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KOLKATA: It goes without saying that the messages of the two Manipur organizations condoling the death of two crew members from the state in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, Thursday afternoon, is of immense sentimental value. But, in Manipur’s context, the message also reconfirms understanding and harmonious relations between the Meitei community and the tribal Thadou community. It is a coincidence that of the two crew members, one, Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma, 20, was a Meithei and the other, Lamnunthem Singson, 26, was a Thadou.

Amidst the speculation making round the political circle that NDA leadership has nearly reached a consensus in the matter of seat sharing for the 2025 assembly election in Bihar by year end, comes the news that the coordination committee of Bihar unit of INDIA block has sought district wise list of the probable contestants from its partners within a week.

On Thursday June 12, Indian diplomacy under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached its lowest ebb when India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly from a vote on a resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The 193 member UN general assembly passed the resolution overwhelmingly with 149 countries in favour, 12 against and 19 countries including India, once the real leader of the global South.

The Pahalgam attack on tourists led to a chain reaction leading the attack on bases of terrorist violence in Pakistan. As a ceasefire has been in place; it is time to think about dealing with this cancerous phenomenon in society. Surely the phenomenon of terror has been more in news post 9/11, 2001, twin tower attacks leading to the death of over two thousand people. The term ‘Islamic terrorism’ was coined by US media and picked up by the World over associating Islam to terrorism.

LUCKNOW: For the first time in so many years, Congress Party appears to be in revival mode to take on BJP in 2027 assembly elections. In Uttar Pradesh.. Congress Party is seriously implementing the agenda through Sangathan Srijan programs all over the state to set up booth level units from villages to state capital.

More than a month after the pause of India’s Operation Sindoor on May 10 at 5 PM, time has come to state it in candid terms that our Prime Minister’s doctrine of New Normal in respect of relations with Pakistan has failed to convince the major global powers. While strongly defending India in its fight against the terror inspired by Islamabad, the major countries are in favour of bilateral talks to discuss the thorny issues including terror which led to the four day limited war.

The CEO of NITI Aayog has asserted that India has emerged as the fourth-largest economy. He was at least truthful enough to concede that this was based on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) projections for 2025-26 in its World Economic Outlook. Through further elaborations, we precisely come to know that India’s nominal GDP is projected to increase to USD 4,187.017 billion ahead of Japan’s USD 4,186,431 billion by a whisker. It is altogether a different proposition that India’s per capita income happens to be a mere one-thirteenth of Japan’s in nominal dollar terms.

Traversing from Maharashtra trough Uttar Pradesh, the Dalit politics has acquired a new dynamics and character in Bihar. Saffron ecosystem, especially Narendra Modi, intends to exploit this new kinetics for winning the 2025 assembly election and further consolidating his personal mass base and appeal.

Man is not made better by being degraded. In Mohd. Giasuddin v. State of A.P. (1977), Justice Krishna Iyer famously remarked: “Our prisons should be correctional houses, not cruel iron aching the soul.” In this backdrop, the Supreme Court has emphasised over the years (Inhuman Conditions In 1382 Prisons, In re (2017)) that the fundamental right to a life of dignity under Article 21 can be guaranteed to prisoners only when prisons are reformational institutions. As recently as January this year, the Court in State of Jharkhand v. Vikash Tiwary yet again pressed on the evolving role of prisons from merely deterrent and retributive mechanisms to correctional and rehabilitative one.

Minicoy, the southernmost island of the Lakshadweep archipelago, lies approximately 400 kilometres off the coast of Kochi, Kerala, in the Arabian Sea. Known for its vibrant coral reefs, distinct Maldivian culture, and strategic location near the Nine Degree Channel, this remote island is a paradise for its about 10,000 residents. However, its isolation, compounded by limited transportation options, has long posed significant challenges for its people, particularly during the monsoon season. A recent voyage of the MV Kavaratti, arriving at Minicoy on June 11, 2025, underscores the ongoing struggles faced by the island’s residents, as passengers endured a gruelling six-day journey due to scheduling delays and additional stops.