2011

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AND GLOBAL SYSTEMIC ISSUES
South, North and the United Nations in a 21st Century World - II
by Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Branislav Gosovic
The following is the second part of a lengthy article being published here in three parts. The first part appeared in Mainstream (April 23, 2011). The next part will be carried in the following issue. —Editor
6. The United Nations of the Future—boosting its Capacities for Global Leadership roles
A vigorous, strong, fully (…)

It is a matter of concern and disquiet that despite widespread protests the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) governors (Karan Singh is the current Chairman of its Executive Council) are pushing through changes in the institution in a manner that could harm it irrevocably. While it takes vision to build an institution, careless handling and failure to maintain essential norms can lead to rapid decline.
Founded in the mid-1960s as the national memorial to Jawaharlal Nehru, it is (…)

Ever since Jawaharlal Nehru’s entry into Indian politics, there have been continuous attacks not only on his ideas and outlook but also on his personal and private life. This campaign still continues even 47 years after his departure from this world. This is because of his outlook and thinking.
As is obvious from his writings and speeches, despite divisions of caste, religion, language, region, living style and so on, India had been one and its first priority was to liberate itself from (…)

The multi-phase elections for the West Bengal Assembly have begun with Trinamul Congress chief and Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee holding massive rallies across the State, especially in South Bengal, whereas Congress President Sonia Gandhi, PM Manmohan Singh have joined Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in launching the election campaign in right earnest appealing to the electorate to vote for the TMC-Congress alliance that is all set to wrest power from the CPM-led Left Front. Even (…)

It is indeed a strange spectacle of a Nobel Peace Laureate, President Barack Obama, blithely marching through three major warfields—one he inherited from his predecessor, the other inherited, all right, but modified and renewed as his own, and the third one entirely of his own making. True, several Nobel Peace Prize winners had received this coveted world prize with their blood-stained hands while it bypassed the universally acclaimed apostles of peace. This is the irony of the human (…)

This is another article sent by the Maoist leader, Kobad Ghandy, from Tihar Jail No. 3 (where he is currently lodged) for publication in Mainstream.
The IPL scam, the CWG scam, the 2G spectrum scam, the foodgrain/BPL/NREGA scams, Adarsh housing scam, the Satna land scam, the Citibank scam, the insurance scam, the P.J. Thomas/palmolein scam, the Yediyurappa land scams, the Prasar Bharati scam, Balakrishnan/NHRC chairman scam, the IMA Modi scam—the list is endless and growing by the day. (…)

This is the second and last piece written by veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar following his latest visit to Pakistan. The first one appeared in Mainstream (April 16, 2011).
A surprise awaited us at Lahore as our goodwill mission to Pakistan reached the city after visiting Karachi, Hyderabad and Islamabad. A throng of 300 people was present at Shadman Chowk to pay homage to Bhagat Singh. This is the place where he and his two comrades, Sukhdev and Rajguru, were hanged 80 years ago in 1931. (…)

by Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Branislav Gosovic
[The following is the first part of a lengthy article being published here in three parts. The next two parts will be carried in the succeeding issues of this journal.
—Editor ]
1. Preface
The world is becoming more open, inter-connected, interdependent and complex. This trend, propelled by revolutionary scientific and technological progress and change, will intensify in the decades to come. As the 21st century runs its course, it will (…)

I shall not quarrel with anyone who thinks the above title crazy. The pro-caste census lobby did not have an easy time. There are sections among the decision-makers and ordinary people who think that caste is no more a problem in India. But there are others who think that the caste problem remains an unresolved issue. What has the census to do with this? What we understand as census records are the number of people, women, men; married, divorced/widowed, unmarried; children under a certain (…)

To this day, contradictory estimations of the magnitude as well as the consequences of the Fukushima disaster continue to illustrate how an iron hand seems to tightly control information, in the ‘larger interests’, and the world’s major nuclear energy firms, pro-nuclear lobbies, Japan itself along with international authorities such as WHO, IAEA or CTBTO, seem to be engaged in the organised downplaying and retention of a precious information that citizens’ groups claim is already in their possession. Secrecy is built into the nuclear establishment’s mindset everywhere, and it prevails across the nuclear industry internationally.