Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Of Enduring Value

  17 September 2012, by SC

  The entire monsoon session of Parliament having been washed out on account of the BJP’s stand on the issue of ‘Coalgate’, some sections of the media have echoed the PM to describe this as a blot on our parliamentary democracy. This is largely correct as the development was unique with the main Opposition party publicly declaring that its members won’t allow smooth functioning of both the Houses till the PM, as the Coal Minister, taking moral responsibility for the scam, tenders his (…)

• Lesson of Kudankulam Protests

  17 September 2012, by Bharat Dogra

  COMMUNICATION
  The recent mass protests against the Kudan-kulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu should convince the government of the need to seriously consider the implications of similar protests taking place in other areas where other nuclear plants are being located. By all accounts the recent protests are genuine, broad-based protests of people who firmly believe that to protect their life and livelihoods as well as to protect the ecology of their area they should do all they can to stop (…)

• ‘Jal Satyagraha’ and the Road Ahead

  17 September 2012, by Bharat Dogra

  On September 10 the Madhya Pradesh Government partially accepted the demands of the ‘Jal Satyagraha’ in Khandwa district. Accordingly the water-level of Onkareshwar dam was almost immediately reduced to the legal limit so that the illegal and premature submergence of several villages was undone. The government has promised that land in place of land will be provided to the displaced people. However till the time of writing on September 11, the Jal Satyagraha in Harda district (Indirasagar or (…)

• A Verdict in Gujarat, Silence over Delhi

  17 September 2012, by Kuldip Nayar

  Every time there is a conviction in the Gujarat riots case, I begin to hope that the day is not far when the real culprit, State Chief Minister Narendra Modi, will be brought to book. The 28-year-long sentence awarded to Maya Kodnani, who organised the massacre at Naroda-Patiya in Ahmedabad, makes me confident that justice can be delayed—the riots took place in 2002—but not denied. Modi lauded her role on the riots so much that he made her a Minister. But the Supreme Court’s Special (…)

• Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: A Teacher Par Excellence

  17 September 2012, by Sunny Jacob

  On September 5 last week fell Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s 124th birth anniversary. This day (September 5) is observed as Teacher’s Day every year. We are carrying the following piece and reproducing the relevent article by N.C. on the facing page to mark the occasion.
  Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s birthday is celebrated every year as Teacher’s Day. It has an interesting story behind it. Some of his admirers approached him and requested him to allow the celebration of September 5 as his (…)

• Preserve Radhakrishnan’s Gift to the Nation

  17 September 2012, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  The news report, about a government move to oust the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) from the Viceregal Lodge at Shimla and convert the mansion back into the summer retreat of the President of India, is bound to come as a shock to the public. This will bring no laurels for those who have initiated the move.
  It is important to note that the Cabinet Secretary leading a Committee of Central Government Secretaries initiated the process by which the prestigious (…)

• With Irresponsible MPs, Arrogant MLAs, We Stand as a Disgraced Nation

  17 September 2012, by T J S George

  MPs deliberately wasting an entire session at a monetary cost alone of Rs 170 crore. Dozens of MLAs going on private pleasure trips abroad at public expense. Never has democracy been so openly disgraced in our country. If there is anything more offending than these acts, it is parties putting the blame on one another. All of them are really the same. All of them are irresponsible and unethical when it comes to spending the taxpayer’s money on their private agendas.
  Currently a 17-member (…)

• A Parliament of Howls

  17 September 2012, by Badri Raina

  So the republic’s “main Opposition party,” the BJP, has no use for Parliament. A mere talking shop, its deliberations do not yield the result that the BJP wants. Exactly what the Maoists maintain.
  So when you take the straight line and curve it inward, those distant ends meet. The Right-wing may not want to overthrow the state yet, since they already own a good part of it, but they have finally yielded to team Anna and overthrown Parliament, not through the barrel of the gun but through (…)

• Dragging CAG in Political Crossfire Diminishes Government’s Accountability to Parliament

  17 September 2012, by B P Mathur

  The Comptroller and Auditor General’s Report on the Allocation of Coal Blocks has created a countrywide uproar and the working of Parliament has been stalled. Questions are being raised about the mandate of the CAG and whether he has overstepped his jurisdiction. The role of the CAG should be understood in the context of our constitutional framework. The framers of the Indian Constitution recognised his importance as a key instrument in ensuring the accountability of the Executive to (…)

• Questions of Freedom and People’s Emancipation — II

  17 September 2012, by Kobad Ghandy

  Kobad Ghandy from Tihar Jail is writing on the concept of freedom vis-à-vis present-day society as also in relation to a future just order, bringing out some causes for the failure of the erstwhile socialist states. It will comprise a series of five to six articles. The first article (covering Part I—The Context) appeared in Mainstream’s Independence Day Special (August 18, 2012). —Editor
  Part-II—Search for Freedom through History
  Throughout history man has searched continuously for (…)