What Makes A Democracy Turn Into A Dictatorship? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJ3_ilohJQ
Mallen Baker  Mar 30, 2025 In their book 'How Democracies Die', Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt identify the four tells for a despot-in-waiting, the democratic guardrails that all dictators-in-progress seek to dismantle, and how they go about it - and the two other essential ingredients that protect a system that people often underestimate, or even miss entirely. And it won't astonish you to learn that all of this is really rather relevant to Donald Trump's America (and a number of other places besides)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Democracies_Die The book warns against the breakdown of "mutual toleration" and respect for the political legitimacy of the opposition. This tolerance involves accepting the results of a free and fair election where the opposition has won, in contrast with advocacy for overthrow or spurious complaints about the election mechanism. The authors also assert the importance of respecting the opinions of those who come to legitimately different political opinions, in contrast to attacking the patriotism of any who disagree, or warning that if they come to power they will destroy the country. 

The authors warn against ramming through a political agenda or accumulating power by playing "constitutional hardball" with tactics like court packing, stonewalling nominations, or abusing the power of the purse, and recommend "forbearance" and some degree of cooperation to keep government functioning in a balanced fashion.

Other threats to democratic stability cited by the authors include economic inequality and segregation of the political parties by race, religion, and geography. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj-olR6OCoE  Media vs journalists

 Trump Tariffs | "We'll Be Ruined In 3-6 Months If...": P Chidambaram's Warning On US Tariffs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0eylZ8dvQ Mar 27, 2025 
Congress leader P Chidambaram asked the government to spell out India's response to US President Donald Trump's threat of tariff war, alleging that no discussion in parliament or consultation with Opposition parties has been held over the matter.

'We are completely in dark': Chidambaram asks Centre to spell out response to Trump's tariff war https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/we-are-completely-in-dark-chidambaram-asks-centre-to-spell-out-response-to-trump-s-tariff-war-12978431.html#google_vignette India must stand with saner voices in the world such as Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Japan and collectively do everything to prevent a tariff and trade war, 

He warned that if Trump starts picking out individual countries and applying different tariffs, the affected nations could be left to fend on their own.

Samajwadi Party MP, former Union Minister and National General Secretary of SP Ramjilal Suman's residence in Agra was vandalized. Earlier, the Karni Sena had vandalized the Bhopal state office of Samajwadi Party.

https://www.facebook.com/DrSunilam/videos/ Dr Sunilam's facebook  https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18FigAFxMs/ 

Karni Sena should answer how many kings of the country were there who ruled by making compromises with the Mughals and the British. Should they be called traitors of the country's freedom movement or not?

Rethinking On Territories Of Life  https://thefrontiermanipur.com/rethinking-on-territories-of-life/  

The modern ways of thinking on the concept of ‘development’, and the pursuit of developmental activities by States and private entities that shamelessly intrude into the ancient domain of the natives without their consent and expressed knowledge, is what causes the maximum conflicts of interest between States and local people.

There are hundreds of cases across the globe where IPLCs are fighting for their rights within their territories of life, even as rich and powerful nations and companies are slowly eating into their territories in the pursuit of minerals, oil and gas, and the extraction of natural resources in large scale, destroying pristine forests and reclaiming water bodies along the way. 

 instances of the ethnicities in Manipur, too, where there are several issues of local people’s objections to the extension of PAs in areas where IPLCs have the right to the territories. Land in Manipur’s uplands is traditionally owned, managed and administered by the natives in their own best ways and, therefore, any form of intrusion into these territories without the communities’ knowledge and consent can only be met with objections.

Comment:  Today "development" seems to "trump" even modern formations eg.  Greenland, Canada, Gulf of Mexico, Gaza strip,  and many straits, and strips through out the world..

Kunal Kamra Controversy | Rise of Gunda Raj in India | Dhruv Rathee lists a few incidents  https://youtu.be/vz7Vh8vF6n8?t=543

Nalin Yadav 

Praneet More

Agrima Joshua

Mohit Morani

I-T Dept To Tighten Noose Around Tax Filers From April 1; To Have Legal Power To Access Your Social Media, Email, Bank, Trading A/c  https://zeenews.india.com/personal-finance/tax-dept-to-tighten-noose-around-tax-filers-from-april-1-to-have-legal-power-to-access-your-social-media-email-bank-trading-a/c-2878552.html

Tax authorities will be able to make a forced entry into your premises upon detecting suspicious activitiy under applicable law. Besides, they can also access computer systems, emails or social media accounts over suspected tax evasion.

