Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Open Letter to the Chief Justice of India

  23 March 2019, by Shamsul Islam

  Honourable Chief Justice of India,
  You know more than anyone else in the world that the Indian constitutional polity treats all citizens equally irrespective of their race, creed, religion, language, culture and gender. But the observation of the Bench (consisting Justices S.A. Bobde, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S. Abdul Nazeer) headed by you in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title case that the issue is primarily not about the disputed 2.77 acres of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid (…)

• India needs Democratic Governance and not Strong Leadership

  23 March 2019

  by Irfan Engineer
  After the air strike by the Indian Air Force in Balakot, Pakistan on February 26, 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to have recalibrated its main campaign issue to a strong leader and powerful India. Although even in the general elections held in May 2014, the 56” chest of the then aspirant-PM, Narendra Modi, vs the then PM, Manmohan Singh (soft-spoken, weak and remote-controlled) underpinned the main campaign around “sabka saath sabka vikas” (solidarity with (…)

• Tycoon Trump

  23 March 2019, by Badri Raina

  Mr Trump is a businessman, He does not like to lose; Having lost the House he sees An enemy holding a noose.
  Mr Trump is no democrat, He would rather be a king; Like Caesar he thinks democrats Ruin everything.
  The First Amendment he thinks was meant Only for him and cronies; Dissenters who America made Are unconstitutional loonies.
  Mr Trump is most at ease With no-nonsense dictators; He thinks the world is best managed By in-your-face haters.
  Luckily, there are enough of them Now (…)

• Save Democracy, Save the Nation: Defeat BJP-RSS Alliance

  23 March 2019

  Citizens For Democracy and PUCL (Delhi) view with grave concern a recent statement made on March 14 by Sakshi Maharaj, a BJP MP, at Unnao that there is Modi tsunami and after this election of 2019, there would be no further election. This should not be viewed as a stray statement by a political leader but a belief which is widely shared by the top leadership of the Sangh Parivar. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Amit Shah, the President of the BJP, also declared last year that (…)

• 

  Life and Death Struggle for Secular Democrats

  17 March 2019, by SC

  EDITORIAL
  With the Election Commission having announced the schedule of the 2019 parliamentary polls for electing the 17th Lok Sabha, the country is now in the grip of a poll fever. The elections are due to be held across the country between April 11 and May 19 in seven phases and the results will come on May 23, the date on which the counting of votes is to take place. As expected, the ruling BJP is off to a head-start and it hopes to reap maximum electoral dividend by raising the pitch (…)

• What We Defend in Kashmir

  17 March 2019, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  The following appeared fiftyfour years ago as the editorial in the Annual Number of Mainstream 1965. This brings out in sharp relief the contrast between what prevailed then and the national situation one is confronted with today vis-a-vis Pakistan, Kashmir, the minorities and the Muslims in particular.
  The valiant defence of the Motherland by our armed forces as well as by the brave people of Jammu and Kashmir has inspired the nation. The grim determination of the (…)

• Post-Pulwama Triumphalism Spells Disaster for...

  17 March 2019, by Nandita Haksar

  In dealing with the Pulwama attack of February 14, India has exhibited a degree of triumphalism that could spell disaster for the Kashmiri people and for the future of Indian democracy.
  India saw the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s invitation to be a guest of honour at the 46th session of its Council of Foreign Ministers Conference in Abu Dhabi as a triumph over Pakistan. An even bigger triumph was that the meeting passed a declaration without mentioning Kashmir.
  The triumph was (…)

• No Time for Politics, Jingoism

  17 March 2019, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  It is good that 12 fighter jets bombarded a terrorist camp in Pakistan with the intention of delivering a blow that would be remembered. More significantly, India crossed the Line of Control for the first time to hit Balakot, the terrorists’ nerve-centre. The message was heard in other countries as well; many of them asked the Pakistan Government to help eliminate terrorism. The pressure exerted by them also persuaded Pakistan to release the IAF hero who had shot down their (…)

• Patriotism of Cowardice and Enslaved Mind

  17 March 2019

  by Prem Singh
  The modern industrial civilisation has witnessed two World Wars. The researchers of war have yet not been able to estimate the magnitude of casualties/deaths—both military and civilian—which occurred in these two World Wars. The estimated figure of people killed in both World Wars is between 10 to 15 crores. World Wars I and II were preceded and succeeded by many major battles. Wars of independence were invariably fought by all the colonised countries. Even the Cold War, that (…)

• New Robe

  17 March 2019

  What is so special in the news item:
  an organ being donated?
  A flourishing black market offers
  a choice to know the donor,
  preserve purity of body and soul!
  But the headline is eye-catching:
  a Muslim donates one kidney
  for his poor, ailing Hindu friend.
  Eyebrows are half-raised;
  discordant notes are voiced.
  A body part from another faith
  saves the donee; he breathes life.
  A nagging question: what will be
  his identity donned in the new robe?
  It is abiding, binding, shared (…)