2011

by PARESH CHATTOPADHYAY
Today there is a curious convergence of views between the Right and the dominant Left on the meaning of socialism. Put more concretely, for both the Right and dominant Left socialism refers to the system which came into being as a sequel to the conquest of political power by the Bolsheviks in Russia, 1917, and this system signifies a society governed by a single political party where the means of production are owned predominantly by the state and not privately, and (…)

By way of introduction to our discussion of what was or came to be built in the Soviet Union, I would like to share these two relatively recent statements from Paul Sweezy:
I have no doubt whatever that the Russian Revolution and the ones that followed—with a few obvious exceptions like the Iranian revolution—were genuine socialist revolutions with deep roots in an international movement that traces its origin back to the first half of the nineteenth century. The parties and their leaders (…)

TRIBUTE
He was not a name to conjure with nor did he make the grade, as it is commonly perceived, in this part of the world. He was neither a Minister nor a public figure, so that one could credit him with all that is popularly known to be the virtues of good, intelligent or successful. But Pradip Bose was one of the greatest souls and most brilliant minds that one ever knew. Having known him very closely for over three decades one could confidently say that he was an embodiment of (…)

BOOK REVIEW
Ethnic Mobilisation and Violence in Northeast India. by Pahi Saikia; Routledge, London, New York, New Delhi; pages 231; Price: Rs 695.
This book can be read in multiple ways. It is a work of an Indian trained for her doctorate in a foreign university (McGill) where questions are asked and answered in a thesis and new ground is prepared to provide an epistemo-logical turn to the existing literature. Pahi has consciously attempted to do this. The blurb promises to fill (…)

by ATULKRISHNA BISWAS
“Some of the press who speak loudly about the freedom of the press are themselves the enemies of freedom. Countless people dare not say a thing because they know it will be picked up and made a song of by the press. That limits freedom.” —Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury (1887-1972)
Votaries of democracy and advocates of freedom of expression would stand by press freedom, even though unrestrained in tone and tenor, and without a sycophantic note. A (…)

IMPRESSIONS
“What is happening in this country?”—asked Pranab Mukherjee in the aftermath of the Sharad Pawar slapping incident.
Every taxpayer and voter in this country has been asking the same question, though not in the sense in which Mukherjee meant. What indeed is happening under the auspices of the eminent leaders of the government and the Opposition? What the citizen knows is:
• That dumb things are happening in the country. Like introducing the FDI retail decision at the most (…)

Parliament’s winter session, which began on November 22, has failed to transact any business till date. At present the deadlock in both the Houses is due to the Union Government’s obdurate stand on opening the retail sector to foreign direct investment (FDI)—51 per cent in multi-brand, 100 per cent in single brand. This has not only faced stiff resistance from the entire Opposition but also from UPA allies like the Trinamul and DMK as well as from within the Congress itself, and the ruling (…)

People the World Over Salute the Occupy Movement for Standing Up to Injustice and Fighting for Equality at the Heart of Empire
Tuesday morning (November 15), the police cleared Zuccotti Park, but today the people are back. The police should know that this protest is not a battle for territory. We’re not fighting for the right to occupy a park here or there. We are fighting for justice. Justice, not just for the people of the United States, but for everybody.
What you have achieved since (…)

Trust deficit is an expressive phrase. But it is applied only to India-Pakistan relations. It is just as relevant in describing people-government relations in India. The trust deficit on this front was highlighted by two recent statements. The first was by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who said in Cannes that food prices shot up in India because of prosperity.
Less than half the population of India is prosperous. The other half-and-more is at varying levels of misery. A few hundred (…)

TRIBUTE
“The following story was narrated by one of Sister Valsa John’s long-term associates to a Jesuit priest. It was written by the latter and then edited by me. This is the inspiring story of Sr. Valsa John, an ordained nun, who worked among the Santal tribals of Jharkhand for over fifteen years—first as a school teacher and then as a human rights activist—until her brutal murder on November 15, 2011. It provides an insider’s view of the people’s resistance movement led by Sr. Valsa (…)