Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• India Must Beware of the Chinese Dragon

  17 November 2009, by Suvrokamal Dutta

  China’s demand for the removal of two Indian Army bunkers from its outpost at Batang La in Sikkim near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction recently can be seen from two angles. First, as a case of highhandedness of a few Chinese border officials who entered the Indian territory inadvertently and came face to face with these Indian bunkers. Oblivious of where their actual position on the ground is, these officials then raised objections about the bunkers. This scenario seems probable because, (…)

• India-China Row Over Arunachal Pradesh: A New Irritant or Mere Posturing?

  17 November 2009, by John S. Moolakkattu

  China had always been a paradox for India, and a potential threat the country had downplayed as long as Pakistan was seen as the main adversary. After the 1962 war, India had exercised moderation while dealing with China as it did not want encirclement by two hostile countries. China had been obsessed with the presence of the Dalai Lama in India, particularly after it became sensitive to global public opinion in the wake of its economic reforms. The country also seemed to be uneasy at the (…)

• Should We Have Talked to the Chhattisgarhi Mother?

  17 November 2009, by Somnath Mukherji

  The much anticipated Operation Green Hunt has started in fits and starts. It is a high stake hunt. The government is waiting to re-assert its authority in the forested reaches of Central India. The corporations are waiting for unhindered access to the wealth underneath the land. The Maoists are [perhaps] waiting for the atrocities to begin so that the discontent takes deeper roots into the hearts and minds of the adivasis. And the adivasis...what are they waiting for? We do not know. We do (…)

• Why Panic about the Prefix ‘Maoist’?

  17 November 2009, by Sankar Ray

  Posters on the walls of Kolkata’s Jadavpur University of the Progressive Students’ Democratic Front, a pro-Naxalite outfit, have one common theme—indignation against giving a prefix—Maoist —to every expression of protest. The CPI-ML (Liberation), which still has pockets of influence in south Bihar, Jharkhand and Karbi Anglong, tries to prove that Maoism and Mao Zedong Thought are mutually exclusive. Some political analysts find a common tactical agenda in both—protection from the threat of (…)

• Interim Report of Independent Citizens Fact-finding Mission to Manipur

  17 November 2009

  The following is the Interim Report of an Independent Citizens Fact-finding Mission to Manipur. This was released in the form of a press release at a press conference at the Press Club, Imphal on November 7, 2009.
  A team of concerned citizens comprising Dr K.S. Subramanian IPS (retd.), formerly of the Manipur-Tripura cadre and currently Visiting Professor, Jamia Millia University, New Delhi, Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Mainstream, Kavita Srivastava, PUCL National Secretary, and Vasundhara (…)

• Tribute to Prabhash Joshi

  17 November 2009, by SC

  It was literally a bolt from the blue. On November 6 we had gone to the young man Sanjit’s residence for getting an idea of what really happened on July 23, 2009 when the police allegedly killed Sanjit in cold blood in the heart of Imphal. ‘We’ meaning members of a team of independent citizens on a fact-finding mission to Manipur, with the aim of comprehending and bringing to light the issues behind the latest disturbing developments in that trouble-torn State. After meeting Sanjit’s mother (…)

• Prabhash Joshi

  17 November 2009, by Shree Shankar Sharan

  A very eminent journalist, a man of strong principles and great courage of conviction has passed away. Most of us knew him as the editor of the renowned Jansatta, the Hindi number of the redoubtable Indian Express. He wrote powerfully and fearlessly. But you got a real measure of the man only when you heard him speak. He spoke with such passion and from the very depth of his heart that he would inspire the audience to return to the values of the freedom struggle and the spirited service of (…)

• The Editors Guild of India mourns the demise of Prabhash Joshi

  17 November 2009

  The Editors Guild of India deeply mourns the untimely demise of veteran editor, columnist and Gandhian activist Prabhash Joshi in New Delhi on the night of November 5.
  Joshi was one of the active members of the Guild, who had strived hard throughout his career in journalism to uphold freedom of the press and worked for perfecting professional standards. He was one of the pioneers of Hindi journalism, who introduced new styles of writing both in political and sports fields. Joshi (…)

• Development for Whom?

  17 November 2009, by N Jamal Ansari

  Recently eight eminent environmentalists urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to abandon three hydel power projects on Bhagirathi river in Uttarakhand. All environmentalists are members of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). They demanded that the 130 km stretch from Goumukh to Uttarkashi be declared as “No Project Area”. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh assured that the “Ministry of Environment and Power will study projects in Loharinag Pala (600 MW), Pala Maneri (480 MW) (…)

• For Judicial Transparency

  7 November 2009, by SC

  Several developments on the political front have once again magnified the problems besetting the two principal formations on the national scene as also the ubiquitous corruption eating into the vitals of the society. While the BJP is still grappling with the revolt in the ranks of its MLAs in Karnataka, the Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra is yet to resolve the vexed problem of the State Ministry formation. At the same time, the Enforcement Directorate as well as the Income Tax sleuths (…)