BJP Routed in UP Urban Local Bodies' Elections
On December 2, 2017 most newspapers flashed a front-page story that the Bharatiya Janata Party had swept the urban local bodies' elections. Pictures of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath offering sweets to...
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After Twentyfive Years
EDITORIALWe have observed yesterday the twentyfifth anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, an incident in post-independence India that—like the assassi-nation of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 and the...
View ArticleAgrarian Crisis that Killed Farmers in Odisha
by Suranjita RayThis Kharif season, Brown Plant Hoppers (BPH) have been particularly pestilent towards destroying paddy crops in most of the districts of Western Odisha. Twentyfour of Odisha's thirty...
View ArticleAll Spun from a Human Yarn
God is an idea abstracted fromThe best of human qualities;And the Market likewise exemplifiesThe worst of our propensities.Between the two is ReligionWhich brokers our best and worstBy keeping both in...
View ArticleIndia: Tales of ‘Progress' and ‘Pain
by Arup Kumar SenVery recently, a communication from the Prime Minister's Office reminded us that “demonetisation proves to be a game-changer”. While highlighting the “multi-dimensional benefits of...
View ArticleMiddle East in Renewed Turmoil
by Harish ChandolaWith the killing of a few Palestinians on the West Bank on December 8, the Middle East has again been thrown in a turmoil after the announcement by the US President, Donald Trump, on...
View ArticleEveryday Agnipariksha of UP Madrasaas to prove Patriotism: Hindutva Attack...
by Shamsul IslamOn the eve of the 70th anniversary of India's independence, the Government of UP led by a senior leader of the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS, Mahant Adityanath Yogi, came out with a stunning...
View ArticleSupreme Court reopens Gandhi's Case
I think the Supreme Court's order to appoint an amicus curiae in Mahatma Gandhi's assassi-nation is important. More about how it happened and why—are the two points which need to be pursued. The plea...
View ArticleCPM Polit-Bureau should listen to Freedom Song
by M.K. BhadrakumarThe worst thing that can happen to a political party is when it begins to look trivial. The miserable decline of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh is a recent example. By and...
View ArticleRay of Sunshine / Pakistan: Reporter's Jottings
From N.C.'s WritingsAgainst the backdrop of the recent anti-Pakistan tirade resorted to by the PM in the context of the Gujarat Assembly elections in order to corner the Opposition and gain electoral...
View ArticleGujarat Results, Off the Cuff
COMMENTARYHowever Mr Modi might flash the victory sign, in the heart of his heart he knows that he lost in Gujarat.The steady, strenuous, and well-thought-out campaign mounted by Rahul Gandhi was a...
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We Shall Overcome!
EDITORIALWith this issue Mainstream completes fifty five years of its long, arduous, modest yet purposeful existence.Affirming that what we face today in this country “has no parallel”, it was written...
View ArticleDiscourse on Challenges for the Left: Several Vital Queries Unexplored
by Sobhanlal Datta GuptaBOOK REVIEWChallenges for the Indian Left by Murzban Jal (ed.); Aakar Books, Delhi; 2017; 576 + xcii pages;Rs 895.00.This is an edited volume, comprising thirty-seven essays,...
View ArticleFrozen Certainties
What a time of frozen certainties.Nothing flows. More the clout,Keener the icicles hang in the heart,Less the questioning and the doubt.Even when the lips grin,Nothing moves in the eye;Unbeknown,...
View ArticleThoughts on Goa's Liberation Day
On December 19, we celebrate the Liberation of Goa from colonial rule. On that day, in 1961, Goa joined the Union of India and independent India became complete. Goa has achieved remarkable progress...
View ArticleA God's Man who Walked the Talk in Life's Philosophy
TRIBUTEby Kancha Ilaiah ShepherdAmbrose Pinto's death on January 3 of 2018, after struggling with the treacherous cancer for about six months, made me feel that this year would be bad for the Dalits....
View ArticleBeing Woman
by Fayezah IqbalBeing woman, be bold, brave and beautiful.Upholding all the scars, she smiles plentiful,Impeded at every stage, never ceases hersoul yet bountiful.Be woman, be tree, river and...
View ArticleWomen's Political Participation: A Catalyst for Gender Equality in India
WOMEN'S WORLDby Archna KatochWomen's empowerment is indispensable to achieve the fifth of the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations to ‘achieve gender equality and...
View ArticleIran quiet after Protests
After about 20 deaths in protests in December, Iran appears to have quietened down. The economic stress in its countryside, however, continues. It was the rise in the price of eggs which had sparked...
View ArticleThe Third Person
In the rumble-tumble of elections, the role of Congress President Sonia Gandhi has not been recognised. No doubt, the contest was between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi but the real rivalry was between...
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