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KOLKATA: Two dates – May 1 and May 3 – have assumed significance this time round in Manipur as organisations working for promoting the cause of Kukis, Zomis, Hmars and several others, which together work to realise shared objectives, have chalked out programmes that are directly related to May 3, 2023 when ethnic clashes between the Manipur Valley-based Meiteis and the aforementioned tribals inhabiting the Hills. The widespread violence, the trigger for which was the issue of ST status for the Meitis, who account for an estimated 53 per cent of Manipur’s population, continued for many months and the state eventually came under President’s rule on February 13 last year.

The politics in India in the week past in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack has laid bare a troublesome political and social Faultline. Internal harmony in the country, which is a prerequisite in overcoming the threats and challenges offered to us by the terrorists and our neighbour Pakistan, is seen broken. Sentiments ran high both at political and social levels, many of them reduced themselves far below the mature and measured response that is required to deal with such a situation we are entrapped into.

'India that is Bharat' has never been more 'Hindu' than at this point in time. The signs of the elusive 'Hindu Rashtra' are showing, starting with the India-Pakistan 'Mahabharata' in the offing. The war will be fought on Hindu-Muslim lines and is the direct fallout of an anti-Hindu diatribe of the Chief of Army Staff of an Islamic Republic.

Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025 escalated the tensions in India and Pakistan to a new high, yet the war mongers have by and large failed in their intentions so far, barring only some exchange of fire on the line of control along the Jammu and Kashmir border.

After the controversial passage of the Waqf Bill, the Modi government plans to implement the equally or even more contentious Uniform Civil Code (UCC) passed last year. This raises the question of whether it's the right time to push for the UCC amid ongoing protests against the Waqf Bill, which began after the UCC was approved in Parliament last year.

A prominent and increasingly concerning form of structural violence against the Muslim community in India is the reclamation of their places of worship, with claims that these sites were originally Hindu temples or locations of significance within Hindu mythology. The contestation over religious sites is not a novel phenomenon in India; rather, it has a historical precedent marked by conflicts over sacred places.

BHOPAL: Suicide has become a grave social and mental health crisis in India. The highest numbers of suicide cases are reported from states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Karnataka. The suicide rate is particularly higher in the southern states, while it is also becoming a growing concern in some northeastern states. Madhya Pradesh ranks third in the country in terms of the number of deaths due to suicide. The causes of suicide are multilayered, sectional and complex.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s declaration that India could be the first to finalise a trade deal with the United States after President Trump embarked on his reckless trade war against the world signals a strategic point. The proposed agreement offers India an escape hatch from the looming 26 percent reciprocal tariffs that, though currently suspended until July, represent the shadow of Trump’s trade belligerence. In essence, the development may well be India’s best opportunity to engage in tough, calculated bargaining with the United States. This is not just about sidestepping punitive measures; it is about reshaping the economic partnership with Washington on terms that serve India’s long-term interests.

The recent trenchant villification of the Supreme Court and the judiciary by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is in reality an attack against the Constitution and its fundamental principles and values. When the Vice President and Mr. Dubey reject judicial review of the actions of the highest authorities — of the President and of Parliament — they are, in effect, asking for the restoration of the pre-Constitutional principle that the “king can do no wrong”. By rejecting the Supreme Court’s protection of the constitutional rights of backward classes, minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women against exploitation, dehumanisation and oppression as “triggering civil war”, they are, in effect, lauding the perpetuation of exploitation, dehumanisation and oppression as “social peace”.

Three days have passed since the savage terrorist attack at Pahalgam resulting in the death of 26 people, mostly tourists. The communal tenor of the massacre shocked the Indian people. There was unequivocal demand from the people supported by all sections of the political parties that the Narendra Modi government must take strong action against the backers of the terror gang Pakistan. India announced the retaliatory actions against Pakistan including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan followed this on Thursday by announcing that if India implements it, it will be considered as an act of war. Further, Pakistan threatened suspension of Simla Agreement.