Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Why attack Kerala CM over temple dress code? | M.R. Narayan Swamy

  12 January 2025, by M R Narayan Swamy

  It is unclear why the chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, has come under vicious criticism for merely endorsing a suggestion that men should not be forced to remove their upper garments while entering Hindu temples.
  In any case, there is no universally acceptable rule regarding upper garments in respect of males praying at temples. Indeed, most temples in India do not insist that male devotees in temples must be bare chested.
  This practice is now largely followed by some of the (…)

• Does Babasaheb

  12 January 2025, by Ram Puniyani

  As the insult hurled on Babasaheb by Amit Shah in Lok Sabha is coming under heavy criticism from all over the country, the right-wing Hindu Nationalist ideologues are trying to create a narrative that Babsaheb was on same page as the politics of those from Savarkar- RSS- and BJP in particular. (Balbir Punj on X: "The resurrection of Dr Ambedkar " / X) They are trying to pick and choose selectively from Ambedkar

• Impact of Pollution Prevention Steps on Workers in Delhi |

  12 January 2025, by Bharat Dogra

  As a part of steps to reduce air pollution in Delhi almost every year during winter or preceding weeks a temporary ban on construction work is announced which can extend to several weeks. What is the impact of this on workers and to what extent their difficulties are relieved by the compensatory payment the government provides? To find out I asked several construction workers in those colonies of Delhi where the population of construction workers is concentrated.
  Rakesh, Bharat and Gopal (…)

• Modi’s turn from non-biological to human | J P Gadkari

  12 January 2025, by J P Gadkari

  January 11, 2025
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had earlier declared himself as a "non-biological" being has now gone back on that claim and has asserted that he too like all other "human beings" was likely to commit mistakes.
  Modi had made his earlier claim of not being "biological" by birth barely eight months ago. Now with his first inaugural podcast address conducted by Zerronda co-founder Nikhil Kamath, Modi has asserted that he might have committed some mistakes as any other (…)

• Refusing invitation for swearing in, points to Trump-Modi friendship on the rock | Arun Srivastava

  12 January 2025

  Their friendship is fragile. It is not based on the precinct of mutual trust and respect. Both, Donald Trump and Narendra Modi, have been busy promoting their own personal interests behind the veneer of friendship. While Trump used it for achieving his business mission, more than fulfilling US interest, Modi suffering from a personality complex used it for projecting him as Vishwaguru, the most revered and respected world leader.
  Obviously Trump not inviting Modi to his swearing as the US (…)

• India Is the Stage and the World Is Performing | Disha

  12 January 2025, by Disha

  Abstract
  The potential of the Indian fans has changed the global entertainment dynamics. From Dua Lipa’s viral mashup performance in Mumbai to YouTuber MrBeast’s growing engagement with India, the significance of this diverse and vast demographic is impossible to overlook. This article explores why international artists and content creators increasingly tailor their offerings for Indian consumers. With widespread internet penetration, rising purchasing power, and a versatile appetite for (…)

• GST: Middle Class and Social Justice | Akshint Joseph, Karamala Areesh Kumar

  12 January 2025

  The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was first imagined under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

• Big Tech and the Need for Fair Revenue Sharing for News Content | Teresa Joseph

  12 January 2025, by Teresa Joseph

  The exponential growth of big tech digital platforms has brought to the fore numerous challenges, not the least being questions of revenue sharing, violation of data privacy, targeted advertising, abuse of dominant position in the digital advertisement market, indulging in anticompetitive practices, perpetuation of dominant positions in online search markets, and so on. These issues also draw attention to the architecture of the contemporary global media system and the working of the digital (…)

• Popular Culture and War on Terror: Role of United States in International Relations | Sunita Samal

  12 January 2025, by Sunita Samal

  Popular culture is interesting to IR (International Relations) theorists in so far as it can naturalize or normalize a certain social order upon which dominant ideologies are founded. Here, the myths serve as a silent, sub-textual pillars of the real. Gestures of naturalization are phenomena of political power in so far as such power works through myths by appearing to the political out of ideological[[Weber, C. (2013)

• Detention: A Failure of the Child or the System? |

  12 January 2025

  Abstract
  The essay explores the no-detention policy and its implications in the Indian education system, arguing that poor academic performance stems from systemic flaws rather than individual student failure. Highlighting historical, constitutional, and policy dimensions, it emphasizes the importance of quality teacher training, individualized learning approaches, and addressing systemic shortcomings to ensure effective education. The essay critiques recent policy changes and calls for a (…)