Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is anguished over the way his own party members have reacted to a casteist incident concerning him that happened earlier this month. Kharge spoke about what he felt during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held on August 19. Kharge referred to the “purification” ritual organised in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani after his visit and expressed dissatisfaction with the party’s response. The incident happened on August 10 at Haldwani’s Ramlila Maidan, two days after Kharge had addressed a rally at the venue. A group called ‘Shri Ram Sena ’ performed a ‘shuddhikaran’ (purification) ritual at the rally venue, with many pointing out that it was a casteist gesture aimed at the Congress leader. Insiders said Kharge declared he was “hurt” that CWC members did not openly condemn the incident. Though he did not name anyone, he reportedly expressed pain that the “good-looking people” who get space in the media did not speak about the incident. Who was he referring to? Jairam Ramesh or Shashi Tharoor. However, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, briefing the media, touched on the “purification” issue and stressed that the party had raised it and condemned it. Kharge who is also LoP in Rajya Sabha had raised the issue in the House on August 13. Kharge said “I do not want to turn this into a political issue. I have never told anyone that I am Dalit – protect me – nor have I begged in front of anyone. But in Haldwani, the purification of the stage made me feel the sting of untouchability and humiliated me. My demand is that a case should be registered under the Untouchability Act against those who purified the stage in Haldwani.”  Leader of the House J P Nadda had promised to look into it. On its part, the Ram Sena justified the ceremony.

At the Asian Junior and Girls Championship held at the ITC Maratha Sheraton, Mumbai what cried out was the urgent need for generous support for the 64-square board game featuring white and black pieces and young, talented minds. The absence of a corporate logo was particularly noticeable and unexpected, especially considering that nine countries and 85 boys and girls are taking part in the event. Indians are aiming to become a future Viswanathan Anand and join the bandwagon of Grandmasters, with India significantly reducing Russia’s dominance in the FIDE rankings. The multi-day tournament, which includes Rapid, Blitz, and Classical chess, is expected to cost around Rs 2.5 crore— a substantial sum. Fortunately, the Sports Authority of India backed the event, easing the organisers’ worries. However, the Maharashtra Chess Association has struggled to garner sufficient corporate support. Additional backing from industry leaders could have signalled genuine interest in a sport that secured gold medals at the 2024 Chess Olympiad and produced young stars like Dommaraju Gukesh who won the World title. Upcoming weeks will highlight Indian chess’s progress, especially with the national teams competing at the Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and Gukesh along with Vaishali participating in the 2026 FIDE World Championship finals. India is also nearing the milestone of 100 Grandmasters, continuing a legacy dating back to Anand’s victory at the Asian Juniors in 1984, with the Indian boys and girls winning 24 Asian Junior titles. A growing sport like chess needs wholehearted support from the industry and Corporate honchos. Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte, who coached the Indian women’s team that won the Chess Olympiad two years ago, believes that corporate support is imperative for the sport to prosper across the country. Unfortunately, it is lacking at the ongoing Asian Junior Championships at a Mumbai suburb.

What is the purpose and significance of the timing of Sonia Gandhi’s forthcoming memoir, titled Belonging: A Journey of Love? Is it to give a boost to Rahul Gandhi, who is now very confident that he will be the next PM and replace Narendra Modi? To be published by Alfred A Knopf on November 10, the book comes with an unusual burden of expectation. Sonia, who has kept her life story out of focus, now feels that she must break the silence and tell it all. That should give a boost to the Congress’ prospects in Uttar Pradesh and four other states that go to polls in early 2027. Sonia believes that the focus will return to how great the Gandhi family is and garner sympathy. Personal memoirs may help shape public legacy and connect with party loyalists, but their direct impact on Rahul Gandhi’s immediate political fortunes is questionable, say some Congress leaders. Voter behaviour is typically driven by economic issues, local governance, and electoral strategy rather than biographical retrospectives. The book highlights Sonia’s personal tragedies—the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi—and private struggles. By revisiting key historical moments—like her decision to decline the prime ministership in 2004. Rahul Gandhi has supported his mother’s storytelling projects, which paint a picture of family resilience and unity, which plays well in traditional cultural contexts. Of course, Rahul’s political opponents will likely use elements of the memoir to revive historical debates rather than concede political ground, meaning the book will reinforce existing partisan views rather than swing undecided voters. At 544 pages, the memoir promises to travel from her childhood in post-war Italy and her meeting with Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge to life inside India’s first political family.

When Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay announced plans to purchase premium cars for the newly minted MLAs of TN, the cheering drowned out the hushed shock of the protestors. His justification, to give his lawmakers more access to the constituents, serves them better. The debt-ridden state which already has a mind boggling debt of Rs 13 lakh crore may groan under the weight of this plan. The most vociferous reaction comes from Naam Thamizhar Party leader Seeman who ripped into Vijay’s plan. “190 MLA’s already have cars. At Rs 30 lakhs per car, Rs 70 crore would be needed, whose tax money to be squandered? As it is his wealthy party bigwigs, Adav Arjuna and Marie Wilson are prosperous. Vijay can spend from his own funds or party funds for such extravagant schemes.” Seeman predicts that such popularity and ‘captive’ schemes would silence even justified protests. Apart from the fiscal profligacy of such populist schemes, the buzz is that Vijay is buying insurance to cushion the perceived threat of a walkout by the Congress? Even as Vijay received Home Minister Amit Shah at the airport, a raucous Congress anti-BJP protest was played out at the Egmore Rajarathinam stadium. Whispers of “fake influencer Hindi videos projecting Vijay as a future PM “spread like forest fires. The HM is presiding over the Southern Zonal Council meet at Kovalam near Puducherry. Vijay as the chief convenor, turned into a happy coincidence that brought the TVK and BJP closer. Is Vijay looking for his GPS on a Lonely Planet? This film has had a 100 days run.   

Opposition parties are puzzled and disappointed that U.S. President Donald Trump is now praising India. First, he lauded the way the Indian Election Commission has issued identity cards to crores of voters. And now, the U.S. ambassador to India Sergio Gor, during his visit to Kashmir Valley said, “Jammu and Kashmir is an important part of India and an incredibly beautiful place.” Apart from the Congress party, Pakistan Foreign Office was livid. It summoned the U.S. Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker and lodged a “strong demarche” over Gor’s remarks. Gor is also the Trump administration’s Special Envoy to South and Central Asia. PM Modi’s aides say they are not surprised, nor do they look to the U.S. for validation. In Srinagar, Sergio Gor took a ‘shikara’ ride at the famous Dal Lake before meeting Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Later, Gor, at a joint media briefing with Omar Abdullah, said, “New Delhi (Centre), the chief minister here, the government here, have taken some incredible steps to keep this area safer and make it safer. We will be looking at whether the travel warning that is imposed and recommended by the US should be downgraded because Kashmir is a beautiful area. I think a lot of Americans would enjoy coming here and seeing the beauty and the opportunities that exist here.” This is the first visit to the Valley by an American ambassador since ‘Operation Sindoor’. Gor also visited Ladakh, the first visit by any foreign diplomat since the Galwan Valley clash with the Chinese army. No doubt, the American ambassador’s visit and remarks send a clear message to China and Pakistan. Gor is one of Trump’s close confidantes. He worked as Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office before he was appointed envoy to India.

Kuldeep Yadav as a ‘Chinaman’ tweaker will be utterly disappointed and felt weakened by his bowling analysis of 14-0-65-1 and 11-0-38-0 in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. That the two finger spinners, tyro Manav Sutar (10 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja, both of the left-arm variety, bagged 14 of the 20 wickets itself showed the left-arm wrist spinner in poor light. Thanks to an acrobatic effort by skipper Shubman Gill in a close-catching position, Yadav was able to fill the last column in the first innings with the lowest number, but otherwise his bowling was nothing. Seen as a specialist spinner, Yadav has been around for a decade, turning up in whites in 19 Tests (80 wickets at 23.36 and conceding 3.45 an over). Galle was his fifth Test overseas, with two five-wicket hauls in an innings against Bangladesh at Chittagong and against Australia at Sydney. He took 4 for 40 in his first bowling effort against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2017. After his debut some 10 years ago, Yadav has not featured in 70 Tests, and India’s success percentage was 50 in these matches, but in the 19 he has played, the percentage shows a healthy 73.68. The Indian team management will not be inclined to write him off for the second Test in Colombo, but the likes of Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, skipper Gill and senior players will mull over giving off-break bowler Saransh Jain a first chance in the second Test. For the first time, Yadav’s average has shot over 100, and his strike rate shows a dismal 150! Yadav will be among the spin group for the five-Test home series against Australia early next year. The Indian team may not disturb the winning combination, but a deflated Yadav will bowl with anxiety in Colombo, if retained!

Three months after coming to power in West Bengal, the BJP is facing a difficult organisational and political challenge: expanding its base without allowing its identity to be reshaped by the political practices it spent years opposing. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has warned party legislators and district presidents against extortion, intimidation and interference in local affairs, and to stop behaving like “chief ministers” of their Assembly seats. He said party representatives must ensure that people can clearly distinguish the BJP from the Trinamool Congress. He also warned that the party is maintaining dossiers on errant leaders and that no MLA or MP involved in corruption would be spared. The BJP has suspended 22 functionaries, including mandal-level leaders, after issuing show-cause notices to more than 250 workers over allegations including extortion, attempts to occupy TMC offices and anti-party activities. The crackdown is significant because the BJP’s rise in Bengal was built substantially on its promise to replace the TMC’s alleged cut-money, syndicate and extortion networks. The organisational crackdown comes amid resentment among sections of BJP workers over the accommodation of former TMC leaders. Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh has said BJP workers would not accept leaders who had allegedly harmed them politically. The induction of former TMC leaders Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik, followed by their quick elevation to the Rajya Sabha, has unsettled sections of the cadre, particularly as they had previously faced BJP allegations of corruption. Bhattacharya had earlier said the BJP no longer needed TMC leaders to win elections, while acknowledging that political arithmetic could remain flexible. He maintained that TMC leaders facing allegations of corruption, recruitment scams or links with syndicate networks would not be welcome.  

