Counterview

By A Representative   Nearly two-thirds of India's registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) have not made their annual audit and contribution reports for 2024-25 available in the public domain, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The ADR analysed the submission status of 734 RUPPs across 34 states and Union Territories, representing 35 per cent of all RUPPs, whose reports were available on the websites of the respective state Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs).

By A Representative   The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has raised alarm over escalating threats, intimidation and surveillance targeting Shiv Kumar, a Dalit labour rights defender, and his family in India. It has called on the authorities to end the harassment immediately and to guarantee that he will not be arbitrarily arrested or detained for his legitimate work.

By Shamsul Islam*  For nearly three decades, on every anniversary of the 1984 Sikh genocide, I have reminded the nation that the Indian State and its judiciary never identified and punished those who slaughtered innocents from the country's second-largest religious minority. Each year I hope justice will finally arrive and I will not have to write again. It has not. This year, on the 42nd anniversary, the State has stopped even pretending that it is working for the victims.

By Nava Thakuria*  At least 100,000 people, including civilians, have been killed in Myanmar's conflicts since the military coup of 1 February 2021, according to the UN. Kelley Anne Eckels-Currie, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, gave the figure to the UN General Assembly in New York on 27 October 2026. She called President Min Aung Hlaing a tyrant who still deliberately attacks civilians to force them into submission.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  In October 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power under the slogan "Peace, Bread, and Land," shaped by Lenin's April Theses. The revolution toppled the Provisional Government that had succeeded the Tsar and set in motion the creation of the Soviet state. It inspired anti-colonial struggles worldwide and pushed governments toward welfare and social reform. Its enduring legacy is the idea that working people can govern themselves through collective, democratic decision-making.

By Harsh Thakor*  The setbacks faced by the Naxalbari movement have raised questions about its political, ideological and organisational foundations. Debates over these issues have existed since the movement's inception, but the present crisis has brought them into renewed focus. After six decades of advances and reversals, the movement faces the task of reviewing its experience and assessing its future direction.