Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• The New Trend: A Desire to Own Bhagat Singh | Reflections on a visit to Pakistan II

  25 April 2011, by Kuldip Nayar

  This is the second and last piece written by veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar following his latest visit to Pakistan. The first one appeared in Mainstream (April 16, 2011).
  A surprise awaited us at Lahore as our goodwill mission to Pakistan reached the city after visiting Karachi, Hyderabad and Islamabad. A throng of 300 people was present at Shadman Chowk to pay homage to Bhagat Singh. This is the place where he and his two comrades, Sukhdev and Rajguru, were hanged 80 years ago in 1931. (…)

• Global Leadership And Global Systemic Issues — Part I | Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Branislav Gosovic

  25 April 2011

  by Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Branislav Gosovic
  [The following is the first part of a lengthy article being published here in three parts. The next two parts will be carried in the succeeding issues of this journal.
  —Editor ]
  1. Preface
  The world is becoming more open, inter-connected, interdependent and complex. This trend, propelled by revolutionary scientific and technological progress and change, will intensify in the decades to come. As the 21st century runs its course, it will (…)

• Caste Census, Commonwealth Games, Scams and Citizens’ Responsibility

  25 April 2011, by K Saradamoni

  I shall not quarrel with anyone who thinks the above title crazy. The pro-caste census lobby did not have an easy time. There are sections among the decision-makers and ordinary people who think that caste is no more a problem in India. But there are others who think that the caste problem remains an unresolved issue. What has the census to do with this? What we understand as census records are the number of people, women, men; married, divorced/widowed, unmarried; children under a certain (…)

• Nuclear Industry’s Cover-Up, Lies And Denial: Beware of the French Nuclear Model

  25 April 2011, by Harsh Kapoor

  To this day, contradictory estimations of the magnitude as well as the consequences of the Fukushima disaster continue to illustrate how an iron hand seems to tightly control information, in the ‘larger interests’, and the world’s major nuclear energy firms, pro-nuclear lobbies, Japan itself along with international authorities such as WHO, IAEA or CTBTO, seem to be engaged in the organised downplaying and retention of a precious information that citizens’ groups claim is already in their possession. Secrecy is built into the nuclear establishment’s mindset everywhere, and it prevails across the nuclear industry internationally.

• Evolution of Political Corruption

  25 April 2011, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
  In just about a year’s time, we shall be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the country’s indepen-dence when power was transferred from the unwilling hands of the British rulers to the leaders of our freedom struggle. And it is exactly fifty years now that in the last general election under colonial rule, in 1946, the leader of the Indian National Congress toured the length and breadth of this vast land promising the public that once the power was transferred, he (…)

• Remembering Lenin

  25 April 2011

  (April 22 this year marks the 141st birth anniversary of that immortal revolutionary, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. On this occasion we carry the following tributes to Lenin from two of our most distinguished national leaders.)
  Bolshevism...aims at the abolition of the institution of private property. This is only an application of the ethical ideal of non-possession in the realm of economy and if the people adopted this ideal of their own accord or could be made to accept it by means of peaceful (…)

• What Anna Hazare Has Achieved

  21 April 2011, by SC

  The last one week has witnessed several developments including the campaign for elections to five State Assemblies and quite substantial polling in four of the five States. But it is the success of Gandhian social activist Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption that has hogged the headlines. On receiving a Government of India gazette notification regarding the constitution of a joint committee comprising members from the government and civil society for preparetion of the draft Lokpal (…)

• Lokpal Bill Panel should be More Broadbased

  21 April 2011, by Bharat Dogra

  COMMUNICATION
  India certainly needs a strong and effective Lokpal law. Recently a committee has been formed for drafting this Bill. Keeping in view the importance of this task it’ll be helpful if while retaining all the existing members of the committee it can be made more broadbased and representative by including several more members.
  Several people’s movements and organisations all over the country have been fighting corruption at various levels. In the context of India particularly (…)

• At the Risk of Heresy: Why I am not Celebrating with Anna Hazare

  21 April 2011

  by Shuddhabrata Sengupta
  At the risk of heresy, let me express my profound unease at the crescendo of euphoria surrounding the ‘Anna Hazare + Jan Lokpal Bill’ phenomenon as it has unfolded on Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and across several hysterical TV stations over the last few days.
  This time around, I have to say that the print media has acted (upto now) with a degree of restraint that I think is commendable. Partly, this has to do with the different natures of the two media. If you (…)

• Fast Unto Death — Tide has Begun to Turn against the UPA

  21 April 2011, by Sushil Vakil

  This article was written before Anna Hazare ended his fast following the successful conclusion of negotiations with the government. Its contents, however, are still valid; hence it is being published now.
  It seems the present planetary position is not in favour of the UPA Government as it is landing itself in trouble one after the other. The Congress, supported by other parties, having been already in the centre of a storm due to the allegations of massive corruption in the Commonwealth (…)