Counterview

By A Representative   The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Rajasthan, along with several people’s organisations, has criticised the public hearing held in Ajmer on the Aravalli region, alleging that the exercise was reduced to a “mere formality” and was dominated by representatives of the mining industry.

By A Representative   The All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA), a national platform bringing together women, transgender and non-binary persons from democratic movements across the country, has issued an open letter to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, demanding institutional accountability for right-wing commentator T.G. Mohandas over his remarks calling for student protesters to be shot and making derogatory comments about women. Issued on Quit India Day, the letter gives the Sangh until August 14—a week before Independence Day—to act, warning that "silence is complicity."

By Arun Mohan   As someone who has lived in Delhi for over two decades, the sight of protests happening in and around Jantar Mantar, and the occasional rallies from Jantar Mantar to Parliament Street or from Barakhamba Road to Jantar Mantar, is not new. The vibrant Jantar Mantar road (entirely) and the huge Parliament Street rallies were themselves seen as a limited space for dissent, as engagement with policymakers was not guaranteed even after a huge protest. But over the years we have seen a clampdown on these very spaces as well. That, along with surveillance using facial recognition software and drones, has struck fear into people about the "state."

By Mahesh Pandya*  The month of August is often hailed as the month of revolution. During India's freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi bequeathed two enduring symbols to the nation: the broom and the spinning wheel. While the charkha (spinning wheel) came to represent self-reliance and economic empowerment, the broom was a potent emblem of sanitation and environmental conservation. 

By Prem Singh  “9th of August was and will always remain a people’s event. But, as yet, 15th August is celebrated with a lot of fanfare, for on that day the British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten shook hands with the Indian Prime Minister and gave damaged independence to a damaged country. 9th August expressed the will of the people—we want to be free and we shall be free. For the first time after a long period in our history, crores of people expressed their desire to be free. In some places it was done in great strength. But the will was short-lived, though strong. It didn’t have a lasting intensity. The day our nation acquires a tenacious will, we will be able to face the world.” —Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia

By Harsh Thakor*  In August 2026, the swimming world will celebrate the centennial anniversary of Gertrude Ederle's historic English Channel crossing. One hundred years ago, on August 6, 1926, Ederle became the first woman—and only the sixth person overall—to successfully swim the English Channel. Her time of 14 hours and 39 minutes shattered the previous record by nearly two hours.

By Ravi Ranjan*  Shamsher Bahadur Singh (1911-1993) stands as a distinctive vanguard poet of the Nai Kavita (New Poetry) movement in modern Hindi literature. His work seamlessly bridges the worlds of Impressionist painting and music with verse, celebrated for intricate imagery, experimental nature, and profound sensitivity.