May 2009

What sort of government will emerge from the election for the new Lok Sabha? This is the obvious question that is uppermost in the minds not only of the political parties contesting this election but of the millions beyond who constitute this nation as a whole.
Between the casting of the vote and the counting of the score, there is always an element of surprise, which will certainly be accentuated with the serious allegations of rigging on the very first day of the poll. And rigging, (…)

As no political party is expected to get close to winning a majority of seats on its own in these Lok Sabha elections, the political scene immediately after the election results have come in will be hectic and full of significance. It is important therefore to emphasise the priorities for these significant days:
1. The deliberations for forming the next government should be conducted in a dignified and democratic way. There should be no corruption, or use of big money to buy loyalties; no (…)

Hearty welcome to Prakash Karat. Even if it is a remote possibility that he will get what was once denied to Jyoti Basu, his name is music to my ears. I am no fan of the CPI-M brand of communism. Yet I would love Karat as the next Prime Minister. I sincerely hope that those who feverishly wish to protect the Centre will share this emotion.
The ongoing Lok Sabha election has opened up many bizarre possibilities. It is for the first time that the post of the Prime Minister has occupied (…)

Let’s face it. Every five years or even sooner we are subjected to a new circus called ‘’elections’’. Election time is mela time for politicians who have left no stone unturned to convert politics into a free-for-all political circus. Once on the electoral platform, they will do anything to shift focus from the real issues weighing on the voter’s minds. They will make funny speeches, raise heady slogans and make inflammatory and indecent remarks as a ploy to attract votes. We also see them (…)

I. The New Face of Financial Capitalism
Business cycles, that is, upswings and downswings in the economy, booms and busts, have been a characteristic of the capitalist economy. Many economists have analysed the phenomenon and come out with empirical findings as well as theories regarding the causes and nature of these occurrences and remedies either for moderating the impact or for preventing their occurrence. Gottfeied Haberler’s classic treatise Prosperity and Depression brought together (…)

Book Review
Rogue Agent: How India’s Military Intelligence Betrayed The Burmese Resistance by Nandita Haksar; Penguin Books Ltd, New Delhi; 2009; pages 242; price: Rs 299.
The benign and serene face of an Atal Behari Vajpayee or a Manmohan Singh does not reflect the ugliness of the innards of the Indian state. Perhaps every state has this hideous feature neatly packaged to keep it out of sight of its own citizens. From the Devil’s Island of France, the penal settlement in Australia (…)

To rid the world of weapons of war has been the age-old aspiration of mankind. The Bible talks about turning swords into ploughshares. In the very first resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its meeting in London in January 1946, the member states were called upon to work for the elimination of national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons of mass destruction. After that, the item ’General and Complete Disarmament’ remained on the agenda of the (…)

The Nazi German troops surrendered to the Soviet Red Army, and the allied troops, on May 8, 1945 in Berlin. The Second World War ended on May 9, which is celebrated as the Day of Victory over Fascism. Hitler had earlier committed suicide on April 30, 1945. The war continued for a few more months in Asia, till September 12, 1945, when the Japanese troops surrendered to the Soviet Far Eastern Red Army.
Mussolini was earlier caught and hanged by the Italian partisans in 1943. (…)

Save Human Lives, Human Rights and Democracy in Sri Lanka!
Support Tamils’ Struggle for Self-Determination!
Stop War and War Crimes!
The following is a statement of the NAPM and PPF issued on the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka and in support of an indefinite fast by 20 women in Chennai for peace and resumption of the democratic political process in Sri Lanka. It was recently released with the names of Medha Patkar, Sandeep Pandey, Aruna Roy, Yogendra Yadav, Ajit Jha, Anand (…)

The instability that has gripped both Afghanistan and Pakistan has caused legitimate concern among other countries of the region, India included; and since the phenomenon shows no signs of abating—rather it is actually growing—it is quite natural that these regional states coordinate their activities to meet the common threats emanating from the two neighbouring countries. Among these are the dangers posed by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. In the meantime the US has evolved a new strategy to (…)