In a trap.

"Government...said that there were 576 individuals who had disclosed a gross income of over Rs 1 billion during the financial year 2024-25, with 161 added during the year." It is a small fraction of a total of  around 81 million who filed returns in 2024-25. "So far this year, 40 million returns have been filed for FY 2025-26 with 31 July being the deadline." TOI. According to the Income Tax Return Statistics for FY 13 and FY 23 released by the income tax department, the middle class with salary incomes between Rs 1 million and Rs 5 million "has substantially increased its share of salary income over the decade." "But, it is not earning more per person on an average. Average salaries grew from Rs 1.686 million in FY 13 to Rs 1.733 million in FY 23 - a less than 3% growth over the decade and an average annual rate of growth of less than 0.3% a year," "While nominal (real plus inflation) gross domestic product (GDP) grew at around 10.5% a year over the decade," wrote Monica Halan. The middle class and the super rich multiplying, so people must be getting wealthy. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s latest Financial Stability Report, India's household debt reached 47.8% of GDP by December 2025. "Non-housing retail loans now account for 58.4% of household borrowings." And, "Gold loans have grown at a compound annual rate of 42.4% since March 2024." Net household financial savings have fallen from 11% to 7% of GDP in 2024-25, and "it is clear that low-income borrowers are increasingly using fresh loans to pay for consumption or an installment of a refinanced old loan," wrote Ajit Ranade. "According to the latest World Bank report, India's PCI (per capita income) of $2,760 places it 139th out of 182 countries, and firmly within the 47 lower-middle-income countries (LMICs, PCI between $1,136 and $4,495)." "India's PCI recorded an annual growth rate of 11.39% during the Manmohan Singh decade," but has grown at only 5.21% during the 12 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wrote Subhash C Garg. "About 75% of the Indian labor force is self-employed. Compare that with data for the three Asian countries that have just been promoted into the upper middle-income club: Vietnam (53.3%), the Philippines (36.1%) and Sri Lanka (42.1%)." "As for China, only 37% of its labor force is self-employed." India has too few large enterprises as in China or "a deep layer of mid-sized, often family-owned, export-competitive firms - the Mittelstand - that employed millions and dominated global niches" as in Germany, wrote Niranjan Rajadhyaksha. "The Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) of 2025 counts 79.2 million unincorporated non-agricultural establishments in India." "The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2023-24, reports that the average registered factory employs 73 workers. ASUSE shows the average unincorporated establishment employs only 1.6 workers. This is near-solo work." This is survival work because of a lack of regular well-paid work, wrote Saumitra Bhaduri & Shubham Anand. Out of about 900 million people of working age, "In 2024, about 28 million unemployed educated youth were looking for jobs; and about 100 million educated youth (mostly women) have stopped looking. Another 150 million youth are currently in education or training who will look for work." According to the National Crime Bureau report for 2024, "unemployed people form a large category among suicide victims" and suicide among students, especially of Class 10, Class 12 and higher-education is rising, wrote Profs Santosh Mehrotra & Jajati Parida. The population is ageing rapidly and so India risks being stuck in the middle-income trap (wikipedia). Which is great because politicians are dishing out unconditional cash transfers to women (BBC) to win elections. Students can commit suicide. They don't vote anyway.

The excellence of one.

