India - China Relations — A Closer Look
by O.P. SabherwalFrom the scenario of the sixties, let me recall an episode in October 1960 that is of contem-porary relevance. The then Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai, on his last visit to India,...
View ArticleChina: From ‘Revolution' to Reform and Market
That is how the Chinese put it: ‘from revolution to reform and market'. Market, reform and ‘getting rich' are the buzz-words in China today as it is undergoing massive changes and is emerging as an...
View ArticleRussia: What is there in the name ‘Stalingrad'?
The famous scene from the Hollywood film Enemy at the Gates captured the zeitgeist well, when addressing a room full of the Soviet military officers right on the Stalingrad front in World War II, the...
View ArticleWhen the State abets Communalism, Independence itself is in Danger
IMPRESSIONSThe soul of modern India is its liberal demo-cracy. Are we in danger of losing it? Communal posturings are getting ever more blatant. Caste leaders are defying the law openly. Intolerance...
View ArticleFreedom of Religion
Religion has emerged as a major source of conflict in the post-Cold War era all across the globe. A perceptive writer points out that ideological strife has now given place to the “clash of...
View ArticleTamils in Sri Lanka: Losing Relevance
Sri Lankan Tamils were the least surprised and shocked when President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his Independence Day address on February 4 quite bluntly ruled out granting any kind of political autonomy for...
View ArticleFive-point Formula for a Riot-free India
by Asghar Ali EngineerIndia's legacy of communalism and communal violence is here to stay, if one goes by the activities of the Rightwing Hindutva forces and the government's total inaction, nay,...
View ArticleCommunalism Legitimised
No doubt, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is less rhetorical than before in its references to Muslims. There can be two reasons for this. One, the party has its eyes fixed on the scenario after the...
View ArticleBenefits of Diesel Subsidy: A Story from Mumbai
The government has announced that bulk diesel consumers like Railways and State Transport Corporations have to purchase diesel at market-determined rates, while diesel purchased at fuel outlets will...
View ArticleIn Defence of Afzal Guru
This article reached us on February 1, 2013. But it could not be used in the last (February 9) issue of Mainstream due to space constraints. We are now using it following Afzal Guru's execution (on...
View ArticleAfzal Guru Case: Pancholi and Haksar's Press Statement
We are giving this statement on why we have decided to withdraw as the Guru family's counsels. We would have preferred to have withdrawn quietly but due to subsequent events it is not possible to...
View ArticleKilling Afzal — Hanging My Head In Shame!
MUSINGSHanging my head in shame. No, not my form, for that's what the state can do. Hang and bury in absolute secrecy, without informing the family and without being sensitive to any of the basic human...
View ArticleImportance of Listening to Afzal's Story
Afzal Guru was hanged on February 9, 2013, two days before the death anniversary of Maqbool Bhatt which is celebrated as Martrys' Day in Kashmir. Both the Kashmiri men are now buried in unmarked graves...
View ArticleWhere Are We Heading?
Several disturbing developments over the last few days have cast further shadow on the credibility of the ruling coalition at the Centre. First came the allegation that the CBI's special prosecutor in...
View ArticleThe Struggle Against POSCO Needs Wider Support
COMMUNICATIONThe month of February has brought a new wave of repression against the villagers threatened by the grant steel project of the POSCO multinational company.This project has been widely...
View ArticleA Truly Courageous Woman, Hindutva Terror
MUSINGSQamar Azad Hashmi passed away recently. She was Shabnam, Safdar, Sohail, Sabiha and Shehla's mother and ‘ammaji' to the rest of us … I had interviewed her on earlier occasions. She spoke...
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Report of a Survey on National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Panchayats
The following is the report of a survey conducted by the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi on the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Panchayats. IntroductionJust like the Mahatma Gandhi...
View ArticleRe-reading Modi's Gujarat
The eminent political psychologist, Ashis Nandy, made some insightful observations on Gujarat and Narendra Modi in 2008, and those seem prophetic in the wake of Modi's recent victory in the Assembly...
View ArticleDirect Cash Transfer: Who Does It Benefit?
The following article was written sometime back but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons.Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) of subsidy to domestic LPG consumers starts on February 15, 2013,...
View ArticleThe Follies of Empire: America in Iraq and Afghanistan
REVIEW ARTICLEImperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran; New York: Alfred A. Knopf; 2006. Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan by Rajiv...
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