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We never had experience of loss of democracy...Living in our multiplicity, nobody has ever forced us to violate the cultural limits. We have never been isolated from the other, in fact it never had a separate identity. Yet, in the third decade of the twentieth century, there was the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, born in 1925. Those in the West, like Gobineau, Rosenberg and few others, as early as in the nineteenth century, trying to find ways to bring the ideology and culture of racialism in a wider domain, were busy trying to establish ‘Aryan’ theory, in an effort to create space for the writings of Manu Smriti, keeping up the traditions of a racialist script.

If business as usual path continues, the world cannot achieve zero hunger target (SDG2) by 2030, and South and Southeast Asia is likely to suffer the most, with 2.7 billion population in the region. It is 34 per cent of the global population, and almost half live in India.

Once more, there is confirmation of the familiar public plaint that in their zeal to nestle ever closer to the ‘supreme ‘leader of the moment by using barefaced flattery, practicing politicians often cross all limits. Mostly the outcome is amusing, even as the glorified bigwigs squirm in embarrassment while people enjoy a hearty laugh!

After the three-pronged Maha Vikas Aghadi government, it’s the turn of the ‘Double-engine’ Shinde-Fadnavis regime to rule Maharashtra. The Opposition called the new alliance ‘Maha Vinaash Aghadi’, and as if approving the nomenclature, within a couple of hours of Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis taking the oath for Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively, the Shinde cabinet straightaway overturned the MVA government’s decision to put a halt to the metro-carshed construction project in Aarey forest.

On June 19, Colombian voters elected left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro as president of their country. It was a historic breakthrough in Colombia’s political history since it first gained independence from Spain in 1819. For many years, Colombian politics seemed immune to the left-wing currents elsewhere in Latin America.

By now, the cryptocurrency story has become extremely queer. The phenomenal rise in the value of bitcoin (BTC) in 2021 stands completely reversed today. For the investors, it is a saga of disappointments and frustrations. From an all-time high of about $69000, BTC has nosedived to $20,000 levels in a matter of six months. The story is far worse for other coins (altcoins) that rose by hundreds of times during 2021 and have fallen equally sharply, pulling down the market cap of the crypto industry from nearly $3 trillion to under $1 trillion.

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party national President Akhilesh Yadav blamed BJP government gross misuse of official machinery and breakdown of democratic institutions to win Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha by-elections. Akhilesh Yadav said that voters of Azamgarh and Rampur we're in favour of Samajwadi Party but BJP government used all possible methods to win the elections. Samajwadi Party national President alleged that voters were not allowed to cast their votes by the official machinery in Azamgarh and Rampur by creating terror.

About a week back, Pakistan’s Finance minister was urging its citizens to consume less tea as the country was scraping the bottom of the barrel to organise even essential imports. Foreign exchange reserves had sunk to cover just a few days imports. Every leaf of tea consumed in the country has to be imported.

The horrendous killing in Udaipur has been universally condemned. While the authorities have acted in rounding up those involved, the culprits must receive severe punishment. The growing incendiary atmosphere of hate and violence in the country is dehumanising our society. This spiral of hate must end. The union government ordering the NIA to take over the case should not lead to keeping the fires of hate and violence burning.

What next for Shiv Sena? Will the Eknath Shinde faction grab the party from "rightful owners", the Thackeray's, and run with it? That must be in Shinde's mind. The fellow is no angel. It requires a stout mean heart to rebel and run roughshod over shallow sentiments. Shinde wants the Shiv Sena for keeps and the Thackeray's, father and son, do they have the mojo to keep what's theirs?