Counterview

By Ajay Chaudhary*  For centuries, the Indian Ocean has been more than a vast expanse of water—it has been the artery of global commerce. Today, it carries more than one-third of the world's bulk cargo and nearly two-thirds of global seaborne oil shipments, making South Asia's ports indispensable to international trade. For the region's littoral states, these maritime gateways have traditionally been viewed as engines of economic growth, regional connectivity, and national development.

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan*  The recent demolition order affecting a significant portion of the buildings at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University (MAJU), Rampur, has once again brought into focus a question that extends far beyond the boundaries of one institution. It raises a larger constitutional and moral dilemma: how should a democratic society enforce the rule of law without jeopardizing the educational future of thousands of students?

By Deepika Tandon, Shahana Bhattacharya *  The People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) new  report "Reddening The Green: Costs, Contexts, And Consequences Of The War In Bastar (2024-2026)" presents an account of 27 months of Operation Kagaar — security operations conducted jointly by the central and state governments between January 2024 and March 2026 with the professed object of the complete elimination of "Naxalism" or "Left-Wing Extremism." While Kagaar was conducted across several states of central-eastern India, including Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, this report focuses on seven districts of the Bastar division. 

By A Representative   Feminist activists, political leaders and representatives of marginalised communities on Wednesday demanded that the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act be delinked from the Census and delimitation process, asserting that 33 per cent reservation for women can be introduced at the current strength of Parliament.

By Bharat Dogra  Sanitation has long been a weak link in the development of peri-urban areas, and the small town of Khamnor in South Rajasthan reflected this reality until about five years ago. Garbage lay scattered across the town, often clogging water sources and creating an unhealthy environment.

By Harsh Thakor*  Ben Stokes, the most defining English cricketer of his era – a man who could turn the complexion of a game from the direst straits and transform despair into delirium with a single swing of his bat – announced his retirement from international cricket on June 28, 2026, during the ongoing third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge . The decision, shared with the England squad ahead of play that day, brought the curtain down on a glittering 15-year international career . His announcement marks an irreparable loss to the game of cricket, a moment that leaves the sport poorer for his absence.

By Ravi Ranjan*   Shrikant Verma’s "Kosala Lacks Ideas" is a deceptively brief poem that unfolds into a dense meditation on power, language, history and the moral foundations of political life. Although framed as a courtly celebration of a king’s victory, the poem steadily dismantles the very idea of victory, exposing how political authority manufactures legitimacy through language, spectacle and selective memory. 

  By Jag Jivan   A new book by economists Santosh Mehrotra and Jajati Parida argues that India is squandering its demographic dividend even as the country's labour market slides deeper into crisis. In "India Out of Work: Rethinking India's Growth Story," released via Bloomsbury , the authors write that non-farm job creation has stalled at a time when it is most needed, and that the formal sector, which offers security and fair wages, remains stagnant. This has pushed a growing share of the workforce into informal or unpaid work, which the authors say now accounts for just over 90 per cent of all employment.

By Venkatesh Nayak*  Last month, senior officials of the MInistry of External Affairs were quoted by the media as saying that the passport their colleagues issue every day is only a travel document. Apparently it does not constitute proof of Indian citizenship. This revelation has set the proverbial cat among the pigeons, when crores of people are being asked to prove that they are eligible to vote in the parliamentary and state assembly elections. Even though less than 10% of the citizens of India hold passports, those who have it do not own it, despite paying through their nose for it, as every passport is boldly marked: "This passport is the property of the Government of India". Section 17 of The Passports Act, 1967 states: " A passport or travel document issued under this Act shall in all times remain the property of the Central Government."

By Martin Macwan  Sonam Wangchuk's health is fragile. Everyone knows what could happen if his fast continues, and yet many are still waiting and watching. The allegation against the government is that it has neither the intention nor the time to talk to fasting protesters who are not risking their lives for personal gain. In fact, since the government is made by the people, to say that the people of India have no time or intention to talk to Sonam and those with him would not be an exaggeration—unless people conclude that they had no role at all in forming this government.

By Mohd Ziyauallah Khan  Public protests are the lifeblood of a democracy. They remind those in power that citizens are watching, questioning, and demanding accountability. In recent weeks, demonstrations against what critics have mockingly called the "Cockroach Janata Party" (CJP), along with expressions of support for environmentalist and activist Sonam Wangchuk, have attracted considerable public attention. Like many others, I feel sympathy for those taking to the streets and, at times, even a sense of guilt for not standing beside them.

By Ram Puniyani*  RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat often performs rhetorical acrobatics to defend the idea of a Hindu Rashtra. At times, he says that everyone living in India is a Hindu because we share a common ancestry. Earlier RSS ideologues, however, were more explicit in asserting that Islam and Christianity are foreign religions.

