IT is bizarre that the Ayodhya and Kashi issues have again started unravelling. These questions remained in suspended animation with orders from the highest judiciary. For many, the Ayodhya verdict was an enigma with the apex court order that those who criminally destroyed Babri Mosque were in fact, to be rewarded with ownership, and facilitated in construction of the Ram Temple. Significantly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined this judicial validation while inaugurating the Ram Mandir.

THE prime minister recently made an inordinately delayed visit to Manipur after 28 months – 864 days to be precise – of internecine ethnic violence that was presided over by the then BJP-led government in the state under chief minister Biren Singh. The visit itself was a desperate move to try and retrieve lost political ground in the state.

THE port city of Tianjin had decked up for hosting the summit meeting of the Sanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The SCO had expanded its mandate to include economic cooperation, cultural exchanges, and energy security. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017, followed by Iran in 2023 and Belarus in 2024. As if to underline the technological focus reflecting the SCO's adaptation to 21st-century challenges and opportunities, China showcased its stunning advances in recent times in the Media Centre next to the Summit venue with its Humanoid robots and AI driven support systems.

THIS was waiting to happen. The tumultuous events of the last fortnight have brought into sharp focus a concerted assault on democracy – an assault unfolding at multiple levels. At the most basic, the very foundation of democracy and of the representative government – the constitutional right of citizens to vote – has been threatened through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar. The second dimension has been the sabotage of a constitutional body – the Election Commission of India (ECI) – which is mandated to act independently and ensure a level playing field.

THE latest blitz of advertisements by the Election Commission (EC) is a textbook example of hypocrisy. In order to establish that Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls is inclusive, the text of the advertisement claims that it is inclusive of the political parties. Any electoral reform in this country so far has been jointly pursued by the EC and the political parties. So much so, that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), is based on consensus across political parties.