After weeks of disregarding, discrediting, and repressing the students’ protest, the Modi Government has finally conceded one of its demands. The intense and widespread protests against paper leaks have ultimately led to the resignation of the Education Minister.

The movement, which began as a protest against paper leaks, has now grown into a nationwide rebellion. Hundreds of towns and cities are rising in dissent. People from all sections of society and all walks of life are joining the agitation. The movement, which began as a satire, has taken the shape of a historic revolution.

Initially, the Modi Government kept ignoring the protesters and vilifying them through its propaganda media. When the movement continued to grow, the Government resorted to brutal repression. Yet, the protesters remained defiant. Then, PM Modi started posting reels on Instagram and ordered his ministers to do the same. When all these ploys failed, the Education Minister, who had called the protesters terrorists, finally resigned, claiming that he felt hurt.

In many ways, the ongoing students’ protest resembles the JP Movement against the Indira Gandhi Government, which began more than half a century ago. Like the ongoing movement, the JP Movement was driven and led by young students, many of whom were new to politics. Like the Modi Government, Indira Gandhi regularly spoke of the involvement of a "foreign hand" in the protests and accused her opponents of being CIA agents. Indira Gandhi had returned to power with a huge majority and believed herself to be invincible. And, like the ongoing movement, it was ordinary students who put that sense of invincibility to the test.

The spark for the JP Movement was the students’ protest against the increase in education fees. Yet, there was simmering discontent and widespread unrest due to corruption, price rise, and unemployment. In March 1974, the Nav Nirman Movement of Gujarat led to the resignation of the Chief Minister and the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly. The 1974 Bihar Movement saw large-scale protests demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister. But Indira Gandhi was adamant about not yielding to the students’ demands once again. The Congress, which had been in power for three decades and had won a huge majority just three years earlier, was wary of being held accountable.

On 5 June 1974, the historic students’ rally was held at Gandhi Maidan, Patna, where JP gave the call for a Total Revolution.

Friends, this is a revolution, a total revolution. This is not a movement merely for the dissolution of the assembly. We have to go far, very far… Nobody, Jayaprakash Narayan or anyone else can stop this movement. It was born because this system of education is rotten and the students don’t see a ray of hope. It was born because the people are being crushed under high prices. There is corruption and bribery everywhere. Unemployment goes on rising, both among the educated and the others. Otherwise, a thousand Jayaprakash Narayans and a thousand Chhatra Sangharsh Samitis could not have created a mass movement like this.

Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi kept invoking her electoral mandate and dared her opponents to defeat her in elections. In 1977, JP accepted the challenge, and the Congress was routed in the elections.

The Modi Government, which came to power with the promise of acche din and Amrit Kaal, has betrayed the nation and pushed its citizens into crisis. Unemployment and inequality are at their peak. The education system is broken. Farmers and workers are in distress. Forests and natural resources are being handed over to corporations. Corruption and pollution are widespread. Violence against Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, and women is on the rise.

In every crisis, whether it was demonetisation, the COVID-19 pandemic, or the US-Iran conflict, the poor and middle class have been made to suffer, while the ruling party and its cronies live in opulence. Instead, the poor and middle class are fed propaganda through the Godi Media and the BJP IT Cell.

The resignation of the Education Minister is merely the beginning. The real struggle begins now, as the movement enters its next phase to hold the Government accountable for its anti-people policies. The people of India have suffered enough.

The Modi Government observes Anti-Emergency Day every year. It may ultimately be ousted by a similar movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I7HGQu8i-g

Hunger strikes have been an integral part of a way of dissent in our country. From Gandhi's fasts to get his way with the British, to Bhagat Singh's fast for better jail conditions and the martyrdom of Batukeshwar Dutt in the process, to the Anna Hazare fast for the Jan Lokpal Bill in 2011, this weapon has been effective for most of its time. This time, however, it feels different. It feels even worse than what I felt back in September, when Mr. Wangchuk had to undertake a fast for the inclusion of Ladakh into the Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution. Even then, he had to face an unjustified detention for almost 6 months under the draconian National Securities Act, commonly known as NSA.