By Osman Sher*  Historian Arnold Toynbee, in his book "Mankind and Mother Earth," observes: "In most periods of the history of the Indian subcontinent the Indians have felt more concern about religion than about politics and economics." A survey of history, beginning in the mid-sixth century BC, when recorded history emerged in the Indian subcontinent with the establishment of Bimbisara's rule in southern Bihar, confirms the truth of this observation. This phenomenon continued through the eras of the Mauryas, Kushanas, Guptas, Vardhanas, Muslim rulers, the British, and into the present day.

By A Representative   The National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ) has strongly condemned what it calls the violation of constitutional and human rights of communities affected by the Ken-Betwa Link Project, demanding the project's complete cancellation, reparations for losses already suffered, and the adoption of decentralized alternatives that do not require displacement. In a statement issued on July 16, 2026, the alliance expressed solidarity with the ongoing protest movement against displacement caused by the river interlinking scheme, condemning what it described as illegal arrests, evictions and demolitions carried out against affected residents.

By Bharat Dogra  Guddi joined a self-help group (SHG) in Udaipur in search of livelihood opportunities based on patchwork. Over time, she progressed well enough to start a unit of her own and emerge as an entrepreneur. Om Kunwar similarly established her own tailoring and garment-stitching unit. Nutan has done even better. She came looking for work, but today she provides employment to more than 30 women through her crochet-based enterprise.

  By Rajiv Shah   One and a half years ago, I wrote a blog wondering whether merely hiding the promise of a bribe in India — not actually paying it — is a crime in the US. Citing a CNN report on the Adani case in the US, I quoted it to say that the US justice department had sought to indict Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and others for "promising" more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.

By A Representative   The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has appealed to the protesters on hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, including activist Sonam Wangchuk and protesting students, to consider ending their fast while reaffirming its support for their demand that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over alleged failures in the education system.

By A Representative   Mujahid Nafees, Convener of the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), has submitted a representation to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gujarat, alleging that Surat police officers violated Supreme Court guidelines and a Gujarat DGP circular by allegedly assaulting accused persons in public during a police reconstruction exercise.

By A Representative   Human rights activist Kirity Roy, Secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) and National Convenor of the Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), has submitted a detailed complaint to the Chief Minister of West Bengal seeking immediate intervention into the alleged assault of a 64-year-old farmer by a Border Security Force (BSF) officer and the subsequent refusal of police to register a First Information Report (FIR).

By A Representative   The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), a coalition of civil rights, labour and student organisations, has condemned the issuance of a notice by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to labour rights activist Manjeet in connection with the Lucknow Conspiracy Case (FIR No. RC-01/2023/NIA/Lucknow).

By Bharat Dogra   Women water volunteers, known as Jal Sahelis, have played an increasingly important role in recent years in water conservation, protection of water sources, and improving access to water and sanitation in many villages of the Bundelkhand region. The response and contributions of Jal Sahelis—translated as "women friends of water"—have surpassed the expectations of most people in several villages. 

By Carmen Navas Reyes  When people think of economic sanctions, they often imagine a mechanism targeting a specific government, specific assets, or a list of names. But the U.S. sanctions regime operates differently and in a much broader way, relying on a phenomenon known as 'overcompliance': banks, companies, and platforms around the world sever ties or reject transactions with institutions and individuals from sanctioned countries far beyond what the law strictly requires, simply out of fear of losing their access to the international financial system in dollars, one of the weapons that strongly underpin U.S. imperialism.

By Rufus Wiena   My phone buzzed. It was my girlfriend. ‘Get out of there,’ she said. Her voice was shaking. I was in Graz, Austria, at a European footvolley tournament. I had come to compete. I was leaving for my safety. Hours earlier, a four-time European champion with over 25,000 Instagram followers had posted a story asking his fans what should be done with me. The responses came in fast. One stood out: ‘Post a picture, and we'll take care of him.’ After our match, the same Israeli player thanked his followers for their ‘creative tips’ on things to do with me ‘outside the court.’ I bought a ticket home that night. I am the Swedish and Nordic footvolley champion of 2025. I am also, apparently, a legitimate target. My crime was standing in solidarity with Palestine. In the ecosystem of European footvolley, that is enough to make you prey. What happened to me in Graz is nothing compared to what my Greek colleague, Ioannis Tsiouris, has endured since July 2025. Yiannis ...

By Rajiv Shah   A recent piece of news , that Ambalal Patel , considered a prominent Gujarat-based astrologer, has decided to stop predicting daily weather based on his "calculations" of how he sees the stars behaving, took my memory back to 2001. It was January 26, and I was having my morning tea, hoping to enjoy a holiday.