On 25 July, "The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called off its protest, hours after the resignation of India's education minister. Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after weeks of protests over exam paper leaks and testing irregularities." BBC. However, "Returning to Parliament,..just two days after stepping down over the alleged NEET paper leaks controversy, the BJP MP was greeted with chants of 'Dharmendra Pradhan zindabad (live forever)' and a hero's welcome from party colleagues." TOI. Wishing Pradhan eternal life, while our students commit suicide in despair, shows the callous indifference of the so-called representatives of the people (wikipedia) to the anguish of our betrayed children. "An analysis of media reports by India Today's OSINT team traced at least 93 NEET-linked reported student suicides in the last five years, peaking in 2025 with at least 32 deaths. In 2026 so far, at least 14 cases have already been documented." We mourn while they cheer. "Among emerging market peers, India has recorded the second-fastest pace of growth, but also the highest youth unemployment rate, at 16%." Germany and Japan "entered the demographic dividend phase - the economic growth potential that results from a higher share of the working-age population as compared to the dependent population - and delivered nearly 10% compound average growth rate in per capita GDP between 1950 and 2000." "India's strike rate of around 4.8% pales when compared with China (10.8%), Vietnam (10.2%) and South Korea (6.2%)." Mint. Since the resignation of Mr Pradhan, a multitude of self-appointed experts have propounded their own opinions as to why this government, which always responds with force and terror, gave in to a bunch of students. Perhaps, Manu Joseph is the most persuasive when he writes, "Higher education has hinged on a lie. That it can result in a good job." "But, in reality, it was always inequality that helped people secure such jobs." "Higher education was an artificial filter designed to reject millions of people." But "the government has increased the number of elite engineering and management courses, perhaps thinking, oddly, that if there are many engineers, there would be more jobs." The first Indian Institute of Technology was set up in 1956 at Kharagpur in Bengal. IIT Bombay opened in 1958, Madras and Kanpur in 1959 and Delhi in 1961 for a total of five. Today there are 23 IITs. wikipedia. The first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) opened in 1956 in Delhi. Today there are around 25 called AIIMS. wikipedia. Weirdly, our enlightened leaders seem to believe that a name automatically transfers excellence. They do not seem to understand that an erudite faculty, state of the art infrastructure and hard-working, meritorious students create an institution of excellence. After all, there is only one Harvard, one Oxford and, thankfully so far, only one Indian Institute of Science, which is regularly ranked the highest in India. In 2025, "more than 40% of faculty positions across various AIIMS remain vacant, with some institutions reporting faculty vacancy rates exceeding 50% in 2025-26." NDTV. In June 2026, "Around 38% of sanctioned faculty posts are lying vacant across 22 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) according to institution -wise data," which translates to "four out of every 10 teaching positions remaining unfilled". NDTV. As a result, "millions of graduates are both unemployed and unemployable." Building factories creates jobs. Putting names of elite institutes on buildings does not. It was a bluff. Backfired badly.   

Could it get worse?

"Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week to an almost 60-year low," while "the European Central Bank rejected an immediate move to raise interest rates," South Korea's economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter," and "The World Cup staycations and scorching weather helped Britain's private sector bounce back in July." ET. "The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits for the first time unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest since the 1960s," as "Initial claims for state jobless benefits dropped by 22,000 - the largest decline in three months - to a seasonally adjusted 187,000 for the week ended July 18, the Labor Department said." Reuters. Why unexpected? Was it because the World Cup gave a bigger-than-expected boost to the hospitality sector, or was the eye jaundiced by hatred for President Donald Trump? "Europe is warming at roughly twice the global average," so that "at least 12,000 excess deaths were recorded across nine European countries during June's heatwave." "EU member states will need to spend close to 70 billion euros ($80 billion) every year until 2050 to adapt infrastructure and communities to rising temperatures." "Allianz projects that Germany could suffer economic losses of about $131 billion by 2030 if recent heat patterns persist." France could lose $240 billion, Italy $147 billion and Spain $120 billion. ET. Paradoxically, this winter could be hard for Europe. "Europe has rapidly replaced Russian pipeline gas with LNG." Consequently, "Europe now competes with Asia and other regions in a global LNG market where supply disruptions can reverberate around the world almost instantly." Storage facilities are currently 55% full, the lowest level since 2021 and "Europe faces similar challenges in diesel." ET. Meanwhile, according to the World Gold Council central banks have "purchased an average of 1,000 tonnes of gold annually for the past four years." Gold cannot be created like fiat currencies and is a hedge against inflation. ET. Central banks are reducing investments in US Treasuries and the dollar. The US needs foreign investors because of the huge deficits it runs. "The trade gap has been hovering around 3% of GDP for the last few years, and the current account deficit is closer to 4% of GDP." In 2004, "Japan's official holdings of US Treasuries accounted for 18% of all outstanding US debt held by the public, and in 2010, China's equivalent share represented 14%." Today they are down to 4% and 2% respectively. Today private investors are financing US deficits by buying into tech stocks. "Apple and Microsoft have triple-A credit rating, unlike the US government." The danger is that if markets fall, this flow could reverse. The deficits would become hard to finance. Reuters. The US sovereign credit rating is AA+ for both S&P's and Fitch Ratings and Aa1 for Moody's. World Government Bonds. On the other side of the pond, "The European Central Bank (ECB) is considering several options to mitigate its financial losses," as "ECB President Christine Lagarde confirmed...that policymakers would discuss raising minimum reserve requirements which means increasing the amount of cash banks must keep in an unremunerated account as a buffer in case of liquidity crunch." "Alternative options include not paying interest to banks on some of their excess reserves." Reuters. The US and the EU are the two biggest economies in the world. And they seem to be on edge. The times are interesting, already.

