2012

With the entrenchment of democracy, new paradigms of governance are emerging in Latin America. Some would say, a new Latin America is emerging, with a new trajectory of growth, stability and confidence. It is not Castro or Ortega but Chavez, Morales, Kirchner, Lula and many others who have shown that another world is possible. The unmistakable message from Latin America is that there is a world beyond neoliberalism. The past one decade or so has witnessed the emergence of viable alternatives (…)

China has moderated its stance on the South China Sea. It has now said that it is committed to settling the South China Sea dispute by peaceful means with the countries concerned through direct and friendly negotiations in accordance with international law and the contemporary law of the sea, according to its newspapers and magazines, including “News from China” published by its embassy in Delhi. It has, however, not abandoned its territorial claim over islands in that Sea, including the (…)

A year ago just before Independence Day 2011 it was written in these columns: As we approach our sixtyfifth Independence Day there is no gainsaying that an acute sense of despondency has gripped the nation, thanks primarily to the acrobatics of our present-day rulers though it must be acknowledged in all candour that those in the Opposition have fared no better. In the absence of the stalwarts who participated in and/or led the freedom struggle and upheld the picture of a radiant India (…)

FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
When a cliche boomerangs the effect is devastating. The golden jubilee of the August Revolution, officially celebrated with so much fanfare, has brought no dividends for those in power. If anything, it has heightened the bitter feeling that the commitments of the Do-or-Die injunction served by Gandhiji on August 8, 1942 have been cynically violated in the five decades since then.
While Aruna Asaf Ali was honoured for having bravely hoisted the Tricolour defying the (…)

Pull down the ‘Work in Progress’ boards. Sixty-five years is far too long. No curtains can hide away the pole-vaults of the me-myself-self-seekers’ brigade of pygmies in the Temple. How long can you splurge on arrogance of growth of sham, lies and loot? How long can you look away and beat ‘the tryst with destiny’ chord to stop the tide of time? How long can you push the millions of voiceless against the wall? Soon, very soon, these voiceless wounds shall grow tongues and these tongues (…)

Dr K.S. Hedgewar, who had originally worked with Mahatma Gandhi and was in the Congress, founded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at Nagpur in 1925. When Mahatma Gandhi asked Dr Hedgewar why he created a separate organisation instead of creating it within the Congress party, Dr Hedgewar is reported to have said that his vision was of volunteers coming together and working for the nation selflessly and with no personal interest. This would not be possible within the fold of a political (…)

I. Setting and Argument
Between December 18, 2010 and September 17, 2011, three events in different parts of the world highlighted the issue of the future of democracy as central to the social and political discourse everywhere. These three epoch-making events have different evocative titles: The Arab Spring; India Against Corruption; and Occupy Wall Street.
The Arab Spring—a wave of demonstrations and protests-began on Saturday, December 18, 2010 in Tunisia when Mohamed Bouazizi (…)

by K.P. PRABHAKARAN NAIR
In 1948, when the United Nations adopted the “Right to Food” covenant, and subsequently India became a signatory to this, none expected that the government of free India, after almost three-quarters of a century from being a signatory to this very important covenant, will play with politics of food and hunger. A food crisis is staring at India, prices of all food items are escalating, the poor and vulnerable are most hit, while New Delhi is playing politics with a (…)

Next year, that is, 2013, is going to witness a terrible economic tsunami which will bring the global economy to a complete halt. This prediction is not from any mad man but a well-respected economist, Nouriel Roubini, a Professor at the Stern School of Business of the New York University. He also heads a consultancy firm, the Roubini Global Economics.
Roubini, born in Istanbul on March 29, 1959, is a Jewish of Iranian origin. He was educated at Boccioni University, Milan (Italy) and (…)

[Kobad Ghandy from Tihar Jail now writes on the concept of freedom vis-à-vis present-day society as also in relation to a future just order, bringing out some causes for the failure of the erstwhile socialist states. It will comprise a series of five to six articles. —Editor]
PART I — THE CONTEXT
Communism is the return of man himself as a social, i.e. really human being, a complete and conscious return which assimilates all the wealth of previous development. Communism, as a fully (…)