Counterview

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remains in the news almost constantly. Commentators appear sharply divided between his detractors and supporters, leaving little room for those who disagree with both camps. For years, the Congress was accused of creating a political environment in which all non-BJP forces were eventually expected to rally behind it in the name of resisting Hindutva politics. Over time, many regional leaders chose to chart their own course, and for some, the BJP even appeared to be a more convenient political option. In a society where power often determines political relevance, such shifts are hardly surprising.

By Padala Shiva, Mansee Bal Bhargava   The media has largely written off the resistance of the indigenous people of Hasdeo forest , who are fighting for their rights to land, water, life, and livelihood. Worse, it is actively spreading misinformation — local news reports have even used photographs of afforestation drives unrelated to Hasdeo to misrepresent the situation. Yet the resistance of those who have inherited and managed this forest for centuries continues.

By Palla Trinadha Rao   Nearly two decades after the enactment of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, the promise of the legislation remains only partially fulfilled. Conceived to remedy the “historical injustice” suffered by forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers, the Forest Rights Act (FRA) marked a decisive departure from the centralized model of forest governance inherited from the colonial era. It sought to transform the relationship between the State and indigenous communities by recognizing customary rights, empowering Gram Sabhas and promoting community stewardship of forests.

By Rezgar Akrawi   During the recent assault on Gaza, thousands of activists witnessed their posts deleted or their accounts restricted simply for documenting Israeli occupation crimes or expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people. This is far from an isolated phenomenon. In India, the government issued emergency orders to block dozens of accounts during the farmers' protests, while human rights organizations documented the suspension of accounts belonging to large numbers of journalists and activists merely for criticizing government policies. Many felt helpless and furious, as their voices seemed to be deliberately pushed to the margins. These cases offer a clear illustration of what can today be called ‘soft digital repression.’

By Molly Dhlamini   South Africa witnessed a historic Conference of the Left convened by the South African Communist Party (SACP) from 29–31 May 2026. The gathering brought together communist parties, socialist organisations, trade unions, community formations, women’s organisations, youth movements, progressive intellectuals and academics, progressive traditional leadership, faith based organisations and international solidarity partners in what can confidently be described as the most significant gathering of the South African Left in the democratic era.

By Harsh Thakor*  No name has been more synonymous with the game of cricket than John Arlott. For 34 years, from 1946 to 1980, Arlott was the BBC’s “voice of cricket” as a member of the Test Match Special team. From Lord’s to Lahore, his powerful, soul‑capturing rural accent and deep love for the game made him a uniquely popular figure until his retirement in 1980. Arlott summed up cricket as though he were conversing with a close friend on the boundary edge. A humble and generous man, he was appointed OBE in 1970 and awarded Honorary Life Membership of the MCC upon his retirement. Arguably, Arlott was the finest of all cricket commentators, setting a benchmark for generations to follow.

By Ravi Ranjan   Savita Singh’s Main Kiski Aurat Hoon stands today as one of the most intellectually expansive works in contemporary Hindi poetry—a poem that begins with a seemingly simple question of women’s identity but unfolds into a profound meditation on selfhood, history, language, and human freedom. When read alongside Kishwar Naheed’s Hum Gunahgaar Auratein and Adrienne Rich’s Diving into the Wreck , Singh’s poem becomes part of a global feminist conversation that interrogates how identities are constructed, imposed, resisted, and ultimately re‑imagined.

By Bharat Dogra   Corruption remains one of the greatest obstacles to the progress of any country. In everyday life, it is among the most frustrating experiences for ordinary people, generating widespread resentment and discontent. When social movements give voice to this frustration and offer hope of reducing corruption, people often respond enthusiastically. Indeed, some of the most significant political changes in many countries have been driven by public mobilization against corruption.

By A Representative   An international online discussion bringing together Indigenous leaders and youth from Bangladesh and Nepal has underscored the need for structural reforms and stronger recognition of Indigenous rights beyond electoral politics.

