(On May 26, 2023, Viduthalai, the Tamil daily edited by K Veeramani, president of the Dravida Kazhagam, reproduced an interesting and revealing essay in literary journalism published in the Tamil weekly, Dravida Nadu, on August 24, 1947. The subject was the significance of the presentation of the Sengol (‘Golden Sceptre’) by emissaries of the pontiff of the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam, a Saivite mutt in Tamil Nadu, to the incoming prime minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, at his home on August 14, 1947.

ON May 24, 2023, over 12,000 women from Palghar district led by the AIDWA Thane-Palghar district committee led a massive march and gherao of the Palghar district collectorate on the burning issues of ration, employment, water, and health. The administration and the police, who were caught totally unprepared, did not know what had hit them! Most of the women in the march were tribals, but there was also a fair share of non-tribal women from different walks of life.

TWENTY opposition parties had boycotted the inauguration of the new parliament building on May 28 on the grounds that the Modi government had bypassed the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, who is the head of the state as well as and head of parliament and decided that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new parliament. This constitutional impropriety of imposing the head of the executive over parliament was a legitimate reason for the opposition protest.But what actually unfolded on the inauguration day only reinforced the decision of the opposition to stay away.

THE ongoing struggle by women wrestlers which include international-awardees at Delhi against the sexual harassment and repression by certain officials in the Wrestlers’ Federation of India, as well as the arrogant inaction of the BJP government at the centre has drawn the attention of the entire country.

THIS year’s P Sundarayya Memorial Lecture organised by Sundarayya Vignana Kendram was delivered by PDT Achary, former secretary general of Lok Sabha, on May 19, 2023 in Hyderabad. Addressing the meeting, Achary noted, “We must realise that a theocracy will lead to the ultimate disintegration of the society. There are two reasons for that. One, the presence of six minority religions the biggest of which has 200 million followers here, makes it almost impossible for a switchover to theocracy.