Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Uttar Pradesh: Rise of the Underdog Bahujans

  10 July 2011

  by Narendra Sharma
  The National Programme adopted by the United Progressive Alliance in 2004, together with the Left parties, had provided that its government would persuade the private sector enterprises to provide reservation in employment to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC and ST) workers.
  The UPA Government did come to power in 2004 and also enjoyed the support of the Left parties. The Manmohan Singh Government then seemed conscious of this provision about reservation (…)

• Tribute to Chaturanan Mishra

  10 July 2011

  One of the tallest leaders of the Communist Party in Bihar, Chaturanan Mishra, who was the Union Agriculture Minister in the governments of both H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral in 1996-98, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi around noon on July 2, 2011. A former President of the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), he was ailing for quite sometime but the end came rather suddenly. He was admitted to the AIIMS the previous day and put on a ventilator; (…)

• The Left in India: A Critical Appraisal

  10 July 2011, by Kripa Shankar

  In the pre-independence period, the Communist Party of India had emerged as the main Left party although quite weak but conspicuous by its dedicated cadres who, by their immense sacrifice, had built bases among industrial workers and peasants. Their fight against the feudal elements led to a powerful base among peasantry in many pockets. Communism had an appeal among intellectuals and some top intellectuals were closely associated with the movement. The success of the Soviet Union in turning (…)

• Open Letter from an Old Communist

  10 July 2011

  by T. Venkateswara Rao
  This open letter addressed to CPI General Secretary A.B. Bardhan and CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat was sent to the Ajoy Bhavan, the CPI headquarters, and the A.K. Gopalan Bhavan, the central CPI-M office, early last month and released in Vijaywawada. An old Communist veteran of Andhra Pradesh, T. Venkateswara Rao was twice elected the Mayor of Vijayawada. He has been a CPI member since 1938.
  Dear Comrade,
  I am an old Indian Communist of 95 years who is (…)

• Debacle of the Left: Five Observations

  10 July 2011, by Pramothes Mukherjee

  The following, according to the author, is a first evaluation of the people’s mandate in the West Bengal Assembly Election 2011.
  It is my first observation that the Left Front lost the battle in 2011 (and) so the Trinamul won the battle. The Trinamul is not a positive alternative to the Left Front. The Trinamul is not a party, but a conglomeration of destitutes from different parties. People did not vote for the Trinamul but they voted against the CPI-M or better to say against the (…)

• Transparency in Short Supply

  10 July 2011, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
  One of the plus points claimed by democratic governments all over the world is the transparency in their functioning. To a large measure such a claim is valid when one compares it with the style of an authoritarian regime. For instance, neither the Korean public nor the world at large was told about the last hours of President Kim II-Sung, even his death was not announced until the next day. In contrast, when Indira Gandhi’s tragic end came, the whole city of Delhi and (…)

• France Sans Precedents

  10 July 2011, by K G Somasekharan Nair

  The following article was sent to us quite sometime ago but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons. —Editor
  Law of a particular nation should be determined by its national characteristics and must bear relation to the climate of each country, the quality of each soil, the situation and extent, the principal occupations of the natives and, above all, to the religion of the inhabitants, to their inclinations, riches, commerce, manners and customs.
  —Montesquieu
  Black shades (…)

• Why Not Engage In Some Self-Introspection?

  3 July 2011, by SC

  In his opening remarks during his interaction on June 29 with five editors of a news agency and newspapers (representing the PTI, Business Standard, The Tribune, Divya Marathi of the DNA group and Nai Duniya)—all handpicked by the PM’s Media Adviser—Dr Manmohan Singh made the following observation: I think that there is a growing perception that this government is in siege, that we have not been able to deliver on our agenda. An atmosphere has been created in the country—and this I say with (…)

• Effective Lokpal Not In Sight

  3 July 2011, by Rajindar Sachar

  As expected, the government and the Anna Team have disagreed on vital points. The question of inclusion of the Prime Minister within the ambit of the Lokpal is being falsely blown out of proportions by the government’s apologists. The Prime Minister, though the head of government, is only first amongst equals. In a democratic country, political vacuum does not arise as the Cabinet has a collective responsibility. Also, our past experience does not show that all our Prime Ministers have been (…)

• Indira Gandhi: Moment of Truth

  3 July 2011, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
  The situation in the country has turned grave in the wake of the threats being issued by certain influential Ministers and Congress politicians to Anna Hazare that he would be given the same treatment that was meted out to Baba Ramdev at the Capital’s Ramlila Maidan in the early hours of June 5, 2011. And the threats have come just before and during the observance of the 36th anniversary of proclamation of Emergency on June 25-26, 1975. It is against this backdrop that (…)