By Martin Macwan *  Dear Colleague Sonam Wangchuk, I have never met you personally. I wrote a short article at the time of your arrest. Your work correctly introduces you. There is truth in your words. You have embarked on a fast, following the footsteps of Gandhiji. Your intention is to make people think. Your demand is reasonable; I believe that the resignation of a single education minister will not improve the state of education in India. However, the question you have raised is extremely important for the future generation of the marginalized. Education is the key to power, development, and progress, which empowers a citizen.

By Neha Desai    Arunachal Pradesh has once again borne the brunt of nature's fury. Weeks of torrential monsoon rains, cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides have destroyed homes, washed away roads and bridges, isolated communities, and claimed lives across several districts. Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army, and local authorities have been stretched as thousands struggle to recover. Yet to describe this devastation as merely a natural disaster would be to overlook a deeper and more uncomfortable truth. 

By  Bhabani Shankar Nayak*    Various forms of crisis, risk, and insecurity are intensifying, even as governing elites drum up patriotism, nationalism, and ethnic and religious unity to hide the failures of the ruling classes and their capitalist system, with all its powers. Labour is more productive than ever before, yet it continues to face archaic forms of marginalisation. 

By Bharat Dogra   In the Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh, a new piped water network is bringing tap water to villages, offering tremendous relief—particularly for women who no longer bear the daily burden of fetching water. However, the transition has not been smooth, and numerous challenges persist. Many villages remain without tap water, while in others, certain hamlets or households have been left out. Jaipal Singh Yadav, sarpanch of Kulua village in Niwari district, explains: "From early morning, I start getting calls from different parts of the village—'Sarpanch Ji, there is no water in my tap today.' If one person is getting water, another is not. Often I am helpless, yet expected to solve problems immediately. What exactly can I do?"

By Raqif Makhdoomi*  Raizada Trilok Chand, the Governor of Kashmir, ordered his forces to open fire on protesters on July 13, 1931, leaving 22 people dead. Their deaths marked the beginning of what came to be observed as Martyrs' Day in Kashmir. Every year on July 13, many Kashmiris remember those who lost their lives while resisting what they regarded as an oppressive and autocratic regime.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The digital revolution has not only created a post-truth society shaped by an industry of manipulation, misinformation, and deepfakes; it has also fundamentally transformed the global scam economy, affecting millions of people worldwide. Criminals increasingly exploit digital platforms and technologies to defraud unsuspecting individuals. According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), people lost more than US$1.03 trillion to digital scams, while the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has described the rapid growth of online fraud and cybercrime as a "scamdemic."

By Jeremy David Engels*  “Namaste,” a common greeting in India and South Asia, has become a global cultural phenomenon – the word appears everywhere, from wellness retreats to political events to pop culture.

By Jag Jivan   A new report by Parineeta Dandekar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has brought to light a recurring and largely unstudied crisis in the Indian Himalayas : the phenomenon of glacial streams, or nallahs , experiencing devastating flash floods not from rainfall, but under a blazing sun.

By Nava Thakuria*  India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) recently triggered widespread public debate after reiterating that an Indian passport should primarily be treated as a travel document and not as conclusive proof of Indian citizenship. The clarification, issued on the occasion of the 14th Passport Seva Divas, drew strong reactions on mainstream and social media, with many questioning the legal and practical implications of the statement.

By Shabnam Hashmi*  The Gujarat government must be held accountable for what appears to be a deeply disturbing instance of state-sponsored communal profiling. Ahmedabad resident Sahal Qureshi recently shared with me an official document , which I translated with the help of AI before forwarding it to several media organisations and political leaders. 

Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan  He lived for only thirty‑two years, yet his life contained more drama, turbulence, and moral courage than many works of fiction. Some lives are so remarkable that they seem almost unbelievable, and the life of Shahid Azmi (1977–2010) belongs to that rare category. His journey moved through communal violence, radicalisation, wrongful imprisonment, intellectual rebirth, and finally an unshakeable commitment to justice.

By Bharat Dogra  In the Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh, as tap water from a new network of pipelines and tanks reaches more villages, it brings immense relief—especially to women, who are freed from the daily burden of fetching water. Yet the transition is not always smooth, and several problems keep cropping up. Many villages still have not received water in their taps, while in others, certain hamlets or households have been left out.

By Harsh Thakor*  Ranking amongst the greatest fast bowlers, Ray Lindwall wasn't just that—he was poetry in motion, a craftsman who turned the brutal art of pace bowling into something beautiful and devastating in equal measure. With his low, slinging action and flowing, wave-like run-up, he redefined what it meant to be a fast bowler in the post-war era. 

