Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Historic Blunder An analysis of the defeat of BJD in Odisha - a lesson for federalism, regionalism and secularism in India | Manas Behera

  15 June 2024

  Elections are not only lifelines of working democracies but set the agenda for deepening democracy and narratives for inclusive development. But it is not always the same. Elections can also be used to set the narratives in negative ways sacrificing the constitutional values at the altar of political power. India has so many such examples in its electoral history from bringing communal politics to the centre stage of electoral narrative to using emotive issues to divert people’s attention (…)

• Odisha’s First-Ever BJP CM’s Track Record | S N Sahu

  15 June 2024, by S N Sahu

  June 13 2024
  Mohan Majhi’s demand in 2022 for the release of the killers of Graham Staine and his children, if implemented, would have harmed the state’s communal harmony.
  Odisha has got a new government with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and fourth-time MLA, Mohan Charan Majhi, taking oath as Chief Minister on June 12, 2024. This is the first-ever BJP government in the state that assumed office after Biju Janata Dal’s Naveen Patnaik fell short of the majority mark by winning only (…)

• Bhagwat’s apparent rebuke to Narendra Modi is shrouded in deep mystery and points to some impending crisis | Arun Srivastava

  15 June 2024

  .Narendra Modi entered into an alliance with Chandra Babu Naidu, TDP chief and Nitish Kumar, JD(U) chief, for forming the NDA government, even though the people of the country has rejected his Hindutva politics and badly mauled his BJP, reminisces the move of the BJP’s ideological guru Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s Hindu Mahasabha to form a coalition government in pre-independence Bengal, Sindh and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) with the Muslim League.
  The Hindu Mahasabha, under (…)

• NDA in Power 2024: Whither Hindu Nationalism? | Ram Puniyani

  15 June 2024, by Ram Puniyani

  The failure of BJP to get past 272 has brought back the NDA into the forefront. While Vajpayee came to power and led the NDA Government in 1998, still there was a strong imprint of the BJP politics in the Government. Among other things which were part of the Hindutva agenda at that time was the appointment of the Venkatchaliah Commission to review the Constitution and Saffronisation of the textbooks and the introduction of courses in astrology and Paurohitya (Rituals) in the curriculum. (…)

• What NDA 3.0 should Do to Relieve Rural Distress | Soma Marla

  15 June 2024, by Soma S. Marla

  Rural India, especially in the north coasted the ruling party its majority in parliament, thus forcing ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to depend on regional allies to muster the simple majority for government formation. BJP has lost a third of its rural parliamentary constituencies, reflecting rural discontent, low crop MSPs, Agniveer and high unemployment. The BJP retained only 126 of the 251 rural seats it previously held in 2019 Loksabha, while The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won (…)

• India’s new government faces job creation challenge | Biswajit Dhar

  15 June 2024

  Jobs are scant, and more than 90 percent of the workforce is in the informal economy.
  The election results have proven that "Modi’s guarantee" is no longer enough. The people of India want stronger policies on employment and agriculture.
  For the past decade, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoyed an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. This time, it has fallen well short of that mark. Its diminished numbers likely reflect its failure over its (…)

• Unveiling The Racism In India | Tamanna Yadav

  15 June 2024

  Even as the massive general elections to choose the leaders of the national government for the next five years was in progress, Congress leader Sam Pitroda stirred controversy in an interview with ‘The Statesman’ newspaper, while depicting the diversity of India. He said, ‘We are a shining example of democracy in the world. We have survived 75 years in a very happy environment where people could live together, leaving aside a few fights here and there. We could hold a country together as (…)

• Exciting Ten Days | J P Gadkari

  15 June 2024, by J P Gadkari

  The ten days, starting from 1st June 2024, with the Exit Poll predictions to actual results and the Govt formation, and allocation of portfolios culminating with the severest lashing so far by the RSS chief to Narendra Modi without actually naming him were quite exciting for most of the people who have keen interest in national politics. After a seemingly interminable long period of 47 days of polling spread all over the country, they were to get the first glimpse of what is going to be the (…)

• Democratic Indiaah! | L K Sharma

  15 June 2024

  Once known as a country of snake-charmers, India became famous for snake-oil sellers, seen and heard all over during the parliamentary election campaign.
  Wonderous ghost voters and intelligent machines appeared on the polling day. The elections publicised a modern contraption that can grant the boon to anyone with technical prowess to guide it. It creates a virtual reality, overwriting facts. In some constituencies the election results ignored the number of voters who voted. Even an (…)

• Poem: Encounter Specialist, God-man | Murzban Jal

  14 June 2024

  Encounter specialist god-man When one fine morning Was walking in the gardens of his castle Saw Aliens, dragons, elves and hobgoblins Dropping from the skies With necklaces and buffaloes with them To distribute to the people.
  “Distributing to the people!” So fumed encounter specialist god-man And looking at the aliens, dragons, elves and hobgoblins In the skies He screamed “How dare you distribute anything to the people: For don’t you know that I am the people Me Encounter specialist (…)