Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• 2014 Assembly Elections in Haryana: A Paradigm Shift in State Politics

  1 December 2014

  by Ranbir Singh
  The 2014 Assembly elections in Haryana have brought about a paradigm shift in the politics of the State. The BJP, which had won only four seats in a House of 90 in the 2005 elections, has been able to enhance its strength to 47 on the basis of a 24.16 per cent increase in its vote-share.
  This unprecedented success of the party has to be ascribed to the following factors. Firstly, the formation of the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre was bound to impact Haryana which (…)

• On the Brink of Collapse: Nuclear Agreement with Iran

  1 December 2014, by Ninan Koshy

  There was great expectation that the majestuc Coburg Palace Hotel in Vienna would witness the signing of an epoch-making agreement heralding dramatic changes in international relations, especially in West Asia. But unfortu-nately that did not happen.
  The negotiations between P5+1—the USA, UK, Russia, China, France, Germany—on one side and Iran on the other on Iran’s nuclear programme did not collapse, but failed to make a comprehensive agreement at Vienna by November 24, the deadline set (…)

• Black Diwali for Rural Daily Wage Earners

  1 December 2014

  by Arun Srivastava
  While economists Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya have been supporting the Modi Government’s initiative to squeeze out the operational area of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (the NREGA scheme) and confine it to the country’s poorest 200 districts, nearly a thousand workers engaged with the scheme observed Black Diwali against the government’s move to dilute it.
  It is indeed an irony that once again a public spat has surfaced (…)

• Two Contributions by P.N. Haksar: Relevance of Gandhi-Nehru Nexus ; Fundamentalism and Secularism

  1 December 2014, by P N Haksar

  ON P.N. HAKSAR’S SIXTEENTH DEATH ANNIVERSARY
  November 27 this year marks P.N. Haksar’s sixteenth death anniversary. On this occasion we offer our sincere homage to one of the country’s foremost thinkers by reproducing the following contributions by the former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Haksar’s role as an eminent administrator and distinguished diplomat would remain indelible in the history of post-independence India.
  Two Contributions by P.N. Haksar
  Relevance of (…)

• Russia Signs Military Pact with Pakistan

  1 December 2014, by M K Bhadrakumar

  When a Russian Defence Minister comes to Pakistan after a gap of fortyfive years, it becomes a landmark event both in the bilateral relations between the two countries and in regional politics. And on top of it, there is much symbolism that Sergey Shoigu came to Pakistan on November 20 in the second leg of a tour that first took him to China at a defining moment in Russia-China strategic ties.
  It’s too early to connect the dots—not at least until President Vladimir Putin undertakes a (…)

• In-Laws and Outlaws: Travails of Bihar CM Jitanram Manjhi

  1 December 2014, by A K Biswas

  The righteous hype in the print and electronic media in the first week of November 2014 targeting Jitanram Manjhi, the Bihar Chief Minister, seemed a little out of proportion, if not unprecedented. The big story is that his son-in-law was appointed his personal assistant and nephew a peon. Their orders of appointment, issued by the government in the Cabinet Secretariat department, were violative of the rules in place. The Cabinet Secretariat was, however, free to point out the mistake and (…)

• In-laws and Outlaws: Travails of Bihar CM Jitanram Manjhi

  1 December 2014, by A K Biswas

  The righteous hype in the print and electronic media in the first week of November 2014 targeting Jitanram Manjhi, the Bihar Chief Minister, seemed a little out of proportion, if not unprecedented. The big story is that his son-in-law was appointed his personal assistant and nephew a peon. Their orders of appointment, issued by the government in the Cabinet Secretariat department, were violative of the rules in place. The Cabinet Secretariat was, however, free to point out the mistake and (…)

• Learning from the Chinese Experience

  1 December 2014, by Bharat Dogra

  BOOK REVIEW
  1. Ideology Matters—China from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping by Manoranjan Mohanty; AAKAR Books, Delhi; pages: 208; price: Rs 295.
  2. China’s Success Trap : Lessons for Development Theory by Manoranjan Mohanty; Founder’s Day Lecture, Madras Institute of Development Studies; pages: 28; price: Rs 20.
  Keeping in view the increasingly important role of China in the world economy and politics today, there is a widespread and intense desire to have a proper understanding of China’s (…)

• Beyond Populism

  1 December 2014, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  Two events marking the beginning of the long Budget session of Parliament fitted in neatly to highlight the realities of the present-day Indian politics.
  On Parliament’s opening day New Delhi witnessed a massive turn-out of people from all over the country, with of course the neighbouring States providing the largest quota: special trains by scores and buses, both State-owned and private, commandeered by those in authority, brought this huge concourse to the Capital, (…)

• Speed and Quality mark the Growth of SE Asia’s Infrastructure. Why are we where we are?

  1 December 2014, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  Only a few years ago Bangkok was South-East Asia’s most notorious city for traffic jams. It was common for parents to pick up their kids from school and, while the family vehicle tried to crawl along, give them a bucket wash, help them change into night clothes, go over homework, give them dinner and put them to sleep; the vehicle would still be crawling-stopping-crawling towards home.
  Today flyovers crisscross the city in multiple layers. Sky-trains provide fast links to its (…)