Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• [bleu]Letter to the Readers - Mainstream’s Lockdown Edition 21, Aug 15 2020 [/bleu]

  14 August 2020

  As we celebrate today our 74th Independence day our first thoughts go back to our valiant freedom fighters — but for whose superhuman sacrifices we would not have been able to enjoy the fruits of freedom. Eight months ago, in December 2019, it was written in these columns:
  “ … there is no gainsaying that with his second victory at the hustings Modi with his Sancho Panza is in a highly defiant mood and has carried on his task of a total overhaul of the country. The de-monetisation of (…)

• The Angst of August: Reading The Recent Political History of India | Anil Nauriya

  14 August 2020, by Anil Nauriya

  The Temple Construction at Ayodhya at the spot where the Babri Masjid stood is a product of a pseudo-religious movement which one of its early proponents, who later served as Deputy Prime Minister, had once admitted was essentially political in character.

• Only by the people | P B Sawant

  14 August 2020, by P.B. Sawant

  Law must be amended to make it mandatory for defectors to seek fresh elections
  Toppling the governments and nullifying the verdict of the people, because of the lure of individual gains, has become normal practice. It is a matter of grave concern for those who want to save democracy and the Constitution.

• National Education Policy (NEP) Reads like an impressive wish list but barters right to education | Anita Rampal

  14 August 2020

  by Anita Rampal
  August 2, 2020
  The long-awaited National Education Policy (NEP) was approved recently, without a parliamentary debate, and with educational institutions closed for months. The 500-page draft put out last year, now suitably trimmed, had presented the direction the policy was taking. Some interventions have already been made in the past, such as large-scale school closures and mergers. It now proposes a School Complex to ‘consolidate’ suboptimal schools, citing the (…)

• Glorification of Manu-Smriti at Ram Temple’s consecration event in Ayodhya on Aug 5, 2020 | Suresh Khairnar

  14 August 2020, by Suresh Khairnar

  It is beyond doubt that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi insulted India’s Freedom Struggle and R.S.S. Chief Mohan Bhagawat glorified Manu-Smriti at the time of consecration event of the proposed Grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya. Hence, I demand that an immediate and effective action should be taken against them.

• Cultural Component of Indian Nationalism: The Study of Odia Nationalism | Kamalakanta Roul and Bimal Kumar Raul

  14 August 2020

  by Kamalakanta Roul and Bimal Kumar Raul
  Introduction: New Idioms of Indian Nationalism
  The intellectual canvass of contemporary Indian state has been engaging with the rhetoric of nationalism. In the bizarre rhetoric of muscular/virulent nationalism vs. civic/secular nationalism, the political debate on cultural sub-nationalism has emerged strongly in the state like Karnataka and Odisha which has been given little intellectual attention. Karnataka has been part of language agitation (…)

• Jagmohan Singh — Life Devoted to Carrying Forward the Legacy of Shahid Bhagat Singh

  14 August 2020, by Bharat Dogra

  When the village student who daily cycled 20 km. to reach his college in Jalandhar city noticed the respect he got each time when someone introduced him as the nephew of Shahid Bhagat Singh, he wondered what a great man his maternal uncle must have been that so that his very name evoked so much reverence so many years after his martyrdom at a very young age. This strengthened the resolve that he had nurtured from his childhood days—that he will try to understand him and his compatriots and (…)

• Designing Strategies for Migrant Labour Livelihoods | N. Linga Murthy, S. Indrakant

  14 August 2020

  by N. Linga Murthy, S. Indrakant
  Migrant labour in India is an important component of the unorganized, insecure and highly neglected unfortunate labour. Thanks to Covid-19, migrant labour is very much in the news. The time has come when we are forced to think about this neglected section of people in the country. The Indian model of development that had been adopted for the past few decades resulted in the lopsided development of our economy i.e, service sector overtaking both (…)

• Child Labour in the context of Covid -19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters: Implications for Prevention and Response | Kingshuk Sarkar & Helen R. Sekar

  14 August 2020

  There is an apprehension that incidences of child labour may increase in the post lockdown period in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of livelihood opportunities and sluggish aggregate demand will make children vulnerable for exploitation. Certain natural disasters are also adding to the already existing precarity.

• Covid-19: A Blessing for BJP in Assam | Nurul Hassan

  14 August 2020, by Nurul Hassan

  Abstract
  It is considered that Assam is one of the finest hotbeds for all forms of politics. Recently, a portion of people found religious angles in Covid-19 pandemic. Although, the matter of Nizamuddin Markaz has become irrelevant but the stigma speculated by the BJP wouldn’t be possible to scrape easily. Stigmatization of Muslims in Assam is considered as an easier task as Bangladeshi label is already prevalent there. The ongoing onslaught of Covid-19 is an unavoidable challenge for (…)