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Economists, labour groups warn new bill weakens rural job security

By A Representative   The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM) has strongly opposed the proposed Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, warning that it seeks to dismantle the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and replace a legally enforceable right to work with a discretionary, budget-capped scheme controlled by the Union government.  Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, NSM leaders, economists, workers and activists said the Bill had been introduced without consultation with workers or their organisations and would have far-reaching consequences for rural livelihoods across the country. According to NSM, the proposed legislation repeals MGNREGA, 2005, and empowers the Centre to fix annual, state-wise “normative allocations” for employment generation. Any expenditure beyond these pre-determined limits would have to be borne by state governments. Speakers at the press conference argued that this effectively c...
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Row over Vande Mataram: A settled question reopened for polarisation

By Ram Puniyani*  The BJP thrives on identity issues. It deploys them to polarise society and reap electoral benefits. From the Babri Masjid–Ram Temple dispute to cow–beef politics, “love jihad” and other invented “jihads”, such themes have been its principal tools. Adding to this list, another issue has now been brought to the fore: the national song Vande Mataram.
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Russia a real threat? The fabulous hallucination of European leaders

By Vijay Prashad   Sitting in a lively room in the University of Amsterdam, I ask a question about the respect accorded by students to their former Prime Minister and now head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Mark Rutte. The room is animated and funny. No-one seems to accord Rutte with the respect that he might deserve. They see him as an empty suit who served as Prime Minister from October 2010 to July 2024, a total of over five thousand days —the longest serving head of government in Dutch history.
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Far-right victory: Will Centre-Left channelise Chilean anger towards transformation?

By Vijay Prashad   On 14 December, the predictable happened: José Antonio Kast, the candidate of the far-right Republican Party, prevailed over Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party of Chile by 58.16 percent to 41.84 percent. Kast ran as the candidate of the Cambio por Chile (Change for Chile) platform and was backed by all the parties of the traditional right and the centre-right. Jara, on the other hand, was the candidate of Unidad por Chile (Unity for Chile), which comprised the parties of the centre-left, including the bloc of Chile’s current president, Gabriel Boric, the Frente Amplio or Broad Front.
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Monroe doctrine revived? Why US focus on 'Chinese threat' to Latin America isn't new

By Tings Chak   On 10 December 2025, U.S. forces seized the oil tanker Skipper off the coast of Venezuela, carrying over a million barrels of crude. “Well, we keep [the oil],” President Trump told reporters. Venezuela's foreign ministry called it “blatant theft and an act of international piracy,” adding: “The true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed. It has always been about our natural wealth, our oil.”
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US escalates pressure on Venezuela as Monroe Doctrine 'returns to centre stage'

By Vijay Prashad  Ever since Hugo Chávez came to power in 1998, the United States has attempted to overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution. They have tried everything short of a full-scale military invasion: a military coup, selecting a substitute president, cutting off access to the global financial system, imposing layers of sanctions, sabotaging the electricity grid, sending in mercenaries, and attempting to assassinate its leaders. If you can think of a method to overthrow a government, the United States has likely tried it against Venezuela.
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Vasily Zaytsev and the evolution of sniper warfare at Stalingrad

By Harsh Thakor  The Second World War produced many figures whose actions became closely associated with major battles. Vasily Zaytsev was a Soviet sniper who fought during the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the decisive engagements on the Eastern Front. The encirclement and surrender of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad marked a significant turning point in the war against Nazi Germany.
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Routine emergency? Why Delhi chokes every winter — and why fixes aren’t working

By N.S. Venkataraman*  India’s capital, Delhi, has been suffering from poor air quality during certain periods every year. On 15 December 2025, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded as high as 452. An AQI above 400 falls in the “severe” to “hazardous” category, indicating toxic air that can cause immediate irritation such as burning eyes, coughing and breathlessness, while also increasing the risk of respiratory infections and other health problems.
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From Himalayan fields to rural change: A grandmother’s enduring influence

By Bharat Dogra  Kabutra Devi lived in a very remote Himalayan village in the Agastyamuni region of Uttarakhand. Owing to access to government jobs, the economic condition of her family was reasonably good. At her advanced age, Kabutra Devi could easily have lived a restful life at home. Yet she insisted that she must go to work on the family’s farms every day.
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Tectonic activity in Ken basin raises questions for dams and safety, new study reveals

By Jag Jivan   Central India’s Upper Ken Basin , where the ancient Bundelkhand Craton meets the younger Vindhyan sedimentary rocks , appears at first glance to be a quiet and time-worn landscape. But new research reveals that the region is still being actively shaped by deep, hidden tectonic forces. In a recent study, geographers Kundan Parmar and Satheesh Chothodi * used high-resolution elevation data and underground gravity measurements to decode the subtle fingerprints of active deformation imprinted onto the basin’s rivers and valleys. 
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