—reduced to a debate forum with little impact on global peace and harmony.  

By Rajiv Shah  More than a decade ago, when I was with The Times of India, I used to write a regular weekly column called True Lies. The column—which still continues—was mainly about gossip surrounding Gujarat government bureaucrats, though I occasionally wrote about ministers as well. In that column, I would often refer to what IAS officials described as their informal weekly Monday morning tit-a-tat over tea.

By Vikas Gupta  Yuvraj Mehta—an ideal middle-class, upwardly mobile young man—died at the age of 27 in Noida, an archetypal North Indian town, in an equally upwardly mobile neighbourhood. He died in a deeply disturbing way—disturbing, that is, for the government and its constituents who control the system—causing immense agony and embarrassment to local authorities, the state government, the police, the fire department, and disaster relief forces.

By Sudhansu R. Das  The world’s true wealth isn’t buried deep in mines. It is all around us—in the glittering expanse of oceans, the life-giving flow of rivers, the richness of forests, the majesty of hills, and the irreplaceable tapestry of biodiversity. This is the planet’s “surface gold.” Its value—measured in sustenance, livelihoods, and life itself—infinitely outweighs the extracted treasures of precious metals and minerals.  Yet, tragically, too many leaders overlook this foundational capital, ignoring the permanent prosperity it can generate for a world fixated on the transient.

By Biljana Vankovska   Anyone from the former Yugoslavia will immediately understand the title. Mujo is a legendary (though fictional) Bosnian character, the protagonist (together with his inseparable friend Haso) of countless jokes that generations of Yugoslavs grew up with. Wars took many lives, erased towns, and destroyed futures, yet Mujo survived even the darkest days of the Bosnian conflict. One particular joke has stayed with me for more than three decades, because it captures, better than most analyses, the arrogance of superficial Western “expertise.”

By Raïs Neza Boneza  There are moments in global politics when the mask slips—not because power suddenly discovers morality, but because maintaining the performance becomes too expensive. Recently in Davos, the Canadian Prime minister Mark Carney did something unusual. He admitted—almost casually—that the so-called rules-based international order has never quite been what it claimed to be. That the rules were unevenly applied. That the strongest routinely exempted themselves. That integration, once sold as mutual benefit, has increasingly become a tool of coercion.

By Mikaela Nhondo Erskog   Khaled Abu Jarrar, a 58-year-old Palestinian from Beit Hanoon, now shelters in Gaza City’s former Legislative Council building—one of thousands of structures repurposed as displacement camps after Israel’s genocidal assault reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble. His wife was recently diagnosed with liver cancer. She needs urgent treatment abroad, but the Rafah crossing remains sealed. As international powers announce frameworks and phases, Abu Jarrar watches the gap  between diplomatic language and ground reality: “In the media, they talk about withdrawals and reconstruction, but on the ground, the bombing continues from the north and the south, and things seem even more complicated… On the ground, the shelling never stops.”

By Bharat Dogra   We were sitting at a central place in Salaiya Maaf village, located in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, for a group discussion when an elderly woman said in an emotional voice, “It is so good that you people came. Land on which nothing grew can now produce good crops.”

By Harsh Thakor   The booklet Path of Indian Revolution – Present Context , published by the Former Revolutionary Students Forum, presents an argument in favour of the strategy of protracted people’s war as the principal path for revolutionary transformation in India. It situates this position within the framework that characterises Indian society as semi-feudal and semi-colonial, and attributes exploitation to feudal, comprador bourgeois, and imperialist forces. The publication seeks to intervene politically and ideologically in debates within the revolutionary Left, particularly in the context of internal crises following surrenders and shifts in strategy by sections of leadership.

By Jag Jivan  The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has sharply criticised the Union Budget 2026–27 , calling it a “budget sans kartavya” that weakens public welfare while favouring private corporations, even as inequality, climate risks and social distress deepen across the country.

