Counterview

Counterview News   A groundbreaking new ethnographic study published by Cambridge University Press is challenging optimistic narratives about rural democratic empowerment in India. In "Democracy against Equality: Caste, Institutions and Power in Postcolonial Punjab", Nicolas Martin, Associate Professor of Modern Indology/South Asian Studies at the University of Zurich, argues that formal democratic mechanisms are frequently co-opted by rural elites to perpetuate, rather than dismantle, deep-seated systemic inequality.

By Vikas Meshram*   In the tribal heartland of southern Rajasthan, stories of development rarely begin with a gleaming new building. More often, they begin with the green bed of a nutrition garden, a stamp on a government document, or a handful of indigenous seeds. Here, the rural development organization Vaagdhara rests its faith on a simple, powerful idea: change is never imposed from outside; it grows from within the community. Village-level groups are the pivot of this transformation, serving as spaces where women and farmers identify their own questions and set out to find their own answers. 

By Mohd Ziyaullah Khan   Don’t breathe if the air is toxic. Don’t walk if the roads are broken. Don’t drive if fuel is expensive. Don’t sit for exams if papers are leaked. Don’t watch television if the news divides society. Don’t question fake godmen. And don’t look for jobs if unemployment is rising. There is a troubling pattern in these sarcastic instructions on how public grievances are answered in India. Whether citizens raise questions about pollution, unsafe roads, rising living costs, examination scandals, divisive media, religious exploitation, or unemployment, they are met with variations of the same response: if the problem bothers you, change your behavior. 

By Bharat Dogra   It should be obvious that the benefits of various government welfare schemes must reach everyone who meets the eligibility criteria laid down under these schemes. The government, panchayats and other institutions should also publicise these schemes adequately so that potential beneficiaries who may not be aware of them can learn about their entitlements and access the support available to them.

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ*  Change is here. Across continents and cultures, the world is witnessing a profound shift—a collective awakening against the forces of darkness that have long dominated the political landscape. After years marked by dictators and autocrats, fascists and fundamentalists, fanatics and feudalists, megalomaniacs and manipulators, profiteers and bloodsuckers, corrupt and communal forces, violent and warmongering leaders—there is finally the warm and welcome glow of a new dawn.

By Dr. Mansee Bal Bhargava*  Call it YouthQuake or Protestrocracy , but it is raining protests in India and across the world. From the "Cockroach" movement in India to Gen Z regelt ("Gen Z takes charge") in Germany, young people are rising, and the pattern is hard to miss. Youth-led protests brought regime change in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Serbia's student movement ended more than a decade of dominance by Aleksandar Vučić's party. These are not isolated flare-ups. They are a shared response that deserves to be understood, not dismissed.

By Vijay Prashad  On 26 October 2026, Greece’s foreign minister George Gerapetritis stood at the United Nations headquarters and rejected the maritime agreement between Turkey and Libya. Gerapetritis spoke on behalf of Greece of course, but also Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates. Five days later, the Indian frigate INS Trishul entered Souda Bay in Crete as part of activities with the US Navy installation (Naval Support Activity) and with the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre. The sequence illuminates a developing strategic geography: India’s naval reach, its confrontation with Pakistan’s new Turkish partner, and its ambition to connect Indian capital to European markets increasingly converge in the eastern Mediterranean.

Counterview News   A new study by the Indian School of Business (ISB) warns that the proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for UPI transactions could inadvertently reverse digital payment adoption among India’s street vendors, pushing them back toward cash-based transactions and threatening recent gains in financial inclusion.

By Mohd Ziyaullah Khan   The November 3, 2026, US midterm elections have delivered a major political setback to Donald Trump’s Republican administration. In what is being described as a sweeping Democratic comeback, the Democrats have taken control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, making significant gains in traditionally Republican territory.

By Raqif Makhdoomi  India is witnessing protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a process that asks citizens to prove their citizenship in order to stay on the list. The Election Commission of India, headed by Gyanesh Kumar, is conducting it, and Kumar has been under political attack since it began. Opposition parties accuse him of helping the BJP win elections, and social media is abuzz with allegations that he is deleting voters to that end. Amit Shah recently claimed that three crore voters have been removed so far, and he spoke of it as an achievement.