Counterview

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  There are growing signs of indifference despite the democratic upsurge among young people and students against all forms of authoritarian power across the world. Who is indifferent, and why? Who benefits from the culture of indifference? Is it natural to be indifferent in an age of indifference? The Pew Research Center report, The Age of Indifference: A Study of Young Americans and How They View the News , published on 28 June 1990, reveals a generation gap in political awareness and engagement among Americans. 

By N.S. Venkataraman*  A few years ago, few people had heard the term "Gen Z" used in a political sense. Young people were simply called students or youth. Today the label is attached to protest movements that have spread across several countries, and many people are asking what it means.

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.

By Bharat Dogra  In September 2026, the Supreme Court of India did not mince words. Observing the exorbitant pricing and profit margins on essential medicines—where patients were being charged up to nine times the normal rate for life-saving cancer drugs—the court described the practice as “rampage, carnage, and broad daylight dacoity.” 

By A Representative   India's top civil rights network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), has condemned the reported police crackdown on protesters opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi, alleging that peaceful demonstrators, including students, women, queer persons, journalists, lawyers and activists, were subjected to violence. It has demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the release of detained activists and the withdrawal of cases registered against protesters.

By A Representative   A coalition of civil liberties, human rights, student, labour organisations,  Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), has condemned the arrest of Dr. Randall Sequeira, a doctor providing healthcare in Odisha’s Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, and Laxman Nayak, an activist associated with the Maa Mati Mali Surakhya Manch, and demanded their immediate release.

By A Representative   Well-known Jesuit human rights, justice and peace activist, writer and trainer Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ has been elected National Convener of the Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace (FORUM). The election took place during the Forum's General Body Meeting at Ishvani Kendra, Pune, on 12 October 2026, at the conclusion of its XIX National Convention.

By Atanu Roy*  From attacks on progressive bookstalls to the erosion of public safety, Bengal must confront the danger of turning a people's festival into an arena of ideological conflict. West Bengal is witnessing a disturbing confrontation over the meaning of its public culture. The reported attacks on Left bookstalls during Durga Puja, the pressure on spaces associated with liberal and progressive thought, and the increasingly visible attempt to frame Bengal's cultural identity through a narrow religious-political lens raise questions that go far beyond party politics. They concern the freedom to think, the right to dissent and the character of a society that has long prided itself on its intellectual traditions.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The worldwide horrors of war, conflict, injustice, exploitation, marginalisation, inequality and everyday violence and brutality on a mass scale are designed to numb people, eroding their civilised, humane self-confidence and their trust in each other. The aim of these manufactured crises and shocks is to shape a society in which individuals become ever lonelier and more vulnerable — in the name of personal space and individual freedom.

By N.S. Venkataraman*  Humans indulge in a rat race their entire life, even though the inevitable event of death nullifies all lifetime achievements and possessions. Such behaviour appears to be almost similar all over the world. Historical human behaviour over the last several centuries clearly proves this.