On the evening of July 24, in a dignified ceremony held at the Dushyant Kumar Memorial Manuscript Museum, Bhopal, one of the country's senior journalists, Rajendra Sharma (New Delhi) was honoured with the Lokjatan Samman 2026.

THE recent floods in Kerala, in which 26 people have died and 4 have been reported missing so far, have exposed the fragility of governance under the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in the state. What unfolded was not merely a natural disaster but a man-made calamity aggravated by the sheer negligence, arrogance, and misplaced priorities of the ruling dispensation.

IN December, Madhya Pradesh's School Education Department found that 7.37 lakh children in the state have no school records at all. They are not enrolled in any school – private or government. Mostly from tribal-dominated districts, they are simply missing from the system.

THE CITU Working Committee met on 17–19 July 2026 at Comrade Debanjan Chakraborty Manch (CMPDI Hall) and Comrade Bishnu Mohanty Nagar (Ranchi), six and a half months after the 18th Conference (31 December 2025–4 January 2026). While the Conference's theoretical propositions have only been strengthened since then, the practical situation has thrown up entirely new challenges, making this meeting particularly important.

IN ancient times, when Gargi questioned Yajnavalkya, he warned her that if she continued asking questions, he would curse her and her head would be severed from her body. Even then, those in authority were afraid of questions. When Buddhist monks were attacked and the ancient university of Nalanda, one of the world's oldest centres of learning, was destroyed, the same fear was at work. The forces driven by that fear in those times are once again raising their heads today, seeking to repeat what was done centuries ago.