A LARGE protest rally and gherao of the Dahanu office of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahavitaran) was led by the CPI(M) last week. The protest was against the installation of smart meters, electricity privatisation, and the huge power bills that are attacking lakhs of peasants, workers, and common people. The rally marched into and occupied the Mahavitaran office and gheraoed its officials for over two hours.

THOUSANDS of apple growers and farmers staged a dharna and demonstration on July 29, outside the state secretariat to protest against evictions, sealing of homes and felling of apple-laden trees. Organised under the banners of the Himachal Kisan Sabha and the Seb Utpadak Sangh, affected farmers from every district of the state gathered in protest.

The 72nd anniversary of Moncada Day was observed by the National Committee for Solidarity with Cuba. Speaking on the occasion, Juan Carlos Marsán Aguilera, the Cuban Ambassador to India, highlighted the intensification of the US economic blockade, which has persisted for over six decades. He noted that during Donald Trump’s presidency, more than 263 additional sanctions were imposed in an attempt to strangle Cuba’s economy. He firmly stated that the Cuban people would never surrender their sovereignty or yield to US pressure.

The call for justice in the brutal rape and murder of Abhaya is intensifying in West Bengal, with the Abhaya Mancha, a powerful coalition of diverse organisations, declaring a series of protests for the coming month. The movement's explicit goal is to rid Bengal of "rapists, oppressors, looters, and their patrons and protectors."A significant "Kalighat Chalo" (March to Kalighat) programme has been slated for August 9, aiming to ignite a widespread struggle.

THE Modi government should hang its head in shame – if it has any sense of shame left. Unfolding before the eyes of the world is the horrific and unbearable spectacle of mass starvation in Gaza, of babies and children wasting away due to malnutrition and hunger, and at the doors of death.The 21-month Israeli war on Gaza has now transformed into genocide by starvation. Yet, the BJP rulers are unmoved. There has been not a single statement of protest or condemnation of Israel’s tactics of starving an entire population.