Amid moves toward mass detention of Muslims in Kashmir and Assam, a growing atmosphere of terror, and persecution of government critics, India's arch-reactionary Prime Minister Narendra Modi cynically places an op-ed in the New York Times extolling Mohandas Gandhi on his 150th birthday. In Episode 40 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg calls this out as Orwellian propaganda, and documents the historical reality: Modi is not the inheritor of the tradition of Gandhi, but that of his assassin. Those who assert that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has fascist roots are factually correct. Progressives in recent years have been rethinking the sanctification of Gandhi, and that is one thing. But Modi should not be allowed to get away with wrapping himself in the legacy of a man who was the antithesis of everything he represents. And US political figures like Tulsi Gabbard who pretend to be progressive while embracing the fascistic Modi must be exposed and repudiated. Listen on SoundCloud, and support our podcast via Patreon.

Tired of what they call political paralysis and corruption in the local municipal seat of Tezoatlán de Segura y Luna, in Mexico's Oaxaca state, the Mixtec indigenous community of Yucuquimi de Ocampo last month declared itself to be a "free municipality" under its own "autonomous" self-government.  Since then, the state and central government have had the community flooded with troops both from the army and newly created National Guard force. On Sept. 24, local residents clashed with National Guard troops. The following day, local followers of the Agrarian Indigenous Zapatista Movement (MAIZ) marched on the state capital to demand withdrawal of the troops from the community. The Zapatista rebels in neighboring Chiapas state have issued a statement in support of the "free municipality." (APRO, ADN, Imparcial, Imparcial, Oax., RiOaxaca, Pagina3)

Ecuador's government declared a "state of exception" Oct. 3 after protesters opposed to a fuel price hike blocked streets and disrupted transport nationwide. A national paro, or general strike, was called after President Lenín Moreno announced his decision to end a 40-year-old subsidy for fuel—widely perceived as a move taken in response to belt-tightening demands made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following a recent  $4.2 billion loan package. At least 350 have been arrested in the "paquetazo" protests, whch have been led by transport unions, indigenous organizations and student groups. (TeleSur, Al Jazeera, NPR, BBC News)

At least 25 Malian soldiers are dead and more than 60 others missing after two assaults on bases in central Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso. On Sept. 30, jihadist forces simultaneously targeted the Malian army base in Mondoro and the G5 Sahel force camp at Boulikessi. The G5 Sahel group includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, and receives logistical support from the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Malian officials say the insurgents used "heavy weapons" in the assaults, and that at least 15 militants were killed. Local reports indicate the militants were able to briefly hold the bases and capture large amounts of weapons and equipment. Mali has now launched a joint operation with Burkina Faso and French forces in the region to hunt down the militants.

Security forces opened fire on protesters in central Baghdad on Oct. 1, with some witnesses reporting more than 10 killed and over 250 wounded. Hundreds had gathered at the city's Tahrir Square to protest lack of services, rampant corruption, and high unemployment. Several Iraqi provinces have seen mass protests in response to online campaigns to express anger over the deteriorating situation in the country, despite the defeat of ISIS. At least three protesters and one police officer were also killed in Iraq's southern city of Nasiriya. (IraqNews, IraqNews, The Independent, Al Jazeera)

President Martín Vizcarra of Peru ordered Congress to dissolve Sept. 30, prompting opposition lawmakers to vote to suspend him and plunging the nation into a crisis. Vizcarra and the right-opposition bloc in control of Congress have long been divided over the ongoing political scandal in Peru.  Vizcarra finally made his move after lawmakers appointed a new member to the top court, the Constitutional Tribunal, which would be the arbiter in a legal dispute between Congress and the Executive. Opposition lawmakers responded to Vizcarra's decision by accusing him of staging "a coup," and immediately voted to suspend him for 12 months, to be replaced by the vice president, Mercedes Aráoz. Vizcarra maintains the vote has no legitimacy because it came after Congress itself had been dissolved.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced formation of a constitutional committee on Syria that will include members of the Bashar Assad regime and opposition representatives. Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), protested that no representatives from the organization have been invited to join the committee. UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen told Al Jazeera that although the main Kurdish militia in Syria was not represented, "it is important for me to emphasize that of course also we have Kurdish representatives on the committee." Bali responded on Twitter that Pedersen "must know that having a couple of Kurds...who [are] allied with the Syrian government or the opposition doesn't mean Kurds [are] represented in the committee."

With the forces of eastern strongman Khalifa Hifter stalled outside Tripoli in his drive to oust Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA), both sides have been sniping at each other with drone strikes. Experts say that Haftar has procured Chinese-made Wing Loong drones from his main backer, the United Arab Emirates. The GNA, meanwhile, has turned to Ankara, its own increasingly open backer, which is believed to be supplying Turkish Bayraktar drones. All of this is in defiance of a supposed arms embargo, just renewed by the UN Security Council in June. Over 1,000 have been killed, close to 6,000 injured, and 120,000 displaced in the battle for Tripoli, which opened a year ago. (SCMP, Spet. 19)