The national mood was well summed up by a cartoon that showed all others in the race locked up, with just the incumbent in the field, and then the question, half in jest: ‘Who is winning?’.
Custodial Deaths Are a Blot on Bangladesh's Democratic Future
To what extent has the current BNP government been able to realise the vision that drove the 2024 mass uprising in Bangladesh? Will the BNP government, too, manipulate state mechanisms and law enforcement agencies to serve its own interests, much like the previous Sheikh Hasina regime, to suppress the opposition and silence critics? The government must therefore take serious steps to amend police laws and prevent deaths in police custody. This is one of the crucial reforms facing the administration.
India's Electoral Roll Revision Must Protect the Right to Vote in a Democracy
The Commission's authority rests ultimately on public confidence. Like Caesar's wife, the Election Commission must be above suspicion. It should welcome scrutiny and answer legitimate questions, especially when millions of voting rights are involved.
A Nation Stands Divided Over Charges of Electoral Manipulation and Brutal Police Crackdown
If the government and EC are confident, the answer is not a counter-letter but transparent data: a district-wise, gender-wise audit of deletions, restorations, reasons – all details to be placed on affidavit, as Lokur panel demands.
The Bigger Picture Behind the Electoral Roll Controversy in India
The ongoing SIR is not merely about helping a particular party win an election; it points to a much deeper design - to create a customised electorate in the country. It is intended to turn India into a Republic in which only some sections of the population remain politically relevant.
More on Governance, Public Policy and Law
Is India at all serious about fighting pollution?
But how does one counter the Swiss-based air-quality monitoring group IQAir which reports that India was the third most polluted country in the world after Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2023 and Delhi was the “most polluted” capital in the world?
Can India emerge as an alternate supply chain to global industries?
Essentially the world is looking for alternate supply chains which began with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and continues even today with growing trade tensions between the two camps.
The CAA is yet another instrument in the divisive politics of India's ruling dispensation
The largest persecuted groups in recent times have been Tamils (largely Hindus) in Sri Lanka and Rohingyas (largely Muslims) in Myanmar. Why have they been left out from the list of the ones who will be given shelter citizenship here in India under the CAA?
India's looming water crisis: Need to raise public awareness on water conservation as a national priority
India has only 2 percent of the world’s freshwater supply but 17 percent of the world's population. The present predicament of people in Bengaluru, skipping work to stand in long queues for a bucket of water is a sobering reminder.
The Dalit community in Pakistan battles fear and discrimination
While Dalits in India face atrocity, abuse and exploitation, in Pakistan there is "discrimination and distancing in the social and economic domains," Khangarani said.
India's basmati rice exports at risk over Red Sea attacks
India’s basmati exports are significantly affected as over one-third of production is shipped to West Asia, Europe, North Africa and North America via the Red Sea.
INDUS-X 2024 marks a new high in India-US defence industry cooperation
India-US defence cooperation has made fair headway leading to INDUS-X which has initiated the information network and regulatory mechanisms to deepen defence technology collaboration that is poised to strengthen the bonds of US-India partnership, innovation and deterrence.
Promotion of faith-based knowledge is undermining scientific temper in India
The Indian Science Congress has for the last many years been accepting papers that have no scientific basis and are based on mythology. Pained by this all prominent scientists came together and issued a statement calling upon the government to stop the undermining of scientific methods and thinking
India's 8.4 per cent GDP growth: More than what meets the eye
The overall contribution of agriculture to GDP growth this year will be below 1 percent as per the latest estimates. This is worrying for various reasons, most importantly for what it means for the livelihoods and incomes of rural families.
Is Manipur lurching towards civil war again?
Manipur appears to be veering toward massive armed attacks against the tribals – both the Kuki-Zo and Naga, with the state administration remaining ambivalent. This is a dangerous development - civil war in a state bordering Myanmar which itself is experiencing rising violence.
Are India's government employees justified in going on strike?
While the government employees belong to organized class, there are an estimated 300 million people in India who belong to the unorganized class living on daily wages or are self-employed without economic and social security.
Gandhi’s extraordinary idea of trusteeship of wealth at a time of vulgar ostentation
In a chapter titled “Choice before Capitalists”, Gandhi writes, “At present, there is no proportion between the wholly unnecessary pomp and extravagance of the moneyed class and the squalid surroundings and the grinding pauperism of the ryots in whose midst the former are living.”
South Asia's lack of integration: Is a union of minds at least possible? | South Asia Monitor
At present, there aren’t even any direct flights between Pakistan and Nepal, even as Kathmandu promotes itself as the meeting place of South Asia, noted journalist Kanak Mani Dixit.
India's defence modernisation goes apace; but are China, Pakistan getting the right messaging?
While the Army, Navy and Air Force are doing whatever is required to maintain their battle effectiveness, there is a dichotomy that prevails in how New Delhi is dealing with China and Pakistan.
