Editorial

At a time when the Narendra Modi government has failed to conduct the decadal census, Bihar has moved ahead and conducted a caste survey of the state’s population. Defying the BJP’s desperate attempts to stall the survey, or at the least the publication of its findings, the Bihar government successfully accomplished the caste survey and chose the 154th Gandhi Jayanti to go public with the overall summary of the statistical findings. 

Two big events were billed for September in India – the G20 summit followed by a special session of Parliament. A lot of hype was created around these two events and the Modi propaganda machine is now busy showcasing them as two stellar achievements of the regime. But these events and their outcomes have given us enough of a reality check to see through this hype.

Ever since the emergence of a broad-based united opposition, the Modi government and the entire Sangh-BJP brigade have been visibly rattled. The government is fully aware that even in 2019, against the backdrop of the hyper-nationalist wave triggered by the Pulwama massacre, the combined vote-share of the NDA did not exceed 45% while the BJP’s own vote-share remained less than 40%.

A year-long series of G20 events spread over India's vast and diverse urban landscape concluded with the 18th summit meeting in New Delhi on 8-10 September. Since this was the first such major international event hosted by India after the 1983 Non-Aligned Movement summit and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, it understandably attracted a great deal of public attention not just in India but also internationally.

Even as representatives assembled in Mumbai for the third meeting of the united opposition, now known by the acronym INDIA, the Modi government announced an extraordinary session of Parliament from 18 to 22 September. The way the session was announced close on the heels of the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament, and that too absolutely unilaterally without any consultation with the opposition and in brazen violation of established parliamentary norms, has understandably raised suspicions about the government's motive.

The successful soft-landing of Chandrayaan3 undoubtedly marks a historic achievement for ISRO. This is the first time a lunar mission has landed in the Moon's south pole which is expected to open up further prospects of study and exploration of the lunar reality. A major milestone of India's scientific prowess like this also has the potential to inspire India's overall forward march in the realm of science and technology in general and space exploration in particular.

The clamour for junking India's Constitution, a long-standing agenda of the Hindu supremacist camp, is now out in the open. The most audacious advocacy for a new constitution has come in the form of a newspaper article written by economist Bibek Debroy on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of India's independence.

As India observed the 76th anniversary of independence, PM Narendra Modi turned his tenth Independence Day address from Lal Qila into yet another desperate election speech. His tired rhetoric against corruption and dynastic politics only revealed his growing fear of the rising anger of the people and the emerging signs of political unity against his fascist rule.

The stay granted by the Supreme Court on the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the Modi surname defamation case marks a turning point in India's unfolding political situation. The Modi government has mastered the art of legitimising its relentless assault on the Constitution and subversion of democracy by pushing it through Parliament and various constitutional bodies and securing seals of judicial approval for all its steps. The script of the so-called Modi surname case followed this sinister trajectory till it reached the Supreme Court.

Manipur has been burning for three months now. Three months of continued violence has rendered more than sixty thousand people homeless in their own state. While the stories and occasional video clips of this violence have attracted international attention, the globe-trotting Prime Minister of India has not yet had time to visit Manipur.