Mainstream Weekly

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• Amendments to Biodiversity Legislation Weaken Conservation Efforts | Soma Marla

  28 January 2022

  by Soma Marla
  During the last winter session [Dec 2021] of Parliament, Union government has introduced amendments to the existing Biological Diversity Act, 2002. It was said that the proposed amendments would ease access to biological resources (including rare medicinal plants, seeds, and Traditional knowledge) by the Indian traditional medicine sector. The objective of the proposed legislation is also to simplify the patent application process, widen the scope of levying access and (…)

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  Citizens’ Letter to President of India with alternative proposal regarding the Bose Statue at India Gate

  28 January 2022

  OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT
  We, the undersigned, are writing to you as Head of State on a matter which we believe to be of considerable importance. The Government of India has announced its intention of installing a granite statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate to honour him. At present he is being represented by a hologram.
  Honouring national figures at India Gate is an excellent idea. However, we would like to suggest that instead of a permanent statue, holograms of (…)

• The up-coming UP assembly elections: A macro-level analysis | P S Jayaramu

  28 January 2022

  by P. S. Jayaramu *
  23rd, January 2022
  2022 is the year of elections. The year will witness assembly elections in five states during February-March, biennial elections to 75 seats to Rajya Sabha in June-july and elections to the Gujarat assembly in December. The mega polls are, of course, going to take place in Uttar Pradesh in seven phases spread over 10th February to 7th March, 2022. It is billed as the most spectacular electoral event for a few reasons. Firstly, the BJP has made (…)

• In UP, BJP’s Leaders Know Only Love | TJS George

  28 January 2022, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  In a matter of weeks Uttar Pradeshians will be lining up to vote. This election will be of considerable significance to all of India. Yogi Adityanath, the politician dressed in saffron, is wellknown for his ambition to replace Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial nominee. In such situations Modi develops ten eyes and twenty ears. This internal yudh makes the UP elections a historical tug of war.
  Election time is the time — the only time — when ordinary (…)

• Dalits in the Coming Punjab Assembly Elections of 2022 | Jaspreet Kaur

  28 January 2022

  by Jaspreet Kaur
  In Punjab Assembly elections, various parties have tried to give preference to the Dalit vote. First, the Akali Dal had announced the appointment of a Dalit face as Deputy Chief Minister. The main reason for this is that Dalit population in Punjab is around 33%. Putting aside the factor of considerable Dalit population, the riddle of appointing a Dalit Chief Minister cannot be resolved. Many other social and economic factors are also responsible for this. It is (…)

• Obtuse Labels: Channi is dishonest and Kejriwal an honest man? | Prem Singh

  28 January 2022, by Prem Singh

  On 20 January, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi a dishonest man, and emphasized that Channi should not be viewed as a common man. That is, the patent of the common man lies with Kejriwal alone, and in this respect, honesty as well. Kejriwal made this statement in a quick response to the ED’s raid on Channi’s nephew’s house. Since then, a series of allegations and counter-allegations have been going on between the two leaders, which may (…)

• Identity Politics in Punjab: A Challenge For Aam Aadmi Party | Rajvinder Singh

  28 January 2022

  by Rajvinder Singh *
  Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been the newest addition in the Indian political system. AAP with its advent promised a new kind of politics. Party made a strong effort to introduce a new issue “corruption” into the arena of party competition. Party was giving the issue of corruption a new salience in electoral politics and using that as the basis for political mobilisation. The AAP does not appeal to a homogenous social group and so does not gain from a structural cleavage (…)

• Subhash Chandra Bose: Remembered in North East India | Ajailiu Niumai

  28 January 2022, by Ajailiu Niumai

  Subhash Chandra Bose was one of the first nationalist leaders in pre-independent India to set his foot in Northeast India, 3 years prior to India’s Independence in 1944. And, he brought the focus on the Northeast region in the Indian national movement. His decision to enter the Northeast region and Burma (Myanmar) was a well-planned strategy. Secondly, Northeast India has produced several freedom fighters and I won’t name each of them since today is a celebration of Netaji’s 125th birth (…)

• Citizens Safety and Security Forces in our Democracy | Humra Quraishi

  28 January 2022, by Humra Quraishi

  MUSINGS - 26 January 2022
  Happy To See The Name of Sadaf Jafar In The List of Candidates For The Upcoming Elections
  No, I don’t know the Lucknow-based activist Sadaf Jafar. Never met her. Nor spoken to her. But can’t erase this backgrounder to her: Exactly two years back, when the anti- CAA protests were peaking, she was not just harassed and humiliated by the cops in Uttar Pradesh but even physically tortured. In her statement she had detailed how a particular male police officer in (…)

• Revisiting the Debate on the Repealed Farm Laws - Report of a webinar (April 10, 2021)

  28 January 2022

  This is a report of a webinar ’Discussing the Ongoing Framers Movement’ which was organised by Foundation for Creative Social Research, Delhi in collaboration with Society for Scientists and Technologists for a Non-Violent World Order and the Institute of Social Sciences. The Webinar was held in two sessions on 10 April 2021
  Session 1: Chair: Uma Shankari, Farmer and Activist | Speakers: T.S Ahuja, Lawyer; Harish Damodaran, Senior Fellow at CPR and distinguished JoThe Indian Express; (…)