Counterview

By Shamsul Islam   As India marks the 51st anniversary of the Emergency (1975-77), a disturbing pattern of historical revisionism has emerged. RSS-BJP leaders are attempting to rewrite history, portraying themselves as valiant fighters against Indira Gandhi's dictatorial rule. Newspaper advertisements proclaiming 'Samvidhan Hatya Divas' show Prime Minister Modi bowing to the Constitution—a theatrical gesture that masks a more troubling reality. The RSS, described by critics as a Hindutva gurukul specializing in fabricating history, now claims heroic resistance during the Emergency. The RSS English organ Organiser (June 24, 2025) presented PM Modi as "a singular symbol of fight against Emergency," claiming, "The lesson had been burned into public memory... For Narendra Modi, it was not just a past event. It was part of his personal journey." But the historical record tells a markedly different story. The Ideological Foundation The RSS's commitment t...

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan   The registration of two FIRs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region against BJP Minority Morcha leader and social media influencer Nazia Elahi Khan for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad is not merely another isolated controversy. It is a disturbing reminder of how hate speech and communal provocation have become increasingly normalised in contemporary India.

By Bharat Dogra   On a particularly hot afternoon recently, I learned that workers would be coming to carry out repairs on a community centre building in Mohali. I immediately worried about how intolerably hot the roof of the building must be, given the extreme temperatures. As I watched from a high-rise apartment, three workers appeared on the roof and tried to begin their work. After some time, however, they left in sheer frustration, unable to continue in the scorching heat that had made the roof unbearably hot.

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak  “Why do you not dress like a teacher, lecturer, or professor?” a well-meaning colleague once asked me. She was someone who believed in dressing appropriately for different occasions. She pressed her point further: “Dressing well does not diminish your communist praxis. Stop dressing like a drug addict.”

By Sudhansu R. Das   Bhutan is often celebrated as the happiest country in the world. In many ways, it can also be considered one of the richest—not because of accumulated wealth or industrial might, but because it has succeeded in preserving what many nations have lost: environmental integrity, cultural identity, social harmony, and human contentment.

By Harsh Thakor*  Zephania Mothopeng was one of the most defining figures of the Pan‑African resistance to apartheid, a leader who never relented before the enemy. Known as the “Lion of Azania,” Zephania Lekoane Mothopeng (10 September 1913 – 23 October 1990) embodied an unwavering Africanist conviction that shaped the ideological and militant trajectory of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). A founding member of the African National Congress Youth League in 1944, he broke away in 1959 to co‑establish the PAC, rejecting the ANC’s multiracial alliances in favour of African self‑reliance, land reclamation, and uncompromising nationalism. Rising to the PAC presidency in 1986, he championed a revolutionary line that refused accommodation with white minority rule, a stance that led to repeated arrests, long-term imprisonment, and nearly two decades behind bars, including two terms on Robben Island.