Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• The Valley of Incongruities / Do We Need Nehru Today? / Good-bye Feroze / Grim Warning from Bhopal / India-Pakistan: Imperative of Amity

  23 December 2018

  From N.C.’s Writings
  The Valley of Incongruities
  Whatever may be the substance of the much-advertised point of difference between Peking and Washington over the question of détente, it may be safely assumed that Gerald Ford’s talks with Mao Tse-tung and his cohorts explored the further potentialities of Sino-American collusion, particularly in the countries of the Third World. Angola shows the enormity of this entente while the happenings in Bangladesh underscores this danger in our (…)

• Mahatma Gandhi — The Great Communicator

  23 December 2018, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  The following is the text of the Gandhi Peace Foundation Lecture 1995 delivered by Nikhil Chakravartty in New Delhi on January 30, 1995. It first appeared in Mainstream (October 3, 1998) after N.C.’s demise.
  I am deeply touched by having been asked to deliver this year’s Gandhi Peace Foundation Lecture. Nobody is more conscious than I am about my inadequacy in speaking on this sacred occasion, the day of the martyrdom of the greatest son of my country. Perhaps my only qualification to talk (…)

• An Initial Victory and the Struggle Ahead

  23 December 2018, by Barun Das Gupta

  Will the BJP learn any lesson from its resounding defeat in the Hindi heartland which has been its bastion since its inception? The cow-vigilantism of its self-appointed gau-rakshaks who proclaimed that the life of a cow is more valuable than that of a man, that bovicide is a greater crime than homicide, have been taught a lesson by the voters of the cow belt.
  It is surprising how in the span of just four-and-a-half years the political party, that swept the polls in 2014, squandered the (…)

• A Hint of Spring

  23 December 2018, by Badri Raina

  The spell is broken.
  The bewitching wand turns
  To wood.
  Paralysed slumber
  Of years lifts an eyelid
  And sees into the dark subterfuge.
  There is a hint of spring in December.
  A breach in the overcast
  Reveals a newborn David,
  Firing sure slingshot
  Into Goliath’s heart.
  Hope seems no longer in vain.
  The Republic breathes again.
  Badri Raina

• Wintry Tale

  23 December 2018

  Wee-hours of a cold, harsh morning - a shroud of fog still hangs on the landscape; icy breeze blows through leaves, over beds of grass; signs of life are yet to stir. A bleak, melancholic look grips the atmosphere.
  A homeless mortal lies on the cobbled footpath, his knees pressed to his head, arms around his ankles, drawing the semblance of heat from the torn blanket - a tale of misery scripted in an indifferent urban setting.
  The grey eastern sky slowly brightens into a glow. The rising (…)

• Whither Politically tinkered Hinduism?

  23 December 2018

  by L.K. Sharma
  How Indian politics fares under the spell of Hinduism is covered extensively by the media. It is time scholars studying religions such as Karen Armstrong wrote on the impact of politics on Hinduism. Can this unique religion be modified by politicians aided by frenzied devotees and Hollywood Hindus? This question has got little attention so far.
  “Hindutva”, a political form of faith propa-gated by the ruling BJP and allied Right-wing groups, was injected with full force (…)

• Challenges of Dichotomous Growth in India

  23 December 2018

  by Arun Kumar
  The election results from the three North and Central Indian States suggest that farmers, youth and small businessmen are unhappy. Some of them have been openly agitating. Why is this happening if the rate of growth of the economy is between seven and eight per cent, as the official figures suggest? Businessmen have agitated less because they fear an authoritarian government. The minorities and Dalits are upset for economic and social reasons. These marginalised groups are (…)

• Indian Communists and the Challenges for their Revival

  23 December 2018

  by Arun Srivastava
  Indian Marxist-Leninists must counter the emerging threat of fascism. India has witnessed a massive political shift in the last four years with the BJP decisively replacing the Congress as the dominant political representative of the ruling classes. This has shaken the Congress. That is evident from the defensive posture of the grand old party. During the last four years of BJP rule, though the Congress has launched many struggles, the basic character of the protest (…)

• Babri Masjid: What should Muslims do?

  23 December 2018

  by Irfan Engineer
  A section of Hindu supremacist organisations are once again mobilising to demand the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple (RJT) in Ayodhya on the spot where the Babri Masjid once stood and was demolished on December 6, 1992. Provocative speeches are being made and threats issued. The sentiments of Hindus are being aroused around the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. The media too is playing ball and faithfully publicising the claims of the Hindu (…)

• Challenges in Europe: A Critical Overview

  23 December 2018

  by Purusottam Bhattacharya
  The following is an edited, revised and updated version of a paper presented at a national seminar on “Regionalism in International Relations: Contours and Trends” organised by the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata (March 14-15, 2017).
  Introduction
  On March 25, 2017 27 leaders of the European Union (EU) gathered in the Italian capital Rome to celebrate 60 years of the European integration project which was literally born from (…)