2012

When was the last time in our memory political parties buried their differences and worked together on an issue of great importance for the people of India? Controversies have been getting murkier, and we seem to have forgotten how political parties can also work with creative co-operation to give the people badly needed relief and hope for the future.
Now the demand of pensions for all elderly people offers a wonderful opportunity, a long-awaited opportunity, when various political (…)

by Kallol Bhattacherjee
The tomb of Saladin outside the grand Umayyad mosque of Damascus is a constant reminder of the past conflicts that shaped the world, like the Crusade, arrival of the Ottoman Caliphate and the colonial era of the 18th to 20th century. Syrians still remember Henry Gourad, the French military officer who strode to the tomb of Saladin, after defeating a colonial insurrection against French rule following World War I, to declare triumphantly: “Arise Saladin, we have (…)

The cloud cover of sophistry that has been characteristic of India’s Iran policy in recent years lifted on May 15 when the government admitted in Parliament that it had taken a policy decision to reduce oil imports from Iran.
The frank admission came on a day when an emissary from Washington, Carlos Pascual, the special envoy on energy matters in the United States State Department, arrived with the proclaimed intention of weaning New Delhi away from Tehran’s fuel.
The Barack Obama (…)

It is paradoxical that despite so much ferment on the question of black economy, cronyism and corruption, some critical considerations which must be taken into account in the debates over the policy alternatives for curbing the black economy rarely receive the attention they deserve, in any case without the discourse itself getting infected by the virus of the black economy. This is so especially from the point of view of the need to articulate the policies which are much more than mere (…)

This is the fourth and last part of a four-part article on the current state of the Indian economy by Kobad Ghandy. The author is a Marxist/Maoist thinker, incarcerated in Tihar Jail; he has written two books: one on the Indian economy (Globalisation: Attack on India’s Soveregnty, 2004) and the other on the world economy (Capitalism in Coma, 2009). The first, second and third parts of this article appeared in this journal’s May 5, 2012, May 19, 2012 and May 26, 2012 issues respectively. (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
Foggy days with low visibility are not unusual in this season in New Delhi but they have never been so hazardous as they are in Indian politics today. In fact, there is little sign of sunshine breaking out in the near future as the Parliament meets for its Budget session in less than two weeks, on February 20.
Twelve months ago, there was no warning from the government how serious was the economic prospect. Rather the Finance Minister, heralding the so-called new (…)

BOOK REVIEW
Jihad on Two Fronts: South Asia’s Unfolding Drama, by Dilip Hiro; HarperCollins Publishers India, NOIDA, UP; Rs 699.
This fourteen-chapter (plus an Introduction and an Epilogue) 471-page book by a veteran journalist-author, who has presented a number of analyses on world affairs as well as written some fictions in the past, seeks to analyse the politics, context(s) and process(es) of jihad in South Asia. ‘Jihad’ is an Arabic word, meaning ‘effort’. In the Qur’an Sharif it (…)

What Matters the Most: Democracy or Security?
by Sampa Kundu
In the wake of the recent developments in Burma and PM Manmohan Singh’s latest visit to that country the following article is being published.
I. Introduction
India, the largest country in South Asia, is often being criticised for its policy of engagement with Myanmar. The question is: why does a democratic country like India keep itself engaged with the military backed civilian government of Myanmar where the people have (…)

Every NATO Summit is an exercise in its quest for legitimacy. The Chicago Summit was no exception except that the legitimacy crisis has deepened with the debacle in Afghanistan. It was the biggest meeting of the alliance ever organised, with more than sixty countries and organisations represented there. Staged in the home town of President Obama, it was meant to declare the exit from Afghanistan—as if it were an achievement—and to boost the Presi-dent’s geopolitical leadership, both messages (…)

by An Observer
The following article reached us quite sometime back but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons. It is being published now when the Uncle (Pyari Mohan Mohapatra) has shot into national prominence for having reportedly designed a revolt in the ruling BJD in Odisha that he later denied.
Who is this Uncle in Odisha politics? Controlling the organisation, internal workings and dynamics of the BJD party? Guiding the party supremo Naveen Patnaik? And architec-ting (…)