Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Crossing the Line

  19 October 2011, by Badri Raina

  Sardar Montek Singh Ahluwalia, He plan my poverty; Suddenly I am a rich man, For my income is thirtythree. Having crossed the line by a whole Rupee, I now have more and more; I see around my jhuggi things I never could see before. That magic buck floats angelic Beyond my penury; The thirty two upon the ground Reach up for the Christmas tree. The knowledge that this extra buck Puts me among the haves, Makes me feel I needed not The sumptuous fishes and loaves That I never had nor ever will (…)

• Concern over Corruption, Legal Measures and Limitations of Law

  19 October 2011

  by JOHN CHATHANATT
  There is nothing which has a deeper hold on public attention today than the issue of corruption. This cancerous problem needs to be addressed adequately and the remedy must be found immediately. The misery and wretchedness which press so heavily on the large majority of the very poor at this juncture of Indian history makes it imperative to address the issue quickly.
  The enormous accumulation of wealth stacked up in personal houses and banks like the Swiss bank, the (…)

• The Plain Point of View

  19 October 2011, by Uttam Sen

  The vital spirit or animating force unleashed by liberalisation always presented an encouraging line of vision for the freewheeler. When the hope was rendered into tangibles, the outcome was mixed. In some cases the margins of performance error grew in inverse proportion to the rectitude of the past. Antecedent conditions, however, happened to include red tape and procrastination. There would equally have been wholesome success stories of material gain within the parameters of sound (…)

• Disturbing Trends in Anna Camp Growing

  19 October 2011, by Diptendra Raychaudhuri

  When a hitherto-little-known person or group of persons suddenly comes to dominate the centre-stage in any field, that person or group enjoys a big advantage. People do not know him/it and so they remain unaware of his/its negative side. And if the person or group can exploit an already-rotten and hopeless reality, he or it may scale unexpected heights. All of us know the best example of this is Hitler.
  Hitler, anyhow, was an exception. The only person who could come close to him in being (…)

• The Cost of the Black Economy

  19 October 2011, by Arun Kumar

  Anna Hazare’s fast seeking the acceptance of the Jan Lokpal Bill, and the widespread mass protests in urban India that followed his arrest from home, have shaken the government. Political parties have woken up to the depth of feeling against corruption. Two factors have come together—the fight for the Jan Lokpal Bill and the violation of the citizen’s civil right to protest. The snowballing protests are seen to be against corruption. Obviously, the public are fed up with the day-to-day (…)

• Hounded by the State

  19 October 2011, by Humra Quraishi

  I wonder why hasn’t Anna Hazare and his associates spoken out against this latest hounding of those who dare speak out, who dare to question and raise some unsettling queries. After all, corruption cannot be limited to currency alone. It has a wider and bigger reach, and is linked to the political mafia which seems holding sway.
  Anna Hazare ought to have come out in support of the suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and the other Gujarat cadre officers who are getting hounded by the Sate. (…)

• Putin Enters the Dragon’s Den

  19 October 2011, by M K Bhadrakumar

  Within a fortnight of his announcement to stand in the Russian presidential election in early 2012, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will be heading for Beijing. The Kremlin attaches importance to political symbolism, and the Chinese leaders never cared to hide their warm feelings toward Putin. The talks in Beijing on October 11-12 will attract huge attention internationally.
  Energy cooperation, which is an important vector of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership, will inevitably form the (…)

• Understanding Inequality and Deprivation amid Agricultural Growth in Telangana

  19 October 2011

  by BHIM REDDY
  Introduction
  One of the significant distinctions of the current unrest in Telangana with that of the past, since the 1960s, over the demand of a separate State for the region is the participation of the rural masses. The movement was mostly restricted to students and employees in the past. Notwithstanding political articulation on the ‘need for a separate State’, the strife over the concrete experience of deterioration in the economic condition of the rural inhabitants (…)

• Congress in Disarray

  19 October 2011, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
  Sri Chandrajit Yadav’s strong statement issued on July 17 crying halt to factionalism and indiscipline inside the Congress organisation, has come not a day too soon. Since it is generally regarded as having the imprimatur of the Prime Minister, the statement may be taken as a measure of consternation felt by Smt Gandhi herself about the fast deteriorating situation inside the Congress.
  The monster of factionalism has raised its head in most of the Pradesh Congress (…)

• Free Trade Agreements—Impact on Livelihoods, Health and Food Security

  19 October 2011, by Bharat Dogra

  At the time of the formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the related inter-national agreements such as Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), serious apprehensions had been expressed about the adverse impacts on people’s livelihoods, health and food security. These apprehensions have by and large turned about to be correct as is evident from the crisis situations faced in several lines of agriculture (and related activities like horticulture) as well as industry. (…)