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  Naxals need to abjure violence, and state must be more equitable Alok Tiwari Last week security forces claimed notable successes in their continued operation against Left Wing Extremists (LWE), aka Naxalites, in the forests of Chhattisgarh. The forces have been pushing on in Abujhmadh, one of the last known strongholds of Naxalites, in dense forests bordering Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The success, including scalps of some top rebel commanders, was enough for home minister Amit Shah to reiterate his deadline of ending LWE threat in the country by March 31, 2026. That is far from given. LWE has been a problem for decades. It began in late 60s in Naxalbari village of West Bengal as peasants’ armed uprising against the state led by extremist Communist leader Charu Mazumdar. Though that uprising lasted about a decade. The movement spread to forests of east and central India. The Naxalites have carried out some of the deadliest attacks on security and government establish...

There have been Vijay Shahs before and there will be again Alok Tiwari Despite his growing legal difficulties, Madhya Pradesh minister for tribal affairs Vijay Shah need not worry. The minister is in the eye of the storm over his crass and hateful remarks about Col Sophiya Qureshi who, along with Wg Cdr Vyomika Singh, became the face of Indian armed forces during Operation Sindoor. The government move to let two women officers, a Muslim and a Hindu, conduct the daily press briefing was seen as an attempt to project a united, secular image of the country confronting religiously fuelled terrorism and its sponsors. It went swimmingly well until Vijay Shah opened his mouth. Within a few seconds he laid to waste the image-making exercise of the government by, among other things, effectively calling Col Qureshi sister of terrorists. He went on to disparage entire Muslim community in other ways too. Had the country been having a more normal government, this would have invited immediate ...

Vicious targeting of Himanshi Narwal and Vikram Misri points to a deepening social rot Alok Tiwari After the momentous events of last week, the overwhelming feeling right now is of relief brought about by cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan. The escalating exchange of fire over four days was threatening to go out of hand. Like everyone else with a sane mind I shudder to think of an all-out war between two nuclear powers. There is only one way the final chapter in any such conflict can be written—with a nuclear exchange—and that essentially means nobody wins. For those having fantasies of war ending with a decisive victory of India, as it did in 1971, it is inconceivable that a nuclear power would surrender without using its final weapon. So I, for one, am thankful that it did not escalate to that level. A ceasefire in any circumstances is welcome. Some wars might be essential, but no war is good. The sheer human tragedy it entails is horrific and every effort needs to...

 Kolkata hotel fire that claimed 14 shows India continues to live dangerously Alok Tiwari Amid the outpouring of condemnation, vengeance, and grief over last month’s attack on tourists in Pahalgam (Kashmir), another outrageous incident almost got lost. It was the fire in a Kolkata hotel that resulted in death of 14 guests including children. The blaze ripped through the rooms of Rituraj Hotel in Kolkata’s Burrabazar area. The congested marketplace is known for very old and dilapidated buildings standing cheek by jowl. Powerlines are tangled along and across the streets. Many buildings are difficult to access by fire fighting vehicles from the outside. Like in old areas of any Indian city, footpaths are blocked. Inside the buildings, owners and tenants have carried out modifications that have rendered the structures even more dangerous. Mostly these are without proper authorization by civic authorities or supervision by qualified architects and structural engineers. Of course, few b...