Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Lok Pal Bill-Promises to Redeem

  8 September 2010, by Rajindar Sachar

  The controversy following resignation of Justice Santosh Hegde, the Lok Ayukt of Karnataka, and the subsequent amends purported to have been made by the Karnataka Government has again highlighted the failure of the Lok Pal legislative history at the Centre and equally the passivity and reluctance of all political parties to pass this legislation, which is most urgently desired, if the attempt to control the rapid drift downward to political corruption, that is eating into the vitals of our (…)

• A United Struggle for United India-Azad Hind Fauj

  8 September 2010, by Ajeet Jawed

  September 1 this year marked the sixtyeighth anniversary of the formation of the Indian National Army (INA). The following article, bringing out the detailed history of the INA, is being published on that occasion.
  In the history of India’s freedom struggle, the INA occupies an important place. At the time when there were all round divisions on the Indian national scene, the INA exhibited complete national unity. The Indian soldiers fought unitedly for a united India. This armed struggle (…)

• Why the Moratorium on Bt Brinjal should Continue

  8 September 2010, by Bharat Dogra

  On February 9, 2010 Jairam Ramesh, the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests, announced the important decision of a moratarium on Bt brinjal which was widely welcomed-not just in India but also at the global level-on grounds of health, environment and safety. However, a relatively small but extremely powerful section of vested interests set in motion high-power efforts to remove this moratorium.
  To give an idea of how strong these vested interests are, we may mention here (…)

• Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

  8 September 2010, by Gilbert Etienne

  On September 21 will take place an important international Conference on the Millennium Development Goal (MDG). It was launched by the United Nations in 2000 with the aims to reduce acute poverty by half, to promote rapid progress of basic education and health, as well as gender equality.
  Half-way through, there has been some progress in education and health, but, as stated by Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the UN: "We are not on track to fulfil our commitments." (The MDG Report, (…)

• South-South Cooperation with Special Reference to Sub-Saharan African Countries

  8 September 2010, by Anshuman Gupta

  I. Introduction
  After independence from colonial rule, which most of the countries of Africa were reeling under, these countries set out on the course of their economic development independently. Though some development had taken place even under colonial rule, it was circumstantial, based on the needs of the colonial masters, devoid of any proper planning and vision. So, virtually almost all countries of Africa had to start their journey of development from the scratch. In the 1950s and (…)

• Kyrgyzstan: A Pawn in the Geopolitical Game

  8 September 2010, by Ash Narain Roy

  Not content with having one finger in the Afghan pie, the United States is trying to pull out a plum in Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian republics too. The "Tulip Revolution" of 2005 in Kyrgyzstan and the earlier "Rose Revolution" in Georgia and the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine were all engineered by the Americans primarily to undermine Russia and to weaken its regional clout. Today, all these manufactured revolutions are floundering, with Ukraine having crossed over to the Russian side (…)

• Bijbehara: A Challenge to Nation’s Conscience

  8 September 2010, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  Autumn has set in-the chinar in its gorgeous robe. But it is an autumn of bitter sorrow for the hapless people of Kashmir. The Valley which was known as the paradise on earth has been turned into a trough of hatred, of blood and tears.
  On Friday last week the portals of Hazratbal were barred as the Indian Army had laid siege of the mosque complex in pursuit of the militants. To protest against this siege of the holy of holies for every Kashmiri Muslim, the common folk in the small town of (…)

• Letter to the BJP President

  8 September 2010, by Shabnam Hashmi

  The following letter was sent by the ANHAD Managing Trustee, Shabnam Hashmi, to Nitin Gadkari, the BJP President, on August 21, 2010.
  Dear Mr Gadkari,
  I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued by your party in The Indian Express on August 20, 2010 and Navbharat Times on August 21, 2010 wherein a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, held on July 8, 2010, has been misused. In the said advertisement on top of the photograph appears the slogan (…)

• Russia and Pakistan after the Quadrilateral Sochi Summit

  8 September 2010, by Sergei Kamenev

  The August 18-19 Sochi summit, attended by the leaders of Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan (the second quadrilateral one after the July 2009 Dushanbe meeting), showed that the format indeed helps to address the geo-political problems of Central Asia and to strengthen peace and security in the region.
  The Sochi agenda was topped by the struggle against drug trafficking and terrorism and by the economic cooperation between the region’s countries. The tragic situation in (…)

• China and Pakistan Relations: A New Chapter

  8 September 2010, by Gunjan Singh

  During the recent visit by the Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, to Beijing both sides declared to take forward the ‘all-weather friendship’. China and Pakistan have declared that they intend to build a railway line which will connect the Khunjerab Pass with Chinese towns including Kashgar. In addition to this, both the countries signed six agreements which covered areas ranging from health care and technology, justice and media, and agriculture and economy. During his visit President (…)