Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• How riots formed Kolkata’s ghettos | Ranabir Samaddar & Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay

  21 January 2023

  by Ranabir Samaddar and Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay *
  Communal violence has led to clear territorial demarcation of space, access, and resources, marking the everyday experience of minority citizenship in Kolkata.
  Confrontation, contests and conflict have been key characteristics of Kolkata since colonial times.
  Class, caste and religious divides have defined many aspects of the city’s development. Throughout its colonial history, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), had been a Hindu-majority city (…)

• Digital gaming market and rising health crisis | Geeta Sinha

  21 January 2023, by Geeta Sinha

  The technological advancements in the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly the revolution in the information technology (IT) sector, have had a negative influence on health, food consumption, nutrition intake and fitness as a result of incorrect usage. Because of this, there is a rising trend in people who lead deskbound lifestyles, have bad eating habits, postural deviations, muscle disorders and injuries, stress, and social marginalisation, to name a few. It is well established by (…)

• Modi Govt’s Big Hydrogen Programme Poses Many Crucial Questions | Prabir Purkayastha

  21 January 2023

  by Prabir Purkayastha *
  Massive green energy plan for Indian capital but not for its people
  (India Press Agency - January 20, 2023) The recent announcement of the Narendra Modi government of a Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 19,794 crore) National Green Hydrogen Mission has created two kinds of questions. The most common reaction is what is green hydrogen? And do we have a plan for a green hydrogen path for which Rs 20,000 crore is being earmarked?
  Let us get one fact straight: all shades of (…)

• Woes of Sugarcane Economics: The Way Out? | Sher Singh Sangwan

  21 January 2023

  by Sher Singh Sangwan *
  Like the Minimum Support Price for 23 kinds of cereal, pulses, and oilseeds crops; the Government of India (GOI) has been announcing a guaranteed price for sugar cane which was called the Statutory Minimum price (SMP) till 2008-09. Since 2009-10, it is termed Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) as per the recommendation of the Rangarajan Committee which took into account the cost of production of sugarcane as well as the sugar price realized by sugar mills. Despite (…)

• The resurrection of Higher education: Musings of a Concerned Indian | S. K. Saidapur

  21 January 2023

  by S. K. Saidapur *
  Soul-searching from any angle, unequivocally suggests that restructuring the Indian education system (schools to universities) and taking it to international standards is inevitable now more than ever. The arrival of foreign varsities is imminent and this will quickly drive most Indian higher education institutions (HEIs) to oblivion unless they upgrade their relevance and competence to global levels. Remodeling and repurposing the higher education system as a whole is (…)

• Promise and Pitfalls of Budget Analysis | Bharat Dogra

  21 January 2023, by Bharat Dogra

  As India gets ready for the much debated annual budget of the union government (which will be presented on February 1), this may be a good time to consider some aspects of budget analysis.
  It is of course very clear that budget analysis can be a very useful exercise as the mass of statistics and information contained in the budget can be examined in terms of what is most important for people and to what extent the needs and priorities of ordinary people have been fulfilled, with special (…)

• A remembrance meet on Madhu Dandavate | Jeevesh Gupta

  21 January 2023

  by Jeevesh Gupta
  Remembering Madhu Dandavate on his birth centenary was all the more important keeping in mind the dying voice of the opposition in India.
  Volunteers of Madhu Dandavate janm shatabdi Samaroh samiti today organised the first commemoration meeting in his memory which shall be followed by a country wide series of events through 2023. Speaking on this ocassion, convenor of the samiti, Sh. Arun Srivastava said that "those great politicians whose children are not in politics (…)

• Footprints of Militant Hindu Nationalism | Arup Kumar Sen

  21 January 2023, by Arup Kumar Sen

  The cover story of the latest issue of The Week began with the following observation: “As a response to the belligerence of Pakistan and lately China, a military-industrial complex seems to be fast taking shape in India” (January 22, 2023). This observation bears testimony to the dominant discourse of Hindu nationalism.
  In fact, the signature of militant Hindu nationalism is distinctly visible in the recent statement of the RSS Chief, Mohan Bhagwat: “You see, Hindu society has been at war (…)

• 4 ways Netanyahu’s new far-right government threatens Israeli democracy | Boaz Atzili

  21 January 2023

  by Boaz Atzili *
  January 5, 2023
  Democracy is not just about holding elections. It is a set of institutions, ideas and practices that allow citizens a continuous, decisive voice in shaping their government and its policies.
  The new Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu of the state. This government presents a major threat to Israeli democracy, and it does so on multiple fronts.
  Here are the four ways that Israel’s democratic institutions, customs and practices are (…)

• 

  CPI condemns move to stop food grains to poor

  21 January 2023

  New Delhi,
  Communist Party of India
  January 17, 2023
  Press Release
  The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India issued the following statement today (on January 17, 2023):
  The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India has expressed its deep concern about the recent government decision to stop giving food grains being given to the poor under the Food Security Act.
  The decision will adversely impact the poor and compel them to go to market for their food (…)