Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Obama Needs a Leap of Faith on Iran

  18 August 2013, by M K Bhadrakumar

  Even for a longtime compulsive Iran-watcher, this is feast to the mind—never in these three decades has the struggle within the US establishment been so fierce as it is today regarding America’s painful Iran question. To engage, or not to engage Iran—that is the question. In a fascinating story, New York Times takes the American heartbeat.
  Of course, an unseen hand is propelling the street-smart lawmakers on The Hill to apply the brakes on President Barack Obama even as momentum is (…)

• August Revolution and Present Scenario

  12 August 2013, by SC

  Seventyone years ago in this very week under the inspiring leadership of Mahatma Gandhi the people of this vast nation had risen as one man to decree that the alien rulers must quit forthwith leaving the country to be governed by Indians themselves.
  Seventyone years after that memorable August Revolution of 1942, what is the spectacle we behold today? Free India is beset with numerous divisions on caste, communal, linguistic, regional lines. This has been exemplified of late by the (…)

• Ominous Portent of Lurking Fascism

  12 August 2013, by Vijay Kumar

  The fulmination of Chandan Mitra, the spokes-man of the BJP and editor of Pioneer, against Prof Amartya Sen by urging that the latter be stripped of the Bharat Ratna, conferred on him by the BJP Government itself, has fateful impli-cations for freedom of speech and expression and for democracy. The retraction in the form of regret expressed by him will not detract from the seriousness of the issue and deserves strongest condemnation by all right-thinking persons. The diatribe of Mitra (…)

• Let’s Go Back to the People

  12 August 2013, by Kuldip Nayar

  It was heartening to watch debates on poverty on national television channels, particularly the English ones. Elitist in approach, they seldom deliberate the privations of the common man. Likewise, the English press is reluctant to carry news or write-ups on poverty because it has come to believe that its well-to-do readers do not want to know about the extent of poverty at the breakfast table. The Hindi and other language papers are more sensitive. This is probably the difference between (…)

• GP’s Selfless Dedication to Indian Democracy

  12 August 2013, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  Gopalaswami Parthasarthi or GP, as the legendary diplomat, academic and media specialist was widely known to one and all, passed away in New Delhi on August 1, 1995. His birth centenary was observed on July 7, 2012. This piece by N.C., who was quite close to him, appeared in Mainstream (August 12, 1995).
  The passing away of Gopalaswami Parthasarathi on August 1 marked the disappearance of a familiar landmark in the public life of our country. A diplomat, media (…)

• Historian Barun De Passes Away

  12 August 2013

  TRIBUTE
  by Panchanan Chattopadhyay
  Eminent historian Barun De passed away in Kolkata on July 16 at the age of 81. I never saw him write or refer to himself as ‘Dr’ Barun De. He was known as a historian and professor. He was a good speaker, a good writer and a good teacher. He had profound erudition, a creative mind and a heart full of sympathy for his students. He was a gentleman to the core— courteous and polite. He was an elite but never thought so of himself.
  When the Centre for (…)

• Missing Greens the European Way: Ideology - based Politics

  12 August 2013, by Sheetal Sharma

  With less than a year for Lok Sabha elections and only a few months left for Delhi State Assembly elections, politics and party dynamics have accelerated and soon would be in full momentum as soon the campaign begins. There are many ifs and buts related to seen and unforeseen consequences of who wins and who does not. Campaigning in India usually looks more like a drama to woo voters rather than a serious effort to sensitise the masses about the real issues. Once the campaign starts one will (…)

• US’ Strategic ‘Pivot’ To Asia-Pacific — Some Implications

  12 August 2013, by Ninan Koshy

  What are the Implications of the Imperial Pivot?
  There is a new definition of the Asia-Pacific reflecting the expanded stretch of the imperial territory: The Strategic Guidance document maps the region as “the arc extending from Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia”. In her Foreign Policy article “America’s Pacific Century” (November 2011), the then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, defined the Asia-Pacific as “stretching from the Indian subcontinent (…)

• Our Experiments with Truth: Political Parties Band Together to Keep Themselves Out of RTI

  12 August 2013, by Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey

  by Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey
  Engulfed in scams and in the midst of a growing credibility deficit of the political establishment, the government’s move to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act to keep political parties out of its ambit is most unfortunate and injudicious. This step will deepen the chasm between the political system and the people. It is especially unwise at this juncture as it’s another setback to expectations of responsible and fair governance.
  The dilemma lies in the (…)

• R. Krishnamurti: The UNCTAD Man

  12 August 2013, by Muchkund Dubey

  TRIBUTE
  Rangaswami Krishnamurti, a renowned international civil servant who had his longest innings of service with the UNCTAD, expired at the age of 95 on July 18, 2013, in Columbus (USA). He leaves behind his wife (Meenakshi), daughter (Indira), two sons (Raju and Mahesh) and six grandchildren. Two of his grand-daughters work in the UN system, representing a continuation of Krishna’s abiding faith in multilateralism under the United Nations as the harbinger of world peace and prosperity. (…)