Not our Sanskaar.

Various global organisations publish indexes on nations ,based on different parameters, varying from terrorism to happiness. On happiness India stood at 116th in 2025, on corruption India ranked 91st, on human development it ranked 130th and on the Henley Passport Index ranked between 75th and 80th in 2026. Vajiram & Ravi. "The typical response of the Indian government has been to dismiss reports that are inconvenient and, in some cases, to go so far as to allege a conspiracy to 'taint India's image'." Not just furriners, this government rejects its own findings. "The first Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) report by the Union government showed unemployment at its highest level in five decades. When it was leaked, the government rejected it." "The fate of the 2017-18 consumption survey was worse; it was junked even after being approved by the National Statistical Commission." DH. Some things are too horrific to acknowledge. A couple of weeks ago," an 11-year-old girl left her home for her friend's birthday party." "She was kidnapped, raped, bundled into a sack and thrown into a pond by a gang of men while still alive." "In northwestern Rajasthan state, a 12-year-old girl was abducted, drugged and raped by multiple men over four days in various hotels before she was rescued" and "a 7-year-old girl was raped before being killed and her body thrown into an empty shaft of an under-construction shopping mall." Reuters.       If it can't be denied, it can be ignored. " Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted of rape in 2017 and supposed to be serving a 20-year sentence was released on parole for 30 days in May. So far he has been released 15 times already for a total of 406 days and the latest jaunt will bring the total to 436 days. HT. Haryana has a BJP government. wikipedia. In 2022, "The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the premature release of 11 men who were convicted of the gangrape of a pregnant Muslim woman and murder of 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter." They walked out of jail on 15 August, India's Independence Day. BBC. "Released from jail under the Gujarat government's remission policy, they were greeted with garlands at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad office." India Today. Gujarat has a BJP government with an overwhelming majority wikipedia. "The 11 men, convicted for the rape of Bilkis Bano and released by the Gujarat government after 15-odd years in jail, are 'Brahmins' and have 'good sanskaar (mentality)', the BJP's sitting MLA, CK Raulji, from Godhra has said." NDTV. The BJP stands for Hindutva. "The term Hindutva was first defined in the early 1920s by by an Indian nationalist activist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Today it is most closely associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),...and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a non-political Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization." Britannica. What is most infuriating is that the word "Hindu" is being associated with rape and rapists, which is repulsive for vast majority of us. Incredibly, women are also staunch supporters of the BJP. "Gradually, everyone will seek refuge in the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sanatan culture because this is our own culture," said Bollywood actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. TOI. Rape is not Sanatan culture. It is definitely not our Sanskaar. Only the vile deny it.    

Job half done.

"India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called off its five-week-long protest, hours after Education Minister Education Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. The CJP has called it a win for democracy and thousands of jubilant supporters continue to celebrate at Jantar Mantar, the main protest venue in Delhi." BBC. Pradhan may have gone but the regime is still in place, wounded and many times more dangerous. Within hours "The FIR (First Information Report) registered in connection with the July 20 violence near Parliament has attempt to murder charges, along with multiple other serious provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)." ET. But, there is no report of similar charges against those who fired pellet guns on unarmed students, causing life-altering injuries and could have caused death. Independent. In fact, Indian police refuse to file FIRs for ordinary people even in cases of rape, severe assault and alleged murder. Indian Kanoon. Motorcycle rider Kamal Dhyani 25, died after falling into a newly dug pit in Janakpuri, Delhi on 6 February. His brother alleged that they visited six police stations when he did not return home at night, but received no help." The Print. No police person is ever seen on the streets of Delhi helping people. The CJP must realize that the struggle is not over, it's just beginning. This regime will extract its vengeance one at a time. To that end, "Four facial recognition system (FRS) units have been installed around the protest site at Jantar Mantar to identify wanted criminals, absconders and history- sheeters, Police sources said." DH. Oh yeah! And the wolf will protect the lamb. Will they delete all the videos if they find no criminal? If not, they will be the secret police (wikipedia) of India like in China and North Korea. A 28-year-old software engineer Shrey Gupta in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, set up a website named The Unbadged. "He named it after the men in uniform who were not wearing their regulation name badges while they lathi-charged, fired at or teargassed students marching peacefully to Parliament." Around 10.30 PM on 22 July, four men in plainclothes came to his apartment, grabbed him and took him to the police station where he was  questioned about "his educational background, his salary, his addresses, his parents and extended family (even about what his uncle's children did), his bank accounts and his social media profiles and his online accounts were photographed. The Wire. The backlog in so-called fast track courts reached 250,000 on 31 December. TOI. So that's a con as well. Without delay the leaders of the CJP must set up a network of lawyers, willing to work pro bono (wikipedia) or for a small fee and set up a fund to pay for the legal fees for those who are persecuted. They must also work against the BJP in every election starting with the municipal and corporation elections in 2026 (wikipedia), going on to assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat in 2027 (wikipedia). They have to realize that the regime will do anything to stay in power because of the crimes they have committed. Veteran Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "Let our government come to power. When we recount these 12-15 years, BJP leaders will not be able to step out without security." DH. Pradhan means 'prime'. Shabdkosh. As in Pradhan (prime) Mantri (minister). Pradhan has gone. Job half done.    

