Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, June 12, 2021

  12 June 2021

  Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, June 12, 2021
  We remain in the midst of a major public health crisis since March 2020 but neither the Government nor the Opposition or the Society at large seems to have become more inclined or better prepared to handle public health issues. Not only has there been a huge lack of preparedness on the health front, but also a failure to adequately respond to the major economic slowdown — with some 250 million people slipping into poverty levels and a (…)

• Congress reset transforms Kerala politics | M K Bhadrakumar

  12 June 2021, by M K Bhadrakumar

  June 9, 2021
  The long-awaited decision by the Congress high command in Delhi to appoint party veteran K Sudhakaran, a sitting member of the Lok Sabha, as the next president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has come on expected lines, but is all the same a hugely consequential development.
  The new president of the KPCC, K Sudhakaran, 73, is a charismatic figure in many ways — a tall stalwart of the Congress party apart, he is rich with political experience and statecraft (…)

• Two years of Indian Foreign Policy under Subrahmanyam Jaishankar | P S Jayaramu

  12 June 2021

  by P S Jayaramu
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known for springing surprises. One such thing he did was to appoint Dr.Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as India’s foreign minister when he inaugurated his second innings in late May 2019. Jaishankar was the most suitable person to head the foreign ministry given his illustrious career in the Indian Foreign Service, having held prestigious assignments like that of foreign secretary and the post of Ambassador to China earlier. His innings as foreign (…)

• Letter to Shri Manoj Sinha, Lt Governor Jammu and Kashmir | Gull Mohammad Wani

  12 June 2021

  by Gull Mohammad Wani
  I understand that there is no iron curtain between you and those who would like to visit you and share their ideas about the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Somehow I thought to reach you through this letter at a time when you are invested with a heavy responsibility as head of the state. Frankly, I got emboldened by the recent remarks of Prime Minister Mr Modi asking for active engagement of civil society in coping with the pandemic. In fact the (…)

• Tickets With Photos of You-Know-Who | TJS George

  12 June 2021, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  It spoke a great deal about the Government’s concept of democracy when a journalist was charged with sedition for criticising the Government’s Covid policy. The Supreme Court had to tell the Government that it was the right of journalists to criticise, even brutally, government policies.
  The judgment put it in words that must always be remembered by all, elected authorities and the public and journalists themselves. As the bench put it: The time is long past when the mere (…)

• Why Hindi Votaries Need to Shut Up | M R Narayan Swamy

  12 June 2021, by M R Narayan Swamy

  I am a South Indian born and raised in Delhi and my mother tongue is Tamil. Let me quickly add that while I am at home in English, my working language, I simply love Hindi – and I am not exaggerating one bit. I want to, however, make it very clear that I hate it when some people try to put Hindi on a higher pedestal and try to make it out as if knowing and not knowing Hindi is tantamount to being a true Indian or otherwise. If I know three languages (Hindi, Tamil and English), then my wife – (…)

• Reading Hamlet During Times of Covid-19 | Radhakanta Barik

  12 June 2021, by Radhakanta Barik

  by Prof Radhakanta Barik (retd)
  This article attempts at understanding politics by rereading the play Hamlet by Shakespeare which is his most political play. During 16th century a modern play got written by him with doubts in individual mind and giving autonomy to an individual. The play revolves around the illegitimate monarchy because of the involvement of the King and Queen in crimes leading to the murder of the legitimate ruler. We will discuss the story in the present article.
  In (…)

• Changing Role and Strategies of the Political Parties in the Telangana Movement | Sreerupa Saha

  12 June 2021

  by Sreerupa Saha*
  Abstract:
  The Telаngаnа mоvement hаs mаde аn indelible mаrk оn the nаtiоnаl соnsсiоusness. The stоry оf Telаngаnа within the reрubliс оf Indiа is а соmрlex оne. Frоm the соllарse оf Kаkаtiyа Kingdоm in 1324 tо the аnnexаtiоn оf Hyderаbаd by Indiа in 1948, Telаngаnа’s рredоminаntly hindu рорulаtiоn were subjeсts оf muslim dynаsties. The fоur yeаr рeriоd between the first generаl eleсtiоn in 1952 аnd the merger with Аndhrа in 1956 wаs the оnly рeriоd during whiсh the (…)

• Communal Virus, All Day Everyday | Humra Quraishi

  12 June 2021, by Humra Quraishi

  MUSINGS – 9 June, 2021
  Earlier this week a Muslim family was mowed down in the Canadian city of London in the Ontario province, by a hate-filled surcharged man. Four members of that family died, in that “premeditated” vehicle attack, with the lone survivor, a young boy, grievously injured, battling for life in a hospital.
  Within hours, the Canadian police not just the nabbed the killer but was also forthright in their statement: "It is believed that these victims were targeted because (…)

• The Palestine-Israel Conflict: The Politics of Cunning and the Politics of Showmanship | Nag and Bandyopadhyay

  12 June 2021

  by Dr. Gouri Sankar Nag, Dr. Manas Mukul Bandyopadhyay *
  Humra Quraishi writes in a very recent letter in the Mainstream that ‘last few days in Mid-May 2021 have left us shaken on seeing shots of death and destruction in Palestine. Very painful scenes indeed of children dying, bleeding, crying, and screaming in pain, with injuries and deep wounds all over their forms. Even the alive don’t really look alive in the midst of the massive bombardments by Israel’. At once the civilized mind (…)