Counterview

By Rajiv Shah   I was a little surprised to see how some of those whom I respect for taking a firm stand on patriarchal issues reacted to the manner in which they responded to the recent incident in Paris, in which women employees of the Eiffel Tower were asked to remain "invisible" on September 5 when 100 BAPS sadhus visited one of the world's top tourist destinations.

By A Representative   The All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA), a constituent of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), has strongly condemned the recent circular issued by the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama faction led by Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar , which directs that women should not appear in public spaces alongside men and that young women should not be brought into gatherings with unrelated men.

By A Representative   In what rights advocates are calling a defining moment for India's sex workers' movement, representatives from six states gathered at the Calcutta Press Club to launch the Yaunkarmi Adhikar Manch — a national platform led by sex workers themselves to defend their rights, dignity and freedom.

By Sunil Kumar*  A contract worker, Ranjit Gautam, died at Delhi University's South Campus on September 7, 2026. His death was not natural. The information that has come to light after the incident raises serious questions about the alleged gross negligence of the Delhi University administration.

Counterview News   The National Highways Authority of India on Tuesday announced that highway projects will no longer receive their Provisional Certificate of Completion (PCC) or Provisional Commercial Operation Date (PCOD) unless at least 80% of the right-of-way earmarked for plantation is covered and saplings show a 90% survival rate at inspection. Operations and maintenance payments across EPC, HAM and BOT-Annuity projects will also be withheld if survival drops below 90%.

By Aseem Mishra  With 4.82 lakh hectares of farmland under stress, 21 lakh livestock facing fodder and water shortages, milk production declining and Maldhari families beginning to migrate, Kutch's drought is becoming a crisis of livelihoods, food security and ecology. *** A drought does not begin with a government notification. It begins when a farmer watches his crop wilt, when a Maldhari walks farther in search of grass and water, when a family starts buying drinking water, and when livestock—built up over generations—has to be sold or transported elsewhere simply to survive. That is increasingly the reality in Kutch.

By A Representative   A detailed submission sent to senior members of the Union government has urged a fundamental rethink of India’s massive nuclear‑power expansion plans, warning that current targets are “highly unrealistic”, economically risky, environmentally unsound and socially contentious. The letter—addressed to the Minister of State for Atomic Energy and the Vice‑Chairperson of NITI Aayog, with copies to the Prime Minister—argues that India’s electricity future must be shaped by “unambiguous evidence, economics, ecological sustainability, social justice and technological realism,” not predetermined nuclear‑capacity targets.

By Prof. Jagmohan Singh, Bharat Dogra   Bhagat Singh remains one of the most inspiring freedom fighters in the liberation struggles of countries that resisted colonial rule for centuries. More than 95 years after he sacrificed his life alongside fellow valiant Indian freedom fighters like Sukhdev and Rajguru, his inspirational legacy extends far beyond India.

By Rajiv Shah  A new study has ranked Ahmedabad as the least climate-resilient major city in the world , highlighting a dangerous gap between the city’s extreme physical vulnerability to climate hazards and its capacity to adapt. Cited by The New York Times , the analysis, conducted by geospatial artificial intelligence firm AlphaGeo , places the Indian city at the top of a list of global urban centres most exposed to climate risk.

By Bharat Dogra    When the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games lit up the sky over Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31, it marked more than the start of a sporting spectacle. For ten days, through September 6, nearly 4,000 athletes, artists, and officials from 104 countries will compete in 43 events—from traditional wrestling and horseback riding to archery—while celebrating the rich folk music and cultural heritage of nomadic communities.

By Dr. P.K. Gupta*  Hinduism and Hindutva are not interchangeable. Hinduism is a plural religious civilisation, while Hindutva is a modern political ideology that seeks to consolidate this diversity into a uniform national identity. The ascent of this once-marginal current from the fringes of Indian politics to the commanding heights of state power represents one of the most consequential ideological transformations of the republic. In acquiring legitimacy, organisational reach and mass appeal, Hindutva has also attempted to claim the authority to define Sanatan Dharma itself.

By A Representative   In a wide-ranging interview, veteran secular activist and writer Ram Puniyani has offered a stark assessment of India's political trajectory, warning that the country's pluralistic fabric is being systematically eroded by a well-orchestrated Hindutva project that seeks to reshape Indian society along Brahminical lines. Speaking to journalist A K Shiburaj , Puniyani, who has spent decades working for communal harmony, described the nature of communalism in India as having worsened dramatically over the past two decades, particularly since the BJP came to power about twelve years ago. 

By Thomas Kell*  As a researcher whose primary work examines the application of international law to geopolitical disputes in South Asia, I have also developed a particular interest in Tibet and the Tibetan government-in-exile. Recently, I read the statement issued by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on the 66th Tibetan Democracy Day, and it prompted me to want to engage with the Tibetan exile community on a topic I've thought about for some time: the structural shortcomings of the Tibetan democratic system, viewed from a legal perspective.

By Prof. Suresh Deman*   Mao Tse Tung’s death on 9 September 1976 closed an extraordinary chapter in modern Chinese history, but it did not resolve the profound structural questions he left behind. Mao led the generation that achieved the Chinese Revolution, directed a second charged with state construction, and during the Cultural Revolution appealed directly to China’s youth to contest entrenched authority and safeguard revolutionary purpose. While the Cultural Revolution remains deeply controversial and historically destructive, Mao’s legacy endures through his engagement with a central dilemma: who controls the vanguard party once it acquires sovereign power?  

By Harsh Thakor*  September 9, 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Mao Zedong 's death On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party of China and the central figure of the Chinese Revolution , died in Beijing at age 82. His death closed a 27-year period in which he dominated China's politics, economy, and culture, and it left a legacy that historians, the Chinese state, and ordinary citizens continue to interpret in sharply different ways.

By Rajiv Shah   One day after Janmashtami , to be exact, on September 5, during my stay in the US, I was taken to two separate celebrations in a town on the East Coast, ostensibly to keep me engaged among NRIs . While one of them had, apart from the ritualistic puja at a temple in the name of Radhe Krishna , located around a small pond on the outskirts, dance and song performances, it was the second one that interested me the most.

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan*  For most Indians, GDP is an intimidating economic acronym buried in government reports and television debates. But GDP is ultimately about something very simple: the size and growth of the economy in which people earn, spend, invest and build their lives. That is why a viral interview featuring former Finance Secretary Subhash Garg has struck such a powerful chord. Garg challenged the government’s interpretation of India’s latest GDP numbers and raised a question that has refused to disappear: How can India's estimated GDP at current prices fall dramatically when a new GDP series is introduced?

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  An old mosque has been demolished by the Saharanpur administration under the pretext of a court order that was about to be challenged in a higher court. It is extremely shocking to see how the administration has turned highly biased and quick to invoke the "rule of law" when the alleged violation or crime is committed by Muslims. It keeps a blind eye when lumpen elements from the Hindu community take the law into their own hands, violate it, and rubbish it.

By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  The alleged assault of two female journalists by Delhi Police at the Saket police station on September 3, 2026, has become a talking point across the country. More importantly, it has revived a troubling question: Is there any dignity left for media professionals in India?

By Palla Trinadha Rao*  When a small tribal hamlet in Sikkim can single-handedly hold up a hydropower project worth thousands of crores, whose job is it to say no to the company — and whose job is it to say no to the hamlet? A one-page government note quietly answered that question this week: nobody's job.