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It should be noted that the tussle for power in electoral politics of Mizoram since the District Council era has been the struggle between two dominant political parties. It should be recollected that the struggle for power in the initial stage of District Council era was between the Mizo Union (MU) and United Mizo Freedom Organization (UMFO). After that, it was a struggle for power between the MU and Eastern Indian Tribal Union; whereas, it turned out to be a struggle for power between the MU and the Indian National Congress (INC) in the last term of Mizo District Council.

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The rainfall was not unusual or excessive in a day in Tripura but 2018 flood was a typical for the state after 1976. The loss of life, property and public infrastructure was damaged severely and highest in the history of Tripura. The state has recorded the death of as many as 21 persons in last three months due to flood, landslides, and lightning while the total loss was estimated at more than Rs 2300 Cr so far. Tripura witnessed at least five major floods from March this year that damaged almost all the roads including national highways, railway tracks, bridges and power supply system. According to record in pre-monsoon, Tripura has received 150 percent more and in the first month of monsoon (June), it is more than 45 percent rainfall, which caused repeated floods in the state. The capital city Agartala has been hit badly by a flash flood almost every day in three months. It is observed that all the cover drains in Agartala have been creating an obstruction in the free flow of water because of improper elevation of drain surfaces and huge deposition soil and construction materials.

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It is going to be a three versus one personality clash though for the sake of pun it might be tempting to describe the forthcoming assembly contest in Madhya Pradesh as Kamal versus Kamal—BJP’s party symbol versus Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee President Kamal Nath. But it is much more than that. Three Congress bigwigs – Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijay Singh are on the forefront to jointly take on the BJP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh. None of them is a chief ministerial candidate. The Congress has fielded its top three leaders in various capacities but decided against naming its chief ministerial candidate. The BJP is also not banking on the Shivraj’s face. Sensing huge anti-incumbency sentiments against the Chief Minister, BJP President Amit Shah told party workers in Bhopal that the next election in Madhya Pradesh would be fought by the organization. However, Shivraj will remain its star campaigner.

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As part of the Belt and Road Initiative, China is opening corridors for trade with the neighbouring countries. A series of programmes were launched in June, 2018 to enhanced people to people contact and for better understanding and cooperation amongst China, South Asia and South East Asian countries especially in tourism, trade, agriculture and cultural relations.

The first China- South Asia Cooperation Forum, the 12th K2K Forum and the 25th China Kunming Import-Export Fair were held from June 12 to 20 where delegates from 87 countries attended.

The K2K (Kolkata to Kunming) Forum was organized by the Development Research Center of Yunnan Provincial People’s Government, the Center for Studies in International Relations and Development of India, Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Kolkata and the Consulate-General of the Republic of India in Guangzhou. The event is coorganized by Yunnan Province Business Research Institute and Yunnan International Trade Association.

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Goody-goody things about democracy and India apart, let us first see what Indian democracy is. It is important because the Indian constitution is a paradise of ‘lawyers’, it is poetry – a long poem, an artwork of great beauty, a wishful thinking of idealist minds and the like. It allows for almost anything and everything and therefore, it has been amended so frequently. It allows for every irregularity, every injustice and every sort of justice. It allows for a complete ‘soft state.’ It allows for freedom to speak so much so that recently a political leader equated the Governor with a dog and like any good news it flashed and was dissolved into the black body of party politics. The Governor was cool about it; the Court (that could take up such things suo motu) was cool about it. Why? Calling a Governor a dog is praising him for his loyalty! It is difficult to suggest the measures to be taken to improve the Indian democracy; yet, I am giving some odd suggestions.

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The shocking revelation by estimation is that every year there is a loss of tropical forest, “the powerhouse of evolution” from earth is more than 150,000 square kilometer. Being at the mercy of human race future of forest is at stake. The irony is, we the most intelligent beings are spelling our own doom by decimating forests. Unbeknown to ourselves, we are digging our own grave by our insensitive exploitation of resources. A host of Environmental legislation going by the unabated destruction has failed to curb the menace. Offshoots are the rise of earth’s temperature, drought, flood, piling of pollutants and man-animal conflict etc. So alarming the pace of deforestation drive in our mother earth is that 54 countries are reported to have lost about 90 percent forest. In a developing country like India, forests have to bear the brunt of development such as the expansion of both human settlement and road network.

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There is, so to say, not an iota of doubt that the indigenous people of Assam, particularly those of the Brahmaputra valley are genuinely apprehensive of losing their culture and identity, and turning into a minority in their own land. Since the controversial citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, some politicians dub as the anti-indigenous people was introduced in the Parliament on July 19, 2016. The Bill, it may be noted here, seeks to provide citizenship to six religious minority communities such as Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and Parsis belonging to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India without valid documents or are overstaying even after the expiry of their valid travel documents. 

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The Teachers strike of the Nagaland Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Teachers’ Association (NSSATA) which started in the month of May 2018 has reached the pinnacle where teachers are protesting in front of the State Secretariat in Kohima. A section of aggrieved NSSATA of batched 2010 & 2013 resorted to hunger strike in Kohima to protest against the failure of the state government to meet their demands.