Four candidates have been elected unanimously to the Rajya Sabha from the Karnataka in the biennial polls held recently. A matter of consolation this time is that all the four are from Karnataka. 

It is a reflection of the times that we are living in that there is inevitably a political angle to people embracing the cause of the environment and wildlife. At the same time, a genuine love for the environment and wildlife attracts the moniker, ‘anti-development.’ Recently, when a pregnant elephant died tragically after eating a pineapple stuffed with crackers, the Centre responded immediately and ordered an investigation.

Although the state government has indicated that academic activities would start only in August in view of the Corona pandemic, it has not yet issued clear orders or guidelines. The Government seems to be adopting a cautious approach against any eventuality that might arise over its decision and is shifting the entire responsibility to the school managements. The government is insisting that schools must collect the views of parents about reopening of schools but there is no clarity on resolving the issue in case the parents are not unanimous in their opinion. The government seems to be wanting to have the cake and eat it too - it wants schools to reopen but is not prepared to face repercussions.

Is questioning the Centre about the developments in the border area of Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh an anti-national act? By terming as ‘anti-national’ Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand that the truth about the border standoff in the Eastern Ladakh region should be revealed, the Centre is avoiding presenting the true picture before the nation. 

The coronavirus is now emerging as the source of all evils. We are blaming the virus not only for the pain and agony of the present times but also holding it responsible for all the social ills plaguing us. Reinforcing the injustice that the common man faces at the hands of his fellow human beings, the virus is actually showing mankind its limitations. It is time for us to recalibrate our thinking and acknowledge the opportunity it has provided to look at ourselves as a society and the depths to which we can plummet.

When the entire country is in mourning over the death and destruction that Corona virus and the lockdown that followed have caused, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat is witnessing the theatre of absurdity where ‘Operation Kamala’ (a term given to the BJP’s attempt to buy opposition MLAs) has reached a crescendo in the backdrop of the Rajya Sabha election.

Since independence, the government’s ambitious goal has been universalization of education – making education available to all children in the age group of 6 – 14 – which from 2002 is also guaranteed as the Right to Education. While the government’s success in achieving this ambitious goal is open for debate, what the government has successfully achieved is the creation of deep divisions in the Indian education system.

Recently, a tragic incident involving the death of an elephant occurred in Kerala. The elephant ate a pineapple that had firecrackers stuffed in it which was allegedly intended to kill ‘wild boars’ and died tragically soon after. The post-mortem report established that the elephant was pregnant. The elephant’s death was so gut wrenching that it pulled at the heart strings of lakhs of people who shed tears at the erosion of human values that caused the death. But, as is the wont these days, every incident is used to pursue an agenda and the focus in this instance became Kerala, the state, in which the incident occurred instead of the ghastly incident. Instead of condemning the inhumaneness of people and their irresponsibility and lack of commitment to protect wildlife, the focus quickly shifted to attacking Kerala, the state which was recently lauded globally for the way it handled the Corona pandemic.