Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Nehru and his Economic Policy

  29 May 2016

  by V.M. Mohanraj
  The early 20th century saw India, China and Russia as mediaeval or semi-feudal societies under oppressive rulers. The imperialists in India and China could only have been more oppressive but not much more than the monarchy in Russia. However, the people of these three countries had not been taking it lying down; they fought for their freedom but India and China liberated themselves from colonial rule only three decades after Russia overthrew the monarchy. When the British (…)

• India without Nehru

  29 May 2016, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  The following piece, which appeared in the ‘New Delhi Skyline’ of Mainstream, was written two days after Jawaharlal Nehru’s demise on May 27, 1964. It was published on May 30, 1964. It is being reproduced on the occasion of Nehru’s fiftysecond death anniversary.
  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 (…)

• Changing Names, Nehru’s Significance

  29 May 2016, by Humra Quraishi

  MUSINGS
  Frenzied are Sanghis about changing names of roads. In fact, this frenzied lot are now targetting Akbar Road; chanting it ought to be renamed after Maharana Pratap Singh. Why? ‘Too many Delhi roads named after Mughal emperors... Muslim rulers!’ quip today’s RSS rulers.
  Hopefully this name-changing hysteria remains confined to roads. And not get diverted to hapless humans. It shouldn’t come as some sort of a shock if you happen to hear today’s rulers hiss, ‘Too many with Muslim (…)

• Idea of India in Peril

  29 May 2016, by Kuldip Nayar

  I was on my way to Peshawar from Rawalpindi to meet Wali Khan, son of Frontier Gandhi, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan. At Abottabad, where I stopped for a cup of tea, the radio was broadcasting a BBC report that Sikh security guards had shot Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dead.
  There was no question of my proceeding further. I rushed back to Lahore but by then the flight to Delhi had left. Ironically, a London-based Sikh organisation at Lahore had arranged that day a meeting to raise the demand for (…)

• Elections in Five States: Exploding Myths and Grasping Realities

  29 May 2016

  by Suneet Chopra
  Objective realities, often based on hard truths and their subjective papering over, are a part of our present state of hyperbole in the media. And the elections in five States of the country are no exception, but the myths they are burdened with have to be cleared.
  The first myth that must to be exploded is the projection of a BJP wave sweeping the country. If we look at the overall figures, the BJP contested 696 Assembly seats, won only 64 and had a success rate of 9.1 (…)

• Amazing Story From Fine Print on State Elections

  29 May 2016, by M K Bhadrakumar

  The Bharatiya Janata Party has always excelled in its mastery of the art of hyperbole. Remember ‘Shining India’? The hype that the party leadership is giving to the BJP’s perfor-mance in the recent State elections—in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and in the Union Territory of Puducherry—does not come as a surprise.
  The BJP narrative is four-fold: one, the BJP has eclipsed the Congress as the star performer in these State elections; two, India is getting rid of the Congress; (…)

• Congress’ Seat-share More than that of BJP’s

  29 May 2016

  COMMUNICATION
  In all five States taken together the Congress got more seats than the BJP but this was ignored by the media.
  Although the media in India was recently saturated with the results of the Assembly elections, it was by and large ignored that if we combine the results of all the five States then the Congress has won 115 seats while the BJP has won only 64 seats. Thus the number of seats won by the Congress is much higher than the BJP. This can be more clearly seen in the table (…)

• Complexities Mount with State Poll Outcome

  23 May 2016, by SC

  EDITORIAL
  As we go to press today, the results of the Assembly elections in four States (Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal) and the Union Territory of Puducherry have just come. These given an idea of the public mood in various parts of the country at this point in time. Significantly, all these States and Puducherry have given decisive verdicts.
  In Assam (having a total of 126 seats), after being in power for three terms at a stretch CM Tarun Gogoi of the Congress has been (…)

• A Visit to Srinagar

  23 May 2016, by Kuldip Nayar

  Kashmir is normal in the sense that there are no stone-throwing incidents. Militancy, too, is on its last leg. Yet, the Valley is seething with discontent. You can feel it once you land there. It is difficult to ascribe a single reason. Many factors are responsible for it. The most important one is the general feeling that India is all over, while Kashmir had given its control only over three subjects: Defence, Foreign Affairs and Communications.
  The complaint is justified because it is (…)

• When Cricket Determines Our Nationalism

  23 May 2016

  by Sandeep Pandey
  The defeat of India by West Indies in the T-20 World Cup triggered a controversy at the National Institute of Technology at Srinagar between Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri students. Some Kashmiri students have been alleged to have raised anti-India slogans and burst firecrackers upon India’s defeat. The Kashmiri students allege that the violence was started by non-Kashmiri students the next day when a group waving the tricolour and chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ attacked a (…)