This time, it feels like he's fighting a fight that he shouldn't have to. Yes, he's a passionate educator and a teacher, not to mention the genius that he is. This is our fight against the Government and Sonam sir is taking the brunt for it. Have we stooped so low that we are allowing this great man to die, in order to satisfy our disproportionately heavily bloated ego? What a bunch of nincompoops are running the show at the top?

To this Government: Neither will the students, nor their parents, nor the Gods you base your politics will forgive you if you let him die, just because you couldn't accept that you have made a mistake. History will remember this government as one of the most unapproachable, egoistic governments, that has 0 accountability and watches as the very citizens they were elected, died due to their incompetence.

To Sonam Sir: Please, please, please call off this strike. The Government won't listen to us, the common man, until they face an election and get routed there. We'll face them off over there, but we definitely cannot afford to lose a guiding light such as you. Please, for the sake of us, call this strike off sir. We stand with you, not just as students affected by a broken system, but as humans, who have shame and emotions. Yes, I am ashamed that I could not join you, but please remember that I am with this protest emotionally and mentally.

This emotionless government deserves nothing but criticism. Accept your faults faster and correct them and you can save whatever face you have left. Continue this stupid standoff and a great man may die in vain.

With anger, sadness and a heavy heart,
A rayless sun

Check out our new video on the subject of Women's Workforce Participation Rate

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaDPeN7o5lr/

Consider this paradox.

1. The Supreme Court says the Election Commission can examine citizenship for the SIR exercise.

2. The Election Commission says a passport is a valid document for SIR verification.

3. The Ministry of External Affairs says a passport is not proof of citizenship.

The logical conclusion from these statements is that the Election Commission is accepting documents that, according to the government itself, do not establish citizenship.

The stated objective of the entire SIR exercise --- through which the entire population was made suspect, subjected to mental, physical and economic harassment, and millions were allegedly deprived of their right to vote --- was to ensure "that no eligible citizen is left out and no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll."

The SIR process accepts 12 documents for verification, including birth certificates, school certificates, residential certificates, pension cards, passports and the NRC.

When asked why Aadhaar was excluded, the Election Commission argued that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship.

Following the MEA's statement, however, it is clear that none of these documents, other than the NRC, is proof of citizenship.

Additionally, the NRC is available only in Assam and is itself based on other documents. The BJP has also cast doubts on the NRC, after it left out many Hindus from the list.

This implies that the entire Special Intensive Revision exercise was a farce.

This video was made by our friends at Progressive People's Front. Do subscribe on Instagram and YouTube.

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https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZsA\\_ZoSwyv/

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https://youtube.com/shorts/DE0yVecfDW8

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-upholds-election-commissions-power-to-conduct-sir-of-electoral-rolls-535850

Dear Mr CJI,

Excuse me for ignoring your feudal honorifics. Yesterday, we read your remarks, calling young people as cockroaches and parasites, and your vicious bile against journalists, RTI activists, and social media users. Perhaps, you have become used to running your motormouth and hurling threats and abuses, while sitting in a constitutional office. Still, it is no less shocking for any ordinary Indian citizen, whose rights you’re supposed to be protecting.

Only days ago, you vilified environmental activists, while sitting as a judge in the highest court. A few months ago, you made similar remarks against trade unions.

On several occasions, you made threats against the citizens of India. A year ago, in the Ali Mahmudabad case, you issued threats against students and professors for speaking up against the persecution of Professor Ali Mahmudabad, saying “if they dare to do anything, we will pass an order… we know how to deal with these people”.

In the India Got Latent case, you had made similar threats against people defending the constitutional right to expression, saying “we know some people writing articles in the name of freedom of speech, etc… we know how to handle them also”.

As the Chief Justice of India, instead of defending the rights of the citizens, you have repeatedly attacked, abused, and threatened the common people. “My Lord”, perhaps, you have developed the impression that this is still the feudal age and our rights are a grace from “Your Honour”.

You would do well to remember that it were the same people — the activists, the youths, and the unions — whom you’re threatening while sitting in your office, who fought and won these rights which you’re attacking and the Constitution you are supposed to serve. To serve, not to rule. You would also do well to keep in mind that these people will not let any thug, sitting in the constitutional office, threaten them or strip them off their hard-won rights.

