SOME of the recent positions and steps taken by the Election Commission (EC) of India do no credit to its well-earned reputation of being an impartial arbiter and supervisor of free and fair elections, a role vested in it by the Indian Constitution.In the last few years, particularly after the Modi government came back to power for a second term, the EC is seen increasingly to acquiesce to the wishes of the government and has even resiled from some of the independent positions it had earlier adopted.Some recent instances highlight this unfortunate trend.

THE victory of Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva in the Brazilian presidential elections was welcomed by the entire world with a sigh of relief. His election as the president of Brazil defeating the extreme-right incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro will have an impact on the future of Brazil and the entire Latin American region.Lula, a candidate of the Workers’ Party (PT) won 50.9 per cent of the votes, as against Bolsonaro’s 49.1 per cent in the run-off held on October 30, 2022.

THE Global Hunger Index 2022, released on October 13, shows that India’s rank in the world has slipped further – from 101 last year to 107 this year – in terms of this important indicator of conditions of hunger and malnutrition. India’s rank is far below that of its neighbours, and levels of hunger and malnutrition are much better in many countries with significantly lower levels of economic development than India.

THE Election Commission of India wants political parties to provide detailed information about the financial implications of the promises made in their election manifestos as well as the effects of these promises on the fiscal sustainability of the state or central government’s finances.

THE Jammu and Kashmir administration is taking steps which seek to obliterate the historical legacy and identity of the Kashmiri people while promoting measures which will heighten the communal divide between Jammu and the Valley.July 13 has been traditionally observed as Martyrs Day in Kashmir to commemorate the memory of 22 people who were killed in firing by the Maharaja’s police in 1931 while protesting against the feudal monarchy. For the second consecutive year there was no official commemoration of the event.