Borrowing to repay.

"Foreign currency deposits from non-resident Indians (NRIs) have staged a sharp turnaround" "Since the implementation of the new RBI Swap Facility, FCNR(B) flows have totaled $17 billion in roughly 40 days, from June 8 to July 17, 2026." "As against $7,076 million of inflows in 2024-25, the FCNR(B) flows dipped to $946 million in 2025-26, a sharp fall of 87%." FE. May be a great start, but "HDFC Bank MD & CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan said potential inflows under the scheme may be lower than initially expected because tax rules make the 'borrowing to invest' option unattractive for many overseas Indians outside West Asia and Singapore." And "this could reduce the initial estimate of $60-80 billion in potential inflows." TOI. "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has likely used part of the initial inflows from its foreign -currency deposit drive to unwind a portion of its massive foreign exchange forward book, economists said." "The RBI's net short dollar forward book stood at a record $106.6 billion as of May 31, reflecting its heavy use of forwards to cushion the rupee," and "Of this, nearly $29 billion was concentrated in near-tenor contracts maturing within three months." Reuters. Which means that the RBI has converted its short term borrowing to longer term, but probably at much higher interest rates. "Assume that an NRI takes a loan of 162 million yen at, say, 4% per annum," converts it to $1 million, and then invests it in an FCNR(B) account at around 6.5% interest for 3 or 5 years. The RBI covers the hedging cost of around 3% and swaps the dollars for rupees to inject liquidity into the system to bring down borrowing costs, wrote Madan Sabnavis. The RBI will have to pay from its foreign exchange reserves when these bonds mature. Despite the influx of around $20 billion, "The rupee has lost nearly 2% this month for the weakest performance among Asian peers," and hence, "The central bank's limited and intermittent intervention has surprised traders who expected stronger support after Governor Sanjay Malhotra said it would do 'whatever is required' to ensure orderly currency moves." "Internally, officials are divided over how aggressively the central bank should intervene to support the rupee, said three sources." Reuters. RBI's confusion is because of the flare up of the conflict between Iran and the US. "Daily vessel transits of the Strait of Hormuz were steady at three for each of the past three days, according to preliminary ship tracking data, amid continuing shipping risks in the Middle East as oil prices surged back to $100 a barrel." Reuters. The cost of India's basket of crude fell from $114.48 per barrel in April 2026 to $79.1 this month. ppac.gov.in. Brent crude is selling at $96.78 per barrel this morning. oilprice.com. The RBI must be unsure about how long the conflict will last and how high oil prices will climb, which will determine the drain on its forex reserves. Veteran investor Shankar Sharma said that the FCNR(B) scheme "does not address India's external-sector challenges and will effectively finance foreign investors' exits from Indian equities." MC. What is worrying is that the RBI is also monetizing the government's fiscal deficit which is absolutely not its responsibility. The RBI transferred a record Rs 2.78 trillion to the government as dividend from its surplus (ET) and has also bought government bonds (including treasure bills) in open market operations (OMO) to a total of Rs 21.34 trillion (wrote Sabanvis). The RBI is collecting both foreign and domestic debt. Will it pay back by printing rupees and selling gold? That'll be RIP. For the rupee.      

