Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• We will Miss your Presence, Jain Sir

  1 December 2010, by Sandeep Shastri

  TRIBUTE
  L.C. Jain Sir is no more…. a fact impossible to digest and believe. I was numbed into silence when I was first informed by a friend about his passing away… it appeared as if I had just spoken to him… his persuasive voice complimenting me for a very tentative article that I wrote and knew had serious limitations... he would have none of it and put a smile on my face with his genuine appreciation. When I informed friends about him no longer being with us, the response from all was (…)

• Politicians and Bureaucracy | Reinforcing Democracy

  1 December 2010, by P N Haksar

  Two Articles of P.N. Haksar November 27 this year marks the twelfth death anniversary of P.N. Haksar, the eminent administrator and distinguished diplomat as well as one of the country’s foremost thinkers. On this occasion we offer our sincere homage to his abiding memory by reproducing the following articles. The first one was written in November 1977 and published in Mainstream (February 21, 1987) and the second one appeared in Mainstream Annual 1989. Both are relevant in the present (…)

• China: Straws in the Wind

  1 December 2010, by H K Dua

  For quite some time, India and China have been at odds with each other and have watched their relations turning from bad to worse. The downward slide in relations between the Asia’s two neighbours has caused concern to all those who believe that it is not necessary for the two neighbours to continue living in hostility.
  The way things were going out of hand recently both in Beijing and Delhi could lead to serious consequences for stability in a region where one-fourth of the humanity (…)

• No More Sunshine

  1 December 2010, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
  Foggy days with low visibility are not unusual in this season in New Delhi but they have never been so hazardous as they are in Indian politics today. In fact, there is little sign of sunshine breaking out in the near future as Parliament meets for its Budget session in less than two weeks, on February 20.
  Twelve months ago, there was no warning from the government how serious was the economic prospect. Rather the Finance Minister, heralding the so-called new (…)

• Can we Avoid the Present Anarchic Conditions?

  1 December 2010, by D G Bokare

  The common man is now getting confused and also disillusioned by the way the social, political and economic affairs are being handled by the government, particularly more so after the globalisation concept was brought in by the present Prime Minister when he was the Finance Minister.
  There are many types of problems the common man faces today. None of the problems can be isolated and solved independently. They are all interconnected. Food security, unemploy-ment, criminal activities, (…)

• An Insidious Line

  1 December 2010, by Barun Das Gupta

  COMMUNICATION
  Sumanta Banerjee in his communication (Mainstream, October 30, 2010) says that he does not need to be convinced that the CPI-M in West Bengal is indulging in “fascist atrocities and crass corruption”. Fine. At least on that point, one believes, he has no quarrels with D. Bandyo-padhyay. He is also aware that the people of West Bengal are “tired and exasperated” with the CPI-M.
  But the next moment he is assailed by a crippling moral dilemma. Can “exasperation alone” be (…)

• Surge in Food Insecurity

  1 December 2010, by J. George

  Every passing day makes it clear that the proposed food security law may not come by for a while. One report quoting the Planning Commission even suggested that it can be expected only in 2012. This Twelfth Plan (2012-17) launch has support from the concerned dual Ministry of Agriculture as well as Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. In that eventuality it does mean a surge in food insecurity.
  A dispassionate analysis will indicate that the National Advisory Council (NAC) will (…)

• Stalling the Vedanta: Right to Tribal Self-determination Ignored

  1 December 2010, by J.J. Roy Burman

  Recently the N.C. Saxena Committee report on the Vedanta project in Orissa became instrumental in stalling the project on the grounds of environamental degradation—forests and animal life—and effect on the life style—social fabric of the Kondh tribes. The Committee stated that the Vedanta industry flouted the environmental laws and that the food source of the tribes would have been destroyed. This episode has been portrayed as a victory of the local Kondh tribes. But in reality this could (…)

• The Democracy Question in Indian Foreign Policy

  1 December 2010, by Arvind Kumar

  BOOK REVIEW
  India’s Foreign Policy: The Democracy Dimension (With Special Reference to Neighbours) by S.D. Muni; Cambridge University Press India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi; pp. VII + 178; price: Rs 495.
  Not many of us know that the ‘democracy-Icon’ of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released this Saturday (November 13) was educated at Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College where she studied Political Science and grew up as a political activist to ensure ‘democracy’ back home in Myanmar. While the (…)

• Report Card of the Government in Bihar

  1 December 2010

  by Sanket Samudra
  In his open letter to Sonia Gandhi [Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 47, November 13, 2010], Shree Shankar Sharan has strongly defended the Government of Bihar. According to him, “Nitish has been nationally and internationally acclaimed as having turned Bihar around by his new accent on development. His linking of rural and urban areas by a vast network of roads and bridges is the talk of all sections, castes and communities in Bihar, because they have all benefited from it. (…)