By A Representative   The Union Budget 2026–27 presents a mixed picture for welfare spending, with higher allocations for several social sectors but continuing concerns over reduced actual expenditure and weak implementation, according to an analysis by the Pathey Budget Center. 

By A Representative   The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has raised serious accountability concerns over the Union Ministry of Finance’s handling of Health and Education Cess, flagging the non-transfer of ₹43,426.35 crore collected as health cess to designated reserve funds during the period from 2018–19 to 2023–24. The findings are contained in the CAG’s Audit Report on Union Government (Finance Accounts) for the fiscal year 2023–24 (Report No. 16 of 2025).

By A Representative   The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former senior civil servants and diplomats, on Thursday issued a strong statement condemning Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent speech, calling it a “brazen and shameful violation” of the Indian Constitution and warning that it could incite communal violence in the state.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The “Epstein” tsunami has jolted establishments everywhere. Politicians, bureaucrats, billionaires, celebrities, intellectuals, academics, religious gurus, and preachers—all appear to be under scrutiny, even dismantled. At first glance, it may seem like a story cutting across left, right, centre, Democrats, Republicans, socialists, capitalists—every label one can think of. Much of it, of course, is gossip, as people seek solace in the possible inclusion of names they personally dislike. 

By Tabsassum Begum*  Despite the immense popularity enjoyed by the poetry of Kabirdas and Tulsidas in Hindi society as well as world literature, modern Hindi public discourse and criticism have often viewed "popularity" with suspicion. Especially in the realm of poetry, elitist critics have generally considered refinement to be synonymous with obscurity. As a result, even though enlightened critics engage in critical encounters with a text and manage to extract multiple meanings, the possibility of the work acquiring new meanings remains open for an infinite time.

By Harsh Thakor*  As we approach the centenary of his birth and the fortieth anniversary of his passing, the legacy of Alex La Guma demands a fundamental reappraisal. Born on February 20, 1925, and departing this world on October 11, 1985, La Guma was not merely a novelist of regional importance; he was arguably the greatest literary voice Africa has ever produced. Often described as the black equivalent of Charles Dickens, his fiction mirrored the moral conviction of his Victorian predecessor, using a powerhouse of creativity to anchor the anti-apartheid struggle while chronicling the lives of those discarded by history.

By Jag Jivan   ​India’s once-unstoppable residential real estate rally has hit a significant roadblock, as new data reveals that housing sales in 2025 plummeted to their lowest levels since 2022. According to the Real Insight: Residential CY 2025 report by PropTiger.com , the sector is grappling with a cooling demand cycle that has seen annual sales tank by 12%, dropping to 3,86,365 units from the high of 4,36,992 units recorded just a year prior. 

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  It is extremely important to understand the problem of sand mining in the Narmada River in the light of the experience of mining in the Aravalli mountain range, because the Aravalli today stands before us as a warning. In both cases, the same mistake is being repeated with nature—ecological suicide in the name of “development.”  The Aravalli range is one of the oldest mountain systems in the world. Its functions include groundwater recharge, prevention of desertification, conservation of biodiversity, and maintenance of local climatic balance. However, illegal and indiscriminate mining has almost destroyed it.

By Hans Harelimana Hirwa, Mansee Bal Bhargava   Drinking water directly from the tap is generally associated with developed countries where it is considered safe and potable. Only about 50 countries around the world offer drinkable tap water, with the majority located in Europe and North America, and a few in Asia and Oceania. Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, and Singapore have the highest-quality tap water, followed by Canada, New Zealand, Japan, the USA, Australia, the UK, Costa Rica, and Chile.

By Bharat Dogra  A telling example of how law courts can deliver long-delayed justice to neglected communities can be seen today in some working-class colonies of Bawana in Delhi. A recent visit to H Block and nearby clusters of this resettlement colony revealed a rare sense of optimism among residents, who now see light at the end of a long tunnel following directives from the Delhi High Court to expedite the provision of clean drinking water.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The hugging, hobnobbing, and digital displays of friendship on social media between Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Donald Trump appear to be designed largely for public consumption, without delivering any substantial achievements for Indians or the Indian economy. The much-talked-about, yet effectively non-existent, free trade deal between the US and India reflects the unfair and unequal trade relations between the two countries. 

