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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.

In 1960, at the global level, the most important development was the World Conference of the communist parties, the result of which was the 81 parties’ document. The conference laid bare the growing fissures within the once monolithic communist movement, as well as the Communist Party of China’s advocacy of a parallel line in the international communist movement, henceforth known as Maoism, after Chairman Mao Xedong, differing considerably from the line that was followed by the Soviet Union.

It was certainly not a coincidence that on the day Prime Minister was addressing the Independence Day rally, Amit Shah in association with the senior BJP leaders and members of the core group of party was working on the design to throw out the newly formed mahagathbandhan government of Nitish Kumar in Bihar.Within shortest possible time.

On Wednesday, August 10, President Joe Biden signed the treaty to admit Sweden and Finland to membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This follows on the action last week of the Senate, which voted 95 to 1 (with one member voting “present” and three not voting) to ratify the treaty. Earlier this summer, the House of Representatives supported a non-binding resolution endorsing the move (since that chamber has no constitutional role on treaties). It passed 394-18.

The Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhanker is a quick learner. Within months of joining the Sainik School in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh, as a class five student, he became proficient in English. “During the summer vacation when he came home, he was asked before visiting government officials to display his skills. For the villagers, he was always the boy who spoke English well”, recalled Randeep Dhankar, new Vice-President’s younger brother.