Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• The Importance of SAARC | Eduardo Faleiro

  17 October 2020, by Eduardo Faleiro

  The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was created in 1985 to promote economic development and social progress in South Asia through regional cooperation. Presently, it has eight member countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
  India was the Chair of the SAARC Summit in 2007 and this was arguably the most productive Summit that SAARC ever witnessed. The launching of negotiations to bring services into the South (…)

• How a Tragedy Gave Birth to the Legacy of M N Srinivas | Jos Chathukulam and Manasi Joseph

  17 October 2020

  by Jos Chathukulam and Manasi Joseph
  Abstract
  M N Srinivas was a doyen in the field of Sociology and Social Anthropology. The year 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of a fire tragedy at Centre for Advanced Study in Behavioural Sciences (CASBS), Stanford University, USA, in which the processed file notes of his 18-year field study in the village of ‘Rampura’ (now Kodagahalli) were consumed by flames. Srinivas, who was pursuing a one-year fellowship at CASBS at that time was planning to (…)

• Maharashtra Governor Koshyari Mocks at the Secular Spirit of the Constitution | S N Sahu

  17 October 2020, by S N Sahu

  Mocking at the very idea of secularism and the secular State and secular framework of governance enshrined in the Constitution has always been the ideological pastime of BJP and its generation of leaders. They never missed an occasion or rather created numerous occasions to deride secularism and the enduring values associated with it. The Hindutva ideology determines the worldview of BJP and its legacy is carried forward by its leaders and ideologues. Its essence and core content is contrary (…)

• If Hathras Doesn’t Make Us Think Again, Then Nothing Will | Avay Shukla

  17 October 2020

  10 October 2020
  The voters of this country (or at least 37% of them) have given Mr. Modi and his party a long rope. They have kept the faith and have even tolerated the wholesale reneging on his lofty promises. He has not delivered on even one of them- the economy, federalism, relations with neighbours, raising India’s international status, the safety of women, jobs. Instead, the damage caused these last six years has been immense: the country has never before been so divided socially, (…)

• Stan Swami - The Man who loves his Brother | John Dayal

  17 October 2020, by John Dayal

  In one of those coincidences, the 83 year old Stan Swamy was arrested by India’s high profile National Investigations Agency about the same time that another octogenarian, Francis, was declaring that all men [and women] in the world are brothers, and sisters, with responsibility to each other, and to the earth on which they all live, its resources, its environment, its climate.
  Stan Swamy and Francis the Pope are both members of the five centuries old Society of Jesus. The Jesuits, as they (…)

• Combating Identity Politics Through Class Consolidation | Vijay Kumar

  17 October 2020

  by Vijay Kumar *
  The present circumstances offer a great opportunity to do political mobilization on the basis of class consolidation. India is a society of a curious admixture of class and caste, and even Left Parties stood compelled to take this into account. On the one hand, our institutions ranging from University to Bureaucracy to Court of Law are supposed to function on the basis of rule of law, on the other hand, the politics, particularly politics of last 30 years, is being (…)

• Bihar Assembly Elections Likely to Throw a New Social Alliance | Arun Srivastava

  17 October 2020, by Arun Srivastava

  by Arun Srivastava
  This time the electoral battle line is blurred. It lacks clarity. Though the electioneering has started and the prominent leaders have already started holding public meetings, it is a grey haze that blurs the electoral scene. What is significant is this scene has not been created by the people of Bihar, instead this has been portrayed by the over ambitious politicians of the state, especially the RJD leader Tejashvi Yadav and Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar.
  Lack of (…)

• Tanishq Advertisement Controversy: Women are Objectified by Communal Extremists | Bhumika Rajdev

  17 October 2020

  by Bhumika Rajdev *
  16.10.2020
  Tanishq, the jewellery brand of India received severe backlash from the social media users due to its new advertisement projecting an inter-faith household. Netizens attacked Tanishq for glorifying the idea of ‘love-jihad’, a construct of Hindu nationalists, which eventually forced the brand to withdraw the ad film.
  The ad depicted arrangement of a baby shower ceremony called ‘Pulikudi’ in Kerala by a North Indian (presumably) Muslim family for their (…)

• Registration of Press And Periodicals Bill, 2019 Has Provisions To Curb Press Freedom | Jwalika Balaji

  17 October 2020

  by Jwalika Balaji
  October 14, 2020
  The press is one of the first lines of defence that actively engages in criticising the government for its actions and policies.
  It is integral to democracy, as it provides all the requisite information about those who are standing, their ideas, and their actions. This creates informed voters, who will be able to better exercise their discretion while voting in the elections.
  Freedom of press is an intrinsic part of Art. 19(1)(a).
  Given that the (…)

• 

  Statement by participants of the Mahila Ekta Yatra regarding the chargesheet filed by Delhi Police in FIR 59/2020

  17 October 2020

  We strongly contest criminalisation of women’s expression of peaceful dissent and participation as citizens in Indian democracy
  The women-led peaceful protests against the CAA, NRC and NPR became a powerful symbol of democratic resistance, inspiring solidarity from across the globe. Women, especially from the Muslim community, expressed their firm opposition to laws and policies that have differential impact and consequences on citizenship of different religious communities and vulnerable (…)