The Great Lankan Betrayal
In the midst of the unique political turmoil in Sri Lanka since October 26 one important voice was missing. Both Sri Lankans and foreigners wondered why former President Chandrika Bandaranaike...
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The Real News: Farmers on the Move
EDITORIALSeveral developments of late are in the focus of national attention. These include the public face-off between the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, and the Union Government...
View ArticleRemembering October-November 1984
From N.C.'s WritingsEarly next week, on October 31, the country would be observing the tenth death anniversary of Indira Gandhi who had been cruelly shot down on this very day by her own security...
View ArticleRetelling the Tale of Hashimpura Massacre
The story of Hashimpura massacre in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh (UP), committed more than three decades back, has come back to the public domain after the recent verdict of the Delhi High Court, which...
View ArticleOn P.N. Haksar's twentieth death anniversary
November 27 this year marks the twentieth death anniversary of P.N. Haksar, the eminent administrator and distinguished diplomat as well as one of the country's foremost thinkers. He was the Principal...
View ArticleIndian Constitutional Courts and Secularism — I
by Irfan EngineerThis is a two-part article. This is the first part. The second and concluding part will be carried in the following week's issue of Mainstream dated December 8, 2018.Traditions and...
View ArticleVoice of Dissent: When Art becomes Anti-National
by Ram PuniyaniBanning of books, opposing cricket teams and singers from Pakistan are not very new in India. We had seen the banning of the Satanic Verses, digging of the cricket pitch in Wankhede...
View ArticleQuest for the Lost Dignity
by Sardar Amjad AliThe Indian National Congress, a party of distinction and heritage, fought the battle of liberation of India from the foreign yoke of 200 long years. With a heritage of...
View ArticleUnchallenged Hegemony of BJP
by Vijay KumarEver since the Gujarat Assembly elections held in December 2017, the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi has been on the resurgence. The Congress missed the formation of...
View ArticleStatues and People: Saving River Kaveri
There is public opposition to the Government of Karnataka (GoK)'s proposal to construct a 125-ft high statue of Mother Kaveri in the immediate vicinity of the iconic Krishna-rajasagar (KRS) dam, along...
View ArticleInclusive Development: Relevance of Socio-Political Factors
Rising inequalities in wealth and income lead to unequal access to power, status and influence. Democracies may be less prone to such state capture than dictatorships but even democracies have proved...
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Black and White
EDITORIALLast week African nationals staying in the Capital were subjected to wanton attack once again. According to reports, two Tanzanian women and two Nigerian men were hounded by a mob in the wake...
View ArticleWhy Let Religion Destroy India?
IMPRESSIONSWhat's happening to our country? A huge and diverse land of 135 million people, 29 States and 22 scheduled languages, yet we are caught in a single obsession—religion. All discussions, all...
View ArticleDo Women Really have a Reproductive Choice?
WOMEN'S WORLDby Ramneet KaurWhen we refer to the concept of reproductive choice, it means women's right, control and choice over their reproductive abilities. The right to decide whether they want to...
View ArticleRohingya Sympathisers' Open Letter to Union Home Minister
Hon'ble Home Minister,We understand from news reports that under instructions from your Ministry, the intelligence agencies, have prepared a State-wise list of several organisations and individuals,...
View ArticleArrest of “Urban Naxals” decried at Public meeting in the Capital
A public meeting was held at the Constitution Club on Saturday, December 1, 2018 to discuss the worrisome trend of anti-terror laws being used to stifle democratic dissent by harassing civil rights...
View ArticleAsia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific: Indian Dream versus the Indian Fairy-tale
by Shrabana BaruaWith the rebalancing of the Asia strategy of the Trump Administration, Indo-Pacific as a term began to overlap with that of Asia-Pacific. Though broadly both these terms roughly point...
View ArticleDeconstructing the Politics of Renaming
Renaming cities and places is nothing new in world history. The socio-political context of its happening is important. Catherine Epstein in her book, Nazi Germany: Confronting the Myths (Wiley...
View ArticleHuman Rights: Basic Issues / Not Sorrow but Atonement
From N.C.'s WritingsHuman Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year commemorating the day, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To mark...
View ArticleIndian Constitutional Courts and Secularism—II
by Irfan EngineerThe first part of this two-part article appeared in last week's Mainstream (December 1, 2018). This is the second and concluding part.In the previous issue of Mainstream (December 1,...
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