Counterview

By Rajiv Shah  Even as rains lashed Salt Lake City, the capital of the US state Utah, where I live now, I was a little surprised to read a story  in a local website. The story says, "When it comes to per capita water use in the US, Utah ranks second at 169 gallons per day. That's only slightly behind Idaho's 184 gallons per person each day." I was interested in the story as it would help those seeking to compare water usage and management in India -- many of whose states are water scarce -- with that in US. In India water usage is 443 gallons per day (both domestic and agricultural).  Utah  gets very little of precipitation compared to other US states. It's capital, where I stay, Salt Lake City, gets about 16 inches of rainfall in a year. Another town, Delta, gets 8 inches of precipitation each year. By way of comparison, India's average annual rainfall is around 115 inches, and of Gujarat, a water scarce state, it's around one third of it. At the same ti...

Counterview Desk  The All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA), a front organisation of the top civil society network National Alliance of People’s Movements, seeking dismantling of what it calls  "Manuvad-patriarchy" for  enabling gender and social justice, has said that justice should be ensured to Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital deceased doctor. 

By Ram Puniyani*  The recent turmoil in Bangladesh has significantly impacted the nation and contributed to a surge in fake news and Islamophobia in India. For the past fifteen years, Shaikh Hasina has governed Bangladesh with an iron fist, quelling opposition through imprisonment and house arrest of key opposition figures. 

By Kirity Roy*  A heartbreaking incident has come to light involving the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stationed at the Gitaldah Border Outpost (BOP) of D Company, 90 BSF Battalion. On June 15, 2024, the life of 29-year-old Mustafa Ali was for ever changed when he was shot by a BSF officer.

By A Representative  The Indian Muslims of North America (IMNA), an Indian diaspora group that had initially planned to organize a float for the New York City India Day parade on August 18, has withdrawn their participation from the parade due to “significant concern” over the event’s inclusion of a tableau celebrating the Ram Temple. 

By A Representative  Veteran Indian American journalist and civil rights activist Ajit Sahi has sought  "immediate intervention" to contact Bollywood actors Sonakshi Sinha and Pankaj Tripathi regarding their scheduled participation in the India Day Parade in New York City on August 18, 2024.

Counterview Desk  The advocacy group, Peoples’ Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPSPS), which includes eminent academics, jurists, erstwhile administrators, trade unionists and social activists as its members, has demanded appointment of an independent commission headed by a member of judiciary into the Hindenburg-SEBI accusations "to protect the integrity of domestic capital market."

Counterview Desk  Seeking widespread democratic consultative processes, as per the Supreme Court Order on GM crops, the advocacy group GM Free India has issued a letter endorsed  by hundreds of citizens to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, for evolving a national policy on GM crops.

By Sukla Sen  The BJP has clearly retreated on the topic of a caste census. Its spokesperson now feels compelled to provide a completely unfounded assurance that this government will conduct a caste census during its tenure.

By Shankar Sharma*  The contents of a recent UNEP report  is very disconcerting for the entire planet; but much more so for our country with a huge and growing population and already constrained natural resources. The report says among other things: "...It has become clear that the world is facing a different context than it faced even ten years ago. Some of the issues are the same, but the rapid rate of change combined with technological developments, more frequent and devastating disasters and an increasingly turbulent geopolitical landscape, has resulted in a new operating context, where any country can be thrown off course more easily and more often...