Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Double-Speak

  11 March 2014

  From N.C.’s Writings
  On September 15, the Prime Minister of India met a gathering of eminent academics from a number of seats of learning in the Capital—Delhi University, Jamia Millia, Jawa-harlal Nehru University and the Institute of Economic Growth. Billed as an informal get-together seeking interaction with the academic community, it turned out to be the occasion for the Prime Minister delivering a prepared speech, manicured with philosophical formulations about secularism, communalism, (…)

• Ominous Portents

  11 March 2014, by Kuldip Nayar

  Another Lok Sabha, 15th in the series, has concluded its five-year tenure. Whatever business that was transacted in the House was, indeed, exasperating and raucous. Unfortunately the House representing the democratic system has fallen by the wayside practically in all Asian countries.
  In another three months the Indian voters will once again queue up before the polling booths to elect their representatives. Their quality has been wanting. But I am confident that the next House will be (…)

• Dismantling Meta-Narratives: Women, Development and Globalisation

  11 March 2014

  by manisha mishra
  “A girl whose spirits have not been dampened by inactivity, or innocence tainted by false shame, will always be a romp...”
  Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of Women, 1792, p. 87
  The modern social scenario is rapidly emerging as a developing sector in a multi-dimensional and dynamic process of spiral growth. The old political power blocks controlling socio-economic system are a matter of bygone days. The study of the various facets of social inclusion (…)

• Ramifications of Domestic Violence

  10 March 2014

  by Parul Jain
  1. Introduction
  Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is defined as a pattern of abusive behaviours by one partner against another in an intimate relation-ship such as marriage, dating, family or cohabi-tation. Domestic violence, so defined, has many forms, including physical aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects, battery), (…)

• Glorifying Motherhood: The Power of Identity

  10 March 2014

  by ambika dutta
  Motherhood has always been glorified in the Indian social reality from the ancient times. From her image as Goddess to as Motherland or to a women’s role as mother; she as Maa-Mai-Mother has always explored a distinct identity and has secured a place of significance in the Indian social reality. The role of women as daughter-sister-wife-mother are the markers of womanhood, but motherhood as a gender-identity reveals a more complex picture in relation to the politics of (…)

• People who Shame the Country become Heroes at Home. What’s this Democracy Worth?

  10 March 2014, by T J S George

  Everyone was shocked by the recent crimina-lities in Parliament, but was anyone surprised? And does anyone believe that this is the last time such scenes of shame will be seen in the House? Our politics turned criminal when criminals turned politicians many moons ago. All parties were guilty in this. All parties conspired to protect criminal MPs.
  They even tried to subvert the Supreme Court ruling that people in jail or police custody should be disqualified from contesting elections. When (…)

• The Subaltern Can Speak

  10 March 2014

  by l.k. sharma
  The Jaipur Literature Festival has not just grown; it has evolved into an Indian show. The global meets local will be one way of describing this transformation. The literature in Indian languages, the culture of the State of Rajasthan and even the endangered languages figured prominently in the event this year. The organisers felt if the Hindiwallahs and the Rajasthani heritage experts wanted more time, let them have it. As a result, the subaltern got to speak.
  It is (…)

• Stop Pentavalent Vaccine Before It Is Too Late

  10 March 2014, by Bharat Dogra

  The introduction of pentavalent vaccine in place of DPT vaccine in India’s universal immunisation programme has become one of the most controversial public health decisions in recent times. The proposal—already under implementation to push pentavalent vaccine (DPT + Hepatitis B + Hib) has been opposed by many eminent experts as well community health organisations, but this opposition based on strong evidence is being ignored due to the pressure exerted by powerful international organisations (…)

• Reports of Large-scale Deaths of Students in Bapu Asaram’s Schools

  10 March 2014

  COMMUNICATION
  According to reports in two leading Hindi newspapers Nai Duniya and Dainik Jagran, dated February 19, 2014, a parliamentary committee has found that 800 children in various schools associated with Asaram in Maharashtra died during the 12-year period 2001-2013.
  This is a very high rate of deaths of school students and should be carefully investigated. Most of these schools are located in tribal areas. Most of these deaths have been attributed earlier to snake and scorpion (…)

• Tribute: P.C. Joshi

  10 March 2014

  Dr P.C. Joshi was close to N.C. and Mainstream. Many of his articles and reviews appeared in this journal. As a token of our sincere homage to his abiding memory we reproduce here one of his contributions—based on his keynote address delivered at the National Conference of the Society for Communal Harmony, New Delhi, on September 26-27, 1998—that appeared in the Mainstream Annual 1999.