Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• On the Tragic Beheadings of Pakistani Sikhs by the Taliban

  19 March 2010, by Vasudha Dhagamwar

  The horrifying news about the beheading of three Sikhs in the tribal regions of North West Frontier Province hit the electronic media on February 21 and the print media a day later. Some sources say they were beheaded because the very large ransom was not paid. Some say it was because they refused to convert. But true it is that they were beheaded and their bodies thrown in public places including a gurudwara. For once, even the MEA of the Government of India has not treated it as an (…)

• Where is the Holistic Understanding?

  6 March 2010, by SC

  The hike in Central excise duty on petrol and diesel as well as the two per cent ad valorem increase on non-petro products in the latest Union Budget the Finance Minister presented in Parliament last Friday (February 26) have justifiably incensed the entire Opposition with members from all Opposition parties (from the BJP to CPI) taking the extraordinary step of trooping out of the Lok Sabha in the midst of—and not after—Pranab Mukherjee’s Budget speech. This step was indeed extraordinary (…)

• Why We Oppose ‘Green Hunt’

  6 March 2010, by Ambrose Pinto

  For the tribals and the poor, “Green Hunt” is nothing else but a united front of state and mining corporations to grab their land and rich natural resources by silencing the voices of those who fight for their homeland rights. The state, the tribals and the poor believe, is in nexus with the designs of the multinational and Transnational corporations. The Honourable Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, had said that sacred hills do not give people food to eat or clothes to wear. That is why he (…)

• Secessionist Senas

  6 March 2010

  COMMUNICATION
  The Senas’ “Maharashtra for Maharashtrians only” claim is patently parochial, divisive, separatist, seditious, and secessionist. Political parties like the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are a threat to the unity of the nation. These extra-constitutional authorities need to be dealt with ruthlessly. How can the Senas ignore the fact that the “outsiders” have contributed the lion’s share to the growth of Mumbai, and that without the “outsiders”, life in the city (…)

• Indian Economy: Where Do We Go From Here?

  6 March 2010, by Girish Mishra

  As in the past, this year too, a detailed report on the performance of the Indian economy during the current year was laid before Parliament and the people prior to the presentation of the Union Budget for the coming fiscal year so that a meaningful discussion can take place and the potentials of growth as well as the circumstances, both domestic and international, are appreciated.
  As the Economic Survey 2009-10 reveals, the Indian economy has been, to a large extent, affected in (…)

• Union Budget 2010-11: Too Many Gambles

  6 March 2010, by Arun Kumar

  The Union Budget 2010-11 was expected to be an innovative exercise given the difficult circumstances in which it was being framed and that the most experienced politician of the present government was at the helm. There have been uncertainties about growth, high rate of inflation (especially in food items) and pressures for withdrawal of the stimulus. The Indian economy is recovering but the global situation remains uncertain given that the major world economies are plagued by persistent (…)

• Letter to the Prime Minister

  6 March 2010, by M.N. Buch

  My dear Dr Manmohan Singhji,
  I studied economics for seven years in Delhi, Cambridge and Princeton, but I suppose very little rubbed off on me and I am not really an economist. You, of course, are and I presume Kaushik Basu, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Shri Pranab Mukherji’s team are all economists. My reaction to the 2010-11 Budget, therefore, is that of a common man and a former administrator. Therefore, if I make bloomers in this letter I am sure you will forgive me.
  The (…)

• Ram Niwas Mirdha

  6 March 2010, by Shree Shankar Sharan

  TRIBUTE
  The country has suffered one more loss in the passing away of its popular leader, Ram Niwas Mirdha. He was one of the best kinds of the second generation Congressmen, steady and stoic and stood tall amidst turmoil or stagnation hoping bad times to pass for better ones. It is a tribute to him that he bided for time among lean days though in good ones he rose to be a Communications Minister, the Speaker of the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha and Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy. (…)

• March 8, 2010: A Day for Rethinking, Redefining and Determination to go Forward

  6 March 2010, by K Saradamoni

  Women’s groups have started talking about the coming March 8, a day which in recent times has become a ritual. This is true of other ‘days’ too, including August 15 and January 26. One can say that this is natural, as time goes on and new generations and new situations demand energy, time and thought over fresh ‘days’. But should that mean forgetting the past? It should not, I hold.
  An annual Day for Women or Women’s Day has been observed mainly in Europe and the USA for nearly a (…)

• What Makes Beautiful Women Beautiful?

  6 March 2010, by T J S George

  It was a typically American marketing trick when the Vogue magazine described Leela Naidu as one of the world’s ten most beautiful women. As if there is an endoscope that will measure the specific gravity of beauty. It’s like the Time magazine, another gimmickry specialist, publishing lists of “tomorrow’s Asian leaders”. Some of them end up in prison for misdemeanour, but Time gets its mileage from the thousands of Indians who lap up the lists with colonial loyalty.
  Leela Naidu was (…)