Hollow on Health, Jobs and Economic Revival

THE prime minister’s speech on Independence Day was watched with anticipation to see if he would announce any new initiatives to deal with the health crisis caused by the pandemic and the related economic crisis which has resulted in large-scale loss of jobs and livelihoods.

How Not To Learn from Each Other

ON August 7, a virtual meeting was held between the foreign ministers of India, Brazil, Israel, South Korea, Australia and the United States. This meeting was, by all standards, a curious one.

Foreign minister, Jaishankar tweeted, “Continued our conversation on the Corona challenge, always good to learn from each other”. But the composition of the meeting and the countries represented by the foreign ministers raises many questions.

No Double Standards for Apps

INDIA’s ban on Chinese apps for allegedly protecting India’s data sovereignty, becomes suspicious when we see no such problem with the US companies doing exactly that: taking Indian citizens data out of the country.

Ayodhya: Conflating State, Religion and Politics

THE Bhumi Pujan ceremony for the Ram temple at Ayodhya, though organised by the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, became an official function with the prime minister laying the foundation for the temple with the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and governor in attendance.

Wider Message of Kashmir

AUGUST 5 marks the completion of a year since the infamous steps were taken in parliament to nullify Article 370 of the constitution that provided for special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir and the damaging legislation which dismembered the state and created two union territories – Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

The Rajasthan Tussle

THE political drama in Rajasthan, consequent to the revolt of Sachin Pilot who was the deputy chief minister and PCC president, is still unfolding. But the essential contours have become clear. The inner tussle in the Congress cannot be separated from the BJP’s drive to destabilise non-BJP state governments, in particular Congress ones.

Unscrupulous Politics in Kerala

THE gold smuggling case in Kerala is being used by the Congress-led UDF and the BJP to tarnish the image of the LDF government and a joint effort to destabiliSe the government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Congress and the UDF have demanded the resignation of the chief minister and have launched a “struggle” to achieve the same. The BJP is also conducting protests with the same demand. The UDF had announced that it will move a no-confidence motion against the government in the assembly.

Palestine Betrayed

THE Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had announced that the formal annexation of 30 per cent of the West Bank by Israel would take place on July 1. However, this did not happen on that date though Netanyahu maintained the preparations for the annexation are on. The illegal annexation move emanated from the notorious “Peace to Prosperity” plan announced by President Trump on January 28 this year, with the Israeli prime minister beside him. This atrocious plan amounts to the Jordan Valley of the West Bank and the lands on which the illegal Jewi

Modi’s Pandemic Mess

THE Covid pandemic in India reached a landmark on July 5 when India became the third country, after the United States and Brazil, with the largest number of Covid cases in the world. It is no coincidence that the top three countries in this regard are being run by rightwing authoritarian leaders. India at present is also registering the highest number of cases per day along with these two countries. Currently, a hundred thousand (one lakh) cases are being added every four to five days. The death toll, which is understated, has crossed 20,000.

A Regime of Impunity

THE deaths of a father and son, Jayarajan and Bennix, after brutal torture in a police station at Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu have caused widespread outrage. Equally shocking has been the attempted cover-up by the police authorities and the underplaying of the crime by the AIADMK government. It required the intervention of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court to establish prima facie charges of murder against the police officers concerned and to order an investigation by the CB-CID.

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