Counterview

By Ravi Ranjan*  Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' (1896-1961), celebrated as 'Mahapran' and a pioneer of free verse in Hindi poetry, transformed the ancient Ramayana myth into a profound meditation on power, justice, and human resilience in his masterpiece Rama ki Saktipuja . Written in 1936, during the height of India's anti-colonial struggle, this long poem presents us with a deeply human Ram—not the flawless deity of traditional devotion, but a  wrestling with doubt, exhaustion, and the terrifying possibility of defeat.

By Bharat Dogra   At a time when concerns are growing over the increasing destructiveness of the Russia-Ukraine war, a recent, specific and well-argued peace proposal by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs   (photo) deserves serious consideration. Published in Common Dreams on October 20, 2026, the proposal outlines a framework for ending the conflict and creating conditions for a more durable peace.

By Vikas Meshram*  In the tribal belt stretching from Banswara to Dahod, the day often begins with a glance at the sky. The fields are small, the land uneven and sloping, and irrigation mostly means whatever the rain chooses to give. Yet in the villages of this region, a different story has been unfolding over the past few years. Sitting in meetings of Vaagdhara’s Gram Swaraj groups, farmers have begun to treat water, forest, land, livestock and seed as their real capital. 

By Nava Thakuria*  The 10th edition of the Chalachitram National Film Festival (CNFF) concluded at the Jyoti Chitraban film studio premises, with Manipuri short feature “Toy Gun” and Assamese documentary “The Silent Crisis” winning the top honours in the Northeast India section.

Counterview News   Sister comp anies  Filmsupply and Musicbed have released their 2026 Commercial Filmmaking Trend Report, a comprehensive forecast arguing that "the future of commercial filmmaking is intentional and human." Filmsupply is a premium footage licensing agency, representing award-winning filmmakers, providing authentic, cinematic stock footage for use in films, TV, and advertising, while Musicbed is a music licensing platform for filmmakers, brands, and agencies. T he films analysed are confined to North America and Europe. 

By Harsh Thakor*  Ryu Murakami, the celebrated novelist, essayist, and filmmaker whose raw, uncompromising and honest portrayals of modern alienation and subculture redefined contemporary Japanese literature, has died. He was 74. He died on 17 October at home, according to his Japanese publisher Gentosha.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  A report commissioned by Heineken on The Future Role of Bars in Europe, published in October 2026, found that young people go to bars and pubs to build social lives around food and coffee, not alcohol. They go to meet friends and family. This is not a minor shift in taste. It is part of a wider generational rejection of the commodity culture on which capitalism depends.

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan   The recent statement by Asaduddin Owaisi that “Muslims do not need Gandhi and Nehru” has predictably sparked outrage, with critics swiftly linking it to Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s separatist ideology. But is this interpretation fair when the larger context of his remarks is ignored? More importantly, the controversy obscures a more fundamental question: why do many self-proclaimed secular voices continue to overlook Muslim freedom fighters such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Maulana Mahmud Hasan, and Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar? 

By Syed Ali Mujtaba  Mohammad Adeeb, a former member of Parliament and now chairman of Indian Muslims for Civil Rights (IMCR), has rejected the allegation that Indian Muslims are not participating in the ongoing agitation led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in Delhi. In a candid interview, he discussed at length Muslim particip ation in the protests in Delhi. He said Prakash Raj, Yogendra Yadav, and a number of other prominent figures are sitting in the IMCR office in Nizamuddin, strategizing the protest. IMCR is a non-political, non-religious, non-governmental organization (NGO) based in New Delhi.

By Ravi Ranjan*  In modern society we are used to thinking that a person's identity is tied to his profession. In India, however, profession has never been merely a way of earning a living. Ideas of honour and dishonour, closeness and distance, equality and inequality have always clung to it, and their roots lie in the long history of caste. When Sudama Pandey "Dhoomil" (1936–1975) places a cobbler at the centre of his poem "Mochiram," he is asking more than how a labourer is treated. He is asking how society decides who a person is before that person has said a word.

By A Representative   A dedicated, legally binding international treaty is needed to protect older persons from age discrimination, social exclusion, poverty and barriers to healthcare and social protection, speakers at a recent SHE & Rights session have said.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Seventy years ago, on October 14, 1956—a day that coincided with Dussehra—Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, along with millions of his followers, embraced Buddhism at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur. This epoch-making event, known as Dhammachakra Pravartan Diwas, remains one of the most significant moments in India's modern history, a day that fundamentally altered the social and cultural landscape of the nation.

By Ravi Ranjan*  Arun Kamal, the progressive Hindi poet and critic, writes about ordinary lives in a conversational language enriched with vivid imagery. His poem ‘Sleep in the Sunshine’ ( Dhūpa Meṃ Nīnd ), from the collection Kirāye Kā Ghar , brings us face to face with an experience in which the outside world and innerconsciousness seem to merge. Out of everyday objects and sensations it creates a subtle world, inviting both an aesthetic and a sociological reading: unnamed social pressures can leave us empty even amid others, while the poem attends closely to the process by which things appear to us.

By A Representative   A global civil rights coalition, International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), has strongly condemned the intensifying arrests, criminal cases, and paramilitary deployment directed against Indigenous Adi communities in Arunachal Pradesh as tensions escalate over the contentious Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.

By Harsh Thakor*  'The Blind Adrenaline Junkie' is a breath-taking saga of what humans can achieve when they refuse to relent or bow down to circumstances. It is a newly released memoir by blind extreme sports athlete Dean Dunbar , co-written with Andy Pacino and published on October 16, 2026. From the very first pages, this book does not merely recount a life story; it issues a challenge to every reader's assumptions about limitation, courage, and the boundaries of human potential. It is a work that lingers in the mind long after the final page, not because of its dramatic feats alone, but because of the quiet, unshakeable philosophy that underpins them.

Counterview News   A new report released this month by human rights organization Equality Now and the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage highlights critical advancements and ongoing challenges in global legal frameworks aimed at eradicating child marriage.

By Tings Chak  On 25 October, Brazilians will return to the polls to choose between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in an attempted coup. The first round gave Flávio 47.03 per cent of valid votes against Lula’s 45.16 per cent, revealing the enduring strength of the far right four years after its electoral defeat. The runoff takes place as Donald Trump seeks to restore US domination over Latin America, with Brazil emerging as a consequential battleground in Washington’s campaign to contain China’s growing relations with the region.

By A Representative   Over 90 adolescent girls and boys from Kishori Sashaktikaran Kendra (KSK) gathered at Ambedkar Bhawan, Khoda (located on the border of Ghaziabad and Noida in Uttar Pradesh), to observe the International Day of the Girl Child under the theme, "End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls' Rights!" The day highlights girls' rights and the challenges they continue to face.

By A Representative   A recent safety audit has identified serious concerns about the safety of women and adolescent girls in public spaces, pointing to inadequate infrastructure and social factors that together create a persistent sense of insecurity.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  After many years, we have seen a massive mobilisation by the Congress Party and opposition leaders in Delhi. It was a Rahul Gandhi show, which has established him as the widely accepted leader of the opposition in its fight against the BJP and the RSS. There was a time when the Congress would not even use the word "RSS", but in the last few years Rahul Gandhi's persistent campaign has widened his acceptability among various communities. What the Congress earlier lacked was the trust of the urban middle classes, but a large number of them now seem to be looking to him as the future of India.