By Nava Thakuria   Readers of a venerable newspaper in Guwahati were greeted with an unusual sight on 26 May 2026: a full front-page advertisement declaring that the English daily was not for sale. Occupying the most valuable space traditionally reserved for major news stories, the advertisement raised eyebrows among loyal readers who purchase the newspaper every morning for news, not corporate declarations.

By A Representative   People's movement groups have strongly condemned a wave of demolition drives across Kolkata targeting hawkers, vendors and slum dwellers, declaring that the drives violate Supreme Court guidelines and calling on the government to halt all coercive evictions immediately.

By Rajiv Shah   In a detailed discussion on the Unmute podcast, leading labour scholars Professor Ernesto Noronha and lawyer-researcher Anusha Ravishankar have issued a stark assessment of India’s newly notified labour codes , arguing that the long-pending reforms are designed to attract capital at the expense of worker security, weaken collective bargaining , and exacerbate the vulnerabilities of the country’s vast informal workforce .

By Dr. P. K. Gupta   Medical education in India was once regarded as a noble pursuit characterized by merit, discipline, rigorous training, and dedicated teaching. Over the decades, however, profound structural, economic, and institutional changes have transformed both medical education and healthcare delivery. The consequences of these changes deserve serious examination.

By Ram Puniyani  Eid-ul-Adha (Bakra Eid) is the second most important festival for Muslims. Widely known as the Festival of Sacrifice, it commemorates Prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham's) unwavering faith in Allah and his willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail in obedience to God's command before Allah provided a ram in his place. Muslims who can afford to do so perform the ritual sacrifice of an animal such as a goat, sheep, cow, or camel. This serves as a physical and symbolic re-enactment of Prophet Ibrahim's sacrifice.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak  On 9 June 2026, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan handed letters of approval to two British universities—the University of Bristol and the University of York—and one Australian institution, the University of New South Wales, permitting them to establish campuses in Mumbai and Bengaluru. He described the move as a major step toward fulfilling the "internationalisation vision" of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, formulated under the BJP-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat   American forces attacked Indian sailors in the Persian Gulf, reportedly killing several of them. Yet the Government of India, along with its prime-time cheerleaders and devoted supporters, has remained conspicuously silent. There has not been a single strong word of condemnation directed at the United States. Instead, we are being lectured about "international law" and the "legality" of the incident. Ironically, it was Iran that condemned the attack and described the United States as an international pirate.

By Dr. Ruchi Shree   Is a River Alive? (By Robert Macfarlane , 2025, Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin, London) is a narrative of hope in despair. The author, a nature writer and Professor of Literature and the Environmental Humanities, has written numerous bestselling books. Some of them are Underland , Landmarks, The Old Ways, The Wild Places and Mountains of the Mind , which have been translated into many languages and won numerous prizes around the world. His writings have been widely adapted for different modes of creative expression, namely music, theatre, film, radio, and dance. Macfarlane's book, a detailed account of his journeys along three rivers across three different continents — South America, North America and Asia — is equally personal and political. This book on rivers is equally about mountains, seas, birds and all other living beings.

By Harsh Thakor*  ‘Spring Thunder of Kolkata,’ written by Professor Amit Bhattacharya , examines the history of the Naxalite insurgency in Kolkata through a detailed reconstruction of events, ideological debates, and political developments. The book traces how the movement emerged from broader national and international influences, including the impact of the Chinese Revolution , the CPI–CPM split , and the ideological positions articulated in Charu Mazumdar ’s "Historic Eight Documents".

By A Representative   The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), along with several civil society organizations, legal professionals, academics and activists, has submitted an urgent petition to the Election Commission of India (ECI) challenging the rejection of Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination for the Rajya Sabha Biennial Election 2026 from Madhya Pradesh.

