The overall contribution of agriculture to GDP growth this year will be below 1 percent as per the latest estimates. This is worrying for various reasons, most importantly for what it means for the livelihoods and incomes of rural families.

Manipur appears to be veering toward massive armed attacks against the tribals – both the Kuki-Zo and Naga, with the state administration remaining ambivalent.  This is a dangerous development - civil war in a state bordering Myanmar which itself is experiencing rising violence.  

While the government employees belong to organized class, there are an estimated 300 million people in India who belong to the unorganized class living on daily wages or are self-employed without economic and social security. 

In a chapter titled “Choice before Capitalists”, Gandhi writes, “At present, there is no proportion between the wholly unnecessary pomp and extravagance of the moneyed class and the squalid surroundings and the grinding pauperism of the ryots in whose midst the former are living.”

At present, there aren’t even any direct flights between Pakistan and Nepal, even as Kathmandu promotes itself as the meeting place of South Asia, noted journalist Kanak Mani Dixit.

While the Army, Navy and Air Force are doing whatever is required to maintain their battle effectiveness, there is a dichotomy that prevails in how New Delhi is dealing with China and Pakistan.

India did not get subdued by colonial culture in totality. What we are facing today is the promotion of religiosity and conservatism. Since politics is stalking the streets in the garb of religion, India's traditional syncretic culture is coming under attack from conservative and orthodox values. 

But what cannot be rejected is the increasing need to recognise the role of cities and make them the vanguard in combating climate change.

Unless there is a quantum jump in the expenditure on (quality) education and a massive generation of productive employment, the youth and the poor will remain marginalised and excluded. 

This exercise which began with just four countries and has now reached a participation level of over twelve times that number goes to show the recognition of India as a naval power and as a regional maritime security provider.

It is noteworthy that a strong and vociferous point of view against the developments in Ayodhya has come from religious leaders rather than the political opposition, which has struggled to frame its line of argument clearly.

I feel one of the important reasons for rural migration is the non-availability of good high schools.  Too often good people go to big cities for better schools for their children. Excellent schools in rural areas can help attract good educated and professional people to these areas which in turn can also benefit from their contributions in various fields.

Be it charkha or khadi, the symbols Gandhi espoused have remained so strong that even now when we talk of a "Atma Nirbhar Bharat", (a self-reliant India), they ignite our minds with a sense of mission and pride.

With both India and France supporting a multi-polar world order led by democracies, France has been a supporter of India’s claims to permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Hysteria cannot be combated by hysteria. We need the ideology which binds the weaker sections of society, the Dalits, religious minorities, women, workers and Adivasis.