Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Come to Tahrir Square

  21 February 2011, by Suhas Borker

  Come to Tahrir Square
  Be the eye of the peaceful revolution
  Here are the makeshift memorials to the martyrs
  Where hundreds and thousands stood their valiant ground
  See moral courage pitted against insolent might
  See mounted thugs—sent to beat, stone, stab, shoot and kill—retreat
  Witness the power of non-violent action triumph
  Come to Tahrir Square
  Feel the pulse of the people networked on the internet
  Resurrecting human rights and justice
  Hear the stories of oppression (…)

• Dawn of Democracy in the Islamic West

  21 February 2011, by N A Karim

  In the heyday of Islam the region of North and North West Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and Egypt comprising the coastal plain and Atlas Mountains of Morocco together with Algeria and Tunisia and Spain across Strait of Gibraltar formed the Maghrib (West) of Muslim world.
  It all began with a simple incident common in the streets of countries under despotic rule in the Arab world where the police and Army are all powerful as the arms of autocratic authority. A young fruit vendor’s cart (…)

• Manmohan a Role Model, but as PM Can Never be Above Suspicion

  21 February 2011, by Diptendra Raychaudhuri

  “I sincerely believe that like Caesar’s wife, the Prime Minister should be above suspicion and it is for this reason that I am prepared to appear before the PAC even though there is no precedent to that effect.”
  —Manmohan Singh at the plenary session of the Congress party, December 20, 2010.
  We know that when a system faces the possibility of degeneration the leaders try to make absurd emotional appeals to convince the common man about their infallibility. This is often done by the (…)

• India and the Washington Consensus

  21 February 2011, by Girish Mishra

  Ever since 1967, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture has been organised almost every year in the month of November at Teen Murti House by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund.
  The latest lecture was delivered by Prof. Joseph E. Stiglitz of the Columbia University. Stiglitz, a world-renowned economist and Nobel Laureate, has been well known in India for his clarity and conviction of views. His books are widely read and discussed among not only economists but also the wider circle of (…)

• New Capitalism and the Emerging Global Crisis—A Biblical Perspective

  21 February 2011, by V Mathew Kurian

  I. Introduction
  Capitalism has become the dominant ‘world system’. This system is now in a severe crisis. This crisis is multidimensional, including social, political, economic, ecological and ethical. Unless an alternative world view to capitalism is promoted, human life in this planet earth is going to be too miserable and in the long run, the very life may be extinct. In this scenario, religions have a critical role to play. This article, broadly takes the perspective as revealed both (…)

• Global Crisis is Brewing

  21 February 2011, by Bharat Jhunjhunwala

  The World Bank has estimated in the recently released ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report that the growth rate of the developed countries is likely to increase from the present 2.2 per cent to 2.5 per cent in 2012. The growth rate of the developing countries is likely to remain firm at the respectable six per cent. The Bank, in the same breath, has cautioned that the problem of government debt of the developed countries can become dangerous. Other analysts have expressed concern that (…)

• Emerging Challenges for Indian Economy in 2011

  21 February 2011

  by Shahla Tabassum and T. Sadashivam
  Abstract
  The status of India in the world has reached a new level with every country looking upto us as a new avatar which was never before and the good example is the visit of the heads of the states of five permanent members of the Security Council in the year 2010. The main reason for this changed perspective is because of the growing Indian economy, which has withstood the global recession, when other countries are struggling. In 2011, there (…)

• UN Security Council Reforms: The Future Process

  21 February 2011

  by M.H. Faridi
  The reform of the United Nations Security Council ((UNSC) represents a major challenge for the United Nations (UN). The increase of the number of permanent members of the Council, improving on the transparency of its decision-making and ensuring equitable representation of all UN member-states on the Council—these are just some of the issues covering the reform. The addition of new non-permanent members, that is not discussed in this essay due to lack of space, is another (…)

• Letter From Kolkata: Mamata, Rajarhat and Pre-election Scene

  21 February 2011, by Amitava Mukherjee

  Sometime back Andre Beteille, the renowned sociologist, had described Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamul Congress supremo, as a phenomenon in Indian politics. Beteille did not advance many reasons but laid stress on the most important one which puts Mamata above many Indian politicians. His argument was that several Indian politicians have found their feet with help from either godfathers or godmothers or from their own families. Examples come to our mind immediately. Indira Gandhi was chosen for (…)

• Valuable Addition to the Literature on Grassroots Democracy

  21 February 2011, by Ranbir Singh

  BOOK REVIEW
  Evolution of Panchayati Raj in India – from Traditional to Constitutionalised Panchayats by Dr Mridula Sharda; Kanishka Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi; 2010; Price: Rs 450.
  The constitutionalisation of the Panchayats by the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution (1992) has accorded a new salience to the Panchayati Raj Institutions. It has made them the third tier of the Indian the political system. Earlier there existed only two tiers, the Union Government and the (…)