After suffering a major setback in the Parliament on April 17, the Prime Minister committed a gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by misusing the public broadcaster, Doordarshan, to deliver his so-called address to the nation. The violation has been committed as Assembly Elections are underway in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and the MCC is still very much in force.

The War in West Asia has brought in serious disruptions in natural gas supply resulting in fertiliser production cuts, import slide, price escalation, and widespread uncertainty, directly threatening agricultural stability. However, the roots of this crisis are not purely external; they also lie in the neo-liberal policy of import dependence over domestic resource utilisation and long-term self-reliance.

[This is Part I of a two-part series. Part II will be published in the next issue]

A couple of years ago, on Vijaya Dashami, the Sarsanghchalak (Chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Mohan Bhagwat, mentioned a new phrase at the organisation's Headquarters in Nagpur — ‘Cultural Marxist’.

The first-time voters appearing for their Higher Secondary exams this year, or those on the verge of graduation, have grown up seeing only the Modi and Mamata governments. They have come of age amidst corruption, the reign of miscreants, Hindu-Muslim hatred, communal violence, rape, unemployment, crumbling state schools and hospitals, despair, precarious low-income jobs, and a widening chasm between the rich and the poor. This generation has never had the opportunity to witness a Left-wing government. Instead, they find deprivation, poverty, and frustration to be their constant companions.

THE third Israel-US War on Iran enters its 33rd day; instead of a swift victory and regime change that the Trump administration had imagined, it has turned into a brutal battle of attrition. Iran has not only stood up to US and Israeli attacks but inflicted heavy damage on the US bases in the region, destroying its THAAD radars and bases in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE. It has also struck the Haifa refinery, Dimona (where Israel’s nuclear plant is housed), and Tel Aviv.