Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Protesting women wrestlers command much respect in the country; their coming out on the streets for justice has already made a difference | Bharat Dogra

  19 January 2024, by Bharat Dogra

  Several protesting women wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have been extremely sad these days. It has been a distressing experience for people all over the country to see these women in tears, as they admire and respect them these wrestlers who have won prestigious medals for their country in international sports events but have been even more brave in their struggles against gender injustice and for providing safe conditions in which women wrestlers can bring more honors for (…)

• A University That Knows the Art of Speaking Truth to Power | Gyan Prakash

  19 January 2024

  n times when we see constant attacks on every inch of public space, universities give us the courage to fight the dominant neoliberal vision through the tools of constitutional democracy. Critical thinking lies at the heart of the human quest for progress and the recent protests from the JNU community must be seen in this light.
  In a recent CPO (Chief Proctor Office) manual, the administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University came up with an order to fine students up to Rs. 20,000 for (…)

• Avoiding The Pitfalls in Coalescence As Congress Begins ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ | Ajay K. Mehra

  19 January 2024, by Ajay K. Mehra

  As the heat for the 2024 poll battle builds up, with the Modi-led BJP taking a lead with its pre-planned inauguration of the semi-finished Ram temple, the Congress and the INDIA alliance still remains in quandaries. Will they resolve the pitfalls facing them in the short time at their hand to compete with vigour? Even as the Congress is pinning its hopes on the Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra which Rahul Gandhi began on 14 January 2024 from Manipur and will conclude in Mumbai after traversing (…)

• On Frankfurt School Critical Theory and Political Economy | Chris O’Kane

  19 January 2024

  The 100th anniversary of the founding of the Institute for Social Research (ISR) has led to a multitude of celebrations and reflections on Frankfurt School Critical Theory by prominent Critical Theorists at Critical Theory conferences and in Critical Theory Journals in the Anglophone world. In what follows, I focus on William Scheuerman’s and Samuel Moyn’s recently published short commentaries criticizing contemporary Frankfurt School Critical Theory for not focusing on the political (…)

• Rethinking the Covid Pandemic | Arup Kumar Sen

  19 January 2024, by Arup Kumar Sen

  Covid 19 pandemic affected people almost in all countries of the world. However, the impact of the pandemic varied across regions, classes and communities. A recently published book, Pandemic and Precarity (Sampark, Kolkata, 2023), has explored the differential impact of the pandemic on the labouring people in India. The editor, Rituparna Datta, has nicely situated the twelve papers incorporated in the book: “This report on Pandemic and Precarity tries to open a canvas of ‘Pandemicscapes’ as (…)

• Sustaining Democratic Spirit: Movements and Yatras | Ram Puniyani

  19 January 2024, by Ram Puniyani

  As massive propaganda and mobilization for Ram Temple inauguration on 22nd January is on and there is a need to introspect on India’s democratic and secular ethos. We recall that soon after we got independence there was a demand from some quarters that Somanth Temple, plundered by Mahmood Gazni in the eleventh Century, be restored by the Government. Nehru writes in his book that “he and Patel also approached Mahatma Gandhi for the reconstruction of the temple, but Gandhi was of the view that (…)

• How Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit played peacemaker between Palestine and Israel | Manu Bhagavan

  19 January 2024

  January 16, 2024
  South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ arrives at a pivotal moment, and Pandit played a vital part in bringing human rights discourse to this juncture
  This week, South Africa brought a case before the International Court of Justice in the Hague, charging Israel with genocide for its ongoing campaign in Gaza. It is a pivotal moment in which many precarious elements of the international order hang in the balance.
  South Africa’s case is based on the 1948 Genocide (…)

• Need to Distinguish Political Project of the Hindutva from Hinduism | Sandeep Pandey

  19 January 2024, by Sandeep Pandey

  A Ram temple consecration ceremony is scheduled in Ayodhya on 22 January. This temple is being built, after demolition of a mosque at the same place, in the name of a Hindu deity who is described as epitome of virutes. The act of demolition, described by a Supreme Court judgement as criminal act, was carried out by political organizations believing in Hindutva ideology. The land was given by the same Supreme Court judgement for building a temple. But again political organisations have taken (…)

• Environmental Preservation in Sustainable Entrepreneurship | S N Tripathy

  19 January 2024, by S N Tripathy

  With intrinsic value beyond merely a life-support system, nature encompasses the physical world, including the earth, biodiversity, and ecosystems. The preservation of these resources is crucial for the survival of various species, including humans. The impact of environmental degradation, such as the destruction of the ozone layer, is evident in increased exposure to ultraviolet irradiation and higher rates of skin cancer. Conversely, exposure to natural green places has improved human (…)

• India after Modi: Right-Wing Populism and National Hegemony | Dilip Kumar

  19 January 2024

  Abstract
  The rise of Narendra Modi to power in Delhi in 2014 and the concomitant rise of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) to power in more states than ever have inaugurated a new phase in national politics. This phase is best conceptualized as right-wing populism. There has also been an unprecedented and open use of the incumbent government’s power to attack all kinds of opposition, not just political. Modi’s government has tactically used its position to mold institutions in its favor (…)