Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of NAM and 20 Years since Yugoslavia’s Demise

  10 July 2012, by Branislav Gosovic

  “EX-YU” SUCCESSOR STATES AND THIRD WORLD MOVEMENT
  The following article is based on a short statement made by the author at the Seventh European Centre for Peace and Development (ECPD) Conference on Reconciliation, Tolerance and Human Security in the Balkans—“New Balkans and the European Union Enlargement”—held in Milocer, Montenegro, October 21-22, 2011. In the text, “Yugoslavia” has been used to refer to post-World War II Yugoslavia, called the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (…)

• West Bengal: The Singur Verdict and Village Voices

  10 July 2012, by Arup Kumar Sen

  One of the few bold steps that the Mamata Banerjeeled government took after coming to power in West Bengal was to pass the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011. On September 28, 2011, after a challenge by Tata Motors, a single judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court upheld the Act to be constitutional. But, a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court declared the Act to be ‘unconstitutional and void’ on June 22, 2012. The reactions of the Singur villagers to the verdict vary, (…)

• For Real Decentralisation of Federal Polity

  10 July 2012

  BOOK REVIEW
  by PREET PAL SINGH
  Federalism, Democracy and Conflict Resolution by Arshi Khan and Kushal Pal (eds.); Macmillion Publishers India Ltd., Delhi; 2012; pp; xxi + 380; Price: Rs 900.
  Politics of all types need democracy for conflict resolution. But pluralist politics also require federalism for this purpose because it is only the accommodation model of nation-building that can guarantee conflict resolution in them.
  The adoption of a unitarian design is bound to lead to their (…)

• Carrying Forward the Nehru Legacy

  10 July 2012, by G. Parthasarthi

  [(REMEMBERING G. PARTHASARATHI ON HIS BIRTH CENTENARY
  On July 7 this year falls Gopalaswami Parthasarathiˆs birth centenary. He was born in Madras on July 7, 1912. He came from a family noted for its intellectual contributions and public service. His father, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, rose to high positions in the Provincial Civil Service of the Madras Presidency and later became the Prime Minister of Kashmir (1882-1953). GP, as Gopalaswami Parthasarathi was known to one and all, himself (…)

• GP and Ethnic Question in Sri Lanka

  10 July 2012

  by NEELAN TIRUCHELVAN
  Many Sri Lankans were distressed and saddened to read of the death of G. Parthasarathi on August 1, 1995 at the end of a distinguished career in law, diplomacy and education. GP was a consummate diplomat who immediately commanded respect for his erudition, his intellectual sophistication, his understanding of international relations and domestic politics and his inexhaustible patience, compassion and good sense. This article will focus only on one aspect of his (…)

• GP’s Selfless Dedication to Indian Democracy

  10 July 2012, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  The passing away Gopalaswami Parthasarathi on August 1 marked the disappearance of a familiar landmark in the public life of our country. A diplomat, media specialist, educationist and an ardent lover of sports, he was, above all, a humanist of the very noble brand.
  GP, as he used to be fondly called by practically all who knew him, old and young, personified enlightening liberalism at its best while upholding the finer aspects of our traditional value system.
  A personality of uncommon (…)

• Time to Confront Most Urgent Survival Issues

  10 July 2012, by Bharat Dogra

  “There is a very high possibility that by the end of the century, the earth is going to be a very different place.”
  This statement by Anthony Burnosky of the University of California, who authored a study by 18 scientists based on a review of research on climate change and ecology to discuss future trends, made headline news recently. Writing in the prestigious journal Nature, this team of prominent scientists from various parts of the world warned that the world is headed towards a (…)

• Ravi Bakaya Is No More

  10 July 2012

  [(Sometime back Abha Appasamy, the daughter of Ravi Bakaya, informed us from Chennai that her father had passed away in that city on April 22, 2012. Thereafter she sent us the following brief sketch of her father with a note that read: “I am very sorry to have delayed writing to you. I did receive your letter and tried to think what to write, but I am not able to compile a bio-sketch, as I have been living away from my parents for over 35 years until very recently...My mother is also not (…)

• Remembering Professor B.K. Roy Burman

  10 July 2012

  TRIBUTE
  by VIJAY PRATAP
  Professor B.K. Roy Burman is no more with us to give energy and thought to discussions on crucial issues of our time. He passed away at the age of 89 years on the morning of June 26, 2012.
  He was a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. He had served in various capacities with the office of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Tribes and the Registrar General of India. He was a Professor at the JNU and Viswa (…)

• Conspiracy in Syria and India’s Task

  4 July 2012, by Analyst

  POLITICAL NOTEBOOK
  In mid-May, the official representative of the US State Department, Victoria Nuland, acknow-ledged that Washington, which provides the Syrian Opposition with non-military aid, is well informed about the arms supply to it; this, she asserted, fell within the “CCASG countries’ right” thereby justifying such assistance on the part of the external forces.
  The “Syrian National Council”, which offers political cover for the aggression against Syria, and the “Free Syria (…)