By Vikas Meshram   There are few people who are born into privilege yet choose to dedicate their lives to the cause of the poor. Jean Drèze is one such individual. Born on January 22, 1959, in Leuven, Belgium, into the family of a distinguished economist, Drèze has become one of the most influential voices in the study of poverty, inequality, and social policy in India. Having lived in India since 1979, he adopted Indian citizenship in 2002 and has since played a pivotal role in shaping some of the country's most important welfare initiatives.

​By Keshav Tiwari, Saksham, Mansee Bal Bhargava   ​Hundreds of tribal farmers, led by women, are currently engaged in a Chita Andolan (protest) in Chhatarpur. They are fighting for the rights to their land, water, forests, and traditional community management systems inherited over centuries. Facing forced eviction, poor compensation, an information vacuum, and deep uncertainty, these indigenous communities are asking a fundamental question: If this project is not for the people whose resources it consumes, who is it actually for?  

By Jag Jivan   As Bangladesh approves a vast new barrage, experts caution that unilateral river engineering is outpacing diplomacy, with potentially severe ecological and geopolitical consequences. In a development that has raised alarm among water security experts, Bangladesh has given the green light to one of the largest river engineering projects in its history: the Padma Barrage . The massive structure, designed to restore water to the country’s drought-prone southwest, comes at a moment when upstream neighbours China and India are also accelerating their own dam-building programmes.

By Jag Jivan    A high-stakes controversy has erupted in the Indian Himalayan Region following the abrupt publication and immediate withdrawal of a major infrastructure tender. The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) issued a public tender notice for the proposed "Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel Project (Link 3)" only to cancel it abruptly just three days later.

By A Representative   India's flood early warning system came under sharp criticism this week after the Central Water Commission's main Flood Forecast website remained inaccessible for over a week at the very start of the 2026 monsoon season, even as flash floods battered parts of the Northeast and extreme rainfall events struck several cities.

By Dr. Gopabandhu Dash*  The United Nations University (UNU) recently warned that humanity has entered an era of " global water bankruptcy "—a condition in which long-term water consumption persistently exceeds nature's ability to replenish freshwater resources. This process steadily depletes critical water reserves such as aquifers, glaciers, wetlands, and other natural storage systems. Water bankruptcy signifies a new and alarming global reality: humanity's freshwater withdrawals have exceeded natural replenishment to such an extent that many vital water systems are becoming insolvent and, in some cases, irreversibly damaged.

By A Representative   The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), one of India's largest sex workers' collectives, has welcomed the Supreme Court's May 29, 2026 judgment in Prajwala vs Union of India, describing it as a significant step toward a rights-based and constitutionally grounded approach to addressing trafficking and sex work.

By A Representative   Veteran Assamese journalist Nava Thakuria was conferred the annual Devarshi Narad Jayanti Award at a function organised by Vishwa Samvad Kendra (VSK) Assam at Sudarshanalaya in the Barbari locality of Guwahati on June 7. Three young journalists—Ranjita Rabha of Pratham Khabar News Channel, Lakhyajit Gohain of NK Television, and Mridul Haloi of Dainik Asom—were also felicitated during the event.

By A Representative   Citizens for Fraternity–Bharat (CFF-Bharat), a civil society platform comprising former public officials, business leaders, journalists and policy professionals, has written to the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking clarification regarding the status of Ms. Nazia Elahi Khan within the party and demanding disciplinary action over remarks attributed to her. 

By Shamsul Islam  When the people of India — of whom, according to the 2011 Census , approximately 80% are Hindus — reel under unprecedented violence against women, the working class, Dalits, Tribals and minorities, along with price rise, unemployment, corruption, closure of schools, ouster of marginalised Indians from the ambit of higher education and countless paper leaks in the Amrit Kaal (Sanskrit for the era of elixir, or golden period) of RSS-BJP rule, a well-off section of so-called "Muslim intellectuals" who have been part of the ruling elite — unconcerned with this horrendous reality — are busy legitimising the extra-constitutional fountainhead of the Hindutva rulers, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh , using Indian Muslims as an alibi.

