Communal Polarisation Scales New Heights
EDITORIALElection fever has gripped the country.Today was the third phase of polling for the 16th Lok Sabha. In this phase, moderate to brisk voting took place in 91 constituencies spread over 11...
View Article'Halt Modi!' — Sane Voice in Darkness
Halt Modi and his moves! Save this country from destruction, from a complete breakdown! Well, the sane of this country are openly uttering these two-liners. In fact, last evening (April 14) the...
View ArticleUkraine: Threat to Europe's Energy Security
The crisis over Ukraine, by far the gravest one Europe has faced after the end of the Cold War, now opens the prospect of an energy crisis in the continent. Even if military conflicts do not escalate...
View ArticleBharti in NHRC net: Some Facts Beyond
by Mahaswetha DassThe concern over the lack of a legal mechanism for the protection of refugees and stateless persons in the South Asian region had been a topic of concern for many working for the...
View ArticleClimate-incompatible Elections in India
by Anwar Sadat and Sarwar SadatClimate change, which poses an existential threat to mankind is not an issue for the 16th Lok Sabha elections, 2014. The existing climate change regime does not bind...
View ArticleCentre-Bihar State Relations and Laloo Prasad Yadav
by Mohammad Anzar AlamLaloo Prasad Yadav recorded his entry in the active politics under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan during his Bihar movement, which is called as JP Movement, that was...
View ArticleA One-horse Race?
The BJP-led NDA's dominance in the media tends to create the vision of a one-horse race. But healthy skepticism can provide food for thought. For instance, that Narendra Modi does not signify what the...
View ArticleDemolition of Pluralism
I may question the timing, practically on the eve of polling for the Lok Sabha election, of the disclosure of conspiracy behind the demolition of the Babri Majid at Ayodhya in 1992. I do not know how...
View ArticleNot Sorrow but Atonement
From N.C.'s WritingsThe following piece, which was published as ‘Political Notebook' in Mainstream (December 12, 1992), is being reproduced now as the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992...
View ArticleUniqueness of the 16th Lok Sabha Election
by T. SadashivamIntroductionThe elections in our country, either for State Assembly or Lok Sabha, bring a festive mood among political parties (that may not be true for the majority of Indians)....
View ArticleMoneyfestos of the Plutocracy
Any attempt to make sense of the content and role of the manifestos issued by the various political parties would surely acquire a context for appraisal by means of at least a quick overview of the...
View ArticleModi's Contrarian Foreign Policy Goals
The election manifestos of India's political parties usually do not attract—or merit—attention. But the Bharatiya Janata Party's [BJP] manifesto, which was released on April 7, whetted curiosity for...
View ArticleNarendra Modi and Governance
by Siddhartha Guha RayThe results of the opinion polls shown in several television channels give a clear indication that National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, shall be our rulers for the...
View ArticleHate, Desperation Vitiated Our Campaigning: We Need to Worry about Our Tomorrows
IMPRESSIONSBy all accounts this election campaign has been shriller, more aggressive and more hate-filled than previous campaigns. There were excesses on all sides. All players seemed driven by a...
View ArticleModi's Colossal Ignorance of History
communicationNarendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, has earned notoriety for his colossal ignorance of Indian history and important facts.According to him, the ashes of Dr Shyama Prasad...
View ArticleIndia Inc's Massive Bid for Power
POLITICAL NOTEBOOKIn the run-up to the 2014 general elections, India has witnessed an unprecedented demonstration of massive infusion of money in electoral campaigning. A sort of carpet-bombing of...
View ArticleAn Ode to Anuradha - On her Sixth Death Anniversary
The following was sent by Kobad Ghandy from New Delhi's Tihar Jail to the Mainstream editor on April 12, 2014: “Through a poem by Rumi in memory of his soul-mate and idol, Sham Tabriz, a fate similar...
View ArticleApril Day of Birth and Death
(On the occasion of William Shakespeare's birth and death on April 23)A new born babe you came to us Under a Stratford roof; Was there across your tender brow A mark, a foretold proofThat your quill...
View ArticleIs Manmohan Singh as Innocent as Sanjay Baru Makes Out?
IN LIEU OF BOOK REVIEWSanjay Baru's controversial book (The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh, Penguin India) portrays the Prime Minister as a helpless minion in the...
View ArticleAfghanistan: Obama Wants Minimal US Military Presence
The high probability, as things stand, is that there will be a runoff in the Afghan presidential election. The final results of the April 5 election will be known in another three weeks only. The...
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