Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• A Page from ‘Quit India’ Movement

  10 August 2016, by Kuldip Nayar

  As India prepares to commemorate 69 years of freedom from British imperial rule, it may be worth remembering a dusty town in Uttar Pradesh that suffered the consequences of declaring itself an independent country for a few days in 1942, that is, 74 years ago.
  The sovereign Republic of Ballia, headed by Chittu Pandey, managed to survive for some seven days before the British-led military and police forces managed to regain control and unleashed a series of atrocities that are still (…)

• The Unconquerable Spirit of 1942 / Kashmir: Long Haul

  10 August 2016, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  August 9 this year marks the 74th anniversary of the ‘Quit India‘ movement also known as the August Revolution. On this occasion we reproduce the piece that N.C. wrote in Mainstream on the golden jubilee of the movement in August 1992.
  The Unconquerable Spirit of 1942
  A grateful nation is celebrating the golden jubilee of the ‘Quit India’ movement which, fifty years ago, marked the final glorious phase of our freedom struggle.
  With Gandhiji‘s clarion call of ‘Do (…)

• Brexit, GST and Idea of Single Market

  10 August 2016, by Arun Kumar

  The idea of a single market in India will get politically discredited if it marginalises farmers, workers and the poor even if it is beneficial to the elite sections of society. GST is too complex and requires computerisation, making it tough for the small-scale sector to implement it.
  Britain’s vote to exit the European Union (EU) dents the idea that a single market is good for society. Even if by a close margin, the UK has voted to delink from the European market. The UK was the least (…)

• Domino Effect of Brexit

  10 August 2016

  by Bharti Chhibber
  The recent vote for Brexit has jeopardized seven decades of European integration. Many are already calling the then Prime Minister David Cameron’s election promise of a referen-dum a historic blunder which he initiated with no additional safeguard. It has resulted in a political uncertainty and negative impact on the global economy. It may alter the international scenario in the economic field with repercussions on the geopolitical space too. Brexit ushered in a major (…)

• Looking Beyond Conventional Military Victory: Nigeria’s War Against Boko Haram

  10 August 2016

  by Sanjal Shastri
  In December 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari mentioned that the Boko Haram’s ability to launch ‘conventional attacks’ has been reduced significantly. Nearly a year after promising to defeat the Boko Haram, what success has Buhari achieved? Despite Nigeria’s significant conventional military victories, the Boko Haram still poses a significant security threat. Why is a conventional military victory not enough to guarantee peace and stability? Why is an (…)

• In our country these days, it’s not safe to think This new book makes you think and worry

  10 August 2016, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  How green was my valley when patriotism meant loving my country and nationalism meant identifying with its civilisational essence. We were all patriots and nationalists when we fought for—or read about—our country’s independence. We were patriots and nationalists when we built the great edifice of our Constitution, perhaps the most egalitarian in the world, and gave unto ourselves a polity based on equality for all, justice for all. We had our differences, for we were a rainbow (…)

• Need for the Left Democratic Front to Usher in a Paradigm Shift in Kerala

  10 August 2016

  by Renji George Amballoor and V. Mathew Kurian
  The voters of Kerala gave a thumping majority to the Left Democratic Front (LFD) Government in the recently concluded Assembly elections with a definite mandate for change. The LFD secured 91 seats in the 140-member Assembly and the United Democratic Front (UDF) was reduced to meagre 47. Kerala is known for the see-saw approach in electing a new political conglomeration to power every five years. This time around, the seats secured by the LDF (…)

• India’s Economic Opportunities In Africa: Will Modi’s Visit Deliver?

  10 August 2016

  by Roshan Iyer
  As of 2015, Indo-African trade stands at $ 71.65 billion making up 10.6 per cent of India’s world trade. Prime Minister Modi’s four-day trip was a bid to expand Indo-African ties in two key areas: trade and investment, and greater diplomatic cooperation. The continent hosted four out of the 10 fastest growing economies last year and demand for investment and projects have ballooned by 300 per cent since 2009. Africa’s existing diaspora on the continent along with historic (…)

• Rejoinder to Manifesto of a united Anti-Fascist Democratic Front

  10 August 2016

  by Vijay Singh
  People believed that the Congress and Communists would transform the communal, casteist, fuedal India into a casteless, classless, egalitarian society but created a capitalist, communal, corrupt, casteist, criminal India much against the spirit of the Constitution of India of Justice, Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood.
  Nehru suppressed all progressive thinkers like Ambedkar, Rammanohar Lohia, Jaya-prakash Narayan, M.N. Roy, Dange and established a psuedo-secular culture in (…)

• Caste Factor in West Bengal Elections: Some Reflections

  10 August 2016

  by Ayan Guha
  It is a well-known fact that caste has always remained a marginal factor in the domain of organised electoral politics in West Bengal. However, the electoral decline of the Left Front sparked off some anticipation about the enhanced role of caste in the future politics of the State.
  The hypothesis regarding the enhanced role of caste in the organised politics of the State gained some plausibility in academic discussions due to two concrete developments. First, there was an (…)