Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Russia Bolsters its Ties with Iran

  31 October 2007, by M K Bhadrakumar

  Relations between Russia and the United States will be put to severe test in the coming weeks as there are growing signs that the US has decided, or has almost decided, to launch a military strike against Iran.
  Russian observers do not rule out that the Administration of US President George W Bush is yet to think through its policy on Iran, and the spate of media “leaks” keeps Tehran and the world community guessing. They analyse that a US military intervention would become inevitable (…)

• Warning Signals for the US

  31 October 2007, by Neha Kumar

  The relationship between Iran and Russia have been strengthened by the historic visit of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to Iran. Russian President Putin paid a visit to Iran on October 16, 2007 despite the threats of assassination. Putin made it clear that the aim of the visit was to clear up ambiguities regarding the nuclear programme of Iran and to play an influential role in the Iran nuclear programme. Russia also attended a multilevel meeting, that is, the Caspian Sea meeting. (…)

• World Development Report on Agriculture:

  31 October 2007, by Bharat Dogra

  It is in the midst of serious and growing concerns about farmers’ suicides and threats to food-security that an important document like the latest (2008) World Development Report (WDR) on Agriculture (prepared by the World Bank) needs to be examined carefully. The World Bank’s influence on policy-making is widely acknowledged and the WDR provides a strong indicator of the overall direction and thrust of these policy-influences.
  A claim that is repeatedly made in this report is that for (…)

• Indira Gandhi—An Outstanding International Leader

  31 October 2007, by M. Saleem Kidwai

  October 31 marks the twentythird anniversary of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. As a tribute to her abiding memory we are carrying the following piece. —Editor
  The charismatic and epoch-making personality of Indira Gandhi left her imprint not only in the affairs of her own country but also in international affairs. She belonged to that noble galaxy of great leaders who wielded extraordinary power. Indira Gandhi was an Indian to the core but at the same time her vision went (…)

• Strategic Alliance with the USA in a World of ’Civilisation’-based Alignment

  31 October 2007, by Kunal Ghosh

  The Government of India is in the process of reaching a comprehensive agreement with the USA on civil cooperation in nuclear power. The Left parties are opposed to it on the ground that it binds India to America as a global strategic partner and that has some long term ramifications. They say: “The nuclear cooperation deal is an integral part of the July 2005 Joint Statement, which has political, economic and strategic aspects. It is also closely linked to the June 2005 Military Framework (…)

• Being a Proud Indian

  31 October 2007, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  A midst the profusion of tributes paid to Indira Gandhi on the tenth anniversary of her martyrdom on October 31, perhaps the most eloquent but concise was by the eminent scientist-philosopher, Professor Yash Pal, who said she had made us feel proud of being an Indian.
  To be proud of belonging to our motherland was the constant injunction that my generation had to abide by when we were young students—that was before the country became independent. The galling yoke of foreign rule was not (…)

• M.N. Vijayan : The Scholar Who Knew Too Much

  31 October 2007, by K M Seethi

  Professor M.N. Vijayan—a Leftist scholar of great repute, an incisive writer and orator, a social critic and an unyielding political activist which Kerala has ever seen—is now history. Vijayan died at a crucial time when critiquing of the mainstream Left has been seen as ‘game-plans’ of the much-reviled ‘media syndicate’ in Kerala. But long before the CPI-M unleashed its orchestrated campaign against him, M.N. Vijayan had proved himself to be a ‘dissenter-extraordinary’ which not many people (…)

• Gandhian Ideology of Trusteeship and Natural Resource Management

  31 October 2007, by Anita Barik

  The advancing processes of globalisation worldwide have been accompanied by deepening divisions and conflicts—both within and between societies. We see around us a spreading “culture of wars” that justifies the use of coercive means to realise the desired ends. And the situation at the start of the 21st century has become further aggravated with the emerging crisis of control over natural resources. The conflict over competing claims to natural resources witnesses an effort to grab a greater (…)

• Projecting Farmers’ Plight

  31 October 2007, by Anilkumar Sharma

  BOOK REVIEW
  River Stones (novel) by Kota Neelima; Book Wise, New Delhi; pp. 300.
  The author highlights the sad plight of the poor farmers from different angles: failure of crops, the farmers’ inability to clear debts, especially to private moneylenders, starvation, hunger deaths and suicides due to desperation and many more reasons.
  The relief packages and welfare schemes earmarked by the government are an eyewash— because not even 10 per cent of the money allocated is reaching the (…)

• Civil Society Team Opposes POSCO Project

  31 October 2007

  DOCUMENT
  A team of academicians, journalists, human rights activists and leaders of people’s movements have expressed their categorical opposition to the proposed POSCO steel project in Orissa as anti-people, ecologically degrading and destructive of livelihood of farmers and fisher-folks and conveyed solidarity with the heroic struggle of the people of Gadkujang, Dhinkia and Nuwagaon for protection of their land and livelihood.
  The team comprising of Prof Manoranjan Mohanty, (…)