By Ravi Ranjan*  Sara Rai’s fiction in Hindi has always inhabited that delicate space where memory, sensation, fear, and imagination intermingle to form the inner landscapes of human experience. Among contemporary Hindi writers, she stands out for her ability to locate profound emotional truths within seemingly ordinary domestic worlds. 

By Thomas Franco*  Reports indicate that the Government of India is considering constituting a committee to examine the possibility of reducing the number of public sector banks from the current 12 to just four or five through another round of mergers. This follows a series of consolidations that began in 2017. Public sector banks, which once numbered 28, were reduced to 21 after the merger of the associate banks with the State Bank of India, and later to 12 through subsequent mergers.

By Bharat Dogra  Parmarth, a leading voluntary organization in the Bundelkhand region of India, has developed a model of climate mitigation and adaptation that aligns with the sustainable livelihood needs of rural farmers. As Sanjay Singh, Secretary of Parmarth, explains, “We strive to strengthen climate resilience in a way that simultaneously enhances the sustainable livelihoods of villagers.”

By Sudhansu R. Das*  Crop diversity is essential for ensuring food and nutritional security. A diverse agricultural system not only provides a wider range of nutritious foods but also strengthens resilience against climate change, pests, diseases, and market fluctuations. While global food demand continues to rise, crop diversity has been declining at an alarming rate, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of food systems.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Chandra Singh, a widely respected public figure in Uttarakhand who served in various capacities in both the Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh governments, passed away on July 9, 2026, at his home in Dehradun. He was 84. A former Secretary in the Uttarakhand Government and a member of the Uttarakhand Lok Seva Aayog, he lived a life marked by simplicity, integrity, and unwavering commitment to the most marginalized communities. Despite holding high administrative positions, he lived like a rishi—travelling in private vehicles, owning almost nothing, and walking like any ordinary citizen.

By Bharat Dogra   Baghaura is a very remote village in the Babina block of Jhansi district. In the hamlet of the Sahariya tribal community in this village, about 25 students have gathered under a tree. Most of them attend the regular government school in the morning, but after returning in the afternoon, they find it helpful to revise their lessons and seek additional guidance from their teacher, Neelu, at this non-formal school. The school is run by the social organization Parmarth as part of its Sabal project.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  Human beings and their societies established universities and institutions of higher learning to challenge orthodox knowledge, advance new discoveries, and overcome the pressing challenges of their time. Social, economic, and political necessities, along with human curiosity, formed the foundations upon which these centres of higher learning were built. They were designed to produce knowledge and skills tailored to the specific needs of their people, places, and historical contexts.

By Biljana Vankovska  When one has witnessed not only a colour revolution in her own country (Macedonia, 2015–2016) but also sensed its arrival during Ukraine’s Euromaidan in 2014, every new outburst of supposedly spontaneous revolt provokes scepticism. Regrettably, this scepticism is usually justified. Nearly two years ago, I wrote similarly about student protests in Serbia and later about Nepal . The point is this: for those of us on the periphery, when you have seen one 'revolution' of this industrial kind, you have seen them all. Unfortunately or not, their outcomes are nearly identical: nothing essential changes after the supposed revolution succeeds. Its purpose was never radical transformation, but regime change in service of some geopolitical actor.

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan   The prolonged incarceration of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi riots conspiracy case continues to provoke debate over the balance between national security, individual liberty, and the constitutional guarantee of a fair and speedy trial. More than four years after their arrests, neither has been convicted, while the trial remains incomplete. Their continued detention has become a focal point in a broader discussion about due process, pre-trial incarceration, and the application of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

By Aseem Mishra*    Kutch is staring at a deepening ecological and economic crisis as a delayed southwest monsoon disrupts agriculture, livestock rearing and fragile ecosystems across the district. In a region historically dependent on erratic rainfall, the prolonged dry spell has exposed the limits of recent investments in water conservation and climate resilience, leaving farmers, pastoralists and environmentalists increasingly anxious.

By Dr. P.K. Gupta*  Medical education in India has undergone a profound transformation over the last four decades. What was once a system primarily driven by merit and public service has increasingly become a marketplace where financial capacity often determines opportunity. The rapid expansion of private medical colleges since the early 1990s has undoubtedly increased the number of seats, but it has also introduced commercial incentives that critics argue have weakened the traditional values of professionalism, academic excellence, and social responsibility in medical education.

By A Representative   The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has raised serious concerns over the recently reported Centre-mediated settlement of the long-running interstate dispute related to the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) on Narmada river, questioning whether the agreement adequately safeguards the financial and rehabilitation rights of Madhya Pradesh and thousands of displaced families.

By A Representative   The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has expressed concern over what it describes as a growing pattern of arbitrary administrative action affecting journalists, following the restoration of senior journalist and author Samrat Choudhury's passport by the Kolkata Passport Office.