An unfortunate spin-off from pandemic has been the suspension of basic labour laws in many BJP ruled states like UP, MP, Gujarat. The other day one of my friends posted an item saying that the labour laws being useless, continuing since the Nehruvian era, laws with the socialistic approach, won’t serve any purpose, therefore the idea of suspension of labour laws will be the greatest virtue. But I am afraid, the suspension of labour laws and freehand given to Industries May lead to a wave of easy closures, and retrenchments, which will only worsen the unemployment situation in the country. It is true the labour laws need to be streamlined but is it the right time when millions of migrant labourers are out of jobs, and heading back to their home states? By diluting labour laws that guarantee some measure of protection against exploitation, we could be adding to their misery. But the justification being given is that they are coming in the way of economic revival.and as I understand, the economic revival is dependent on many factors such as right stimulus, tax breaks, and the support from concerned state governments, etc. I agree they were written in a different century, I feel, it rings true even today’s climate. Not Only is the brunt of the lockdown being borne by labour population but also their right to a dignified life is being threatened by these so-called unjust exemptions. Indiscriminate profiteering by capitalists at the expense of marginalised is nothing new for us, but coming in this situation marks a new low.
Instead of suspension of labour laws, I would have appreciated the government’s if they suspend the sedition law, which is being used and misused and abused by the government, at their will to suppress the common democratic right of criticism. Sedition means inciting people to rebel against the state. In the Indian democratic system, governments have always been criticised by political opponents and media. This was never interpreted as a rebellion against the state, previously, say about 10 years ago. British bureaucratic legalese is the hallmark of Sedition law that we are still following. Strangely many of our present-day elected leaders seem to believe that once elected they are above the checks and balances of democracy. The Govt Of Gujarat is the best example, wherein Mr. Patel a journalist was booked for sedition when he uploaded a report on CM which was very routine saying that there were problems between CM and BJP HighCommand.and such type of reports appear about many leaderships in many states. If the report is wrong, the CM and HighCommand could have denied or disowned it and the media would have published it. But the Government ensured that that CID filed an FIR against Patel under the sedition Act. On the other hand, police chief twisted the matter to say that because of Coronavirus he had been detained, not arrested but sent to the hospital for COVID treatment. Therefore thrusting this Act to prevent legitimate give and take in a democracy, is a very cheap trick. Parliamentary criticism of a government or minister is the essence of democracy. To say that such criticism is Sedition amounting to rebellion against the state, is it fair? It’s nonsense.
So instead of muzzling labour laws, if the center is having a will, the draconian Sedition Law should be amended forthwith.

India After Modi, populism, and the right, a book by Ajay Godavarthy, I had some apprehensions before starting to read this book. I felt the content of the book will be heavily tilted if the author is a Modi bhakt .
But all my doubts faded away once I started reading it. The author divided the book into 4 parts with a brilliant introduction which is the crux of every argument he made. Indeed the introduction itself could be seen as a summary of the whole book, but more importantly, it offers certain political concepts that are undoubtedly unique to populism. Part 1&2 are a critical examination of organisational structure and functions of BJP-RSS, in India.
India After Modi Book, attempts to address the divide between 'us & them" which grew steadily in politics. Do you sometimes wonder whether it will be repaired at all, in the future? Do you ever pause to reflect why emotions spill on the streets and why Democratic Institutions in India have been dysfunctional? All these questions addressed through an analysis of events like AwardVapasi, Demonetisation, the crisis of JNU, and other Higher Educational Institutions, including states of Bihar & UP, in his collection of Essays.
India After Modi doesn’t merely condemn but takes the job of critique seriously by pointing out the many ways in which BJP has offered numerous marginals and recently disempowered groups. This is a timely book that diligently captures the qualitative study of colonial India.
Though written before 2019 General Elections the book makes a lot of good observations on the future of Indian politics given the emergence of BJP-RSS combine. This book is not a blind critique of Right-wing populism despite it being written by a left-liberal. But as such, it is like a theory, and I can’t say it’s a must-read.
The Author Ajay Godavarthy is Associate Professor at the center for political studies in JNU, New Delhi. Earlier he taught at National Law School, Bangalore. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Hyderabad, and University of London 

This pandemic has hit both the Indian economy and the global economy harder than the 2008 recession.
We do not know now the duration and depth of this uncertainty of the crisis, but dealing with the after-effects of Covid19 will be a major economic challenge over the coming few years. If the Indian political leadership and entrepreneurs play their cards well, the nation is sure to witness a revolution post-Covid 19 crisis. This is because hundreds of multinational companies in sectors like automobiles, mobile phones, electronics, and textiles among others are considering moving their manufacturing base from China to business-friendly nations in Asia including India. The US has been openly criticising China in containing the Covid19 crisis and also its lack of transparency, while European nations too raised fingers at it. The need of the hour for our Government is, to introduce more reforms to attract investors. Multinational companies can be easily lured to India as India itself is a huge consumer market as well. The availability of skilled manpower, labour, and raw material will be of immense help, while their entry will boost our economy, provided our governments will try to exploit the situation.
The pandemic has impacted the world economy and India is no exception, but an hour of crisis government must salvage the economy by stopping all projects that are not essential, instead, the Centre has decided to freeze the hike in DA  for the government employees, and unsurprisingly Congress and Rahul were up in arms against the decision, and pointed out that government should have put on hold the central vista project, budget for Bullet train, etc instead of taking away money from the middle class, and I don’t think, it’s a bad suggestion, as the government seems to have kept aside enormous amounts for development projects, like Central vista, Bullet train, etc as the Govt must giving priority to development projects more than the people. Opening up the economy gradually without throwing caution to the winds can bring a smile on the faces harrowed citizens.  

After devouring many books based on socio-political personalities and history, this time around I laid my hands on a book titled "Why I Am a Hindu", written by Shashi Tharoor. Must admit its an unusual genre for me to pick up. 
Shashi Tharoor, a very prominent Member of Parliament, a diplomat, and he is also known for his sesquipedalian oratory and writing skills. 
He was awarded Ramnath Goenka’s award for excellence in Journalism for his book “The British Empire in India”. He was Under-Secretary-General in UN and a two-time Member of Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram.
  This book opens up our views on Hinduism, vis-a-vis our overall world view. It puts forth a balanced perspective on religion and its impact on current modern-day politics. Mr. Tharoor, one of India’s finest intellectuals, gives us a great insight into one of the oldest and greatest religions. In the first part of the book he takes us for a leisurely walk through the thickets of Hinduism, beginning with Vedas, guiding us through myths, and populist practices, etc. Its a very balanced book on Religion, as one can hope to write in these tumultuous times, and reminds us about pluralism.
 The author has distilled the important elements for us to easily understand the flavours of Hinduism. It addresses myriad questions that pop up in our brain like why do we have so many gods, the role of caste, why there is no single holy book, like Quran or Bible, etc. In today's divisive political environment it shows why it is important that Hinduism must retain its pluralism.  It is a handy book to reacquaint oneself with what Hinduism was and is, and what it’s not meant to be. He also discusses many great saints of Hinduism, such as Adi Shankara Ramanuja, Patanjali, Swamy Vivekananda, and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, etc. A must-read in my view.