‘Full of Tears’
On August 19, over 1,000 orphans at the Al-Wafa Orphan Village in Gaza graduated from school. The children wept, as no parents were there to share the moment–their parents had been killed by the Israeli army,
S Shankar

The Spectre of Naxalism
Home Minister Amit Shah has accused the Opposition’s vice presidential election candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy (Retd) of supporting Naxalismby passing a judgment that ended the practice of appointing Special Police Officers to fight the Maoists in Chhattisgarh. What was the context of the case, what did the state argue, and what did the SC rule?

Justice Reddy, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, headed the Bench that in 2011 delivered the landmark ruling in NandiniSundar v State of Chhattisgarh, which ended Salwa Judum, the practice of using tribal youth as Special Police Officers (SPOs) to counter the Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh. Nobody is safe in Modi’s India. Those who oppose government policies nay be conveniently described as naxalites and erased from the political landscape.
Amaal Sheikh

Trump–the Bully
Trump, despite his highly personalised approach and considerable degree of unpredictability, is apparently bent upon working out a working relation with Putin, the Kleptocrat, and ceding him a limited sphere of exclusive influence in order to obtain a relatively freehand in respect of the rest of the globe.

His ways are largely similar to that of a street bully who’s ready or even keen to cut deals with one or two other (smaller and yet dangerous) bullies to stabilise his reign over a much larger territory.

In that schema, Ukraine is just an insignificant pawn to be sacrificed without batting an eyelid.

That’s precisely why Ukraine was uninvited to a summit meant to decide the fate of Ukraine.

Unfortunately, despite some valiant noise by Macron and a few others, Europe, as a whole, has turned out to be an extremely weak-kneed entity.
That makes Trump look even more intimidating.
Sukla Sen

Two Victories
In Assam, citizenship is not just about documents–it is about dignity, belonging and survival. Every accusation of being a “foreigner” tears lives apart. Two landmark victories illustrate how work of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) matter.

A 56-year-old Bengali-speaking Muslim woman living with disability, Banasha Bibi, was accused of being a Bangladeshi in a case filed back in 2002–but shockingly; she was served notice only in 2022. Despite decades of valid documents, she was dragged into a tribunal battle she could barely fight alone.

With full legal and paralegal aid from CJP, her lifelong Indian identity was proven beyond doubt. On June 25, 2025, the Foreigners’ Tribunal in Bongaigaon declared her an Indian. For Banasha, this was more than a verdict–it was the restoration of dignity after years of state-inflicted trauma.

SukumarBaisya, a 64-year-old Bengali-speaking Hindu, has lived through unimaginable hardship–his home was burnt down during the Assam Movement in 1983, and decades later, he was accused of being a foreigner.

CJP’s team meticulously gathered evidence proving his roots in Assam stretching back generations, including his father’s 1956 citizenship certificate. On February 7, 2025, the Tribunal cleared Sukumar of all allegations, affirming him as an Indian citizen by birth. He wept as he received the judgement, saying CJP had restored not just his rights, but his very sense of security.

Banasha and Sukumar represent thousands still caught in Assam’s citizenship dragnet. Their victories are rays of hope–proof that with strong legal defence and community support, truth and justice can prevail.

But this fight is far from over. Each case takes months of painstaking legal work, dedicated field investigation, and the courage of people like Banasha and Sukumar. And CJP cannot do it without people’s support.
Citizens for Justice and Peace

‘Don’t cry at my Funeral’
Who was Mariam Dagga, the Palestinian photojournalist killed by Israel’s double-tap strike on Nasser Hospital? Working as a photojournalist for over a decade, Mariam Dagga had spent the past 23 months documenting Israel’s war on Gaza for Independent Arabia and the Associated Press. Remembered as a “role model” with “unparalleled energy”, Dagga worked tirelessly throughout the war, even as her mother died from cancer and an Israeli strike killed her best friend. Her murder marks a huge loss not just for colleagues and friends but the millions of human stories Mariam sought to elevate through her work. Aug 27 2025
S Shankaran

The Club of Octogenarians
As a senior member of the club of octogenarians, let me congratulate and welcome Ram Puniyani on his entering our club. I’m sure the club will benefit from his invaluable writings, which I hope he’ll continue to engage in.
Best wishes for a long life of a brave compatriot.
Sumanta Banerjee, Hyderabad

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Frontier
Vol 58, No. 13, Sep 21 - 27, 2025