The Central government has been caught unawares by violent agitations against Agnipath, its short-tenure recruitment programme to the armed forces. The navy chief is on record saying that he had not expected “protests like this”. Perhaps his counterparts in the Army and the Indian Air Force didn’t either. The government itself is surprised. Yet attempts… Read More Bharat Bhushan: The nation on Agnipath: Perils of a government that does not listen

Convening of the Emergency National Assembly on 31 May 2022 marks the apogee of the most torrid fortnight of the talks. Apparently, the fraught issue of Naga flag and constitution is at the root of the current instability. That trust has been a casualty is borne out in the statements of those involved in peace… Read More Kumar Sanjay Singh: Naga National Assembly: Foreboding of a cold and ungenerous peace

The structure of the military has immense ramifications for security, and also for social organisation at large. The Agnipath scheme is a major structural reform with consequences both for the armed forces and society at large. Some reforms and restructuring of the armed forces was overdue. Sometimes, scepticism about reforms reflects an underlying status quo… Read More Pratap Bhanu Mehta: Agnipath is not the reform the armed forces need

Over 60 people have been arrested amidst a crackdown on protestors in Prayagraj (Allahabad) in connection with the violence on June 10, which saw stone pelting, the torching of vehicles and a subsequent lathi charge by the police. Javed Mohammad, a leader of the Welfare Party of India and a prominent face in the anti-CAA protests,… Read More Demolition Order for Activist Afreen Fatima’s House, Family Told to Vacate Premises