Not falling for the old con trick.

"For days the streets and parks in the center of India's capital have seethed with the biggest demonstrations it has seen in years," even as "they were met with police violence, struck with sticks and batons." CNN. If people in other parts of the world were unaware of Narendra Modi government's ferocity, they are now fully informed. "Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth! We have decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks," said Mr Modi. It is unbelievable that the prime minister is trying to con us with platitudes. Firstly, someone has to detect the leak of questions. "The PDF file containing the questions and answers for this year's medical entrance exam NEET" "was received via WhatsApp by the operator of a paying guest facility in Rajasthan's Sikar. Subsequently, the complainant, Shashikant Sukhar, had the contents of this file cross-verified through an associate." NDTV. Was the file sent accidentally to Mr Sukhar? If so, undetected leaks could be occurring in every exam. "At least 21 students have committed suicide because of the pressure of having to take the exam again. Reddit. Will your fast-track courts bring these children back? "Delhi Police took over people, many of them listed as 'bad characters', into preventive custody," "including non-students from Punjab, UP, Rajasthan and Haryana, were being mobilized to travel to the capital." Why can't non-students support the protests? Millions of taxpayer rupees are spent to bus people in to hear Mr Modi's speeches. The Wire. Do all them understand what he is saying? "A steady stream of food delivery riders carrying meals, snacks and bottled water is helping sustain a youth-led movement that has sprung up in the heart of India's capital." "From Kerala to the USA, orders are coming from everywhere," said rider Suraj Kumar. Reuters. These could be coming from non-students. Horror! According to an advisory, all shops, offices and restaurants must shut by 6.30 pm and mobile internet has been blocked in central Delhi, (TOI) possibly to prevent protesters from communicating with each other. But, this generation grew up on computers and the internet. "Intercepting or tracing Bluetooth-aided mesh messaging, allegedly used by protesters...may prove to be an extremely difficult task for Delhi Police." TOI. Delhi Metro has shut 17 stations near the protest site to prevent protesters from getting there. nowsonair.gov.in. At least four students have been treated for injuries caused by pellets. After 12 hours of running from one hospital to another, Sahil had a pellet removed from his right eye at AIIMS, with only 1% chance of recovery of vision, while Irshad Shaikh had multiple pellets removed from different parts of his body. TOI. When the matter of alleged police brutality, with video evidence, was raised in the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said, "We are not interested in videos, we don't have time to watch..." "Don't waste our time We don't want to watch videos." ET. The CJI is not interested in evidence of criminal assault by the police causing grievous bodily harm on unarmed students. What, pray, is he interested in? The Supreme Court has just returned from its annual summer vacation stretching from 1 June to 12 July The Hindu. Who has the time to watch crucial evidence? The Supreme Court has 49,248 cases pending for over 1 year, 24,611 for over five years, 10,094 for over 10 years, 558 for over 20 years and 26 for over an incomprehensible 30 years. TIE. Because the court works for only 190-193 days a year. India Today. Mr Modi may feel that he can wait out the protesters. After all, people have to go to work. Not really, there is no work. According to the State of Working India report from the Azim Premji University, "Nearly 40% of graduates aged 15-25 - and 25% of those aged 25-29 - are jobless, far higher than the less educated." BBC. They have the education to understand Mr Modi's con trick. They are angry. And, they have time.

Talk to the Iranians directly.

