Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: An Indian Free Thinker

  27 November 2011

  by MIRATUN NAHAR
  Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, known as the father of the Aligarh Movement, was born in a highly respectable family in 1817, the very year in which the Hindu College was established in Calcutta. Sir Syed, in his childhood, did not display any excellent character-trait. Rather, he exemplified the maxim that one could become the man he wanted to be by sheer effort and perseverance. In his youth he was a luxury-loving young man. But after the death of his elder brother he changed (…)

• We Have Several Million ‘Clean’ Leaders; Our Unclean System Keeps Them Out

  27 November 2011, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  Here’s a brand new idea aired by our brand new messiah. All clean and non-corrupt politicians must leave their political parties and come together to form a new independent party, says Anna Hazare. It sounds like an old idea.
  Actually the old idea is that there’s need for a new political party. That the good guys in existing parties should quit and form this independent party is a new take.
  This sounds more practical than the idea of a bunch of amateurs forming a party. (…)

• Time to Reset the Reform Agenda

  27 November 2011, by Sanjay Pulipaka

  The intense debate on the Jan Lokpal Bill should not overshadow the multiple approaches that are available to combat corruption and, more importantly, the larger issue of governance reforms in India. India definitely needs an independent authority such as the Lokpal to combat the menace of corruption. Tragically, the debate on the jurisdiction of the Lokpal had a misplaced focus on whether to bring the Prime Minister, legislature and judiciary within the ambit of the Lokpal. In the (…)

• Congress Party and the Irrepressible Mani Shankar Aiyar

  27 November 2011

  by SANJAY MISHRA
  Mani Shankar Aiyar is not new to controversies. Indeed, over the years, he has perfected the art of creating and courting controversies. It is really intriguing to note the absence of diplomacy or, for that matter, euphemism in his verbal attacks, notwith-standing the fact that the better part of his antecedence was occupied by diplomacy. How come a person who has been a career diplomat for about 26 years and who has been in politics for more than two decades be so (…)

• Enriching Existing Literature on Kashmir Politics and Indo-Pak Relations

  27 November 2011

  BOOK REVIEW
  by SAJAD PADDER
  Kashmir: Identity, Autonomy and Self-Rule by Dr Gull Wani; Apple Books, Srinagar; 2011; pages: 218.
  The quest for identity as a basic human urge has received specific academic recognition in the post-modern political thought. In the case of Kashmir, identity has been the most persistent and dominating urge of the people. The book, Kashmir: Identity, Autonomy and Self-Rule, by Dr Gull Wani deals with one of the most crucial problems of the contemporary era: (…)

• India Delivers, It’s Obama’s Turn Now

  27 November 2011, by M K Bhadrakumar

  Timing is three-fourths in international diplomacy. The spectacular display of three happy coincidences on the eve of PM Manmohan Singh’s pow-vow with US President Barack Obama in Bali is near-perfect in timing:
  • India successfully test-firing Agni-IV missile that has a reach over large areas of the Chinese hinterland;
  • Australia’s change of heart about selling uranium to India; and,
  • Delhi announcing the rules for the implementation of India’s nuclear liability law.
  Each of the (…)

• Narendra Modi adds a New Lesson to the Fundamentalists’ History

  27 November 2011

  by ANAND MUTTUNGAL
  The constitutional experts say that the Chief Minister who rules the State on behalf of the Governor before going for a fast in any nature will have to seek the permission from the Governor; if the Governor refuses permission then he /she has to resign to take up fasting. It is not clear whether the Chief Minister has obtained permission. Whatever may be the constitutional position, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi began his fast with the words: “May God give me (…)

• Asserting the Rule of Law

  21 November 2011, by SC

  Last week a special riots court in Gujarat created history by sentencing the maximum number of people to life imprisonment in a single case. The court adjudicating the 2002 riots cases convicted 31 persons, mostly landed Patels, for the carnage at Sardarpura village in north Gujarat on March 1, 2002 that resulted in the killing of 33 people; and subsequently sentenced them to life imprisonment. At the same time 42 of the 73 accused were acquitted by the judge. It was indeed a gruesome (…)

• Would Rahul Effect Kill Manmohanomics?

  21 November 2011, by Diptendra Raychaudhuri

  There are people, may be millions, who believe feeding the hungry is less important for our governments than spending money for ‘develop-ment’. This attitude may be described as a reflection of insensitive minds, but many of our politicians brazen it out when push comes to shove.
  Sharad Pawar did it when, on the question of providing highly subsidised food to the needy, he said: “The BPL debate is underway and the final decision will be taken by the Planning Commission. According to me, (…)

• Remembering Jawaharlal Nehru

  21 November 2011, by P R Dubhashi

  On November 14, 2011, the nation observed the 122nd birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, a great patriot who was at the forefront of the national struggle for independence and who as the first Prime Minister of free India for the initial seventeen years after independence became the builder of modern India.
  Aftermath of Partition
  EVEN before the attainment of independence, Nehru headed the Interim Government and had to grapple with the horrible. aftermath of partition, communal riots, (…)