Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Naga National Assembly: Foreboding of a cold and ungenerous Peace | Kumar Sanjay Singh

  17 June 2022

  by Kumar Sanjay Singh *
  Convening of the Emergency National Assembly on 31 May 2022 marks the apogee of the most torrid fortnight of the talks. Apparently, the fraught issue of Naga flag and constitution is at the root of the current instability. That trust has been a casualty is borne out in the statements of those involved in peace negotiations. Acknowledging that something’s amiss with the official channel of communication, the core committee of the parliamentary committee on Naga (…)

• A Spark May Lead to Fire - Could India Go the Sri Lanka Way? | Radhakanta Barik

  17 June 2022, by Radhakanta Barik

  by Radhakanta Barik *
  Rahul Gandhi the leader of the Congress Party and has a deep understanding of the social and economic problems of the Indian people. He is able to interact with the leading economists including the Nobel Laureates and he is able to interact with thinkers and industrialists without fearing Modi. Modi is just the opposite who is scared of scholars and thinkers as he branded them as ’Hard work vs Harvard.’ He raises a point in his twitter regarding India is going on the (…)

• Urgency to Undo Bulldozer Injustice | Faraz Ahmad

  17 June 2022, by Faraz Ahmad

  About a dozen retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts along with noted jurists have written to the Chief Justice of India N.V.Ramanna urging the Supreme Court to take Suo Motu cognizance of Uttar Pradesh state government perpetrating violence and repression on a section of its citizens who protested the remarks made against Prophet Mohammad by BJP office bearers.
  The signatories to this petition include Justices (retired) B. Sudarshan Reddy, V. Gopala Gowda and A.K. Ganguly; (…)

• Siddaramaiah’s brand of Politics in Karnataka | P S Jayaramu

  17 June 2022

  by P. S. Jayaramu
  16th June, 2022
  Siddaramaiah, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka and presently Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, is a down to earth politician with secular and socialist credentials. He has his eyes and ears focused very much on the politics of the state, so much so that he has twice rejected Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s invitation to move to national arena.
  Siddaramaiah entered the Karnataka Assembly in 1983, having contested on Bharathiya Lok Dal (…)

• BJP’s ’Image’ & Nupur Sharma’s Comments! | Nilofar Suhrawardy

  17 June 2022, by Nilofar Suhrawardy

  The repeatedly tried measure by certain master-strategists of provoking communal tension, dividing votes along religious lines, polarising vote-banks for electoral gains appears to have backfired considerably this time. Yes, this refers to socio-political and diplomatic reaction to Nupur Sharma’s objectionable comments. Till recently, Nupur- former BJP spokesperson- was hardly known in national and international circles. Now, her “popularity

• A Well-Deserved Recognition for India’s ASHAs | Jos Chathukulam, Manasi Joseph

  17 June 2022, by Jos Chathukulam, Manasi Joseph

  Abstract
  At a time when India’s one million Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), who were at the forefront to battle the COVID 19 crisis are facing humiliation, hostility and neglect from the government authorities have left them without recourse, the conferment of Global Health Leaders Award to these frontline health workers provide a ray of hope to these unsung warriors. Meanwhile, the Award alone will not put an end to the sad plight of these ASHAs as they have to overcome (…)

• if The Shudras Do Not Rebel, the Hindu Rastra Will Be Established For Their Peril | Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd

  17 June 2022, by Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd

  The modern Indian state, with such vast tracts of land and a massive population of 1.3 billion, is unique in history. Before 1947, or even after partition, a single government with absolute sovereign power from one national capital did not rule the country’s entire population. Not even the British Governor General ruled as many people as the present Prime Minister of India rules. However, even with a modern democratic constitution, the massive number of people living in such a vast land may (…)

• Reform GST Council - Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water | Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder

  17 June 2022

  by Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder *
  The Supreme Court (SC) order on GST Council recommendations in (Union of India and ANR versus M/S Mohit Minerals) on May 19, 2022, held:
  “The ’recommendations’ of the GST Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and States. They are recommendatory in nature. To regard them as binding edicts would disrupt fiscal federalism, where both the Union and the States are conferred equal power to legislate on GST”.
  The SC ruling can (…)

• Why India must ratify Ban amendment to Basel Convention on Hazardous Waste Movement & Disposal in order to prevent dumping of waste | Gopal Krishna

  17 June 2022

  by Gopal Krishna
  The 15th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (COP-15) is underway with the 10th Conference of Parties to the Rotterdam Convention and the 10th Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention from 6 to 17 June 2022 in Geneva. These meetings are focused on the theme: "Global Agreements for a Healthy Planet: Sound management of chemicals and waste". Prior to the COP-13 of Basel Convention Union (…)

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  Support free speech; condemn hate speech, death threats | IMSD, June 13, 2022

  17 June 2022

  IMSD supports free speech; condemns hate speech, death threats
  Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) deplores the divisive and hate-driven politics behind the statements made by the now-suspended spokesperson of the BJP, Nupur Sharma, but it unequivocally condemns the threats to her life. IMSD also strongly condemns Al Qaeda for threatening retaliatory terror acts.
  IMSD believes that democracy is inconceivable without the freedom of speech, a freedom that is enshrined in the Indian (…)