Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Democracy, Development, Politics

  13 April 2012, by K Saradamoni

  We are very proud of our Democracy. We are equally proud that “We the People” have given unto ourselves a Constitution that ensures the noble aspects of democracy. We have even incorporated Socialism and Secularism into the Constitution. We have a Parliament to which women and men above the age of 18 vote for the candidate of their choice. We boast of the “Pillars of our Democracy”, the Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, and Press which we consider as Independent. Even when large sections of (…)

• Gutsy Women who Stand Out

  13 April 2012, by Humra Quraishi

  Are you finally over with all those picnics, tea parties and seminar sessions on the so-called International Women’s Day? Are you through with those supposed who’s who—those VVIP spouses, indulging in those frilly tamasha events on that day and on those so many other days of the year?
  Now sit back and ponder. And with that feel somewhat ashamed of the insensitivity hovering around, blinding us from seeing and sensing women with grit. Aren’t we being plain silly in bypassing the actual (…)

• Systemic Defects in Capitalism

  13 April 2012, by P R Dubhashi

  BOOK REVIEW
  23 Things they Don’t Tell You about Cpitalism by Ha-Joon Chang; Penguin Publisher, London; January 2011; pages: 304; Hardcover Price: $ 25.
  Through his two thought provoking books, Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective (2002) and Bad Samaritans—Rich Nations, Poor Policies and Threat to the Developing World, Han Joon Chang, the Korean economic historian teaching at Cam-bridge University over the last twenty years, has emerged as an inveterate (…)

• In the Age of Climate Change and WMDs: How do We Need to Change?

  13 April 2012, by Bharat Dogra

  For thousands of years human beings, who reflected on the purpose of human life and reasons of distress, came to the conclusion that our life needs to change in very significant ways. At various levels they spoke against exploitation, injustice, violence, wars, over-indulgence in sensual pleasures by a few, the roots of this in socio-economic inequalities, the lack of concern for other forms of life and destructive attitudes towards nature.
  I tried to capture the essence of all these (…)

• Energy Security

  13 April 2012, by Bharat Jhunjhunwala

  The energy crisis appears to be deepening. The global price of oil is increasing. United States’ President Obama has blamed this on higher consumption by India and China. Growing global energy shortage has encouraged coal-exporting countries like Indonesia and Australia to up the export price of coal. We have limited domestic sources of energy. Our coal reserves are expected to last about 150-200 years but speedier consump-tion of this would lead to a deeper crisis after the domestic sources (…)

• Bismillah through the Motions

  13 April 2012, by Mukul Dube

  For some years now I have been going to protest demonstrations and meetings and seminars to take photographs which can then be used on the Internet and in other ways. In this work I try not to be sectarian: I go where I find myself agreeing with the issues being raised and pay no attention to personal and narrow political disagreements. My reasoning is that I must contribute time and labour to causes with which I am in sympathy, and that this is the most logical way to do that at a time when (…)

• Left at the Crossroads

  13 April 2012, by Kripa Shankar

  The tragedy of the communist movement in India has been that it wholly depended on the Soviet Union for guidance and considered any directive from it as the last wisdom which could not but be accepted as a religious tenet. The Soviet Union was only pursuing policies in its own interest and had nothing to do with promoting revolution in other countries but the Communists were made to believe otherwise.
  When Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union it asked the Indian Communists to support (…)

• Chhattisgarh’s Wandering Tribes: Problems of IDPs on the Chhattisgarh-AP border

  13 April 2012

  by MEDHA CHATURVEDI
  Intense violence in Left Wing Extremism affected States has left hordes of local people homeless. The problem of internally displaced people within the Red Corridor is most acute in the areas falling on the Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border. Why is this exodus happening? What is the situation of these IDPs in Andhra Pradesh? Are they facing any problems or pressure from the Andhra Pradesh Government to return? What is the Government of Chhattisgarh doing about this? (…)

• How Many Indians Are Poor?

  13 April 2012

  by SANTOSH KUMAR MOHA PATRA
  After more than six decades of independence, India is still groping in the dark in search of a realistic definition of what constitutes poverty and how many Indians are actually poor? Successive governments have tweaked the definition of poverty and fiddled with numbers to suit the political dispensation. The poverty data released by the Planning Commission recently, based on the 66th round of the National Sample Survey (2009-10) figures on household consumer (…)

• All India March to Parliament by SUCI (C)

  13 April 2012

  Under the auspices of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), a massive People’s March to Parliament was held on March 14 in New Delhi with the participation of nearly one lakh people from all over the country.
  Raising slogans demanding an end to all anti-people policies of the government and solutions for the tormenting conditions of people’s life due to back-breaking price-rise, limitless corruption etc. those who poured into New Delhi to participate in this protest rally (…)