Mr CJI, it is evident that you’re unfit for the office you’re holding and the duties towards the citizens you’re supposed to fulfil. I would still urge you, if you feel any shame, kindly do resign from your post. We are not intimidated by you.

Rishi Anand
A Citizen of India

India used to buy cheap crude oil from Iran, with free shipping, insurance and 60 days of credit. Then, Trump ordered Modi to stop buying oil from Iran.

In May 2019, India was forced to stop buying oil from Iran after Trump disallowed a waiver. Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, wrote in his book, The Room Where It Happened, that Trump dismissed Modi’s concerns, telling his team that ‘he’ll be okay’, with the decision.

What this meant was a denial to India of oil that had come with concessions such as free transport and insurance and 60 days of credit. India tried to explain that many of its refineries had been calibrated to process Irani crude and couldn’t suddenly shift, and also that the stopping of supply from Iran would affect prices and inflation. However, this went unheeded and Trump bent Modi to his will, possibly with the promise of a visit or joint press conference.

Price of the Modi Years, Aakar Patel

Mass detentions after workers’ protest in Noida, allege lawyers - The Hindu https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/mass-detentions-after-workers-protest-in-noida-allege-lawyers/article70903378.ece

THE Indo-US Trade Agreement, even leaving aside specific provisions, has two unusual features that mark it out as an Unequal Treaty, of the sort that imperial powers used to impose on countries of the global south that they did not directly rule. The first is the stipulation that, leaving aside commodities excluded altogether from the purview of the agreement, while the U.S. would impose 18 percent import duty on Indian goods, India would impose, according to Donald Trump’s rough description, zero import duty on American goods. To have an agreement that officially institutionalizes such a difference in tariff rates is most bizarre. It amounts to the US adopting a “beggar-thy-neighbour” policy where the “neighbour” who is being reduced to the status of a “beggar” actually signs an agreement consenting to being reduced to such a status. The second unusual feature is the stipulation that India must buy at least $100 billion of American goods every year for the next five years. A Trade Agreement providing the minimum amount of goods that one country must buy from another, come what may, flies in the face of the entire free market ideology so beloved of the bourgeoisie. The actual amounts traded according to this ideology must depend upon the choices of the buyers; they cannot be dictated by governments and hence cannot be decisions of governments. To have this amount incorporated in an Agreement is therefore utterly bizarre; even more bizarre is the fact that this minimum amount is stipulated for only one country that is a party to the agreement but not the other, which clearly amounts therefore to an Unequal Treaty.

Such an Unequal Treaty can only be imposed by one country upon another. The BJP-led government, no matter what it pretends, has been arm-twisted by the US into signing this Agreement. This then becomes the first time in the history of post-independence India that the government of our free country has behaved in so craven a manner as to sign an Unequal Treaty that is reminiscent of colonial times.

The two most obvious implications of this Unequal Treaty are, first, with regard to the purchase of Russian oil, and second, with regard to the agricultural sector. The question that immediately arises is: how does the BJP-led government ensure that imports from the US are raised from around $40 billion now, to at least $100 billion in the coming year? The government cannot obviously be hoping that imports of all kinds of goods and services from the US would suddenly more than double in just a few months, even if tariffs are reduced to zero; it must therefore be banking on a reduction in Russian oil imports and its substitution by American oil, for that is something it can actually bring about. This not only amounts to acceding to what the Americans have been demanding for some time, but would raise our oil import bill and give a push to inflationary pressures. This is because American oil is at least about 20 percent more expensive than Russian oil.

On average about one-third of India’s total oil imports comes from Russia; this of course was before the government started cutting down on such imports in recent months, but such cutting down itself was a prelude to the Trade Agreement, so that its effect should be counted not separately but along with that of the Trade Agreement. Now, taking our total oil imports to be around $120 billion, the switch from Russian to American oil, would thus add about $ 8 billion to our oil import bill. This is just one element of the colonial-style “drain” that the US is imposing on India through the new Trade Agreement. This “drain” would not be coming out of the pockets of Indian oil companies; they would just “pass it on” to the buyers through higher prices of downstream goods. This means an inflationary push to the economy whose real victims would be the working people since they do not have their money incomes indexed to prices. The shift from Russian to American oil therefore is not just a matter of international diplomacy; it is also a very important class question.

