Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• On the Seventieth Anniversary of Hiroshima

  20 September 2015, by Eduardo Faleiro

  The world observed last month the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the final stage of the Second World War, on August 6, 1945, the first nuclear device was detonated by the American military on Hiroshima. Several thousand people died on the spot and lakhs perished subsequently. A few days later, Nagasaki, another bustling Japanese city, was also bombed with a nuclear missile and a similar catastrophic outcome followed. Meetings held (…)

• Remembering Ramaswami Iyer

  20 September 2015, by Devaki Jain

  TRIBUTE
  I first met Ramaswami Iyer as the husband of Suhasini Iyer—Suhasini was deeply admired and loved by a Cambridge graduate called Foy Nissen who later was in charge of the British Council Library in Mumbai. He insisted that we meet her and of course, typical of Suhasini, we were cherished and fed and our bonding began.
  But the real intertwining between my family and the Ramaswami Iyers began when my husband, L.C. Jain, belonged to a special committee set up by the Planning (…)

• The Dimensions of Veterans’ Disillusionment and Ire

  20 September 2015, by S G Vombatkere

  The Government of India (GoI) finally announced its version of One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP) for military Veterans. This was welcomed only in part by the Veterans, because there were important sticking points which were not included or inadequately included in the announcement. Fortunately, the Veterans who were on fast-unto-death were persuaded to end their fast, but the Veterans’ resolve to remain on protest until the outstanding points were settled to their satisfaction, resulted in (…)

• Stock taking after the Ordeal

  20 September 2015, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  An ordeal by fire is not necessarily the best moment to expect a chastened mood in a nation. The upheaval through which New Delhi has just passed could hardly be expected to restore immediately the balance needed for a sternly objective appraisal of the six stormy weeks that preceded the Cease Fire in the early hours of September 23.
  For New Delhi as for the entire country, it was an overwhelming experience, the trials and tribulations as also the emotional stresses (…)

• Kashmir Diary

  20 September 2015

  As the nation observers the fiftieth anniversary of the 1965 India-Pakistan war, we reproduce the following piece that appeared in the Annual Number of Mainstream (which came out in September 1965).
  by Pannalal Dasgupta
  Almost immediately after I set foot in Srinagar on August 30, I got the chance of attending a public meeting in a hall. The meeting was organised by the traders and houseboat associations over the situation created by Pakistani aggression, which has badly hit the (…)

• Dear India, your policy on Pakistan is utterly obsolete

  20 September 2015

  by Farrukh Khan Pitafi
  The following article appeared in the well-known Pakistani publication, Dawn, and was then carried in Scroll.in from where it is being reproduced here, with due acknowledgement, for the benefit of our readers.
  The National Security Advisors’ meet fiasco has led to some graver questions.
  • Are both sides losing control to the hardliners?
  • Are they even aware of the consequences of their actions?
  • Is there any reset button to undo the damage done?
  It is my (…)

• Corbyn Wins An Outstanding Victory!

  20 September 2015

  by Rob Sewell
  The following article appeared on September 12, 2015 in Marxist.Com from where it is being reproduced, with due acknowledgement, for the benefit of our readers.
  ELECTION RESULT:
  Jeremy Corbyn: 251,417—59.5 per cent
  Andy Burnham: 80,462—19 per cent
  Yvette Cooper: 71,928—17 per cent
  Liz Kendall: 18,857—4.5 per cent
  This astonishing victory of Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader of the Labour Party represents a political earthquake of monumental proportions. It has turned (…)

• BJP depending on Mind Game to win the Bihar Elections

  20 September 2015

  by Arun Srivastava
  The announcement of elections to the Bihar Assembly has not brought any significant change in the electoral battle but by the time voters finally elect their representatives, the rural Bihar would be witnessing the worst kind of social strife. With the electoral battle turning out to be crucial for survival for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, it is obvious that muscle power would fly high.
  It has been quite clear from the beginning (…)

• Saffronising the Institutions

  20 September 2015, by Kuldip Nayar

  Understandably, there is a sense of horror over the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s decision to ‘modernise’ the Jawaharlal Nehru Museum at Teen Murti in New Delhi. The BJP spokesman has explained that the present museum tells only the Nehru side of national struggle for independence, not the entire story.
  Ironically, the persons to put forward the demand are those who did not contribute even a bit to the national movement. Their role, if any, helped the British rulers.
  What the BJP (…)

• Unique Challenges of Our Times

  20 September 2015, by Bharat Dogra

  The uniqueness of the 21st century is that the most crucial issues of sustaining human life and innumerable other species are likely to be decided within this century.
  Within the 21st century it is likely that the most critical time for decision-taking is here and now. The present generation and possibly the next one have to implement the most important decisions for the survival of most of the life-forms on earth.
  Life in various forms has existed on earth for hundreds of millions of (…)