Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Face of terror in Gaza: Hamas’ birth, evolution and a nuanced rethink | Debangana Chatterjee

  9 December 2023

  Terrorism, when defined as the deliberate use of violence against civilians to make political gains, casts a broad ambit, covering the various acts of terror. The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 fits this definition perfectly, and so does the disproportionate retaliation. Though the Hamas attack is unforgivable and beyond justification, we need to accept that it did not manifest in a vacuum. It is the latest chapter in a long history of violence, power wrangling and ostracisation. (…)

• Savagery of the “Civilized” | Arup Kumar Sen

  9 December 2023, by Arup Kumar Sen

  In the context of America’s war against Islam in the wake of 9/11 attacks, the eminent critical voice of our time, Arundhati Roy, raised a fundamental question in her article, ‘The Algebra of Infinite Justice’, carried in The Guardian (2001). Roy asked:
  So here we have it. The equivocating distinction between civilisation and savagery, between the “massacre of innocent people” or, if you like, “a clash of civilisations” and “collateral damage.” The sophistry and fastidious algebra of (…)

• Will Mahua’s expulsion act as a glue for INDIA alliance? | Faraz Ahmad

  9 December 2023, by Faraz Ahmad

  December 10, 2023
  After days of suspense over the fate of the INDIA alliance following the crushing defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party gave to the Congress party in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh, presuming that before the coming general elections most of the leading constituents of INDIA may fall apart out of despondency, for the first time on December 8 the sight of INDIA bloc standing together behind Trinamul Congress young, firebrand woman MP Mahua Moitra, provided (…)

• Big Oil dictating COP28 Agenda | Soma Marla

  9 December 2023, by Soma S. Marla

  COP28, the United Nation’s climate Summit is being held in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 30 November to 12 December 2023. Some 200 government representatives, the signatories of Climate Agreement in 1992 and several hundred environmental organizations will take stock of the measures to limit global warming pledged in 2015 Paris Agreement.
  Some 2,800 representatives of Big Oil and Gas firms are also participating as revealed by Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO). As the (…)

• Two Decades of Depoliticised Politics in Odisha Under Mr Naveen Patnaik | Bhabani Shankar Nayak

  9 December 2023

  The classical Odia literature, art, architecture, stone carvings, and its historical and cultural heritage, along with distinct philosophical musings, stand as testaments to Odia renaissance of the state, society, and polity in Odisha. The internationalist outlook is embedded within its easy-going and laid-back attitude towards everyday life. Resilience and determination define the Odia renaissance, where the acceptance of the ’other’ as its ’own’ delineates its unique cultural heritage and (…)

• Silkyara Tunnel collapse should also draw attention to the wider worrying conditions of migrant construction workers in the Himalayan region | Bharat Dogra

  9 December 2023, by Bharat Dogra

  Now that the rescue of the workers trapped in the tunnel collapse accident in Silkyara has been successfully completed, it is time to look at the wider issue of the very difficult and hazardous conditions in which construction workers employed in very remote locations of the Himalayan region have to toil, far away from their homes.
  A recent report in The Tribune (December 1 2023) by Neeraj Mohan has highlighted the poor working condition faced by nearly 400 workers from (…)

• Analysis of the Five Assembly Election Results of Dec 2023 | P. S. Jayaramu

  9 December 2023

  December 4, 2023
  The much awaited results of the Assembly elections were out a few days ago. It is time to analyse where things went right and wrong for the Political Parties which were in the race to retain power or acquire power. It is also necessary to reflect on the impact of the results on the Lok Sabha elections due in May 2024.
  First let me deal with the results in major States like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where it was a bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress (…)

• 2023 Assembly Elections: Congress Party’s Exceptional Victory in Telangana state | Kandagatla Sravan Kumar

  9 December 2023

  The Congress party has raised the bar for victory in the Telangana state assembly elections held on November 30, 2023. The slogan "change is needed" given by the Congress party has gone strong among the people. The anti-incumbency to the ten-year rule of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Party had an impact. The Congress won 64 of the 119 legislative assembly seats and won by four more than the magic figure of at least 60 seats needed to form the government. BRS, which contested in 119 seats, (…)

• Manipur’s Saga of Rape and Murder and the Capricious Cops That Let The Culprits Free | KS Subramanian

  9 December 2023, by K S Subramanian

  The ongoing saga of rape and murder in Manipur is now widely known but little is known about the laws and the cops that lets them go on, namely The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, (AFSPA) 1958 and the central paramilitary agency Assam Rifles (AR) 1835. Please see my books ‘Security, Governance and Democratic Rights: says on the Northeast’ (ed.) Niyogi, 2014, and ‘State, Policy and Conflicts, Essays in NE India’ Routledge, 2016. We are not dealing here with the rest of the Northeast though (…)

• ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’ and Sanction of funds by the LGIs – Is it the signal of democratic backsliding | K Gireesan

  9 December 2023

  The Government of Kerala (GoK) initiated a public outreach program ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’, where the Chief Minister and all other Ministers traveled through all assembly constituencies of the State. This program aims to highlight the achievements of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government that has been in power in the State since 2016. The entire Cabinet will be traveling together from 18 November to 24 December 2023, addressing the public, listening to their grievances, showcasing future (…)