2012

COMMUNICATION
The Independence Day Special Number of Mainstream presented a rich and varied fare. The first part of Kobad Ghandy’s series of articles on “Questions of Freedom and People’s Emanci-pation”, written as it is “in a jail within jail (the high-risk ward), with lathi-wielding cops brea-thing down one’s neck 24 hours a day, denied access to even the normal jail facilities” shows a freshness of mind and an undaunted optimism for the future rarely found in prisoners doomed to long (…)

by Soumya Tiwari
The Chinese footprint in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is a frequently debated question around the world and in our subcontinent in particular for the past many years. The media and policy-analysts are keen to know which way India-China relations will turn especially when it comes to boundary disputes be it in Arunachal Pradesh, where China claims around 90,000 sq. km of Indian territory, or be it in the western sector, PoK, covering approximately 5180 sq. km of area. (…)

by Tarun Patnaik
The dissolution of the Anna team and the death of a popular social movement in desperate condition filled with frustration, diminishing popular enthusiasm raise questions and doubts on whether, if ever, a social movement can succeed in India! The liberal and strongly defensive nature of our political leaders neither angers the public to forge a social movement nor provides them respite with acceptance of their demands.
What are the reasons for which the members of the (…)

While Parliament continues to be deadlocked by the BJP stalling the proceedings of both the Houses over ‘Coalgate’, the Rajya Sabha witnessed a new low in the history of the Upper House (known as the House of Elders) yesterday (September 5) with two members belonging to the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nearly coming to blows as they clashed over the contentious Bill to amend the Constitution to provide for reservation to SCs and STs in promotion in government jobs. (…)

I am not surprised that the remarks by the Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have not been followed up or commented upon by the mainstream media or, for that matter, by any newspaper or television channel. TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar has been candid enough to say that leading newspapers in India have spread themselves all over the media, from television to radio and such other avenues, without permission from any authority. He has explained how in every country (…)

As the heat and dust on the NAM Summit in Tehran settle, it is time to take stock of the results of the event. Despite vociferous US objections and relentless media-baiting, the five-day 16th NAM Summit at Tehran successfully came to an end with the approval of its final communiqué called the Tehran Declaration. The 700-paragraph document unanimously declared support for Iran’s nuclear energy programme, condemned imposition of unilateral economic sanctions against any nation and called for (…)

Thousands of people from the North-East fleeing our cities in the southern part of India—Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and other metros, which till recently were considered as very tolerant—with fear and panic, as reported by the mainstream media, raises a number of questions about the lack of tolerance in the cosmopolitanism of our cities. All these cities in the last two decades have acquired the reputation of being global cities with people from across the globe coming here to establish (…)

One way of conveying that things aren’t quite all right in China-Russia relations would be to say that this isn’t as warm a relationship as it once was. Another would be to quote Ariel’s song about Ferdinand’s “drown’d father” in William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, “Those are pearls that were his eyes ….”
China seems to prefer the first option for the present, while drawing attention to the emerging truth regarding its “comprehensive strategic cooperation and partnership” with Russia. (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
Three landmarks to cover in a single day—that was how some of us spent our fiftieth Independence Day.
The first of the pilgrimage was to the Indo-Pak border post at Wagah to celebrate the anniversary of the freedom at midnight.
Reaching Amritsar by the Shatabdi Express in the late evening of August 14, about a dozen of us led by the President of the Citizens for Democracy, Kuldip Nayar, we were received by a huge crowd at the Amritsar station itself—which included (…)

by Nivedita Giri
A key function of Parliament is to oversee the working of the government by holding it to account for its policies and actions. There is a huge uproar across the country that, like in the 2G allocation, the government arbitrarily allocated the mining lease which has led to the exchequer incurring a loss of staggering Rs 1 lakh 86 thousand crore. (CAG Report) The Opposition, especially the BJP, finds a parallel with 2G: A. Raja, the Minister, then resigned; the Minister of (…)