How Congress is changing with a non-Gandhi at the helm  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np2uQvYUIJE   24th Oct 2023 D K Singh ThePrint

Kharge is rebuilding Congress brick by brick, taking a leaf out of Prashant Kishor’s playbook https://theprint.in/opinion/politically-correct/kharge-is-rebuilding-congress-brick-by-brick-taking-a-leaf-out-of-prashant-kishors-playbook/1815318/    D.K. SINGH 23 October, 2023
This harmony with the Gandhis marks a positive in Kharge’s first year as the party chief. But his real achievement is using his equation with the Gandhis to implement what looks like poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s ‘4 M’ formula to revive the Congress—Messenger, Message, Machinery, and Mechanics.

As it is, the Congress doesn’t have a coherent message yet — it’s largely banking on anti-incumbency by focusing on failures of governance. But it seems to be working on a message now. It is experimenting with Other Backward Classes (OBC) politics through caste census demand, rich-versus-poor narrative through attacks on big businessmen and industrialists like Gautam Adani, freebies to match welfarism, love-versus-hate, and Kamal Nath-style I-am-a-bigger-Hindu campaigns to counter Hindutva. Jury is out on whether this message can counter Modi’s or the BJP’s in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The Court's 'no fundamental right to marry' is wrong - Anand Grover  https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-courts-no-fundamental-right-to-marry-is-wrong/article67450210.ece   The Hindu

There is no fundamental right to marry, it holds. On that account, the Court decided that same sex persons cannot marry. In my view this is a wrong decision. However, to the credit of the Court, it directed, unanimously, that same sex couples have to be protected from any harassment

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/the-courts-no-fundamental-right-to-marry-is-wrong/ The LGBTQI community’s call for equality in marriage is not just a legal battle but a societal transformation. A correction of the recent judgment is a step towards ensuring that no citizen is deemed “not fit for marriage” based on their sexual orientation.

Comment & Notes:
S S: Right to marry = Right to obtain social and legal legitimacy for a stable social-sexual partnership of  ne's own choice. Earlier, same-sex relationship was decriminalised.
In the teeth of vicious opposition from the regime and diverse religious establishments.
But, that was before Modi 2.0.

The Quest to Reclaim Lost Humanity: Anticipating the Next Revolution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC-0nxOtFas We are all infected by a virus eroding our humanity, as our minds become enslaved to memes that generate more violence in society and harm the environment. If you've ever questioned whether your choices and the memes you've shared contribute to injustice, my dialogue with environmental and human rights activist Medha Patkar offers an alternative perspective to ponder.

 Gaza: ‘History is watching’ warns UN relief chief, saying aid access is key priority https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142382

desperate situation facing around one million Gazans uprooted in the last week, after the Israeli military warned of an imminent offensive following the deadly 7 October attacks on Israel by militant group Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza strip since 2006.

“Aid access is our overwhelming priority. And we are in deep discussions hourly with the Israelis, with the Egyptians, with the Gazans about how to do that,” Mr. Griffiths said, adding that he was optimistic about hearing “some good news” soon that a solution could be found to the political impasse which has prevented aid convoys crossing from Egypt’s Rafah into southern Gaza.

The UN Security Council is due to meet in emergency session later on Monday in New York to discuss different resolutions from Council members related to the fast-moving crisis in and around Gaza.
Hostage crisis

Among the key issues facing diplomats is securing the release of a reported 199 Israeli hostages, seized during the Hamas raid, the UN emergency relief chief continued.

“This war was started by taking those hostages. Of course, there's a history between Palestinian people and the Israeli people, and I'm not denying any of that. But that act alone lit a fire, which can only be put out with the release of those hostages.”

The top UN aid official was speaking before heading to the Middle East, “trying to help, working with diplomats from all countries” to secure aid access and de-escalate the tinderbox situation, which UN Secretary-General described on Sunday as being on the “verge of the abyss”.

https://youtu.be/yBjMbe24Vu0

six slide history of the palestine question..  https://infogram.com/timeline-dont-edit-1h7v4pwzpjwqj6k

The UN Security Council is due to meet in emergency session later on Monday in New York to discuss different resolutions from Council members related to the fast-moving crisis in and around Gaza.
Hostage crisis

Among the key issues facing diplomats is securing the release of a reported 199 Israeli hostages, seized during the Hamas raid, the UN emergency relief chief continued.

