Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• India 60: The Task Ahead

  18 August 2007

  When the President, Smt Pratibha Patil, addresses the nation on the eve of the 60th anniversary of our Independence, she will have the distinction of being the first-ever woman to be the President of the largest democracy in the world to perform this sacred duty. It is not a mere coincidence that the Congress party, the largest political party in a democratic country, is also headed by a woman, Smt Sonia Gandhi. Another significant coincidence is that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, (…)

• Candid Tale of a Simple-hearted Great Man

  18 August 2007

  Book Review
  Whom to Tell My Tale: An Autobiography by K.S. Duggal; National Book Trust Publication, New Delhi; pages 222; Rs 65.
  The opening sentence of the book—“Haye Bhabi, had he not been my brother’s baby, I would have...” and the rest of the sentence “... gone and dumped him on the village dung-hill,” remained etched on her lips—carries the remark made by his Bhua, while meeting for the first time the skin-infected babe. This portrays the candidness of this simple-hearted great (…)

• Impact of Gandhiji’s ‘Non-Violence’ on UN Agenda

  18 August 2007

  The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution on June 15, 2007 to declare October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, as the International Day of Non-Violence in recognition of his role in promoting the message of ‘peace through non-violence’ around the world. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Indian Nation, was a great political and spiritual leader, the pioneer of satyagraha, and the practitioner of non-violence. His life-style and approach of non-violence earned him the nick (…)

• At Stake : National Interest

  11 August 2007, by SC

  The Left parties have come out with a fairly detailed critique of the bilateral Indo-US “123” Agreement constituting the basis of the civilian nuclear cooperation deal between the two countries. Its text is being presented in this issue for the benefit of our readers. It will be transparent from the text that the charge of the Left being “paranoid” when it comes to cooperation with the US—a point repeatedly made by sections of the media euphoric about the nuclear accord—is not only (…)

• Need to Develop Close Ties with Eurasian Centre of Power

  11 August 2007

  While attention is currently rivetted on the Indo-US nuclear deal it is necessary to understand certain developments in our neighbourhood to which New Delhi has lately paid scant attention. One of these is the functioning of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO): its growing potential promotes the stability and security of not just Central Asia but the adjoining regions as well. Furthermore, it serves to impart a kind of balance in the situation obtaining in the Asia-Pacific as a (…)

• Left Parties’ Statement: On the Indo-US Bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

  11 August 2007

  The Left parties have consistently held that the nuclear cooperation agreement should not be seen in isolation from the overall strategic tie-up with the United States. 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 Agreement signed with the United States.
  It is therefore not possible to view the text of the bilateral “123” Agreement (…)

• This Business of a US-India Nuclear Deal

  11 August 2007

  IIn his farewell address on January 17, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered the prophetic warning:
  In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
  He was talking of the influence of the complex (for which his epithet was to prove enduring) in Washington’s corridors of power.
  We in India had to wait until the second term of a distant successor with very different (…)

• India-US Nuclear Deal : A Few Hard Questions

  11 August 2007

  Even if it is agreed that the Indo-US nuclear deal is a “historic” agreement, reflective of a path-breaking step taken by New Delhi and Washington, one cannot remain oblivious of its limitations as well as disadvantages. A reading of the text of the 123 Agreement, unveiled earlier this month, compels one to regard it more as a symbol of the United States’ carrot-and-stick policy being exercised towards India than their diplomatic warmth. On page one itself, the 22-page text refers to the two (…)

• Arms Salesmanship

  11 August 2007

  The USA has a whole battery of Think Tanks with enormous amount of materials at their disposal. And these Think Tanks are supposed to help in the moulding of public opinion and government policies.
  And yet when it come to the actual application of policies, the Clinton Administration has been displaying an amazing lack of coherent thinking and mature understanding of the impact of its policies on the world abroad. It has hardly covered itself with glory in Somalia nor has Bosnia added a (…)

• Human Rights in the Time of Patriotism

  11 August 2007

  Framing Geelani, Hanging Afzal: Patriotism in the Time of Terror by Nandita Haksar; Promilla & Co. Publishers in association with Bibliophile South Asia, New Delhi; pp. 348; Rs 450.
  Nandita Haksar, human rights activist, who has confronted the Union and several State governments in Courts of law in cases of unspeakable atrocities, particularly in the North-Eastern parts of India, has authored an extremely engaging and challenging book. Although the two individuals who are its main (…)