Does it Matter?
My tablet and my pen,My two cherished treasuresAre snatched from me,But does it matter?For I have dipped my fingersIn the blood of my heart;My tongue they sealedBu does it mater? For,I have placed a...
View ArticleThe Editor's Notebook in Mainstream, June 28, 1975
The Editor's Notebook in Mainstream (June 28, 1975) after the promulgation of Emergency and the imposition of press censorship appeared as follows:Tagore for TodaySomewhere in the excitement of...
View ArticleLest We Forget
Thirtynine years ago on June 26, 1975, Emergency was proclaimed throughout the country as the ruling leadership bared its fangs nakedly displaying its dictatorial proclivities. We present here...
View ArticleA Liberal State is a Secular State
The way certain forces have expressed their opposition to rational, critical and reflective statements during the elections and thereafter indicate that the spaces for discussion, debate and dissent...
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End of Misrule by Coterie: West Bengal in Political Cross-road?
Part ICaste MattersCaste is perhaps comparable only to poison and/or cancer. Both are too dreadful until and unless urgently cured by strong intervention in time. But caste has no antidote. India is...
View ArticleModi Back to his Agenda
When Narendra Modi broke down in Parliament at his party MPs' meeting while hailing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a pro-Hindu outfit, as his mother, I thought it was an emotional outburst. And I...
View ArticleRobbing Peter to pay Paul
A good number of commentaries have been appearing, some askance at the rapidity with which the new Modi Sarkar is unleashing its corporate agenda.It is as though something other than this was expected...
View ArticleDemocratic Rights in India
“ ‘The next government may adopt a muscular and hawkish approach to internal security...,' said a senior official [of the Ministry of Home Affairs].” (The Hindu, May 20, 2014, page 10) As bureaucrats...
View Article“A Blow to Progressive Forces Everywhere”
The following is an interview with Qamar Agha, a specialist on West Asian affairs, who spoke to theMainstream editor.Ques: What is the genesis of the latest crisis in Iraq?I must tell you that the ISIS...
View ArticleIllusion and Reality
EDITORIALToday marks one month in office of the Nareindra Modi-led NDA Government at the Centre.One of the major reasons for the BJP's success at the hustings was the effect of the backbreaking...
View ArticleUmbrage against Activists
Democracy and personal liberty should never be taken for granted. This is a warning that the imposition of the Emergency gave 39 years ago when the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, furtively...
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Lok Sabha Polls 2014: Kerala Bucks Modi Wave
by M.R. BijuThe sixteenth Lok Sabha elections were held in nine phases from April 7 to May 12, 2014. According to the Election Commission of India, the electoral population of the country was 814.5...
View ArticleTribute to Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis | Panchsheel and After
From N.C.'s WritingsJune 29, 2014 marked the 121st birth anniversory of Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. On this occasion we reproduce the following piece by N.C. that appeared at the time of...
View ArticleFrom Azad to Irani: Road Traversed by Human Resource Development Ministry
COMMENTARYby Navneet Sharma, Harikrishnan B. and Pradeep NairThe euphoria of Narendra Modi's landslide win is at its peak. Every Indian is basking in the glory of electing a stable government which is...
View ArticleArbitrary Removal of Governors by the Modi Government
by Shiladitya ChakrabortyThe newly elected BJP-led NDA Government appears to be determined to make a clean sweep at all levels. Many heads rolled in the mass exodus of the UPA-II appointed Governors....
View ArticleComing Full Circle in Iraq
It is one of those ironies that the Khilafat movement of 1919 that brought two subconti-nental communities together in the cause of the Ottoman Caliphate, ostensibly came to naught. The Caliphate...
View ArticleIraq is not just a Sunni-Shia Clash; it's Fundamentalist Wahabism's Challenge...
IMPRESSIONSThe dimensions of the Iraq crisis began hitting us only when Indian workers were kidnapped and Indian nurses stranded. There is also an awareness now about the possible economic disaster if...
View ArticleAmit Shah's Innocence Proven?
by Rajinder PuriAccording to media reports, the decision to appoint Amit Shah as the next President of the BJP has been all but finalised. The official announcement expected in a few days is to be a...
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Budget Justice for Dalits and Adivasis
by Bharat Dogra, Roopam SinghAt a time when the need for inclusive development is being emphasised time and again, it is shocking to know that year after year development funds meant for the weakest...
View ArticleFacing Manifold Mounting Problems
EDITORIALSo the Narendra Modi-led BJP Government at the Centre has at last been forced to act against hoarding of onions and potatoes. Yesterday it brought these two vegeables under the Essential...
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