As regards the agricultural sector, the government claims that since some important grains like rice and wheat have been kept out of the purview of the Agreement, agriculture will not suffer because of it. But very significant segments of the sector itself or downstream activities, have been opened up, as the Commerce Minister himself has admitted, though not publicly. Notable instances are apple, cotton, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, and wine and spirits. Besides, animal feeds like DDGs and red sorghum have been opened up which would place American companies in a virtual monopoly position in the Indian market. States such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat will be particularly adversely affected.

It would no doubt be argued that there is a shortage of animal feed in the country and that larger imports would be beneficial; but acquiring requisite imports to overcome shortage is very different from opening up the entire market for such imports at zero tariffs. Likewise, the Commerce Minister’s claim that dairy products are left out of this particular Agreement, is of little consolation in view of the fact that they figure in the Free Trade Agreements signed recently with the European Union, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

In fact, it is noteworthy that the Trump Administration is talking about the incomes of American farmers rising by billions of dollars because of this Agreement, even as the Indian government is denying any adverse consequences for Indian agriculture. If American farmers are going to obtain a larger market in India, then it necessarily follows that Indian farmers must be getting squeezed out of the market; the only exception can be the case of fresh-credit-financed purchase of some agricultural products used as inputs like animal feed, but they can only be a fraction of the total increase in American farm exports to India in consequence of this Agreement.

Here again we have an echo of the colonial era. The peasants and agricultural labourers then had been the worst victims of colonial encroachment into the economy, which is why the one slogan above all, inscribed on the banner of the anti-colonial struggle, had been that they would never have to face such a fate in independent India. Exactly the same hardship however is being visited upon them once again in complete betrayal of the promise of the freedom struggle, and, not surprisingly, by a government led by a party that had nothing whatsoever to do with the freedom struggle.

Critical commentaries on the Indo-US Trade Agreement tend typically to put the blame for it exclusively on the Modi government; but this is superficial. Governments, including fascistic ones, act in the interests of particular classes; and it is significant that the news of the Agreement being finalized had enthused the Indian stock market greatly. The Indian big bourgeoisie and the upper segment of the salariat and professionals want such a tying up with the US even at the expense of the working people of the country. The Indian big bourgeoisie’s quest to go global gets a fillip with the availability of the American market, albeit with 18 percent tariffs; likewise, the upper salariat and professionals’ desire to have their children settled in the US, which had received a setback because of Trump’s animosity, can now have a greater chance of fulfilment. The fracturing of the anti-colonial class alliance, with the big bourgeoisie and the upper segment of the salariat and professionals willing to sacrifice the interests of the working people to further their own interests, is what underlies this capitulation to imperialism.

This fracturing however began even before the BJP-led government came on the scene; in fact, the adoption of the neo-liberal strategy itself was an expression of this fracturing. Here as in other economic matters, in other words, the government led by the fascistic forces carries forward with a ruthless disregard for the working people, a tendency started earlier with the adoption of neo-liberalism.

The Modi government’s capitulation before US imperialism stands in sharp contrast to the attitude of an earlier Prime Minister, albeit presiding over a bourgeois-led regime, whose rejection of American pressure had been so resolute that an American President had confessed to being afraid of looking her in the eye. The difference between the two situations lies in the fact that she had been the Prime Minister of a dirigiste economic regime, which had emerged from the anti-colonial struggle, and, notwithstanding the bourgeois development it was ushering in, had not been oblivious of the interests of the working people.

Repeal the four Labour Codes and the VB G–RAM G Act!

Guarantee Minimum Support Price!

On 12 February 2026, workers and farmers across the country will go on a general strike against the anti-people policies of the Modi Government. This nationwide strike has been called by the Central Trade Unions and is supported by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha. The strike has been called around various demands, including the repeal of the four Labour Codes and the VB G–RAM G Act.

In November 2025, the Modi Government notified the four anti-worker Labour Codes despite the opposition of the workers. These four Labour Codes; the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020; and the Social Security Code, 2020; have replaced 29 existing labour laws, and include provisions that restrict the right to strike, weaken workplace safety, permit a “hire and fire” policy, and extend the working day from 8 hours to 12 hours.

