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Briefing

Naga peace talks
Naga peace talks at a dead end?
A single final accord between the government and all the Naga factions is nowhere in sight as the stakeholders disagree on interpretations of the content of the Framework Agreement signed earlier.

Controversy
Centre starving Christian organistions into submission
The Central government, without giving any reason, has suspended the FCRA licences of six Christian organisations.

Human Rights
Elgar Parishad arrests: Decimation drive
The recent arrest of three Dalit rights activists in connection with the Elgar Parishad is seen as an attempt to stifle dissent.

PM-KISAN scam
PM-Kisan scam: Defrauding farmers
In a startling expose, the Tamil Nadu Agriculture Department unearths a scam in which Rs.110 crore was siphoned from the PM-Kisan income support scheme by registering lakhs of ineligible beneficiaries.

Spotlight
The sordid tale surrounding Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide
There are so many disturbing factors in the case around Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide that it is necessary to discuss it without the hysteria that the electronic media have built up over it.

Media
Lapdog narratives of the Kannada media
A report looks at the way hate speech flourishes in the Kannada media and tries to locate the factors that fuel it and the consequences that follow.

Spotlight
How the media reacted to Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide
Powerful sections of the electronic media have built up mass hysteria around actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and almost succeeded in turning the narrative of a government failing its people into one in which the government pursues a morally suspect elite.

India&China
India&China: Back from the brink
While the recent joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of India and China signals an easing of tensions between the two countries, the wounds left behind by the four-month-long military stand-off will take time to heal.

Swami Agnivesh
Swami Agnivesh: Activist in saffron
Swami Agnivesh (1939-2020), a voice of reason amid the shrillness of religious bigotry, worked tirelessly to eradicate social evils and uphold constitutional values.

Kesavananda Bharati
Kesavananda Bharati: Unwitting saviour of democracy
Kesavananda Bharati (1940-2020) never got the relief that he prayed for before the Supreme Court, but helped win the most significant decision in Indian judicial history when the court evolved an innovative ‘basic structure doctrine’ and placed itself as the arbiter of Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution.

Pattanam excavation
First-ever human image at Pattanam
A Graeco-Roman head of a miniature statue from the same trench that produced the Sphinx was another significant artefact of the 2020 season. This ...

Pattanam excavation
Photos: Evidence of trade links between Kerala’s Pattanam and Rome
The Pattanam 2020 findings, along with the 2006-16 excavation and post-excavation studies of the same site, reconfirm the intense maritime commercial, technological and cultural exchanges between Eastern Mediterranean and ancient Tamilakam.

How India’s historians have reflected on the country’s history, culture and heritage
One of the greatest issues for historians has been the geographical understanding of India, as well as its cultural and civilisational edifice. While a sense of unity, spatially, culturally or in religious terms, may have contributed to the idea of India as it exists today, modern Indian ethos rests on more than a unified historical consciousness.

Pattanam excavation
Excavations in Kerala’s Pattanam reaffirm its trade links with Rome
The Pattanam 2020 findings, along with the 2006-16 excavation and post-excavation studies of the same site, reconfirm the intense maritime commercial, technological and cultural exchanges between Eastern Mediterranean and ancient Tamilakam.

Essay
India’s double standards on human rights: Violations at home even as its diplomacy preaches liberty
India has consistently followed double standards on human rights and people’s right to self-determination and refused to brook questions on its own conduct while taking the liberty to preach to others.

Pollution of Damanganga river
Gujarat: Lockdown used as an excuse by Vapi's industries to pollute Damanganga
Industries in Vapi, Gujarat, which continue to release huge quantities of effluents into the Damanganga river, are seeking exemption from pollution control norms citing economic losses following the lockdown.

PM-KISAN scam
PM-Kisan scam: Defrauding farmers
In a startling expose, the Tamil Nadu Agriculture Department unearths a scam in which Rs.110 crore was siphoned from the PM-Kisan income support scheme by registering lakhs of ineligible beneficiaries.

