Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Rajya Sabha abandoning its Role as a Federal Chamber

  18 September 2016

  by S.K. Jain
  In recent time, the Rajya Sabha has become the centre of controversy for two reasons. First with the recently held biennial election to fill the vacant seats where cross-voting by MLAs of different parties led to the defeat of the official/supported candidate of the Congress and other regional parties. Charges are being levelled by these parties of using corrupt practices against each other bringing the reputation of the Rajya Sabha to a very low level contrary to the (…)

• Search for Allies

  18 September 2016, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  The monolith of one-party domination having broken for good not only at the Centre but in many of the States, the search for allies has become the major preoccupation of practically all the parties, particularly with the historic split of the Congress after its twenty years of uninterrupted raj.
  This preoccupation has assumed urgency after the Kerala elections which acted as a sort of sounding board for most of the parties. It is noteworthy that within less than a (…)

• Wider Implications of GM Mustard can be Disastrous

  18 September 2016

  COMMUNICATION
  The debate about the genetically modified (GM) mustard variety called transgenic mustard hybrid (DMH-11) has now reached a critical stage and very high-power efforts are being made to get it approved as India’s first GM food crop variety. Several scientists, farmers’ organisations, environment and health activists have drawn attention to several problems which are specific to this GM crop variety. In petitions sent to the government they have pointed out that DMH-11 testing (…)

• The Working Class Strike — What it Means

  18 September 2016

  by S. Sudhakar Reddy
  The Indian working class successfully organised a historic, massive general strike on September 2, 2016, in which a large number participated actively. The pent-up anger of the workers and employees was reflected in the strike. This was an unprecedented struggle.
  Banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, workers of big public sector companies (including navaratnas, miniratnas), coal, steel and mine workers, ports, unorganised workers, school and university (…)

• Introducing New Policy in Real Estate—Special Attention to Control Black Money: Facts and Challenges

  18 September 2016

  by Santhoshkumar, R. and Lalithambika, R.
  The sheer volume of investment in participatory notes (P-notes, estimated at around $ 43 billion last June) and private equity money flowing into real estate ($ 1.3 billion in January-June, 2015) suggests that illegal money held abroad may actually be substantially invested here. (Jagannathan, 2015) The line separating foreign from domestic assets is arbitrary and thin. In any case, the two cannot be segregated unless we know the full identities of (…)

• Facebook Revisited

  18 September 2016

  by Fayezah Iqbal
  Today it would be passé to term facebook as some alien revolution that overtook us sweepingly in a span of five-six years. Its virtual fleeting impact imperceptibly diluted in our real lives so much so that every ‘share’ comment and ‘like’ by a person crystallises our notion about the other person without knowing the person and sometimes even after knowing them for years.
  It, nevertheless, has succeeded in engraving as strong an impression on a person’s psyche as the (…)

• Becoming Somewhat Islamic in India

  18 September 2016

  by Nidhi Sharma
  The Muslim individual has a certain eating habit—during meal times each family is likely to eat from the same plate. During meals the less wealthy Muslim is likely to sit upon the floor and eat from the same plate with her/his family. The rich Muslim also likely partakes food from the same plate but is likely to not sit upon the floor. Instead, the rich Muslim eats while sitting on a chair and served upon the table. The food is served at the centre of the plate by the (…)

• Anatomy of India-Pakistan Peace Process

  18 September 2016

  BOOK REVIEW
  by Mehrag-Ud-Din Bhat
  India-Pakistan Composite Dialogue Process: Issues and Concerns by Sajad Padder; Kalpaz Publications, New Delhi; 2015; pages: 178, Price: Rs 540.
  India was partitioned into two independent and sovereign countries—India and Pakistan—in 1947. After partition several issues remained unsolved between India and Pakistan. Issues like Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, and Tulbul Navigation etc. became so contentious that both countries fought several wars with each (…)

• All Power—No Accountability

  18 September 2016

  COMMUNICATION
  We are rightly proud of the fact that our country is the largest parliamentary democracy of the world, and it is our duty to strengthen and preserve it which is possible only when all countrymen swear by it and follow its norms. Accountability is its soul. How strange and shocking is that in the temples of highest learning and knowledge, that is, the Indian Universities, there is no tinge of democracy. Its heads, that is, Vice-Chancellors of the Indian Universities are acting (…)

• Kashmir: No Alternative to Dialogue

  9 September 2016, by SC

  EDITORIAL
  An all-party parliamentary delegation has lately visited Kashmir. It held a meeting in the Capital today. Thereafter the following statement was issued on its behalf:
  “The members of the All-Party Parliamentary Delegation have expressed concern over the prevailing situation in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The members of the delegation are of the opinion that there is no place for violence in a civilised society. There can be no compromises on the issue of national (…)