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Caste does not matter much in Odisha politics. But it seems the BJP is up to experimenting with it, as it chose a tribal face as its first Chief Minister in the state over more familiar — Mohan Charan Manjhi, a four–time legislator from Keonjhar district, who belongs to the Santhal tribe, like the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. Tribals constitute almost a quarter of Odisha's population. The 52-year-old Manjhi is the third tribal Chief Minister of Odisha — Congressmen Hemananda Biswal and Giridhar Gamang had short tenures in the 1990s.

Israeli military triumphs and exploits often produce battlefield victories that fail to garner political gains. The Gaza war has changed that paradigm. It has produced neither a military nor a political victory. Adding fuel to the fire, Israel has abandoned the notion that soft power is as important as hard power in the vein of scholar Joseph Nye, who recently cautioned that “ignoring or neglecting soft power is a strategic and analytic mistake.”

In a recent ruling, the Calcutta High Court has invalidated Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates for 77 Muslim classes in West Bengal, casting doubt on the West Bengal Backward Classes Act of 2012 and striking down several of its provisions for contravening the landmark Indra Sawhney judgment, which was the basis for introducing OBC reservations in India.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory issued its “first in-depth investigation into the events that took place on and since 7 October 2023.” The report holds the Israeli occupation responsible for the ongoing catastrophic situation in Gaza. But it also alludes to the possibility that October 7 is a watershed moment for even harsher Israeli occupation unless international law is urgently implemented.

On May 30 this year, the first International Day of Potato was observed. While India is the second largest potato producer after China, the historic event failed to create any awareness among the Indian people about its importance. Potato is the third most important crop after rice and wheat and is considered crucial for global food security. India produces about 60 million tonnes of potatoes annually. This year the production was at least one million tonnes less compared to last year.

RSS Pariwar union government’s scrutiny of All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) has eroded their autonomy completely over the last ten years despite the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990 having provided their long sought after autonomy. For quite some time now news bulletins in the public broadcasters have been seen beginning with the Prime Minister (PM) and ending with him. The imprint of PM is total as other important national and international news stories are ignored. Every day, standards and tenor of the news bulletins are seemed set by the PMO and even BJP IT Cell. In the process, news bulletins loose its professional quality. The news bulletins are seen to be singing paean to the PM.

The government’s strong reaction to the news of the death of two Russian Army-recruited Indian nationals in the Ukraine war asking the Russian authorities for an early release and return of all Indian nationals serving in the Russian Army does not seem to be quite justified. It may be even considered as uncalled for in view of the long standing defence relations between the two countries that had tremendously benefited India during a difficult period. There is nothing secret about those young Indians going to Russia to take up helpers’ jobs in the Russian Army. The government was fully aware of it. Jobs in security forces are never risk-free. All Indian recruits were believed to have been apprised of the risks related to the job before they signed the contract to join as “army security helpers.”

The swearing-in of Nara Chandrababu Naidu as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister was a significant event for Naidu personally, and to his party and for Indian politics, too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders witnessed the 74-year-old politician taking the oath for the fourth time, marking a significant political comeback. Despite being marginalised in state and national politics for over two decades, Naidu is grateful. He has once again proven that one should never underestimate a politician until he is out of the game.

RSS leaders close to its chief Mohan Bhagwat are seeking to suppress news of a 'rift' between RSS and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his "true sevak" remark. But events taking place inside the RSS do not validate the message that everything is ethical and politically correct.

The United Kingdom is facing a dilemma. It is not able to issue, for the time being, the regimental badges for its military service personnel bearing the imprimatur of King Charles. The reason: Chinese supplies. The UK issues the badges worn on berets, with their sovereign’s imprint on them, indicating the regiments they belong to. The officers are given embroidered cloth badges and ranks are given metal badges. These are supplied by a native British firm.