Spotlight
The sordid tale surrounding Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide
There are so many disturbing factors in the case around Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide that it is necessary to discuss it without the hysteria that the electronic media have built up over it.

Media
Lapdog narratives of the Kannada media
A report looks at the way hate speech flourishes in the Kannada media and tries to locate the factors that fuel it and the consequences that follow.

Spotlight
How the media reacted to Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide
Powerful sections of the electronic media have built up mass hysteria around actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and almost succeeded in turning the narrative of a government failing its people into one in which the government pursues a morally suspect elite.

Essay
India’s double standards on human rights: Violations at home even as its diplomacy preaches liberty
India has consistently followed double standards on human rights and people’s right to self-determination and refused to brook questions on its own conduct while taking the liberty to preach to others.

COVID-19 Update
Kerala local body polls: Mass mobilisation violating COVID safety norms
In Kerala, the opposition parties’ mass mobilisations for the local body elections violating COVID safety norms and the easing of restrictions could, it is feared, lead to a sharp rise in infections.

COVID-19 Update
Karnataka to become the State with highest number of active COVID-19 cases after Maharashtra
The number of COVID-19 cases continues to spiral in Karnataka, making it the State with the highest number of active cases after Maharashtra.

COVID-19 Update
Madhya Pradesh witnessing alarming spike in coronavirus cases as political parties compete to win the byelections in the Gwalior-Chambal region
In Madhya Pradesh, the issue of oxygen shortage took centre stage even as case numbers grew and the BJP and the Congress ramped up roadshows and membership drives in preparation for the byelections to 28 Assembly seats.

COVID-19 Update
Pandemic situation fails to stop West Bengal from celebrating Durga Puja
In the midst of the raging pandemic, the State resumes Metro services and is gearing up for Durga Puja, a four-day-long celebration of colour, sounds and crowds.

COVID-19 Update
Odisha’s COVID-19 strategy to involve private hospitals, hopes to reduce infection rate
By opening up more private hospitals for COVID care, easing pressure on hospitals in Bhubaneswar by getting those in the districts to take in more patients, and innovating with RT-PCR tests to prioritise patient care Odisha is hoping to bring down the rising infection rate.

COVID-19 Update
COVID-19 cases show no decline in Assam, political parties busy in electioneering
The number of cases in the State shows no signs of declining, and with political parties resuming electioneering activities and students getting ready to restart offline classes, the State’s health care infrastructure could soon be overwhelmed.

COVID-19 Update
COVID-19 in Rajasthan: Congress government finally takes serious COVID-19 management measures
Amid the rising number of infections and deaths in the State, the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government issues a series of orders and notifications, which indicates that it has finally got down to the serious business of COVID-19 management and control.

COVID-19 Update
COVID-19 in Haryana: Study reveals 8 per cent sero-positivity across 22 districts surveyed
A sero-surveillance study conducted in 22 districts of Haryana in August revealed an 8 per cent sero-positivity in the sample surveyed, even as the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Haryana crossed 1,00,000 in September.

COVID-19 Update
COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh: CM Yogi Adityanath turns to Hindutva as COVID situation worsens in the State
COVID situation is worsening in Uttar Pradesh, but the Yogi Adityanath regime manages to turn attention away from the subject by playing the Hindutva card once again.

COVID-19 Update
COVID-19 in Delhi: Health workers protest against non-payment of wages, poor working conditions
Health care personnel and workers from other sectors protest against non-payment of wages and poor working conditions, but the AAP and the BJP keep blaming each other instead of resolving crucial issues.

COVID-19 Update
Maharashtra government forced to give undue importance to politics during the pandemic
The fight against COVID-19 fades into the background as the opposition tries to beat the government image in political games.

Interview: Declan Walsh
Declan Walsh: ‘I hesitate to call Pakistan a failed democracy’
Interview with Declan Walsh, author of the recently published “The Nine Lives of Pakistan”.