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THIRIVANTHAPURAM: The confrontation between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government of Kerala on the Kannur University issue has touched a new low.

Labour market in India is becoming more and more elusive for youth. During the last six years their participation in the total workforce in the country has dropped from 17 to 13 per cent at a time when their population increased from 26 to 28 per cent, a phenomenon that has increased mental pressure on them to an extent of going astray. Majority of them are not even engaged in education and training, and for majority of them who are it is just concealed unemployment.

The third millennium began in the midst of resurgence in telecom and computer sector. India with its reservoir of technologists soon came in the front line of that global churning with the Indian engineers making a big name in the software sector. But in the course of that churning, some setbacks also took place. The dotcom ventures which grew exponentially throughout the world, busted in the absence of a viable revenue model. Indian ventures were also affected.

Here’s something about Nitish and the number 7, Circular Road. As Chief Minister, he has been at 7, Circular Road, while using 1, Anna Marg, the official residence as his office. Now, with CM severing his five-year-old old alliance with the BJP and walking over to the Mahagathbandatan camp, many point that to a famous Delhi address — 7, Kalyan Marg (Racecourse Road), the official residence of Prime Minister—could be in his mind. After all, as he left NDA, Nitish Kumar, sent out dare, couched as prophesy, to the current occupant of 7, Lok Kalyan Marg: “the one who came to power in 2014, would he also return in 2024 to Lok Kalyan”.

On the 75th year of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as usual was eloquent in his rhetoric. He minced no words to impress upon the people of India by preaching his government’s commitment to the men and women of the country. Though he addressed the ‘countrymen’ at definite intervals, women were not completely forgotten. A small portion of his speech was specially devoted to ‘Nari Shakti’, where verbal adorations were ornamentally reserved for women empowerment. At the same time, in Gujarat the BJP government was unmasking a different face of their concern for women’s rights.

While it has not been possible for the Border Security Force (BSF) and different state police authorities to reduce illegal cattle sales to Bangladesh to zero level, cow smuggling has declined sharply over the years. However, reports from Assam and West Bengal areas close to the Bangladesh border suggest that comparatively speaking, the smuggling of black buffalos continues much as before.

The political spectre looming over the country points to bad days. The recent political actions of Narendra Modi without any ambiguity underline the threat of India turning into an authoritarian state. Modi has turned so self-aggrandizer that he is reluctant to stand to his critics belonging to his own party.

The Narendra Modi government is deepening strategic ties with the United States on all fronts. Three events which took place in the last few weeks highlight this growing proximity to the geopolitical designs of the United States.

In 1984 Lok Sabha elections held during the national wave in favour of the Congress following the murder of Indira Gandhi, the ruling party got the maximum number of seats- 414. The BJP was decimated electorally with only two seats. The 40-year-old Rajiv Gandhi started his tenure with widespread goodwill. He belonged to the new generation and talked of building a modern India. He started well with his1985 address at the AICC session calling for the weeding out of corruption from the Congress party as also the government.

A brief respite in retail inflation registered for July may not be of much assurance about price stability as another GST readjustment is threatening to push up prices of items of mass consumption.