Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

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  A Critique of Neo-Liberal Development and Alternatives

  15 June 2008, by Jajati K Pattnaik

  Neo-liberal development based on the foundations of free market, free trade, and integration building policies envisages a world order glowing with growth and prosperity. Globalisation as the instrument of this philosophy espouses the diffusion of knowledge and technology stretching de-territorialised economic growth. The driving forces behind this process are transnational corporations and international financial institutions intended to create a new epoch in international relations with a (…)

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  Practical Steps to Peace in Kashmir

  15 June 2008, by Neenu Rishi Chanchal

  BOOK REVIEW
  Crafting Peace in Kashmir: Through a Realist Lens by Verghese Koithara; Sage Publications, New Delhi.
  This edited volume examines the India-Pakistan conflict in depth, and comparative analyses with conflicts as observed in Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka as well as the Israel-Palestinian hostilities have been presented to provide an analytical backdrop through a realist’s lens.
  Koithara, in his well-researched book, argues that the dominant prevailing view about the Kashmir (…)

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  Electing the Nepal Constituent Assembly: A People’s Mandate

  15 June 2008, by Manvi Priya

  The much awaited and negotiated elections to the Constituent Assembly (CA) in Nepal took place on April 10, 2008. Having studied the debates around Constitution-building and interviewed the actors of Nepalese politics and civil society last year, it was exciting to witness the CA elections and glean from them the possibilities of a new Nepal.
  South Asian Partnership-International (SAP-I) had organised an Election Observation Team of South Asians for the historic event. It formed three (…)

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  Heavy Blow to Aam Aadmi

  8 June 2008, by SC

  As if the hefty rise in prices of essential commodities keeping pace with the mounting inflation was not enough, the UPA Government has announced a steep hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG even though the poor man’s lighting and cooking fuel, kerosene, has been left untouched. These constitute the highest-ever increases in the country’s oil industry—the rise in petrol being Rs 5 a litre, in diesel Rs 3 a litre and the LPG Rs 50 a cylinder. The PM, in his unusual address to the (…)

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  Obama’s Tryst with History

  8 June 2008

  COMMENTARY
  Barack Obama’s victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton to clinch the Democratic Party’s nomination for the US presidential contest in November has been a truly historic development. By this win and securing the backing of 2118 delegates needed for the purpose, Obama has set a new milestone in the annals of the world’s most powerful democracy.
  The campaign for the presidential nomination has revealed the remarkable features of American democracy even as one is acutely conscious of (…)

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  Indo-Pak Ties: Difficult Period of Uncertainty Ahead

  8 June 2008, by M K Bhadrakumar

  To the extent that the diplomacy underlying India-Pakistan composite dialogue is paramountly about managing the relationship in the short term, troubles lie ahead. Beguiling rhythms might stealthily approach the centre-stage and the ritualised patterns of the recent years in evidence in the public arena of Indo-Pak diplomacy could come under siege.
  Keeping the tensions under check in the Indo-Pak relationship is a challenging task in the best of times. This is more so in an election year (…)

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  Nepal: Herald of a New Dawn

  8 June 2008, by G.S. Bhargava

  An established democracy like India, even if tainted lately by the holy family, should be happy at the imminent abolition of monarchy in Nepal. We should rejoice at our neighbour to the north joining the comity of republican democracies. It does not matter if the former Himalayan kingdom had been looking askance, for decades, at the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy with adult franchise. Three years after Indian independence, Nehru played host, tentatively and fleetingly, to (…)

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  Are We Becoming A Nation Of Toadies?

  8 June 2008, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  It was a depressing sight: Our nation’s tallest leaders, led by the Prime Minister, standing in line outside the door of 10 Janpath. They were there to offer flowers and express their ‘deep gratitude’ to Sonia Gandhi. For what? For her completing ten years as their boss.
  Depressing, too, was an advertisement that appeared prominently in Bangalore newspapers last week: “Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee—Hearty welcome to our Beloved Leader, Symbol of Emerging Vibrant Young (…)

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  People’s Discontent and System Failure

  8 June 2008

  REPORT OF EXPERT GROUP ON “DEVELOPMENT ISSUES TO DEAL WITH CAUSES OF DISCONTENT, UNREST AND EXTREMISM”
  [(The following is one chapter of the Report of the Expert Group on “Development Issues to Deal with the Causes of Discontent, Unrest and Extremism”, set up by the Planning Commission, in May 2006. With D. Bandyopadhyay, the architect of ‘Operation Barga’ of West Bengal in the eighties and former Secretary, Rural Development, Government of India, as the Chairman, the Group consisted of (…)

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  Importance of being Urs

  8 June 2008, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  It is a rather ominous commentary on Indira Gandhi’s political manoeuvrings that just at the time when she is going to be arraigned before the Special Courts for some of her Emergency misdeeds she should work up a confrontation with Devaraj Urs, who undoubtedly commands the most stable component of her ramshackle political outfit.
  Even at the level of demagogy, the main slogan of her party today is only to condemn the setting up of the Special Courts—an issue on which it had found itself (…)