Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• South-South Cooperation with Special Reference to Sub-Saharan African Countries

  8 September 2010, by Anshuman Gupta

  I. Introduction
  After independence from colonial rule, which most of the countries of Africa were reeling under, these countries set out on the course of their economic development independently. Though some development had taken place even under colonial rule, it was circumstantial, based on the needs of the colonial masters, devoid of any proper planning and vision. So, virtually almost all countries of Africa had to start their journey of development from the scratch. In the 1950s and (…)

• Kyrgyzstan: A Pawn in the Geopolitical Game

  8 September 2010, by Ash Narain Roy

  Not content with having one finger in the Afghan pie, the United States is trying to pull out a plum in Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian republics too. The "Tulip Revolution" of 2005 in Kyrgyzstan and the earlier "Rose Revolution" in Georgia and the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine were all engineered by the Americans primarily to undermine Russia and to weaken its regional clout. Today, all these manufactured revolutions are floundering, with Ukraine having crossed over to the Russian side (…)

• Bijbehara: A Challenge to Nation’s Conscience

  8 September 2010, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  Autumn has set in-the chinar in its gorgeous robe. But it is an autumn of bitter sorrow for the hapless people of Kashmir. The Valley which was known as the paradise on earth has been turned into a trough of hatred, of blood and tears.
  On Friday last week the portals of Hazratbal were barred as the Indian Army had laid siege of the mosque complex in pursuit of the militants. To protest against this siege of the holy of holies for every Kashmiri Muslim, the common folk in the small town of (…)

• Letter to the BJP President

  8 September 2010, by Shabnam Hashmi

  The following letter was sent by the ANHAD Managing Trustee, Shabnam Hashmi, to Nitin Gadkari, the BJP President, on August 21, 2010.
  Dear Mr Gadkari,
  I am absolutely shocked to see a BJP advertisement issued by your party in The Indian Express on August 20, 2010 and Navbharat Times on August 21, 2010 wherein a photograph of an ANHAD demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, held on July 8, 2010, has been misused. In the said advertisement on top of the photograph appears the slogan (…)

• Russia and Pakistan after the Quadrilateral Sochi Summit

  8 September 2010, by Sergei Kamenev

  The August 18-19 Sochi summit, attended by the leaders of Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan (the second quadrilateral one after the July 2009 Dushanbe meeting), showed that the format indeed helps to address the geo-political problems of Central Asia and to strengthen peace and security in the region.
  The Sochi agenda was topped by the struggle against drug trafficking and terrorism and by the economic cooperation between the region’s countries. The tragic situation in (…)

• China and Pakistan Relations: A New Chapter

  8 September 2010, by Gunjan Singh

  During the recent visit by the Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, to Beijing both sides declared to take forward the ‘all-weather friendship’. China and Pakistan have declared that they intend to build a railway line which will connect the Khunjerab Pass with Chinese towns including Kashgar. In addition to this, both the countries signed six agreements which covered areas ranging from health care and technology, justice and media, and agriculture and economy. During his visit President (…)

• Crossing the Rubicon: Indo-Japan Nuclear Cooperation

  8 September 2010, by Prakash Pillai

  The Indo-Japan relationship scaled a new height after Japan successfully opted to negotiate with India regarding civil nuclear cooperation between the two states. The ice-breaking decision was taken on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Toronto, where for the first time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his new Japanese counter-part, Naoto Kan, discussed the global security situation, including the civil nuclear cooperation. On the following day (June 28, 2010) India and Japan commenced the (…)

• Crossing the Rubicon: Indo-Japan Nuclear Cooperation

  8 September 2010, by Prakash Pillai

  The Indo-Japan relationship scaled a new height after Japan successfully opted to negotiate with India regarding civil nuclear cooperation between the two states. The ice-breaking decision was taken on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Toronto, where for the first time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his new Japanese counter-part, Naoto Kan, discussed the global security situation, including the civil nuclear cooperation.

• Vivekananda—The Revolutionary Swami

  8 September 2010, by Ashok Celly

  Vivekananda was one of the most amazing personalities of modern India. Perhaps India has never witnessed a religious figure of the kind Vivekananda was. Far from renouncing the world, he was deeply involved with it. He completely redefined and revolutionised the concept of the Mahatma. The traditional Mahatma was supremely indifferent to his surroundings and the suffering of the people around him and sought his spiritual salvation alone practicing laissez faire of the spirit. Vivekananda (…)

• Should India Set Up a Sovereign Wealth Fund?

  8 September 2010, by Kavaljit Singh

  New Delhi’s proposal to establish a $ 10-billion sovereign wealth fund should be treated with caution. The necessary preconditions for setting up an SWF are squarely lacking in India. Besides, the purported objectives of the fund to pursue strategic investment opportunities abroad are highly debatable.