By Ram Puniyani  On June 10th of this year, Modi became the longest-serving Prime Minister of India, breaking the record previously held by the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Just a few weeks earlier, he had completed 12 years in office. The BJP's propaganda machinery is using both occasions to further burnish Modi's image. Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states are publishing full-page advertisements in newspapers touting his "great" achievements.

By Nava Thakuria  Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing’s five-day official visit to India from 30 May to 3 June 2026 drew attention both in New Delhi and in India’s northeastern region, where policymakers and residents closely follow developments in the neighbouring country. The visit was significant because it touched on several issues of mutual concern, including security cooperation, border management, connectivity projects, trade, and regional stability.

By A Representative   Power and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma has submitted a detailed representation to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), expressing serious concerns over the proposed Sharavati Pumped Storage Project (PSP) in Karnataka and the broader push for similar projects across India's river valleys.

By Mohd Ziyaullah Khan  Deep within the eastern Indian Ocean, bulldozers are beginning to reshape one of India's most remote and ecologically rich territories. Great Nicobar Island, a tropical paradise covered by ancient rainforests and home to one of the world's last largely uncontacted Indigenous communities, is at the centre of a massive development plan that promises economic growth, strategic security, and global connectivity.

By A Representative   According to a new analysis, a relentless heatwave that began in mid-April has pushed temperatures in India and Pakistan above 46°C in many areas, running 5–8°C above seasonal norms. The combination of extreme heat and high humidity, three resesrchers writing in The Conversations  warn, is creating dangerously lethal conditions across the subcontinent. At least 37 people have died in India and 10 in Pakistan, though the authors note these figures are “likely to be a major underestimate” as heat-related deaths are systemically undercounted in the region. Why this heatwave is different The researchers -- Andrew King , Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at The University of Melbourne ; Mika Peace , a Heatwave Research Scientist at The University of Adelaide ; and Sana Mahmood , a Research Associate in Climate Science at The University of Melbourne -- explain that persistent high-pressure weather systems have suppressed cloud formation an...

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat  A caste-based murder that has shocked the nation has taken place in Uttarakhand . An 18-year-old boy, Ketan Lal, from the Shilpkar community —the commonly used name for Dalits in Uttarakhand—was allegedly called to his girlfriend's home in Tehri town in the middle of the night. The girl reportedly belonged to a Rajput family .

By A Representative   The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a non-partisan collective of former civil servants from the All India and Central Services, has issued an open letter demanding accountability from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over what it described as repeated failures in the conduct of national-level examinations.

By Rajkumar Sinha*  The politics of West Bengal has always been known for intense political battles and dramatic developments. In 1998, Mamata Banerjee herself rebelled against the Congress to establish the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Today, in a striking historical parallel, the party is facing a rebellion from within, with dissident leaders claiming to represent the “real TMC.”

By Dr P.K. Gupta  Medical admissions through NEET began in 2013, championed by Hindi-speaking states at a time when private medical colleges in those regions were still few. That landscape has since transformed beyond recognition. The exponential multiplication of both private and government medical colleges across northern India has hollowed out whatever rationale once existed for a single centralized test. What remains is a system that serves not merit but money.

By Sandeep Pandey*  The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak controversy shows no signs of fading. To make matters worse, the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system recently encountered serious problems, while the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), had to be reconducted for 3,765 candidates because of technical glitches. The NTA was already under scrutiny due to the NEET paper leak controversy. Following the OSM fiasco, CBSE took over the re-evaluation exercise from the private agency COEMPT Eduteck.

By Harsh Thakor*  Cao Zhenglu occupies a distinctive position in contemporary Chinese literature as a writer whose work persistently engages with the social transformations brought about by market reforms. His fiction foregrounds the lived experiences of laid‑off state workers, migrant labourers, and other groups affected by the restructuring of China’s economy, and it does so through a realist mode attentive to the pressures shaping working‑class life. 

