Counterview

By A Representative   At a time when dissent is increasingly being treated as a threat rather than an essential part of democracy, the human rights group ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) organised Pratirodh Ka Jashn (Celebrating Resistance) at the Press Club of India, Raisina Road, New Delhi. The programme brought together poetry, music and cultural thought to reaffirm the importance of resistance in safeguarding democracy and the Indian Constitution.

By Likha Tana*  A 12-hour bandh in Pasighat on October 23, 2026, has brought long-simmering tensions over the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) project to a boiling point. Organized by groups including the Adi Baane Kebang-United, the protest demanded the release of activists previously detained for opposing the project, the withdrawal of security forces, and an immediate halt to pre-feasibility studies and survey activities. 

By A Representative   A recent gathering at Saiyadain Manzil backed the hunger strike by Jamia Millia Islamia students demanding the revival of the students' union. Calling for a time-bound process and the withdrawal of punitive action against the protesting students, alumni, descendants of the university's founding families, artists, journalists, lawyers and other citizens stressed the need to restore the Jamia Millia Islamia Students' Union (JMISU).

By Sohini Sarah Pillai*  American audiences will be able to watch an English-dubbed version of “Ramayana,” a Hindi film based on a South Asian epic tradition , in theaters in November 2026. The Sanskrit “Ramayana,” or “Journey of Rama,” is an epic poem that was composed sometime between 400 B.C.E. and 400 C.E . The epic follows Rama , an exiled prince and an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu , as he journeys to rescue his wife, Sita , from the demon king Ravana .

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.

Counterview News   Just days before the sacred Dhvajarohan (flag hoisting) ceremony marking the commencement of Nashik's Simhastha Kumbh Mela , environmental activists and civil society groups have raised urgent alarms over severe industrial chemical contamination in Nashik’s water systems. They have accused state authorities of "institutional opacity" regarding the presence of Hexavalent Chromium [Cr(VI)]—a Group 1 human carcinogen —in local groundwater and river networks feeding the Godavari , with contamination levels recorded at over 1,000 times the permissible limit.

By A Representative    A  coalition of  several civil rights, labour, student and social justice groups,  Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), has condemned the arrest of three anti-dam activists in Arunachal Pradesh following recent violence in Pasighat, demanding their immediate release and the withdrawal of security forces from protest areas opposing the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).

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.