Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Commodities, Comforts and Chaos

  9 September 2009, by Arup Maharatna

  Despite a high risk of being ridiculed or even frowned upon by others, I just cannot help putting across a distinct scepticism against the incessant flow of technical innovations for newer and newer consumer goods and gadgets in our contemporary times. While saying this, I do not, of course, refer to the pure, fundamental, and sometimes even epoch-making scientific inventions and technological progress. In fact, I am perfectly alert and appreciative of the profound benefits to modern (…)

• Kandhamal: What Next?

  9 September 2009, by K.P. Fabian

  I visited Kandhamal for three days starting from June 20, 2009. Apart from NGOs, the Superintendent of Police, the leaders of the Church (Catholic and non-Catholic), I also met with inmates of eight camps.
  To start with, it is important to clearly understand why and how the atrocities occurred. It is unsubstantiated propaganda that the origins of the atrocities are best understood by ascertaining the “root causes”. According to such propaganda the “root causes” are the efforts of (…)

• South Block: Time for Reorientation

  9 September 2009, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  Whatever explanation may be trotted out by the External Affairs Ministry, there is no escape from the fact that the country has suffered a humiliating defeat in the race for a non-permanent member seat in the UN Security Council.
  There will be pundits who will ascribe the poor Indian score to our refusal to sign the CTBT which the government rightly decided for the country. This school of thought seems to argue that had India voted for the CTBT, the US would have condescended to back (…)

• India-Kazakhstan Relations: Challenges and Prospects

  9 September 2009, by Vijay Kumar Bhatia

  Introduction
  India, traditionally known to Kazakhstan as Hindustan, had close and strong economic and trade links with Kazakhstan. After India got independence Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, considered Kazakhstan (then part of the Soviet Union) to be of great significance for India. He welcomed the former Soviet Central Asian delegation at the first Asian Relations Conference held in New Delhi in 1947 and also visited Kazakhstan during his trip to the Soviet Union in (…)

• India-China Dialogue Process Must Continue

  9 September 2009, by Bharti Chhibber

  The 13th round of border talks between India and China were held in New Delhi recently. Though there have been some positive results, like both the sides agreed to set up a hotline between the Prime Ministers and observe peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control, nothing substantial could be achieved on the border issue.
  Though the issue has a long history, if we look at the post-independence phase the McMahon Line is not accepted by the Chinese as the legal boundary (…)

• Sino-Indian Relations and the Probabilities of War

  9 September 2009, by Bhartendu Kumar Singh

  No sooner had China and India concluded their 13th round of border talks by Special Representatives (SRs), came a suggestion from a Chinese strategist for balkanisation of India into several parts for decimating any possible challenge to Chinese supremacy (or hegemony) in the Asia-Pacific region. While offficials from both the countries dismissed the hypothesis, such reports are on the rise and emanate from both sides of the border. Only a few days back, the Chinese state-supported Global (…)

• Babri Masjid: Role of the Congress

  9 September 2009, by Iqbal A Ansari

  Under the compulsions of electoral calculations former BJP leader Kalyan Singh joining hands with Mulayam Singh in Uttar Pradesh has helped to revive the issue of demo-lition of the Babri Masjid. Unfortunately the focus of the current debate is only on fixing res-ponsibility for what happened on December 6, 1992, ignoring the political, administrative and judicial responsibility for the developments which had their origin on December 22-23, 1949 when the idols were surreptitiously installed (…)

• Rajni Palme Dutt, a Genuine Friend of India

  9 September 2009, by Tikaram Sharma

  Book Review
  Rajni Palme Dutt—A Biography by Dr Panchanan Saha; Publishers: Biswabiksha, Kolkata; pages: 232; price: Rs 150.
  Dr Panchanan Saha is a renowned scholar who has written books on various topics including biographies, labour movements, communism etc.
  In all there were fourteen publications to his credit till 2004. His book, Rajni Palme Dutt—A Biography, was published in 2004 itself. Rajani Palme Dutt (RPD) became Dr Saha’s guide and philosopher and helped a lot in his (…)

• Jinnah Episode: Searching for Relevance

  9 September 2009, by Uttam Sen

  The multitude being led to its deliverance by a brilliant individual tends to live on as evocative memory. But if The Hindu’s otherwise empathetic editorial, written on Jinnah’s death in 1948, can be remotely taken as read, Jinnah’s metamor-phosis from a closet parliamentarian to a mass leader had a disturbing aspect. Apart from allaying his own fears of being outmanoeuvred by majoritarian politicians, he had also seized the moment of a divide-and-rule colonial policy to set up a communal (…)

• BJP‘s Gift to Jinnah: A New Life

  9 September 2009, by T J S George

  Follies never cease. With great brouhaha, the BJP has given new life to its public enemy, Jinnah. In a double whammy, the BJP’s fanatic wing has given a marketing boost to the Jinnah book by banning it in Gujarat. Now it will sell like hot Satanic Verses.
  All monolithic organisations feed on their collective myths. For the BJP-RSS ideology, survival depends on establishing Jinnah and Pakistan as evils. To allow any dilution of this doctrine will be like the Vatican allowing Catholics (…)