By Vijay Prashad  There are moments in history when words lose their meaning. Not because dictionaries are rewritten, nor because language itself changes, but because political power empties words of the realities they once described. The word ceasefire has increasingly acquired this desolate quality when used by Israeli and US officials. What was once understood to mean the suspension of violence, the silencing of guns, and the creation of political space for peace has become something else entirely: a managerial term for the continuation of war by other means.

By A Representative   The advocacy group Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSA India) has expressed deep concern over the recent deaths of 12 workers in separate industrial accidents in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and Surat, Gujarat, calling for urgent strengthening of occupational health and safety measures across the country.

By A Representative   A broad coalition of trade unions, worker representatives, labour rights activists and concerned citizens has submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, demanding a revision of minimum wages towards living wages, stricter enforcement of labour laws, and the withdrawal of criminal cases filed against protesting workers and trade union leaders.

By A Representative   The Minority Coordination Committee Gujarat has urged the Gujarat government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the demolition of 106 houses in Nasir Nagar, Surat, alleging serious violations of due process and raising questions about administrative accountability.

By A Representative   A detailed complaint has been submitted to the Bharuch District Collector, the regional office of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), and the district geologist, alleging large-scale illegal soil excavation and violations of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms near the Bhadbhut Dam project site in Manad village of Bharuch district.

By Harsh Thakor*  This is my selection of the batsmen who most closely defined perfection in batting, ranked in order of merit. My criteria are not based purely on statistics or overall achievements, but on the extent to which a batsman fused technical correctness with inventiveness, artistry, aggression, and effectiveness.

By Ravi Ranjan   The COVID-19 pandemic was not merely a health crisis; it was a brutal revelation of modern society’s deep-seated inequalities. While the virus was universal, the experience of the crisis was sharply divided by class, resources, and occupation. One section of society worked from home in safety, while another—the vast labouring class—faced a catastrophic collision of hunger, unemployment, and the desperate struggle for survival.

By Busani Ngcaweni   The main news item in African media this past week has been the controversy surrounding a proposed U.S.-funded Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya. What began as a public health initiative has rapidly evolved into a politically charged national dispute. The project has triggered protests and legal action. Two people have reportedly died during demonstrations. The High Court, according to media reports, has ordered the government to disclose details of the agreement underpinning the facility, while public debate has expanded beyond epidemiology to questions of sovereignty, transparency and public trust.

By Palla Trinadha Rao  The history of tribal struggles in Andhra Pradesh is not merely a history of economic deprivation or social exclusion. It is fundamentally a political history of communities asserting control over their land, forests, resources, identity, and systems of governance against powerful external forces. From the colonial period to the present day, tribal regions have witnessed numerous struggles against exploitation, land alienation, administrative domination, and political marginalisation. These struggles shaped many of the legal and constitutional safeguards that exist today. Yet while the issues confronting tribal communities remain largely unchanged, the political character of tribal struggles has undergone profound transformation.

By Mythri Tewary   The establishment laughed. Twenty-two million people didn’t. What unfolds when a generation loses faith in its institutions and finds faith in a joke instead? There is something deeply fascinating as well as humorously unsettling about the fact that an entire generation has started identifying with cockroaches. Not lions. Not eagles. Not lotus flowers, national animals, or glorifying symbols. But cockroaches. An insect everyone wants dead, yet one that survives everything. That alone is a gruesome representation of the times we live in. The origin of any movement holds a story. In politics, it might emerge with manifestos, rebellion, revolutions, or a single vote. The ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ (CJP), though, has its origin as an insult—rather, a sentence that millions of youngsters heard as one. “They (youngsters) are like cockroaches,” or “parasites” in society, were the words of the Honourable Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, during a court hearing...