Counterview

By A Representative Following the footsteps of Gujarat's Mufti Abdul Qayyum Ahmed Husain Mansuri, another person being acquitted of terror charges, Abdul Wahid Shaikh of Mumbai, has published a book in Urdu, “Begunah Quaidi”, detailing his days in jail, pointing to how he would be subjected to verbal and physical abuse, threats and stripping of clothes during interrogation, though he was innocent.

By  A  Representative In an unusual revelation, an authoritative media site, run by a well-known left-of-centre scribe, has revealed that the Congress “returned to power in Punjab after 10 years not due to the charismatic leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh or Rahul Gandhi-Prashant Kishor's planning but on the BJP vote.”

By Fr Cedric Prakash sj* Wow Pope Francis! You complete four years tomorrow as our Pope! What a simply amazing period it has been for the Church, for the world, for millions of your admirers, for the Society and well, also for me! You have been able to touch all, in such fascinating yet deeply spiritual ways. You have been instrumental in bringing about the much-needed renewal; you have set the course for a new pilgrimage of trust with God! Your words are inspirational; your deeds are exemplary- motivating us all to do much more. Wow Pope Francis! Four years ago when a friend called me from faraway , in the middle of the night, to tell me that it was a Jesuit who was elected Pope, my immediate response was “Impossible! A Jesuit cannot become a Pope!” A few minutes later, as I browsed the internet, I realized I was very wrong; above all, I felt also elated! Ever since, the joy of being a Jesuit has only deepened. You do not try to hide the fact that you are a Jesuit. I too take genuin...

By Chittibabu Padavala* One of the worst hit in Uttar Pradesh elections is a loud rhetorical section that speaks in the name of all Dalits. And, it seems to be, happily, dumb-founded. The very small Dalit middle class/ employee strata or even tiny elites, drawn almost exclusively from the relatively advanced and reservations-monopolising, Ambedkar-worshipping single castes in their respective regions (Mala, Pariah, Mahar etc.) from the very big Dalit populace (forming one-quarter of the Indian population) is curious in many ways. Particularly, the second and third generation among them is even unique in its uniformity of conduct and public pronouncements. This Dalit middle class's structural position is worth considering. This minuscule section takes away all the 16.5 plus 7.5% reservations in jobs and education in public sector. It has a self-interest in not letting the benefits reach beyond their own caste to include other Dalit castes, or at least, no particular interest in such...

By  A  Representative The Congress-owned National Herald in a post-poll analysis has admitted that the BJP's huge victory in Uttar Pradesh (UP) has been made possible "above all" because the saffron party “displayed a hunger for victory that others didn’t”, which was also “helped immensely by its foot soldiers and ‘Parcha Pramukhs’, each of whom was made responsible for mobilising 10 voters.”

By  A  Representative The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the inter-governmental body of rich western countries, has regretted that India has been creating “too few quality jobs to meet the aspiration of its growing workforce, leaving many people under-employed, poorly paid or outside the labour force.”

By  A  Representative In an effort to create public opinion in favour of the campaign on charges of corruption in high places in the suicide diary of former Arunachal chief minister Kalikho Pul, several civil society organizations took out a rally in Delhi, culminating at Jantar Mantar, seeking “credible investigation” about facts mentioned in it.