Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• To Mahatmaji

  29 September 2017

  . . . Came flood, came death, came the storm of war
  Great Famine left its signature on every road,
  Every moment I was afraid the whole history was under threat
  Yet I kept my spirit up, although besieged by death, and heaved no sigh of despair
  There are signs left in the burning ghats in towns and villages
  And face to face with many a death I have sung firmly of victory.
  That is why today standing here, close to our dear dreams,
  It seems we are all living only in you—
  We have (…)

• Mahatma Gandhi — The Great Communicator

  29 September 2017, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  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 (…)

• Democracy in Digital Age: Revisiting the Gandhian Idea of Civic Engagement

  29 September 2017

  by Pradeep Nair
  Information is a core community need in any democracy whether it is digital or conventional. People having access to information always have an edge over others who were denied the access due to their socio-political backwardness. The digital media not only accelerates the access to information but also develops a new attitude among the people to receive, own, engage, respond and connect the information for the negotiations with the socio-cultural surrounding which is the (…)

• Ugly Side of God Men

  29 September 2017, by Kuldip Nayar

  Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim was a Bhindran-wale in the making. He, too, saw to it that nobody dared him. But he turned out to be a paper tiger. When CBI court judge Jagdeep Singh pronounced his verdict, the Baba wept openly in the court and implored him not to give severe punishment. His followers, too, were reportedly surprised over the manner in which the Baba capsized.
  But there is no doubting about the Baba’s vast following. It did not bother that he was being punished for raping two (…)

• Bracing Up for the Future

  29 September 2017

  by Anshuman Gupta and Anju Jain
  India is facing challenges at the international front as a result of the protectionist policies of President Donald Trump. This anti-globalisation spree is going to strengthen in the near future as the ultra-Right parties are making their strong presence felt in many countries of Europe (though recently they faced a setback in France’s election). This politics of identity and protectionism is going to stay for a long time. There has been a strong logic (…)

• The Champaran Crusade

  29 September 2017

  by Jawaharlal Jasthi
  On August 14, 2017 a significant event took place in Hyderabad. A small book in Telugu titled, A Great Historical Movement—Champaran Righteous Crusade, was released by Nayani Narasimhareddy, the Home Minister of the State of Telangana. P. Janardan Reddy presided over the meeting. It was significant as it marked the centenary of the Champaran movement led by Gandhi. It was the movement to free the farmers of Champaran in Bihar from the suffocating grip of the colonial (…)

• Contesting the Decivilising Process through the Prism of Gandhi and Tagore

  29 September 2017

  BOOK REVIEW
  by Aejaz Ahmad Wani
  The Decline of Civilisation:Why We Need to Return to Gandhi and Tagore? by Ramin Jahanbegloo; Aleph Book Company; 2017; pages: 139+xxxiv
  Introduction
  Everyday acts of terrorism, intolerance, civil and state violence and religious fundamentalism dismay us to the core and even prompt some of us to question the very nature of human existence. Early this year, Pankaj Mishra’s latest work somewhat aptly described our age as the “Age of Anger”. For quite (…)

• Defending India: Challenges for the New Defence Minister

  29 September 2017

  by Bhartendu Kumar Singh
  Defending India is a challenge for our Defence Ministers. As Nirmala Sitharaman familiarises herself in the new role, she is expected to emerge as a defencer pacis for the country’s security problematic. The basketful of newspapers’ advisories notwithstanding, she would be running against time since general elections will take place in less than two years.
  The Minister starts on a wicket with a lot of spadework done by Manohar Parrikar. That included (…)

• Alexander, the Great Conquerer!

  29 September 2017, by J.J. Roy Burman

  It is astounding to think of Alexander, the Great, as a conquerer. But it is indeed a fact that he is popularly known as a great Greek emperor. However, most do not know the fact that he was not a Greek. He was born in Pella, a tribal pocket of Macedonia, which became a part of Yugoslavia. It can thus be concluded by all means that he was a tribal by birth. He inherited the escalated political position from his father, Philip.
  Alexander started his political career under the tutelage of (…)

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  Rohingya Crisis and BJP Government

  23 September 2017, by SC

  EDITORIAL
  Speaking at a seminar in New Delhi today Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh stated: “Rohingyas are not refugees... No Rohingya has applied for asylum. They are illegal immigrants.” This was his clear-cut position with regard to the Myanmarese Rohingyas who had lately entered Bangladesh while some of them had come to India earlier.
  Meanwhile Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina has strongly countered Myanmar’s attempts to label the Rohingyas as “illegal immigrants”, something Rajnath was (…)