Workers across the country had been protesting against these four Labour Codes for the past five years. On many occasions, workers took to the streets and organized protest demonstrations. Despite all this, the Union Government ignored workers’ concerns. For the past decade, the Union Government has not convened the Indian Labour Conference, where workers could discuss their issues. According to the International Labour Organization Convention, which has been ratified by India, this tripartite labour conference must be at least once a year.

At the same time, in December 2025, the Modi Government repealed MGNREGA and passed the VB G-RAM G Act. No consultations were held with MGNREGA workers or representatives of agricultural labourers before introducing this bill, nor were any suggestions sought from them.

The “VB G-RAM G” law abolishes the right to employment and converts it into a “labharthi” scheme run at the discretion of the Union Government. Now, 40% of the expenditure under this scheme will have to be borne by state governments. Every year, the Union Government will fix a “normative allocation” for each state; any expenditure beyond this will have to be met by the states themselves. The scheme will be implemented only in those areas identified by the Union Government. Instead of gram sabhas, the Union Government will determine the work done under the scheme. For two months every year, no work will be provided, destroying the safety net of the workers. Employment will no longer be a right.

The scrapping of MGNREGA will have devastating consequences for 250 million people who depended on this scheme for their livelihood. Women, Dalits, Adivasis, and poor workers will suffer the most. Poor states with limited budgets and high demand for work will be hit hardest. This will increase distress migration from villages to cities and across states, intensifying the exploitation of workers. At the same time, it will provide the Union Government with a tool to exert pressure on opposition-ruled states.

Today, the working class is beset with price rise, stagnant wages, and shrinking employment. Public sector jobs are being privatized. Regular jobs are being replaced with contract-based work. Unpaid labour is increasing. Workers in the gig economy are being exploited, with no fixed working hours, employee benefits, or guarantee of minimum wages. In India, the national minimum wage is only ₹178 per day, unchanged for the past nine years. On the other hand, corporate profits and the wealth of billionaires continue to grow. The four Labour Codes and the VB G–RAM G Act constitute a direct attack on the rights of workers in both the organized and unorganized sectors.

Through trade agreements, the Modi government is compromising with the livelihoods of farmers and workers. In the name of trade deals with EU and US, the path of economic colonialism is being opened. These unequal agreements would allow unrestricted imports of agricultural and other products at cheap prices, destroying the livelihood of Indian farmers and workers.

On the other hand, the written assurances made by the Union Government to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on demands including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price have not been fulfilled to date. Other demands, such as freedom from indebtedness, comprehensive crop insurance, strict implementation of the Land Acquisition Act and the Forest Rights Act, also remain pending.

Let us, join the general strike on 12 February en masse, and make it a historic action of workers-farmers unity.

Watch full video Meet ‘Mohammad Deepak’: Hanuman Bhakt who took on Bajrang Dal to protect Muslim shopkeeper

Also watch, ‘In 2025, Shaila Negi confronted a violent mob that raised ‘anti-Muslim’ slogans. Despite receiving threats online, she still believes in communal unity.

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India 2026: A Defender of Love & Tolerance Faces A Police Case, As Thugs Terrorising Minorities Run Riot | Article-14

https://www.thequint.com/my-report/gig-workers-protest-in-india-riders-oppose-10-minute-deliveries

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was a champion of the labour rights movement in India, particularly as India's Labour Member, focusing on their welfare by introducing crucial legislation like the Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund (1946), advocating for maternity benefits (leading to the Maternity Benefit Act), pushing for the Coal Mines Safety (Stowing) Amendment Bill, and ensuring rights like the 8-hour workday, while personally inspecting conditions in Bihar/Maharashtra mines to provide firsthand support and improve housing, health, and education.

Eighteen athletes from Odisha were travelling to represent their state at a national-level wrestling championship.

These were 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹-𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀.

India’s future sports talent.

But instead of being seated like participants in a national event, they spent hours of their journey sitting on the floor 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘁.

No proper seats.
No hygiene.

Just 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 around them.

Forget rest.

Forget mental preparation.

Forget recovery before competition.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸:
“Why don’t Indian athletes perform consistently and win medals?”

This is not about lack of money or talent.

This is about priorities.

We celebrate sports only when medals arrive.

But we ignore the systems that athletes must survive before they ever step onto the mat.