Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Recession—Diagnosis and Remedies

  18 May 2009, by P R Dubhashi

  I. The New Face of Financial Capitalism
  Business cycles, that is, upswings and downswings in the economy, booms and busts, have been a characteristic of the capitalist economy. Many economists have analysed the phenomenon and come out with empirical findings as well as theories regarding the causes and nature of these occurrences and remedies either for moderating the impact or for preventing their occurrence. Gottfeied Haberler’s classic treatise Prosperity and Depression brought together (…)

• The Hidden State

  18 May 2009, by D. Bandyopadhyay

  Book Review
  Rogue Agent: How India’s Military Intelligence Betrayed The Burmese Resistance by Nandita Haksar; Penguin Books Ltd, New Delhi; 2009; pages 242; price: Rs 299.
  The benign and serene face of an Atal Behari Vajpayee or a Manmohan Singh does not reflect the ugliness of the innards of the Indian state. Perhaps every state has this hideous feature neatly packaged to keep it out of sight of its own citizens. From the Devil’s Island of France, the penal settlement in Australia (…)

• President Obama’s Initiative for Achieving a Nuclear Weapons-Free World

  18 May 2009, by Muchkund Dubey

  To rid the world of weapons of war has been the age-old aspiration of mankind. The Bible talks about turning swords into ploughshares. In the very first resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its meeting in London in January 1946, the member states were called upon to work for the elimination of national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons of mass destruction. After that, the item ’General and Complete Disarmament’ remained on the agenda of the (…)

• On the Anniversary of Victory over Fascism

  18 May 2009, by Anil Rajimwale

  The Nazi German troops surrendered to the Soviet Red Army, and the allied troops, on May 8, 1945 in Berlin. The Second World War ended on May 9, which is celebrated as the Day of Victory over Fascism. Hitler had earlier committed suicide on April 30, 1945. The war continued for a few more months in Asia, till September 12, 1945, when the Japanese troops surrendered to the Soviet Far Eastern Red Army.
  Mussolini was earlier caught and hanged by the Italian partisans in 1943. (…)

• Save Human Lives, Human Rights and Democracy in Sri Lanka!

  18 May 2009

  Save Human Lives, Human Rights and Democracy in Sri Lanka!
  Support Tamils’ Struggle for Self-Determination!
  Stop War and War Crimes!
  The following is a statement of the NAPM and PPF issued on the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka and in support of an indefinite fast by 20 women in Chennai for peace and resumption of the democratic political process in Sri Lanka. It was recently released with the names of Medha Patkar, Sandeep Pandey, Aruna Roy, Yogendra Yadav, Ajit Jha, Anand (…)

• India in the SCO Today

  18 May 2009, by Mansoor Ali

  The instability that has gripped both Afghanistan and Pakistan has caused legitimate concern among other countries of the region, India included; and since the phenomenon shows no signs of abating—rather it is actually growing—it is quite natural that these regional states coordinate their activities to meet the common threats emanating from the two neighbouring countries. Among these are the dangers posed by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. In the meantime the US has evolved a new strategy to (…)

• Tribute: Vimla Dang

  18 May 2009, by SC

  The year was 1965. The India-Pakistan war had just come to an end. It was then that we travelled to Chheharta, the industrial suburb of Amritsar, which was bombed by the Pak Air Force during the war. And it is in Chheharta that one first met Vimla Dang and her husband, Satya Pal, the legendary Communist leaders of Punjab.
  It was Vimlaji who helped us stay in Chheharta and travel to Khem Karam which was the graveyard of the Patton tanks the US had gifted to the Pakistan Army to be (…)

• Tribute: Ruddar Datt

  18 May 2009, by Kamal Nayan Kabra

  Mainstream offers its belated homage to the memory of Prof Ruddar Datt, who passed away last March, with the following tribute. Two of his articles were published in this journal following his death.
  It is sad news for the readers of Mainstream that Prof Ruddar Datt, a regular contributor who used to enlighten them on a wide range of current economic affairs, is no more. Indeed, it is sad news for a large number of students of economics spread all over the country who used to benefit a (…)

• Prachanda triggers Political Crisis in Nepal

  13 May 2009, by SC

  As heat wave conditions intensify in large parts of the country and the election jamboree takes a queer turn with personal allegations being traded with vigour by all sides since policies, principles and ideologies have ceased to matter, the latest developments in Nepal are a cause for considerable anxiety for all countries in the region.
  In fact after Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Nepal is now on the throes of instability and tension originating from a major political crisis that has (…)

• Gujarat: Ghosts of the Past and Future

  13 May 2009, by Mukul Dube

  On April 27, 2009, over seven years after the cataclysmic violence in Gujarat, the Supreme Court of India directed the Special Investigation Team (also known as the Raghavan Committee) to look into the role of Narendra Modi, then as now the Chief Minister of Gujarat, in that violence. The focus is naturally on Modi, although the SIT was asked also “to probe the roles of 62 other top ranking politicians, bureaucrats and police officers of the State”.
  There have been two reactions to (…)