By Sumit Kumar Ganguly*  India, that is Bharat, has been celebrating Republic Day on 26 January since 1950. It was on this day that the full Constitution of India came into force. The occasion is marked by military parades by the Armed Forces and paramilitary forces, along with cultural presentations by various Central departments and State governments. 

By Harsh Thakor*  Michael Parenti, an American political scientist, historian, and author known for his Marxist and anti-imperialist perspectives, died on January 24 at the age of 92. Over several decades, Parenti wrote and lectured extensively on issues of capitalism, imperialism, democracy, media, and U.S. foreign policy. His work consistently challenged dominant political and economic narratives, particularly those associated with Western liberal democracies and global capitalism.

By A Representative  A registered trade union representing construction workers has urged the Gujarat government to immediately halt the demolition of huts belonging to tribal construction labourers from Dahod district living near Lamba Lake in south Ahmedabad, alleging that the action was carried out without any prior legal notice and in violation of basic human and constitutional rights.

By Prajna Kumaraswamy, Mansee Bal Bhargava   The tropical land–water-scape of India shapes every settlement through lakes, ponds, wetlands, and rivers. Mysuru (Mysore) is a city profoundly shaped by both natural and humanly constructed water systems. For generations, it has carried a collective identity tied to the seasonal rhythms of the monsoon, the life-giving presence of the Cauvery and Kabini rivers , and the intricate network of lakes and ponds that dot the cityscape. Water transcends being merely a resource; it is part of collective memory, embedded in place names, agricultural heritage, and the very land beneath our feet. In an era of rapid urbanization and climate-induced land–water transformations, understanding this profound relationship with the land–water-scape is strategic for sustainability, resilience, and even survival.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Uttarakhand continues to be in the news these days. Of course, many liberals target it without understanding the basic issues of the hills. The crisis there is deepening. An already threatened ecology and a worrying demographic trend have pushed hill communities into a state of anxiety, with negative population growth among native hill people. Outsiders are buying land and commercial properties at a rapid pace. The hill people have been demanding a land law that protects their identity and nativity, while also safeguarding their legitimate political rights, which are steadily being eroded.

By Bharat Dogra    The literature on India’s inspirational freedom movement is vast and diverse when it comes to struggles in areas directly under colonial rule. However, the resistance in regions ruled by kings and princes—who operated indirectly under British authority—has been under-reported. In these territories, revolts often faced the combined repression of royal, feudal, and colonial forces. A stark example is the brutal suppression of the Bhil tribal uprising led by Govind Guru at Maangarh, where a massacre far larger than Jallianwala Bagh occurred.  

By Maju Varghese*   The decision of the Kerala State Cabinet to take over ₹18.75 crore worth of loan liabilities of families affected by the July 2024 Wayanad landslide marks a historic intervention and a decisive response to banks that had refused to write off loans for disaster-affected victims, despite repeated requests from the Chief Minister and strong observations by the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala . The move represents a significant and hard-earned victory for disaster-hit communities and people’s movements that consistently raised concerns about the indebtedness faced by climate-affected populations.

By A Representative   On February 1, near the Sagda–Jhapni area of Jabalpur, the right bank canal of the Bargi dam broke, flooding several nearby fields and affecting farmers in about half a dozen villages.  

By Harsh Thakor*  Sir Mark Tully, the British broadcaster whose voice pierced the fog of Indian history like a monsoon rain, died on January 25, 2026, at 90, leaving behind a legacy that reshaped investigative journalism. Born in the fading twilight of the Raj in 1935, in Tollygunge, Calcutta, Tully's life was a bridge between empires and republics, a testament to how one man's curiosity could humanize a nation's chaos.