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With the election dates for Haryana and Maharashtra approaching nearer, one picture that emerges very clearly is that of the paralyzed opposition battling against the BJP, which is leaving no stone unturned — not only to win both the states but to register a victory with a strong mandate. In doing so, the saffron party — which is the incumbent in Haryana and sharing power in Maharashtra as the big brother along with its ally Shiv Sena, is even constantly talking about nationalistic issues — including BJP-led Union government's decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Not only this, from the election rallies, top BJP leaders are also not missing any opportunity to attack Pakistan, which currently is frustrated for the rejection it faced in the global forum regarding the Kashmir issue and is in an envious mood to provoke fires in the valley.

The last minute volte face by the Muslim parties to the Ayodhya dispute rejecting the terms of the so-called settlement as reported by the mediation panel is a clear case of grandstanding meant to influence the court’s decision.

Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, who has won the 2019 Nobel for Economics, along with Esther Duflo (his economist wife) and Michael Kremer, has observed the Indian economy is on a shaky ground. The data recently available do not hold any assurance for the country’s economic survival anytime soon, he stated. “In the last five years, at least, we could witness some growth but now that assurance is also gone”, Banerjee told a news channel.

Falling of India from 55th position in 2014 to 102nd position in 2019 in Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a terrible global indictment of the miserable performance of Modi government on tackling incidents of hunger in the country. On GHI severity scale, the country scored 30.3, indicating serious level of hunger prevalent among Indians. Among the children born under Modi rule, 20.8 per cent are wasting (low weight for height), which is extremely high, and the highest rate for any country in this report. Its child stunting (low height for age) rate at 37.9 per cent is also categorized as very high in terms of its public health significance.

The Taliban leadership today regrets its adventurist stand of ‘smashing the rare sandstone relief of Lord Buddha in the Bamyan province of Afghanistan in the very early March 2001. Although the Islamic fundamentalist outfit, is yet to admit this openly, the repentance was writ on the face of Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, while speaking to the Reuters last week. "All antique artefacts will be preserved in their place. They should be preserved for the history and culture education of the upcoming generations." This is a posture in the affirmative to the grand project of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul in its centenary year for ‘restoration of heritage, identity, and the past’.

LONDON: Apparently the UK prime minister Boris Johnson has got the Brexit deal, but an insight into the development gives rise to suspicion about the true nature of the deal and whether it prove to be successful. The deal is to be ratified by the parliament and Boris is ‘very confident’ that his deal will be approved by the parliament.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The campaigning in the five Assembly by-elections in the State has acquired a new dimension with the Nair Service Society (NSS), the powerful organisation of the Nairs, changing its political stance.

Like the past several years, we are once again faced with a situation where air quality index has crossed dangerous level. Those already suffering from respiratory illnesses are at the worst receiving end. One such serious situation occurred in 1998 when whole of Punjab was engulfed with smoke pushing large number of sick people into serious trouble. Every year we witness smoke in atmosphere in the months of October and November. The agricultural and medical professionals have held several rounds of discussions on the subject with a view to ameliorate the situation.

KOLKATA: Once more the professionalism of west Bengal police has come under the scanner and for the wrong reasons. Even normally, the sensational triple murder on October 8 of Bandhuprakash Pal, his wife and young son at their Jiaganj residence, Murshidabad district, would have launched an avalanche of protests in Bengal. Violence-prone as the state has become in recent times, the brutal hacking of three people is not something to be easily glossed over. Only prompt and decisive action by the state police could have helped the administration save its blushes.

Haryana, which goes to poll on October 21 along with Maharashtra, is witnessing a gradual shift with formations of new social alliances replacing the old existing ones. When in 2014, BJP formed the government for the first time in the state on its own, the party made Manohar Lal Khattar, a Punjabi (non-Jat), the chief minister of the state — where Jats, an agricultural community accounting for 27 per cent of the state's population, have been dominating in politics for decades. This was done to build a new social alliance in the state by combining the other non-Jat social groups. It ultimately paid rich dividends to the BJP when the party won all the seats in the Lok Sabha elections held this year.