Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Decoding the Shanghai Spirit: What does China Actually Mean by it?

  7 August 2018

  by Bhartendu Kumar Singh
  While the Shanghai spirit has been in vogue since the inception of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2001, only recently it was brought out of dormancy by the Chinese leadership. Both before and during the Qingdao Summit of the SCO held recently, the Chinese leadership marketed the idea in a mercantile fashion. However, an analysis and decoding of the Shanghai spirit raise doubts about its relevance in international relations. At best, it seems to (…)

• Kashmir: Compounding the Perfidy

  7 August 2018, by Badri Raina

  It should be clear by now that in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party signed the Agenda of Alliance with the People’s Democratic Party as a mere ruse to find a foothold in the governmental structure in Jammu and Kashmir.
  It may be recalled that at the time there were those, who had cautioned the PDP about the course it had set its heart on. Given the history of the “nationalist” Hindu Rightwing, especially so with respect to the Jammu and Kashmir State, it was nothing more than a tragic leap (…)

• Of Democracy, Elections and Mainstream Politics in Kashmir

  7 August 2018

  by Javid Ahmad Ahanger
  The unceremonious fall of the PDP-BJP coalition in Jammu and Kashmir was aptly described by the distinguished academician Amitabh Mattoo as follows: “New Delhi has faulted once again in Kashmir. The chaos, noise, and messiness of democracy are always an option to be preferred over bureaucratic rule.” (IE, June 22, 2018) Obviously, the PDP is only the latest victim of New Delhi’s Kashmir policy. The unholy coalition collapsed as a result of political opportunism. (…)

• Lynching: Mismatch between Law And Reality

  7 August 2018

  by Arup Kumar Sen
  Public lynching has become an organic part of the reality in contemporary India. Very recently (July 17, 2018), a three-judge Supreme Court bench comprising the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud condemned the “sweeping” incidents of lynching as “an affront to the rule of law and to the exalted values of the Constitution”. Passing a series of “preventive, remedial and punitive” measures to deal with lynchings and mob (…)

• Sino-US Trade War

  7 August 2018

  by Rajaram Panda
  This article was sent quite sometime ago but could not be used earlier for unavoidable reasons. It Is now being published as its basic contents have not lost their significance as yet.
  In his now well-known disruptive diplomatic style, US President Donald Trump has started a virtual trade war with China whose reper-cussions shall be felt around the world in no mean measure. The world’s two largest economies are now at loggerheads after the Trump Administration imposed (…)

• JIO: The Case of Pre-Born Eminence

  7 August 2018

  by Navneet Sharma and Showkat Ahmad Mir
  For the child (male!) to be pre-eminent there should beGarbhadhan samskara. For this is the time of Kali and everyone is sudra. For an ‘abhijatya’ garbhadhana is unavoidable.
  — Srimad Bhagvatam-4:31:10 purport
  (IoE tag) This will facilitate them to grow more rapidly and at the same time they will get more opportunity to scale up their operations with more skills and quality improvement so that they become world class Institutes.
  — Prakash (…)

• Keeping Assam Together

  7 August 2018

  The following article highlights one aspect of the Assam problem. It is being published for the benefit of our readers. It was written before the latest developments in the State.
  by Pranjit Agarwala
  Assam as a State has constantly faced the threat of disintegration. Assam’s political integration to the Indian mainstream began with its British colonisation in 1826. Under colonial rule the geographical boundaries of Assam also changed from the pre-colonial Ahom era. Excluding the then (…)

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  Alwar Lynching, Maratha Stir, Imran Khan

  29 July 2018

  EDITORIAL
  As was mentioned in these columns last week, the Supreme Court of India’s unequivocal condemnation (on July 17) of what it described as “horrendous acts of mobocracy” was followed the very next day (that is, on July 18) with a direct mob attack on the noted human rights activist, 80-year-old Swami Agnivesh, in Jharkhand “for taking part in an event at the behest of Christian missionaries to mislead tribals”. And within two days of that incident on the night of Friday, July 20, (…)

• Dangers to Secularism

  29 July 2018, by Kuldip Nayar

  I recall after independence, politician and diplomat Syed Shahabuddin articulated the Muslim point of view. He did not ask for separation but suggested a self-rule for Muslims within the country. Nobody took him seriously, not even the Muslims because the partition had brought misery to both the communities.
  Now Assauddin Owaisi, the President of the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, has demanded that there should be reservation for Muslims in the armed forces. Owaisi is quite right (…)

• The Era of ‘Teaching Lessons’

  29 July 2018

  by Prem Singh
  Although the recent attack on social activist Swami Agnivesh is being widely and strongly condemned, there are many people who, citing some earlier incidents involving Swamiji, perceive the attack as an inevitable and normal culmination. This is definitely most unfortunate. Those who do not agree with his earlier or present views and actions were, and are, absolutely free and within their rights to disagree. They are also not wrong in trying to oppose him in a democratic (…)