Mainstream Weekly

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• West Bengal Election 2026: Relevant Issues | Sujit Kumar Paul & Souradeep Sarkar

  22 April

  The election schedule for Vidhan Sabha election in West Bengal 2026 was declared by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on 15th March 2026. Polling is scheduled to take place on 2 phases, 23rd April 2026 (Phase I) and 29th April 2026 (Phase II), covering all constituencies across the state of West Bengal. The counting of votes will be held on 4th May 2026. The 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election is one of the most significant political events in the state

• Rethinking Tribal Life in India | Arup Kumar Sen

  22 April, by Arup Kumar Sen

  More than 50 years ago, the eminent Indian anthropologist and nationalist thinker, Nirmal Kumar Bose, wrote a tract titled

• Disenfranchisement in West Bengal | Vijay Kumar

  22 April, by Vijay Kumar

  The most transformative aspect of the Indian constitution is introduction of Adult suffrage. By one stroke, the right to vote was granted to all Indians who were above prescribed age regardless of cast, religion, region, and gender and irrespective of their educations and properties.
  This was indeed revolutionary, and has no parallel in the history of democratic evolution. In developed countries, the right to vote began with criteria of property, and sizeable section of population was (…)

• Electioneering in Tamil Nadu: Exploring Some Unsung Issues | P. Sakthivel

  22 April

  Introduction
  Tamil Nadu is heading towards a single-phase poll for its State Legislative Assembly on 23rd April 2026, with four major fronts in the fray: one led by the DMK, another by the AIADMK-BJP alliance, the NTK, and the newly formed TVK led by Joseph Vijay. In the absence of the Dravidian stalwarts, M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa, the DMK and AIADMK are reaching out to voters through both conventional and modern campaign methods, including rallies, street meetings, roadshows, (…)

• Odisha :: Sijimali Protest: Contesting Blurred Boundaries of a Porous State | Suranjita Ray

  22 April, by Suranjita Ray

  Sijimali Hills in Odisha remain a major source of livelihood for the indigenous Adivasi and Dalit communities. Its biodiversity and sacred significance associated with Teej Raja, a living deity, have made it an integral part of their culture, rituals, and everyday living. Its rich bauxite deposits, an important resource for the production of aluminium, are of crucial interest for the industrial class. Ever since the site, which is located close to Vedanta

• Should Open Court trials also follow the In Camera restrictions? | Faraz Ahmad

  22 April, by Faraz Ahmad

  It is a curious situation that a lawyer named Vaibhav Singh has appealed to the Delhi High Court to put a ban on publicising court proceedings in Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma court where she is trying a case against former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Delhi Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and 21 others, including some prominent AAP leaders like Sanjay Singh, who were discharged by the trial court, finding no credible evidence presented by the investigating officer of the (…)

• When Tauseef Appreciated Hindu temple and Ganges | M.R. Narayan Swamy

  22 April, by M R Narayan Swamy

  My colleague Tauseef (assumed name) knew I prayed at temples daily without fail. Bright and inquisitive, he asked me to take him along to a temple as he desired to know how Hindus worship and what went on in Hindu shrines.
  He did have a doubt: Will anyone object to his coming since he is a Muslim?
  No, I replied confidently. Most Hindu temples do not bar non-Hindus from entering. In any case, I reasoned, everyone is equal in the eyes of God.
  I took Tauseef to one of the oldest south (…)

• InstaGPT in our classroom | Pavan Kumar

  22 April

  The classroom is a shared space of learning for both students and teachers. It nurtures intellectual growth and encourages critical thinking. Within this space, engagement with texts is valued over fixed personal viewpoints, which can at times become rigid, outdated, and lifeless. In this sense, the classroom plays a vital role in shaping society, the nation, and collective consciousness. It is also a place where future generations of leaders

• Safeguard intellectual rigour: Concerns over amendments by the University Grants Commission (UGC) regarding standards & procedures for PhD thesis | T. Amose

  22 April

  For the Consideration of the University Grants Commission (UGC)
  Abstract The revised amendments introduced by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to uphold minimum standards and procedures for PhD thesis submission and the recruitment of assistant professors in Indian universities and colleges appear detrimental to the nation’s academic ecosystem. This paper critically examines the pitfalls inherent in the minimum eligibility criteria, whereby postgraduates merely qualifying the (…)

• Why Easier Payments Don

  22 April, by Disha

  We live in an age of manufactured magic. With a simple tap, a soft tone, and a silent transaction, we can summon food, fashion, and furniture to our doorsteps. The world of digital finance has dismantled every barrier, every pause for thought, that once stood between our desires and their fulfillment. Paying for things has become a frictionless, fluid, and frankly forgettable experience. But in this paradise of painless payments, a peril lurks just beneath the surface. This seamless (…)