Why Naxalism?
From N.C.'s WritingsThis article was written by N.C. fortythree years ago as ‘Observer' in Mainstream (May 2, 1970) during the first wave of the Naxalite movement.The spate of terrorist violence in...
View ArticleNaxalism versus Corruption
My liberal friends tell me to understand the Naxalites, not to condemn them. I wish I could follow their advice. But how do I reconcile the difference between the Nexalites, who killed this week some...
View ArticleTribute: Vina Mazumdar
Vina Mazumdar, who passed away at the age of 86 last week, sensitised a whole generation of women about their rights and roles in the 1970s and 1980s—and nudged many like me to question long accepted...
View ArticleDoyen of Indian Feminist Movement
TRIBUTEVinadi (Dr Mrs Vina Mazumdar) passed away in the wee-hours of May 30, 2013. There were other illustrious leaders of the Indian feminist movement prior to Vinadi but the singular contribution of...
View ArticleCricket Scene, By-poll Outcome, NCTC
The country's cricket scene has turned murkier than what it was presumed to be when the IPL spot-fixing scandal first hit the headlines.The clean-up operation in the BCCI turned out to be a sham: at...
View ArticleManmohan's Progress
From N.C.'s WritingsWith Parliament rounding off the general debate on the Budget, this is the point of time when certain reflections on the government's presentation of the economic crisis before the...
View ArticleA Clarification
COMMUNICATIONI have become aware, very belatedly alas, of a piece by Comrade Sailendra Nath Ghosh (Mainstream, April 16, 2011), which takes me to task for an article of mine “Why the Left Matters”...
View ArticleErasing Enemies: America's New Way of War
REVIEW ARTICLEThe Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth by Mark Mazzetti; New York: Penguin Press; 2013. America has been at war for more than a decade. There is...
View ArticleVVIP Trips to Uttarakhand and Kashmir
MUSINGSNo, sir, aerial surveys won't do in the Uttarakhand region. You cannot view disasters from that far away, safe positioning! You got to be right there amongst your people to try and reach out to...
View ArticleDon't belittle the Army, Mr Rambo-NaMbo
The news this week that no one would have possibly missed and debated is the one that appeared in a leading national daily. The headline shouted, “Narendra Modi lands in Uttarakhand, flies out with...
View ArticleNature and Process of History in Indian Democracy
We do not drive history according to our own desires and wishes; rather history leads us with its force taking all kinds of species through the different stations and temporary destinations. There are...
View ArticleManmade Disaster Plays Havoc
Not long ago, a disaster in any part of the country would elicit national response. People would go door-to-door to collect money, clothes, utensils, medicines and many other things of daily use to...
View ArticleSwami Vivekananda — A Masiha of the Masses
The following article is being published on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda's one hundred and eleventh death anniversary on July 4. On January 12 this year we had observed his one hundred and...
View ArticleDeclaration of the Left Parties' National Convention
DOCUMENTThe Left parties—represented by the CPI, CPI-M, RSP and Forward Bloc—held a National Convention in New Delhi on July 1, 2013. The following Declaration was adopted at the Convention.Sixty six...
View ArticleBetween Hope and Disappointment
While the last group of 150 persons was flown to safety from Badrinath on July 2, that is, seventeen days after flash floods due to nature's fury from a sudden cloud-burst ravaged Uttarakhand, several...
View ArticleLetter to the Sahitya Akademi President
by Ivy Imogene HansdakDear Sir, I wish to draw your attention to certain anomalies in the policy used by the Sahitya Akademi in the nomination of recipients for the Annual Sahitya Akademi Awards in...
View ArticleKudankulam gets the Green Light, but...
by Mikhail MatveyevThe Supreme Court gave the final nod to the commissioning of the Kundakulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) more than month ago. In its legal judgment the country's highest judicial...
View ArticleWhy Political Parties should come under the RTI Act
by Jayan P.A.The Chief Information Commission's (CIC) order on bringing political parties under the Right to Information Act, 20051 is a right step in a vibrant democracy such as India. Accepting...
View ArticleIs Russia's Crackdown on NGOs Justifiable?
by R.G. GidadhubliIn Russia Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have been subjected to indiscriminate checking and investigation during the last few months, raising considerable resentment both inside...
View ArticleCPA Fact-Finding Team's Report on Kunan-Poshpura
DOCUMENTThe Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA), New Delhi, a think-tank, has since 2009 been involved with the people of Kashmir in the search of a peaceful and just solution. Over the years, several...
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