Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• The Tragedy in Sri Lanka

  6 March 2010, by Rajindar Sachar

  [The following article reached us quite sometime ago but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons. —Editor]
  One of the most tragic happenings of the decade is the breakdown of the Sri Lankan ceasefire in 2006 and its aftermath resulting in the horrors of war crime and slaughter of the innocent Tamil population of Sri Lanka. Why did it happen and could it have been avoided? These were some of the questions posed before the Permanent People’s Tribunal (successor to the Bertrand (…)

• Must the Gods Die?

  6 March 2010, by Madhu Bhaduri

  The gods are dying. Rivers that have traditionally been revered like gods in India, the sacred Ganga and Yamuna, are comatose. In the last few decades reckless diversion of river water and irresponsible use of rivers as channels for urban sewerage and untreated industrial effluents has dramatically transformed our rivers into dirty drains.
  The Yamuna, now a dirty drain in Delhi, is hardly in the image of gods for Hindus. It is difficult even to imagine that emperor Shahjahan would (…)

• Afghanistan: Terror Blast in Kabul, SCO’s Moves and Russian Offers

  6 March 2010, by Bashir Mohammad

  The recent terrorist attack in Kabul killing several Indians once again bears testimony to the desperation of the anti-Indian terrorist outfits like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is learnt to have been instrumental in carrying out the latest Kabul terror strike, to target Indian nationals in Afghanistan. Of course, they are operating under the directive and with the full assistance of the Pakistani intelligence working overtime in its bid to diminish Indian influence in that South West Asian (…)

• US is Not Opting to Lose the Afghan War

  6 March 2010, by K. Subrahmanyam

  The London Conference in which India felt it was marginalised, the sudden crackdown by the Pakistanis against the leadership of Quetta Shura whose existence they had denied all this time, the detention of 124 militants, the spate of anti-Taliban articles and pronouncements in the Pakistani print and electronic media and the glowing certificates from high-level US officials on Pakistani cooperation with US strategy—all this has persuaded the Indian strategic community that the Obama (…)

• Price Rise, Rail Budget, Maoist Offer

  1 March 2010, by SC

  As expected, the Budget session of Parliament has begun with both the Houses being adjourned on the second day or the first working day (the first day witnessed President Pratibha Patil addressing the joint session of the two Houses in the Central Hall as is the customary practice) with the entire Opposition unrelenting in its demand for a discussion on the serious issue of price rise under a substantive motion entailing voting, and the government inflexibly stonewalling the demand so that (…)

• Afghan Scenario: Growing Complexities

  1 March 2010, by Mansoor Ali

  The situation in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly complex with the passage of time.
  The London Conference on the Afghan Problem decided at the end of January to work towards reintegrating the Taliban into the Afghan political mainstream. This has sent shock waves among Indian defence and strategic analysts as also in the corridors of power in New Delhi though some seasoned diplomats and foreign policy experts assert that there was no reason for the Government of India to feel (…)

• Educational Reforms: Issues of Quality and Equity

  1 March 2010, by P R Dubhashi

  ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009’, that has come into force after the relevant Bill was passed by Parliament, and the recommendations of the Bansal Committee appointed by the Government of Maharashtra for the regulation of fees charged by non-aided schools are two important measures for educational reforms discussed in this article.
  Fee Fixation by Unaided Institutions
  Recent measures to introduce educational reforms have put into sharp focus issues of (…)

• Implementing Right to Education Act

  1 March 2010, by B.C. Mehta, Kranti Kapoor

  The Bill to provide free education for all children in the age-group 6-14 (which has now become an Act) ensures that any child can demand provision of free education to him or her in his or her neighbourhood right up to the 8th class. It is also claimed that the state will provide compulsory elementary education. Here there is some confusion. Right to education implies that the parents of some children want to get their children educated but fail to do so because there is no school in the (…)

• Centre’s Changing Strategy

  1 March 2010, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  The crisis over Telangana which has overtaken New Delhi has been the creation of the Congress leaders themselves. On one hand Dr Channa Reddy’s political frustration has led him to ignite the flames of regional chauvinism, and it is this that has stirred up the present round of violence in Telangana. On the other hand, Sri Brahmananda Reddy’s over-bearing cock-sureness deceived the Centre in a manner that few Chief Ministers have been able to achieve so far.
  Sri Brahmananda Reddy (…)

• Outstanding Economist, Institution Builder, Beacon for Young People

  1 March 2010, by C. Rammanohar Reddy

  TRIBUTE
  The years after independence saw a number of outstanding young men and women throw their hearts and bodies into building a new India. K.N. Raj was a giant of that generation. Today when careerists and those who put their self-interest above everything else rule the day, it is important to stress how K.N. Raj and others of his kind, one could very easily have made their names anywhere in the world, were fired with passion for just one thing: contributing to a modern and equitable (…)