Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Decision to return Magsaysay award and US degrees on the role of us in the war in Gaza | Sandeep Pandey

  5 January 2024, by Sandeep Pandey

  When I received the Magsaysay Award in 2002, a little controversy was created due to my decision to participate in a protest outside United States embassy in Manila against the impending attack on Iraq, immediately a day after the award ceremony in which the award was handed over by the Phillippines President. The then Chairperson of Magsaysay Foundation had tried to dissuade me from participating in the protest on the pretext that it’ll harm the reputation of the foundation. My contention (…)

• India and the World: Loud claims, little ground support | Apratim Mukarji

  5 January 2024, by Apratim Mukarji

  Of late, Narendra Modi’s loud declarations and slogans are failing to match the ground realities. One can easily point out this inadequacy in the case of three specific instances in the sphere of foreign policy. As in all other sectors of governance, foreign policy is no longer the domain of foreign office diplomats and experts but is solely determined by the Prime Minister himself. The concerned Minister S. Jaishankar has proved himself to be a faithful associate whose main job now is to (…)

• Article 370 Judgment is Blow to Federalism, Constitutionalism and Democracy | Vijay Kumar

  5 January 2024, by Vijay Kumar

  The Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court substantially upholding the highly controversial decision of the Central Government to withdraw Special Status granted to erstwhile J&K by virtue of Article 370 of the Constitution, and downgrading its status by sundering it and converting it into Union Territories has grave implications for federalism, constitutionalism and indeed democracy.
  There is a difference between constitution and constitutionalism. Every country has its own (…)

• Remembering Chandra Shekhar | Jeevesh Gupta

  5 January 2024

  “I am just an ordinary political worker. Intellectuals are those who talk of something which is beyond them.” Were the words of Chandra Shekhar when he was asked whether he was an intellectual in politics during his 7 month tenure as Prime Minister of India. These lines very well reflected this man’s political ethos. In spite of the paradoxical streams in his political practice, this socialist from a farmer’s family in Ibrahimpatti village (Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India) never lost his basic (…)

• The Bharatiya Sanhitas – Sedition on Steroids? Policy flip-flop or strategy? | S.G.Vombatkere

  5 January 2024, by S G Vombatkere

  Watershed moment
  On December 8, 2023, HM Amit Shah announced in the Lok Sabha, that new Bharatiya Sanhita legislations were being introduced to replace British era enactments relating to criminal law, to Indianize the criminal justice mechanism. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill 2023 (BNS, hereinafter) replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill 2023 (BNSS, hereinafter) replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Bharatiya (…)

• An invitation to embrace reason | Jawed Naqvi

  5 January 2024, by Jawed Naqvi

  AS Prime Minister Modi leads the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya this month — built on the rubble of the Babri masjid upon the supreme court’s directives — another landmark mosque in the sights of the old parliament house is gasping for the luck of the turkey at the White House. A solitary bird is traditionally spared the knife on Thanksgiving Day, a symbol of the US president’s generosity. The Sunehri Bagh mosque has enjoyed the status of a heritage monument of Delhi, but the (…)

• Equality of treatment in the eye of the law: Viceroy of India Lord Lytton stood for justice by Katwaroo, a Dosadh in 1876 | Atul Krishna Biswas 

  5 January 2024, by A K Biswas

  Katwaroo, a victim of violence, inflicted by a high-profile British Barrister Fuller at Agra died instantaneously in 1876. Soon after arrival of Lord Lytton, the Governor-General and Viceroy of India (1876-1880), a vernacular newspaper of Calcutta highlighted this tragedy which caught his close attention. He waded straightway to redress the grievance for the humble victim. The Viceroy caused a letter to be addressed post haste to the North-Western Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Government (…)

• Modi’s Attempt to Woo Christian Community | Ram Puniyani

  5 January 2024, by Ram Puniyani

  On 25th December, Prime Minister Mr. Narnedra Modi invited many Christians for an interaction and to greet them. He lauded the community for their social work and hailed the inclusive teachings of Lord Jesus Christ. Also recalling his long association with the community leaders. A couple of days later in Kerala nearly two hundred Christians joined the BJP. The Hindu reports, “A meeting of the BJP State leadership in Kottayam here on Monday decided to launch a 10-day-long Sneha Yathra, which (…)

• Decoding the Blips in the Post Office Bill, 2023 | Nisha Mishra

  5 January 2024

  The Parliament on 18 December passed the Post office bill, 2023 that repealed the erstwhile Indian Post Office Act of 1898. This move by the government was justified on the grounds to streamline the postal administration and efficient service delivery mechanisms.
  Initially, the Indian Post Office Act, 1898 was enacted to replace the Act of 1866 which in several matters did not suited to the requirements of the postal department and works. Moreover, the issues pertaining to protection of (…)

• Telecommunications Act, 2023: Promise & Challenges | Manoj Chugh & Shyam Sunder

  5 January 2024

  The telecom sector has played a significant role in the growth and development of India. It has helped to provide employment to four million people. It serves 117.9 crore subscribers, contributing to 6% of GDP, growing at a CAGR of over 9%.
  The current telecom framework, is based on outdated laws dating to the 19th Century that badly need an overhaul, given the rapid technological advancements, the advent of next generation services pivoted on Digital and the fast-changing demands of our (…)