Rapido has crossed a dangerous line. By suspending 30-year-old Dalit driver Ankit Kumar for 99 years and 11 months, until 2126; the company has delivered a chilling message: passenger revenue matters more than human dignity, constitutional morality, and the fight against caste humiliation. Lucknow-based Ankit Kumar did what every self-respecting citizen should do. He objected to alleged casteist remarks that linked a person’s competence to their community. For this act of resistance, Rapido erased his livelihood overnight. No fair hearing. No investigation into the alleged caste abuse. Only a swift, one-sided punishment that protects the paying customer and silences the worker. This is not platform discipline. This is institutional cowardice. By treating a protest against casteist language as “abuse,” Rapido has shown itself completely immune to the cultural and legal weight of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The company failed to understand the deeper context of caste humiliation in India and chose instead to operate at the shallowest, most profitable level—customer ratings and revenue protection. Gig workers, many from SC, ST and OBC communities, already live without social security. Rapido’s extreme corporate callousness deepens that vulnerability. When a platform can destroy a man’s ability to earn for nearly a century without even hearing his side, it ceases to be a neutral technology company. It becomes an active participant in reinforcing hierarchy. India cannot accept platforms that treat the Atrocity Act as optional and dignity as negotiable. Rapido must reverse this punitive ban, order a transparent inquiry, and publicly answer for its priorities. Until then, the message remains clear: in Rapido’s world, revenue comes first; caste justice and constitutional values come nowhere.

In the rarefied air of Mumbai’s elite clubs, where membership lists read like a who’s who of power and privilege, a strange democracy has arrived. Not through elections, but through the unrelenting clipboard of the Food and Drug Administration under Tukaram Mundhe. First it was the Cricket Club of India, then MIG, Willingdon and the Juhu gymkhanas. Now the axe has fallen on Bandra’s Otters Club. Analogue paneer sold as “regular,” broken flooring, blocked drains, refrigerators that refuse to seal properly; the same violations once reserved for the humble roadside stall or the railway platform eatery. The only difference is the wallpaper and the membership fee. Here lies the delicious satire of Mundhe’s regime. The FDA has declared, with clinical indifference, that a cockroach does not check the social register before crawling across a kitchen counter. A blocked drain does not care whether the diner is a film star, an industrialist or a daily-wage worker buying vada pav. Hygiene, under this commissioner, has become the great leveller. Five-star kitchens and five-rupee stalls now stand equally naked before the same law. For decades, Mumbai’s high-profile clubs operated inside a comfortable bubble of influence. Complaints about unhygienic conditions or questionable ingredients were whispered, never acted upon. Mundhe has punctured that bubble. By treating Otters Club with the same severity once reserved for the small eatery near a local station, he has delivered an uncomfortable truth: public health is not a class privilege. Critics may grumble about overreach. The clubs will appeal and eventually reopen. But the symbolism has already landed. In Mundhe’s Maharashtra, the kitchen floor is the only place where the powerful and the powerless are forced to stand on equal footing. And for once, that footing is being checked for broken tiles.    

In a much anticipated move the BJP announced its new 65-member national team under the new president Nitin Nabin, signalling a mix of organisational experience, social representation and preparations for upcoming elections. Three appointments were particularly significant: return of former Union Minister Smriti Irani and Ram Madhav to key organisational roles, while Amit Malviya, a prominent face of the BJP’s digital campaign for years, did not feature in the new team. Irani’s return to the BJP team with party president comes more than two years after she lost the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in the 2024. She has now been given a place among the BJP’s national general secretaries, marking her return to the party’s top organisational structure. Another notable appointment is that of Ram Madhav, named a national vice-president. Madhav, a former national general secretary of the BJP, has played a key role in the party’s organisational and political outreach, particularly in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. He was known for crafting an alliance with Kashmir’s PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti. Return of both Irani and Madhav to the BJP indicates that both PM Modi and HM Amit Shah have initiated corrective measures in view of recent upsets — Jantar Mantar protests.  Appointment of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as BJP national treasurer has raised eyebrows. It triggered chatter about whether he would continue in the Govt when PM Modi reshuffles his Cabinet. IT Cell head Amit Malviya was replaced with Deepak Mhaskey, a former chemistry professor from Chattisgarh. Under Mhaskey, the BJP has gone for a media overhaul. It is being said Nabin had opted for a mix of organisational veterans and younger faces. “Communities who never vote BJP have got lot of prominence,” a Dalit BJP leader pointed out saying effort was being made to  reach out  to Jatavs,who shun the BJP.