 Citizens Unite to Condemn Urban Terrorism Attack on Kunal Kamra in India  https://countercurrents.org/2025/03/citizens-unite-to-condemn-urban-terrorism-attack-on-kunal-kamra/  25/03/2025 by Concerned Citizens led by GG Parekh
 We, Law abiding Mumbaikars urge the CM, who has been broadcasting his resolve to use bulldozer to ‘punish’ people he accuses of rioting and who is pushing through a draconian law to ‘punish those he brands ‘Urban Naxals’ in Maharashtra, to act promptly and punish members of his ally’s party who are acting as urban terrorists, destroying private property and terrorising and intimidating honestly law abiding citizens.

We the Citizens of India also urge the Police Commissioner to promptly take action against these Urban Terrorists of the ruling alliance in Maharashtra who have taken the law in their own hands and are indulging in terrorising citizens and vandalising private property, we would like to remind the Police that they have taken an oath to serve the constitution and protect citizens, not to obey and serve the Government in power.

To Save Democracy: A Broader, Stronger, Secular Alliance Need of the Hour 
Ram Puniyani | 20 Mar 2025

“Noting that almost all components of democracy were getting worse in more countries than they were getting better, the report singled out freedom of expression, clean elections, and freedom of association/civil society as the three worst affected components in autocratising countries.”

https://countercurrents.org/2025/03/no-fascist-state-yet-a-rebuttal-to-the-dangerous-complacency-of-prabhat-patnaik/ while “neoliberal capitalism generates a “fascist presence” – manifesting in right-wing authoritarian movements, xenophobia, ultra nationalism, and eroded democratic norms – it does not necessarily recreate the conditions for full-fledged “fascist states” like in the 1930s.”

We, in India, are witnessing many traits of fascism, like the ‘golden past’, aspiration for Akhand Bharat, targeting minorities and presenting them as “enemies of the nation”, authoritarianism, promoting big business, stifling the freedom of expression and dominating the social thinking. 

“The RSS is poison & will destroy the soul of the nation”: Tushar Gandhi  https://countercurrents.org/2025/03/the-rss-is-poison-will-destroy-the-soul-of-the-nation-tushar-gandhi/ 

 https://www.civilsocietyonline.com/column/living-rivers/drowning-in-sin/  The Ganga is not just a river but considered mother to millions of Hindus, deeply embedded in both faith and daily life. Beyond religious beliefs, it serves as a vital lifeline for a large part of India’s population. The tradition of taking a holy dip during the Mahakumbh is rooted in the belief that, during specific planetary alignments, the waters of the Ganga transform into ‘Amrit’ — the nectar of immortality.

Given the river’s travel time, water released from Narora Barrage takes approximately 10 days to reach the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, while water from Tehri Dam takes around 22 days. Therefore, these releases are carefully timed in advance of the key bathing days to maintain sufficient water levels.

Flow is a master variable in river ecosystems — when a river’s natural flow improves, it tends to cleanse itself through dilution and sediment transport. However, the greatest challenge remains on-site sewage treatment. 

In an affidavit submitted to the NGT in December 2024, the Uttar Pradesh government reported that out of the 471.92 MLD of total sewage, 293 MLD is discharged into 81 drains flowing into the Ganga and Yamuna, and 178.31 MLD enters the sewage network, which is linked to 10 sewage treatment plants (STPs) with a total capacity of 390 MLD.

Of the 81 drains carrying sewage into the Ganga, 37 have been connected to STPs, treating approximately 216 MLD of wastewater. However, the remaining 44 drains, which carry 77.42 MLD of sewage, remain untapped and untreated. 

To manage the massive influx of pilgrims, approximately 1,45,000 toilets and urinals were installed. However, many became unusable due to a lack of timely cleaning and maintenance. With over 10,000 sanitation workers operating in shifts, the sheer scale of the gathering made waste management a monumental challenge. Even with 120 tippers and 40 compactor trucks, the solid waste generated during the special bathing days overwhelmed the available infrastructure, highlighting the urgent need for more efficient waste management strategies in future events.