THE violence and clashes that erupted in various places during Ram Navami observance on March 30 was an event foretold.  Over the years, the Hindutva forces have shaped the Ram Navami processions into an instrument for aggression and attacks on Muslims.  Last year, in 2022, the Ram Navami processions led to widespread attacks and clashes in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh, in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Jharkhand and in Shibpur area of Howrah, West Bengal. This year too, the Ram Navami festival occurred during the period of Ramzan and provided the backdrop for provocations in areas where Muslims

AFTER seven days of disruption of parliamentary proceedings, the government is now planning to cut short the second half of the budget session by guillotining the demands for grants and passing the finance bill without any discussion.The peculiarity of this decision stems from the fact that it is the ruling party which has been holding up the proceedings in both houses since March 13 with the demand that Rahul Gandhi apologise for certain remarks he made about the state of democracy in India while he was abroad. That this is just a pretext for disrupting the house and preventing any discuss

THE orgy of violence unleashed in Tripura after the assembly election results were announced on March 2 was an act foretold once the BJP got a majority, albeit a narrow one.  As of March 6, around a thousand incidents of attacks and violence by the BJP gangs took place all over the state. These were in the form of physical attacks on CPI(M), Left Front and Congress workers and supporters, ransacking or burning of their houses and demolition of party offices.

THE incidents of February 16 that began near Peruka on the border between Rajasthan and Haryana and ended in the Nuh area in Bhiwani district of Haryana, are notable not only for the barbarity and cruel violence meted out to two Muslims, Junaid and Nasir but also for what they reveal about the collusion between the Haryana police and cow vigilantes and the complete impunity with which the latter are allowed to perpetrate crimes in the name of ‘gau seva’ (cow protection).The details are well-known.

THE union budget for 2023-24 has unveiled a big assault on lives and livelihoods of the people. Spending on schemes and programmes that provide direct economic benefit to people has been slashed across the board. But even bigger and more alarming are the sins of omission. Key problems confronting the people have been either ignored or cavalierly dealt with.