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Three political parties. Three sets of politicians. All three fighting for control of the warren called Delhi. Biting, sniping and snapping at each other's heels. Calling each other names. Enticing, inducing and bribing the voters with 'schemes'. Lying and casting aspersions at each other, this is democracy at play.

A year back when we entered the New Year 2024, we all hoped that the year would bring an end to the conflicts around the world and reduce the threat of nuclear weapons, even though this hope was filled with fear and scepticism. Despite the global voice for peace, truce in any of the conflict zones seems remote at the end of the year.

What is one to make of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s speech regarding the raking up of new temple/mosque disputes? In his speech in Pune on December 19, Bhagwat disapproved of the raking up of new temple/mosque disputes. He said that Ram temple was a matter of faith for Hindus. Construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya should not lead to further actions: “Every day, a new matter (dispute) is being raked up. How can this be allowed? This cannot continue”.

From the early indications so far available, the New Year—2025— is all set to be tumultuous for all nations. India must be wary and take every possible caution and steps to navigate the forthcoming year of uncertainty. The USA, with its sheer size and weight in the world economy and power equation, matters for all. The president-elect’s esoteric doctrines, which can be pieced together from his constant verbal output, is about to introduce a new world order and system.

Even at the risk of uttering a cliché, filmmaker Shyam Benegal was in a class of his own. A path-breaker, he took his audience to places where they had never been before. And this is no sweetener to enhance the reputation of a man who is no more.

The United States Congress has recently passed a horrific piece of legislation calling for the infusion into the nation’s public school system of a curriculum that teaches middle and high school students about the alleged evils of communism, including the absurd claim that communists have killed 100 million people.

In 2024, India introduced a legal reform with the implementation of three new criminal laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BNA) (criminal laws) replacing the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860; Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively.

India’s National Human Rights Commission has been losing its global credibility very fast. Since June 1, 2024, the post of NHRC Chairperson has been lying vacant and its re-accreditation with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) was deferred for 12 months, for a second consecutive year. Now, on December 23, the Union Government has announced the appointment of its Chairperson and other members, triggering a new controversy.

Perplexed with Amit Shah's statement on Dr Ambedkar in the Parliament, the drama created by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the entrance gate of the Parliament and later registering an FIR against Rahul Gandhi was a very low level and reprehensible act with the aim to divert the attention of the people. While there are CCTV cameras at every nook and corner in the premises of the Parliament, no CCTV footage of the incident has been shown that the BJP is clamouring for. This proves falsehood in the claim of the BJP against Rahul Gandhi.

RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat is desperate to fix the soup he has landed in. His advice to Hindu society to refrain from raking up temple-mosque is part of this course-correction exercise. While suggesting to neo-Hindutva crusaders to refrain from raking up such issues, Bhagwat also cautioned that nobody can become a "leader of Hindus" by continuing to "raise temple-mosque disputes.”