Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

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  Nehru’s Economic Philosophy

  16 November 2008, by V K R V RAO

  Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is not only a great patriot and one of the great sons of India, but also a great son of the world who played a significant role in the achivement of freedom for the colonial countries in both Asia and Africa. Even before he became Prime Minister, when he was in the Interim Government, he arranged to convene the Asian Relations Conference in early 1947, where he brought together all the sovereign and non-sovereign nations of Asia, and helped to build up an Asian (…)

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  A Finely Tuned Sensibility

  16 November 2008, by Shyam Benegal

  Aristocratic in taste, democratic by temperament and egalitarian by conviction, Jawaharlal Nehru comes through as a man with a finely tuned artistic sensibility, with an unceasing curiosity in the world around him, never losing his sense of wonder at the marvels of life and the universe. His deep and abiding faith in humanity committed him to the cause of freedom not only for his own country but also for those countries from whom the right of self-determination was taken away. For him, (…)

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  Wedded to Eternal Values

  16 November 2008, by Sadiq Ali

  We remember Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru today for a whole variety of reasons. He worked hard for the liberation of our country in loyal and effective co-operation with Mahatma Gandhi, his illustrious leader. Both he and the Mahatma, whilst seeking India’s political freedom, cherished visions of a new social and economic order. Their visions were not identical but had much in common. Nehru was the man builder of India’s democracy. His democracy had a wide basis, which included economic progress, (…)

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  Remembering Nehru when Communalism is at its Peak

  16 November 2008, by B N Arora

  The communal virus has of late again assumed frightening proportions and degenerated into communal fascism. At this critical juncture, the Nehru era comes to mind spontaneously.
  As we know, communalism was there even before independence. The colonial rulers, who were on the look-out for a suitable moment, quickly grasped the opportunity and adopting the divide-and-rule policy fanned the flames of communalism till it grew into a full-blown malaise in Indian society. The ugliest face of (…)

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  By Decree Alone

  16 November 2008, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  With barely a week to go before the Budget session of the Lok Sabha, there is naturally considerable trepidation about what’s in store for the common man. All the indications have made it abundantly clear that it may be a harsh Budget, at least for those in the middle and lower income groups, who constitute the overwhelming majority in our society.
  A peculiar feature of the dramatic economic reforms of the last eight months has been that practically every major item has been sprung as a (…)

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  Birth and Growth of Communist Party in Delhi

  16 November 2008, by Ravi M Bakaya

  BOOK REVIEW
  Dilli ki Communist Party ka itihas (in Hindi) by Anand Gupta; published by the Communist Party, Delhi State Committe; pp. xxxii + 467; Price: Rs 250. (Copies can be ordered from PPH, 5-E, Rani Jhansi Road, New Delhi 110055.)
  In this volume of 500 pages, the result of almost a decade of painstaking research in the National Archives of India, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Delhi Archives, P.C. Joshi Archives in JNU, Ajoy Bhavan library and other archives and primary (…)

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  A Left Front in the Service of the Bourgeoisie

  16 November 2008, by Kripa Shankar

  Chandrachoodan (Mainstream, August 16, 2008) has argued for the formation of a Third Alternative in which the Left parties will form the fulcrum to be able to implement the Left programme. Chandrachoodan is the General Secretary of the Revolutionary Socialist Party which is a partner in the Left Front Government in West Bengal where the Front is ruling the State uninterruptedly for the last three decades. The Left Front during this period has failed to project any new model of development (…)

• November Revolution in United States

  11 November 2008, by SC

  At the fag end of his life Rabindranath Tagore delivered the now famous ’’Crisis in Civilisation’’ speech on his last birthday in May 1941. In the midst of World War II, the poet observed therein:
  As I look around I see the crumbling ruins of a proud civilisation strewn like a vast heap of futility. And yet I shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in Man. I would rather look forward to the opening of a new chapter in his history after the cataclysm is over and the atmosphere (…)

• Obama’s Victory: Dawn of a New Era

  11 November 2008, by Nilofar Suhrawardy

  Barack Obama’s victory in the US presidential election spells not only a major win for him, his party, his supporters but symbolises the dawn of a new era for the US Government, the Americans and the entire world. Long, endless lines of voters from early hours on November 4 by themselves signalled that a majority of the Americans viewed this election as a major battle, one and perhaps the only opportunity the majority have to mark their stand on their country’s political destiny. They did (…)

• US Presidential Poll Outcome: A Welcome Win, but Don’t Expect Too Much

  11 November 2008, by Praful Bidwai

  The election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States marks a welcome turning-point in American history and real progress in a society where a Black could have been sold literally as a slave just 140 years ago, and where s/he couldn’t even vote just 40 years ago.
  It restores one’s faith in the possibility of genuine change for the better, or greater inclusive-ness and growing respect for diversity and pluralism in a relatively conservative society. (…)