“This war was started by taking those hostages. Of course, there's a history between Palestinian people and the Israeli people, and I'm not denying any of that. But that act alone lit a fire, which can only be put out with the release of those hostages.”

Legal Alternatives to War (LAW not War): Increasing the universality and effectiveness of the International Court of Justice   https://globalsolutions.org/event/legal-alternatives-to-war-law-not-war-increasing-the-universality-and-effectiveness-of-the-international-court-of-justice/ Oct 23

A n ew global campaign which aims to:

• Increase the number of States accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ;
• Encourage more frequent use of the ICJ as a dispute resolution mechanism provided in international treaties;|
• Appeal to States to make use of ICJ jurisdiction through mutual agreement for specific disputes;
• Support UN bodies to request ICJ Advisory Opinions on critical issues;
• Encourage states to adopt constitutional amendments or legislative measures to affirm the UN Charter prohibition of war and the obligation to resolve international disputes peacefully including through recourse to the ICJ.

The campaign supports efforts of like-minded States to enhance the use of the International Court of Justice including the Handbook on accepting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice published by Switzerland, Netherlands, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Japan and Botswana, and the Declaration on promoting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice released by Japan, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain and Switzerland in 2021 and now endorsed by 33 States.

India Will Bid to Host Olympic Games in 2036, Modi Says  https://uk.news.yahoo.com/india-bid-host-olympic-games-100903921.html Bibhudatta Pradhan Sun, 15 October 2023 https://uk.news.yahoo.com/india-bid-host-olympic-games-100903921.html 

Peter Tatchell under ‘house arrest’ and ’24-hour police surveillance’ in India https://uk.news.yahoo.com/peter-tatchell-under-house-arrest-170537913.html
Sat, 14 October 2023 at 10:35 pm Peter Tatchell has said he is under house arrest with a 24-hour police presence at a hotel in Mumbai after his planned Olympic protest was declared illegal.

https://www.petertatchellfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PTF-Briefing-on-IOC-Bidders.pdf

दलित आदिवासी अत्याचार रोकने में विफल मोदी सरकार, 2021 में 5000 Rape cases NewsClickin Oct 16, 2023  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq-esiMCm08

खास ख़बर में पत्रकार भाषा सिंह ने दलित-आदिवासियों पर अत्याचार को रोकने वाले कानून के पालन में मोदी सरकार को फेल साबित करने वाली सीटिजन ऑडिट रिपोर्ट पर लोगों से बात की। Citizens Vigilance and Monitoring Committee ने वर्ष 2021 के नेशनल क्राइम रिकॉर्ड ब्यूरो आंकड़ों व सूचना के अधिकार के जरिए हासिल की जानकारी के जरिये जो आंकड़े सामने रखे हैं, उससे पूरी मशीनरी की विफलता सामने आती है।

SC/ST Atrocities Act: India's First Civil Society Audit, a Grim Revelation!   https://en.themooknayak.com/india/scst-atrocities-act-indias-first-civil-society-audit-a-grim-revelation   the law is, in practice, far from being fully implemented in either letter or spirit. 

the "deficiency in the investigation and trial of offenses not only in terms of procedures but also in terms of substantive relief that victims and witnesses are entitled to under the law.

the need to mobilize a 'political class.' A 'Dalit Manifesto' can be prepared to be sent to all the major political parties before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections so that everyone knows the demands of the structurally excluded communities.

https://socialjustice.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/arpoa09.pdf 

Benny Morris ─ The Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I2_n6sd-Fo Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Apr 25, 2017 talk about the preconditions for the creation of the problem; its causes; Zionist and Arab policies relating to the issue; the stages in the emergence of the problem; and its consequences, short and long-term.

Were Mahua Moitra's Questions In Lok Sabha at Businessman Darshan Hiranandani's Behest? https://youtu.be/96FgZFlnsg8  NDTV 15.10.23The BJP's Nishikant Dubey has demanded immediate suspension of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, alleging that she "took bribes to ask questions" in parliament from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing Ms Moitra of breach of parliamentary privilege, contempt of House and criminal conspiracy. The Trinamool Congress MP said that she welcomes any kind of inquiry, while the Hiranandani group has rubbished BJP's charges, saying that they are in the "business of business", and "not in the business of politics".