Counterview

By Ram Puniyani   Across the world, mythological tales are filled with flights of imagination. As children, when we hear them, they enchant us and remain alive in our memories. But in the end, they are only stories. In recent decades, however, a new trend has emerged. The right-wing rulers of our country have begun presenting mythological stories as if they were factual. This began on public platforms when Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminded doctors and the nation that ancient India must have had plastic surgeons, otherwise how could the head of an elephant have been placed on Lord Ganesha’s body?

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  The controversy over the functioning of the Madhya Pradesh State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has now reached the Supreme Court. In May 2025, SEIAA approved as many as 450 projects in a single day—without convening the mandatory collective meeting required under law. Files were deliberately kept pending, and once deadlines lapsed, approvals were deemed to have been granted automatically, a direct violation of the rules.

By A Representative   A nationwide survey has exposed the growing debt crisis faced by women borrowers in India’s microfinance sector. The study, conducted by the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) across 15 states and covering 6,685 women, reveals how non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs) have become sources of distress rather than relief.

By Bharat Dogra  Anita Damor, a farmer from Amlipara village in Kushalgarh block of Banswara district, Rajasthan, has become a striking example of ecologically protective farming and village self-reliance. When she spoke about her work at a national conference on village self-reliance, her presentation was highly appreciated.

By Bharat Dogra   There are two aspects of Monica’s life that strike you immediately, even in a brief interaction. She works very hard, and she is very happy while doing so. This happiness, however, is a recent arrival. Earlier, her life was filled with exhausting drudgery and the constant risk of injury. Development literature often speaks of drudgery, but Monica has lived it in its harshest form. Her story illustrates the stark difference between hard work that brings joy and dignity, and hard work that breeds stress and despair.

By Harsh Thakor*  Peruvian intellectual José Carlos Mariátegui made a distinctive contribution to Latin American political and social thought. His writings demonstrated that Marxism could not be treated as a mechanical formula but had to be examined in relation to local realities. He emphasized that the peasantry, particularly Indigenous communities, would play a central role in social transformation in Latin America, and that the question of national development was of critical importance. 

By A Representative   The National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ), a pan-Indian initiative of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), has strongly condemned the clearance granted by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department for the diversion of over 1,740 hectares of dense Hasdeo Arand forest land for the Kente Extension coal block. The block, allocated to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) with Adani Enterprises as the mine operator, has become the latest flashpoint in the long-running battle between forest conservation, tribal rights, and coal mining interests.

By Anand Mathew IMS*  What triggered the Kuki-Meitei violence in Manipur? Is there a possibility of returning to peaceful coexistence? These are questions that weigh heavily on many minds. A small group of us visited refugee camps in the Kangpokpi area, speaking with displaced families and various stakeholders. Based on those grassroots interactions and subsequent study, this is a modest attempt to present facts and perspectives that remain little known to the wider world. To understand Manipur’s present tragedy, one must first know something of its geography, history, and ethnic and religious diversity.

By A Representative   The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has issued a comprehensive response to the concerns raised by Inner Manipur MP Dr. Angomcha Bimol Akoijam (photo) regarding the “Independent People’s Tribunal on the Ongoing Ethnic Conflict in Manipur” report . In their statement dated August 28, 2025, PUCL President Kavita Srivastava and General Secretary Dr. V. Suresh welcomed the parliamentarian’s call for dialogue, while firmly rejecting allegations that the Tribunal’s findings were biased.