Message from a Lady of Exceptional Courage
TRIBUTEVivek Kumar SrivastavaWhy is the killing of Sushmita Banerjee so impactful for India, the world and women in particular? Not for the reason that she was assassinated in a gruesome manner by...
View ArticleDr Sanjay Kumar Biswas (1945-2013)
TRIBUTESanjay was a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science and I was a teacher at St. Joseph's College. He was a mechanical engineer and I taught political science. While he was a Communist, I...
View ArticleVinod Raina
TRIBUTEVinod Raina, the eminent educationist who made a significant contribution to the right to education legislation and to enriching science education at the grassroots, breathed his last in Delhi...
View ArticleAgenda that Failed: Left Politics in Post-colonial India
by Abhijit GhoshIntroductionIs sixtyfive years (1947-2012) enough time to declare that any political agenda has failed? But more than half-a-century is a reasonable period to dissect any political...
View ArticleLetter from Germany: Social Democrats Face a Tough Task in the Federal Elections
by Arani BasuThis article reached us sometime ago but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons.With federal elections round the corner, it is a matter of concern for the Social Democratic...
View ArticleModi's 'Vanzara' Moment: Encounter Killings as State Policy?
This article was written before the BJP leadership formally decided to make Narendra Modi its prime ministerial candidate.Resignation letters of suspended officers—who are in jail under serious...
View ArticleIndia Facing Economic Emergency
by Pranjit AgarwalaIndia is facing an economic emergency with the free fall of the rupee and a high rate of food and fuel inflation despite comparative stability in the global crude oil and commodity...
View ArticleThe Problem of Kashmir
Zubin Mehta, before leaving for Srinagar to conduct his orchestra, said: “There will be no violence.” German Ambassador Michael Steiner, who facilitated the concert, said at Srinagar that the world was...
View ArticleKerry becomes first War Casualty
This article was written before the attack on Syria was deferred in view of the Russian initiative, in response to Kerry's suggestion, on the table. Launching the military attack against a far-away...
View ArticleSilver Lining
EDITORIALLast Friday, that is, on September 13, all the four accused—who were found guilty of a criminal conspiracy to gang-rape, murder and commit unnatural sex on the 23-year-old physiotherapy...
View ArticleShould India Ease Entry Rules For Foreign Banks?
On October 12, Raghuram Rajan, the new Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, announced that the RBI will soon issue new rules allowing a more liberal entry of foreign banks in India. “That is going to...
View ArticleRSS, Madani, Laxmanpur Bathe
Fundamentalism is rearing its ugly head once again. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has openly said that it would take part in politics. On the other hand, even the liberal Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind...
View ArticleTime to Breach the Wall
From N.C.'s WritingsThe last few months have witnessed the deterioration of Indo-Pak relations to the point of almost eye-ball-to-eyeball confrontation. Tempers have been stoked high and the fiercest...
View ArticleVigilance and Corruption—Where Is Governance Headed?
The Supreme Court has directed the Union and State governments to constitute a Civil Services Board (CSB) to manage transfers, postings, promotions, etc., of civil servants, to insulate the bureaucracy...
View ArticleFond Memories of an Eminent Editor
One of my fondest memories of early days of free-lance journalism relates to my few but precious meetings with Nikhil Chakravartty, editor of Mainstream. Earlier as a student in Delhi University my...
View ArticleKolkata Observers N.C.'s Birth Centenary
The birth centenary of Nikhil Chakravartty, the founder editor of Mainstream and the first Chairman of Prasar Bharati, was observed in Kolkata on November 3. Among those who spoke was the nonagenarian...
View ArticleNon-Alignment, Human Rights, New: International Order, Regional Cooperation
The following is the paper the author presented on November 5 at the last session of the two-day conference held in New Delhi in honour of N.C. on his birth centenary.I am privileged to have the...
View ArticleKnowledge blended with Wisdom
Dear Sumit,An unfortunate accident is preventing me to attend the gathering in Delhi in honour of your illustrious father and my friend Nikhil Chakravartty. We had become friends in the early nineties...
View ArticleThe Institution Called Nikhil
by I.A. RehmanTo describe and celebrate the life of a person like Nikhil Chakravartty cliché-ridden encomiums obituary writers often rely upon are not needed. His life speaks for itself. That he was...
View ArticleMars Mission, Modi's Manoeuvres
EDITORIALIt is yet another feather in the cap of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The successful launch of Mangalayaan—the country's first probe mission to Mars—made every Indian proud....
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