Looks like Narendra Modi’s authoritarian behavior is not only creating problems in the country, but also within his own party where the voices of dissidence are increasing. 

In the arrest case of Dalit thinker Anand Teltumbde, state and central government have been rapped on the knuckles really good. The police forcibly arrested Teltumbde on the wee hours last week. They arrested him and produced him before the court.

Few days ago, an outfit which identified itself as Hindu Yuva Sene paid tributes to Queen Victoria at Jantar Mantar. This was a huge insult to the very struggle of independence in India, as if Queen Victoria's administration in the country was somewhat higher than that. 

The rally taken out by women in Karnataka demanding ban on alcohol has gained national attention. Women covered more than 200 kms in 12 days on foot to press for their demand. Just when people thought movements were a thing of past, thousands of women have laid siege know Vidhana Soudha in the capital. This movement was not born out of some political sponsorship, but out of pain lakhs of women are undergoing everyday at the hands of alcoholic family members. Their challenges, miseries and difficulties brought them to streets. They weren't walking for the politicians. Most of them are daily wage labourers.

Recently, the industrialist and self-proclaimed godman Baba Ramdev said those with more than two children should be denied rights to vote. We are living in times where people speak about things that never relate to them. Politicians speak about science and sanyasis speak about economics. Baba Ramdev’s talk is the continuation of such trend.

There was a time when people who fought hard in the movements came into the parliament or assemblies. During the 80s, both houses of the Parliament had names such as S A Dange, A K Gopalan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Bhupesh Gupta, Prof Hiren Mukherjee, Madhu Limaye and other stalwarts. George Fernandes who died on Tuesday was also one such blaze of fire. Having risen out of people's movement to the heights of a union minister, George today is just a fond yet painful memory.

The assault by the centre on CBI has continued unabated. By dismissing Alok Verma from the post of Chief, the government had pointed out the limits to the premier investigating agency that cannot be crossed. For the government, it pretended as if it was an existential crisis to remove Verma from the post. Government wasn’t too happy with CBI being autonomous. If the agency had stepped ahead on Rafale investigation, the whole government would have been in trouble along with Modi. Many would have landed in jail.

Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award given to extraordinary achievers in the country. But since the award is placed so high, it does not mean everyone who receives it is also as significant. This applies to the award too. When the award is conferred on really significant achievers, does it increase its own value on par with the recipients.Nobel Prize, no doubt, is an internationally acclaimed one.