Hate & Harmony

While a sustained and rigorous campaign by anti-SIR activists across Karnataka has pushed the opposition Congress government to issue a fresh set of simplified guidelines for the issuance of Permanent Residency Certificates; the experience of West Bengal however shows that no amount of pro-activeness by any state government influences an ECI functioning under a non-transparent and non-accountable diktat

Across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir, families and communities came together during Muharram through processions, acts of service and remembrance. Whether by preparing Tazias, organising processions, distributing water or joining commemorations, these local traditions continue to reflect mutual respect and peaceful coexistence among people from different communities.

As Karnataka's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began on June 30, the State Cabinet called for greater transparency and safeguards against wrongful voter deletions. It sought an extension of the Enumeration Form submission deadline from one month to at least three months, along with the publication of a comprehensive manual detailing categories of "logical discrepancies", the software or algorithm used to identify them, and the standard operating procedures

Questioning the orientation of the recent constitution of the High Level Committee on Demographic Change, the All India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA-NAPM) has said that India Needs Fair Demographic Approach that promotes inclusion, not social polarisation

The MEA's recent clarification on passport has centred on a single judicial decision that may not support the sweeping proposition now attributed to it

Amidst mounting concerns over the destruction of decades-old religious sites near the India-Pakistan border, local villagers have chosen choosing peaceful resistance over polarised division. Under the banner of an interfaith peace assembly, citizens have been protesting these actions peacefully, urging the administration to respect the social fabric of an area long defined by mutual respect, shared struggles, and brotherhood

The pithy, non-indulgant factual ‘note’ by the former editor of Telehraph, Kolkatta who is revered for his unique headlines for the newspaper, generated heat and waves over the week-end even as an utterly compromised and non-responsive administration watched on. R. Rajagopal penned this even as he informed the Prem Bhatia Journalism award that he was resigning from the Jury due to his acute disenchantment with the media profession.