Counterview

By A Representative   Pension Parishad and the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) have criticised the Union government’s revision of pensions under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), describing the increase in disability pensions as inadequate and accusing the government of neglecting elderly people and widows.

By Saurabh Thakore*  The coffee is warm. The marble beneath it is cool. By the time we settle into the morning, someone else's work is already holding our day together. The floor is clean. The entrance is attended. The lift is running. Beyond the window, buildings rise above roads carrying people towards offices, factories, hospitals and schools. For a moment, everything feels effortless. It is easy to begin the day without thinking about how it became ready, or whose hands made the room possible.

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ*  "Cockroach" is suddenly an in-word in India, thanks to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who used it during a Supreme Court hearing on 15 May 2026. He meant it in a particular context, but the derogatory remark provoked unprecedented backlash. It led to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a parody social media account founded by political communications strategist Abhijeet Dipke. 

By Vikas Meshram*  The Vagad region of Rajasthan, encompassing the districts of Banswara and Dungarpur, is a land of rich biodiversity, fertile soil, and plentiful water, deeply intertwined with the cultural identity of the Bhil community. Yet, for decades, unsustainable farming practices had silently eroded this natural wealth, shrinking crop yields and deepening the grip of poverty. 

By Bharat Dogra   The Ken River is a vital lifeline for the Bundelkhand region of Central India. As an important tributary of the Yamuna, it forms part of the larger Ganga-Yamuna system. For countless villages along its banks—especially riverside communities renowned for their skill in growing vegetables and fruits—the Ken is not merely a water source. It is life itself. The river is also home to many spots of exceptional beauty and heritage.

By Lohit Sharma*  The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), a proposed hydroelectric project on the Siang River with an estimated installed capacity of 11,000–12,500 MW, has raised significant concerns about its potential impact on the ancestral lands, cultural heritage, livelihoods, and ethnic identity of the Adi people.

By A Representative  The civil rights coalition,Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), has condemned the detention of four activists from Arunachal Pradesh under the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (APUAPA), 2014, for opposing pre-feasibility report studies for the proposed 11,000 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP). The organisation has demanded their immediate and unconditional release, the withdrawal of security forces from the affected areas and the scrapping of the proposed mega-dam.

By A Representative    As India marks 21 years of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, a new report by the civil rights to group Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) has exposed a severe crisis in the functioning of Information Commissions (ICs), the final appellate authorities mandated to safeguard people's fundamental right to information.

By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  The burning question on every Indian's lips is what the future holds for the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) agitation in Delhi and elsewhere. At the moment, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The protest may lead to regime change in Delhi, or it may fizzle out for reasons that are obvious and need not be enumerated. For now, the protest is not going to die. Stopping it and detaining people will only prolong it, and chaos and uncertainty are clearly written on the wall.

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy, who taught comparative politics and the Indian Constitution at the School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University, died on October 11. He was 75. A political scientist and public intellectual, he was known for his work on international relations, peace and conflict resolution, human rights and democratic values, and for his solidarity with students.

By A Representative   The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has condemned the police crackdown on protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging mass detentions, assaults on demonstrators and restrictions on internet and public transport services in Delhi and several other states. In a statement, PUCL demanded the immediate release of those still detained, withdrawal of FIRs against peaceful protesters and a time-bound judicial inquiry into the alleged police excesses. The demonstrations on October 10 and 11 were organised by student groups, Left parties and other organisations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and withdrawal of the SIR exercise. “Citizens asking questions about the integrity of the voters’ list were met not with answers, but with lathis, police vans and detention camps,” the organisation said. The statement was issued by PUCL president Kavita Srivastava and national genera...

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The recent democratic upheaval in India has laid bare the widening gap between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) developmental promises and the ground realities. From the "Shining India" narrative of the early 2000s to the "Viksit Bharat" (Developed India) vision, the political discourse increasingly clashed with rising unemployment, economic inequality, and social polarization. The mass protests that recently swept the nation were not merely a rejection of specific policies, but a profound repudiation of the prevailing political narrative, exposing the hollowness of a governance model that prioritized optics over substantive welfare.

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan  There is growing talk of political change in India. With the next Lok Sabha election due in 2029, many people already believe that the present government could eventually be replaced. But there is a more important question that Muslims need to ask: if the government changes, will the condition of Indian Muslims change too?

By A Representative  Tribal rights activists, legal experts, tribal leaders, former officials and civil society representatives from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have called  for urgent action on tribal land rights, employment and PESA safeguards. They were participating in  roundtable on Constitutional Safeguards for Scheduled Tribes in the Telugu States at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad. Former Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao chaired the deliberations.

By Nava Thakuria*   With the Union government of India having nominated 13 media professionals to fill vacancies in its statutory and autonomous print media surveillance and rights body, the journalist fraternity now hopes for better days ahead in the world's largest democracy.

By Sunil Kumar*  From protests against SIR to the alleged police brutality against women journalists —the question is not just about the vote, but also about citizens’ constitutional rights in a democracy. India is called the world’s largest “democratic country.” Elections here are considered the great festival of democracy. Since the first general election in 1952, adult Indian citizens have had the right to vote. This right makes us feel that the government is “elected by our votes” and that a “government elected by the people’s votes” works for the people. Much has already been written about this. Let us now talk about how the people’s right to vote is being curtailed through SIR. In protest against this curtailment, India’s aware citizens and opposition parties have been on the streets of Delhi since October 2.

By Atanu Roy*  In late September and early October, the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata became an unlikely battleground. On September 27, students of SRFTI clashed with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, an organisation that several reports have described as RSS-linked. The students said they objected to the group's programme on their campus and alleged that outsiders assaulted them. The ABGP told a very different story — it claimed students disrupted its event and disrespected images of Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda — but offered no substantial evidence to support that narrative.

By Prof Suresh Deman*  There is an old difficulty in writing about political thinkers. Once their followers acquire power, it becomes increasingly hard to distinguish the thinker from what is subsequently said and done in his name. Satish Jha 's Owed to Every Child* attempts precisely that separation.

By Harsh Thakor*  In recent weeks, two open water swimmers from opposite sides of the world have pushed past barriers in endurance sport, showing what willpower can achieve. Each tested the limits of body and mind, and each did it in a way that will be remembered.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Trains have been cancelled, metro services suspended, and announcements issued urging parents, teachers, and resident associations to exercise caution about venturing outdoors. A peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar has emerged as a major challenge for the current regime. People have witnessed such high-handedness before. The methodology is simple: foil the protest at all costs, using every possible means at the government's disposal.