Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Understanding the CPI-M’s Setback in the 2018 State Assembly Elections in Tripura: An Insider’s View

  2 June 2018

  by K.S. Subramanian
  The massive defeat of the ruling CPI-M in the 2018 Tripura State Assembly elections by the BJP has led to diverse explanations and interpretations. Unlike the Communist Party in Kerala, which has frequently exchanged power with the Congress party in the State, the CPI-M in Tripura has suffered a massive blow after being in power for an uninterrupted period of 25 years. While the winning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ‘cultural’ wing, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak (…)

• Privacy Policy Notice Addressed to Online Readers of Mainstream Weekly in view of European data privacy regulations (GDPR)

  27 May 2018

  Dear Online Readers of Mainstream Weekly,
  We write to publicly notify you in view of the new European data privacy laws (GDPR) regulations] that have come into force on the 25th of May 2018 (Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, repealed on 25 May 2018 by Regulation (EU) 2016/679).
  Many of our readers browse the Mainstream (…)

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  Opposition Unity, Oil Price Hike, Tuticorin Tragedy

  26 May 2018, by SC

  EDITORIAL
  The swearing-in of the JD(S)-Congress Government in Karnataka yesterday has legitimately thrown up the idea of an all-inclusive anti-BJP coalition before the 2019 Lok Sabha poll and it is definitely on a “firm foothold” as has been highlighted in The Times of India today. The daily underscores that the coming together of the non-BJP Opposition parties in Bengaluru at the swearing-in of the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led State Government brings out the prospects of the “Modi vs Rest” (…)

• Putin - Modi Summit at Sochi: New Informality in India-Russia Relations

  26 May 2018

  by Ajay Patnaik
  The following article has been written against the backdrop of the summit meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sochi on May 21, 2018.
  Key developments in India-Russia relationship
  India has had very close relations with the Soviet Union, which continues with its successor state Russia. Today the relationship is called “Privileged Strategic Partnership”. The Russian vector also helps India to contest some of the negative (…)

• Victory of Post-Poll Alliance in Karnataka: Victory for the Constitutional Method to Checkmate Communal and Fascist Forces

  26 May 2018

  by S.N. Sahu
  Long years back, while replying to a debate in the Constituent Assembly, Dr B.R. Ambedkar had very thoughtfully said that Indian democracy would produce many impossibles. What happened in Karanataka, in terms of the Governor inviting the leader of the single largest party—BJP—to take oath as the Chief Minister even as the Congress-JD(S) combine staked claim on the basis of the majority of MLAs on their side gave the impression that the BJP would be able to manage the majority (…)

• Karnataka’s Verdict, Loud and Clear

  26 May 2018, by Kuldip Nayar

  The following article was written before the latest developments in Karnataka.
  Tactically the Congress has won the day even though the party has been rejected outright by the people of Karnataka which went to polls for the state legislature. In the process, the Congress has still managed to win 78 seats out of a possible 222 for which elections were conducted. The party High Command went into a huddle and instantly decided to provide outside support to the Janata Dal (Secular) which has (…)

• Karnataka: The BJP ended up Winning 104 Seats, while the Congress ended up Winning 78 Seats

  26 May 2018

  by Sanjay Kumar
  In Karnataka, what looked like a close election between the Congress and BJP for most part of the election campaign, finally resulted in a hung Assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party. The BJP ended up winning 104 seats, while the Congress ended up winning 78 seats. During the campaign though the Janata Dal (Secular) kept saying it would emerge as the king and not the kingmaker, this hung verdict has finally resulted in the JD(S) emerging as the real (…)

• Silence and Din Define Indian Journalism

  26 May 2018

  by L.K. Sharma
  In India today, one cannot talk of science, history or politics without a reference to mythology. Godmen and astrologers make their daily pronouncements on the TV channels. So, how does one report the emergence of an independent journalist in a sea of embedded media? One attributes it to Divine intervention to reform his degraded profession!
  Sorry, this outrageous statement was designed to make you read this piece on Ravish Kumar, a TV anchor from India. In order to be (…)

• Hamid Ansari, Jinnah’s Portrait and Turmoil in AMU

  26 May 2018

  by Ram Puniyani
  Recently (May 2018) Hamid Ansari, the ex-Vice President of India, was invited to the Aligarh Muslim University to honour him with life membership of the AMU Students Union (AMUSU). He had due security with him, still the Hindu Yuva Vahini-ABVP activists could reach near his place of stay. The pretext of the armed protesters was that Jinnah’s portrait has been put up to please Ansari and that they will not allow Jinnah’s portrait in the AMU. The usual violence followed a few (…)

• India without Nehru

  26 May 2018, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  The following piece, which appeared under the ‘New Delhi Skyline’ in Mainstream, was written two days after Jawaharlal Nehru’s demise on May 27, 1964. It was published on May 30, 1964.
  As the golden flame licked up the funeral pyre, an unforgettable scene ended near the banks of the Jumna and under the shadow of the Red Fort.
  It was an emotional experience without precedence, to watch this mightiest demons-tration of love and respect that this great country has (…)