"Iran yesterday warned that if Tehran is prevented from selling oil, no other country in the region would be able to do so either, signaling the possibility of a broader disruption to energy supplies." Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, "the security of regional energy infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz depends on the absence of US forces." ET. "On 8 April 2026, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in the 2026 Iran war, mediated by Pakistan." "On 21 April, President Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely. On 8 July, Trump announced that the ceasefire is over." wikipedia. This was because, "Despite the memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached in June 2026," "Iran sought to assert hegemonic control over the strait and eventually collect fees on ships passing through." "It followed up on its threats by firing at multiple ships, including three commercial vessels on July 6-7." The US was forced to retaliate. Britannica. Iran may be overplaying its hand. "The Strait is valuable while the traffic through it increases day by day, not when it decreases," Ghalibaf said. Iran may cause problems in the short term but other Gulf states are already planning pipelines to bypass the strait. "Oil pipelines are straightforward engineering projects, and can be built at what feels like lightning speed compared with other infrastructure." "Abu Dhabi is already moving ahead; once its half-built new pipeline, with a capacity of about a 1.5 million barrels per day, enters operation by the end of 2027, it will reduce the amount of oil that needs to cross Hormuz to about 10.5 million barrels." ET. Despite Iran's efforts the international price of oil has not risen catastrophically. Because, "When the bombing began 41/2 months ago, the world was already awash in oil. Add to that the coordinated release of brimming reserves," and China staying on the sidelines. "Meanwhile, two major oil producers in the Middle East began to make more use of cross-desert pipelines that avoid the fraught strait altogether." ET. Iran's proxy, the Houthis, "who control areas near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on the opposite end of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, said on 20 July they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in what some analysts have viewed as a tactical move by Iran to seek leverage." Reuters. "At least seven oil tankers have made U-turns close to Yemen since the Iran-linked Houthi group announced a 'maritime embargo' against Saudi Arabia,...ship-tracking data show." BBC. The US has issued fresh sanctions targeting "Ali Ansari, an Iranian banker and businessman based in Dubai. "The Treasury said Ansari had diverted publicly funded wealth into an extensive overseas portfolio of real estate and commercial holdings to enrich himself, government elites and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)." Reuters. On 6 July, "Tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil already on tankers have been left in limbo after the US walked back a waiver," and "There are around 63 million barrels of oil currently on the water, either in transit or idling, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Vortexa data." ET. Having killed over 30,000 civilian protesters in January 2026 (wikipedia), the hardliners in Iran might feel that they cannot afford to be seen to be yielding any advantage to the US. International pressure on the US will mount by the day, while they have nothing to lose. Has the US been talking to the Iranian people? If not, they should use a Persian Lord Haw-Haw, who was also an American (wikipedia) to tell Iranians over the radio how the hardliners are preventing peace and prosperity. The phrase Allahu Akbar means 'God is Greatest' (jibreel.app). When Mojtaba Khamenei claims to be Supreme Leader (wikipedia) he is making himself the equal to or greater than Allah. Which makes him an 'Al Murtadu' meaning an 'Apostate', and an apostate deserves the death punishment in Islam (islamqa.info). By killing Muslims the IRGC and Basij have become 'Takfiri'  (wikipedia) and also deserve to be punished. A few machine pistols and ammunition in the right hands could also help. The US should quickly win the war, instead of playing with firecrackers. Finish it. 

Drop the invitations.

"Indian activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk, on hunger strike for the past 20 days in Delhi, has been forcibly removed from the protest site." "Videos from the protest site on Saturday showed chaos erupting just before 07.30 local time (02.00 GMT) when dozens of police and paramilitary personnel swooped in on the stage where the activist was lying down. Protesters who tried to stop them were pushed away." BBC. Indian police behaving like the Gestapo (wikipedia) at the behest of the government is common in India. Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police cremated the body of the Hathras gang rape victim in the middle of the night and beat up her family members, they alleged. BBC. Three of the four rapists have been found innocent while the fourth has been jailed on a lesser charge. NDTV. "Tribal families in Madhya Pradesh's (MP) Chhatarpur are protesting against the Ken-Betwa River Link Project through symbolic acts such as funeral pyre and noose protests, demanding justice." They fear for their livelihood. India Today. Needless to say the villagers have been removed forcibly by police, starting at 5 am.TOI. "Around a thousand Punjab farmers on their way to Delhi to take part in the Kisan Mahapanchayat protest against the proposed India-US trade deal were stopped at the Shambhu border yesterday as Haryana Police erected barricades." The Print. Yesterday, "Thousands have gathered again in the Indian capital Delhi a day after a police crackdown on supporters of India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led movement seeking education reforms and resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan." On 20 July, Police had used baton charges and tear gas to prevent protesters marching to the Parliament to present their grievances. BBC. Pictures by Reuters show the young students being brutally beaten, police firing tear gas and dragging away some by force, with blood pouring down the faces of the protesters. Some are lying unconscious on the ground. Reuters. Police claim 180 of their comrades have been injured. Sadly, most Indians do not trust or believe the police, civil servants or politicians any more. Most terrifying, a photo by The Wire shows security personnel, shielding behind an armored personnel carrier, while aiming automatic rifles at unarmed protesters. Does it mean that, given the order, they will have no hesitation in slaughtering young students protesting against their lives and careers being destroyed by leaks of question papers? The BJP governs UP, MP, Haryana, Delhi and the Centre. "In an unfortunate incident, Times Now reporter Dev Kotak was assaulted by a large group of protesters at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, 21 July, amid ongoing demonstrations. Kotak claimed a mob of over 100 people attacked him." TN. Thankfully, Mr Kotak's photograph shows no injury or bruising, unlike what the protesters suffered. It could have been a false flag operation (Britannica) by Bhakts (devotees) who are the Basij Militia (Britannica) of the regime. On the other hand, Kanika Katiyar of NDTV was protected as the protesters formed a human wall around journalists, washed tear gas from their eyes and even provided face masks. India is classed as an electoral autocracy in a V-Dem report. The Wire. It is amazing that Western leaders preach sermons on democracy but keep inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to their countries, thereby legitimizing this corrupt, dictatorial regime. No need to say anything. Just drop him quietly. Say the time is not convenient. Hopefully, he will get the message. Once the tourism stops.  

A bagful of goodies.

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) came into effect on 15 July. In 2025, India recorded a GDP of USD 3.96 trillion, while the UK economy stood at USD 3.84 trillion, reflecting the significance of both economies on global trade. pib.gov.in. To put it into perspective, the US GDP at current prices stood at $30.77 trillion in 2025, that of the European Union (EU) stood at $21.24 trillion, while that of China stood at $19.5 trillion. World Bank. At best this is an agreement of minnows. Still, "The real significance of the Britain-India CETA is not that tariffs are coming down. It is that two increasingly complementary economies are creating the certainty that businesses need to invest, expand and build for the long term," wrote PD Singh. "India's economy remains on a sustained growth path supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, government officials said." "The government has maintained its emphasis on capital expenditure," so that "In April and May 2026, capital expenditure stood at Rs 2.51 trillion compared to Rs 2.21 trillion during the same period last year, registering a 14% jump." "In June 2026, gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rose 13.9% to Rs 1.95 trillion, compared to Rs 1.71 trillion in June 2025." HT. Since GST is a consumption tax, its rise hints at increasing consumer spending which could be a sign of increasing affluence. But it is causing financial problems for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). "Under Section 15 of the MSMED Act, 2006, buyers are legally obligated to settle vendor bills within 45 days if a written contract exists, or 15 days in its absence." Yet, "Large private entities and government bodies routinely stretch payment cycles to 90, 120 or 180 days." At the same time, "GST operates strictly on an accrual basis, not cash-flow basis. If an invoice is generated, the tax must be paid by the 20th of the next month," wrote Ajit Ranade. Naturally, this causes cash flow problems for MSMEs. Not surprising, "India has not featured among the world's 50 safest countries for investors in 2026, according to the Global Investment Risk and Resilience Score 2026 by Henley and Partners." BT. In 2025, India was ranked at an embarrassing 104th "showing moderate resilience but elevated risks. gktoday.in. The scary thing is that it is not just MSMEs that have cash problems, even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could get trapped in a problem of its own making. "Over the past two years, India's central bank built one of the world's largest bearish dollar bets to support a persistently weak rupee. It now faces the challenge of unwinding that position without destabilizing the currency market." "The book had ballooned to a record $106.7 billion in May, as per Bloomberg calculations based on RBI data." "To attract capital, the RBI has offered to fully cover hedging costs for banks raising three- to five-year foreign currency deposits from non-resident Indians (NRI)." ET. NRIs will have to be paid back in foreign currency. In 2013, the rupee fell from 55 to one dollar in May to near 69 in August. Known as the 'Taper Tantrum'. Then governor of the RBI Raghuram Rajan mobilized $30 billion through an FCNR scheme. ET.  According to veteran investor Shankar Sharma, "During FY2013-14, foreign portfolio investors bought nearly $14 billion worth of Indian equities despite the taper tantrum. In contrast, they have sold about $26.5 billion worth of Indian equities so far in FY2026-27." Today, the RBI's FCNR(B) scheme will only fund the exit of foreign investors. MC. Trade agreements are seductive, promising a wealth of goodies. But, what will we export if MSMEs are failing and if the RBI runs out of money? Risks are definitely elevated. Stratospheric.