2012

[This is the first 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 Sovereignty, 2004) and the other on the world economy (Capitalism in Coma, 2009).]
In mid-September last year, the Union Cabinet approved the Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. On March 15 this year, the Finance Minister (…)

by JAYAN P.A.
“Though the country and the people may be divided into different States for convenience of administration, the country is one integral whole, its people a single people living under a single imperium derived from a single source.” —Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Chairman, Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India
The creation of a new institutional mechanism for tackling terrorism—is this a different or peculiar kind of problem in addressing the question of terrorism? Does it (…)

Dynamic Centre-State interactions are a defining yardstick of a federal set-up. The Indian federal dialogue has got a new fillip recently as seen from the nuanced way in which States have come forward to let the Union factor in their demands and grievances. This article tends to trace the interaction of the process of federalism and globalisation and attempts to make a plea for building constitutional structures of inter-governmental relations to streamline this Centre-State balance. India (…)

by TAMANNA KHOSLA
Federalism requires that States need to be given equal respect and powers as provided by the Constitution of India. In any kind of consultation States need to be involved in any kind of dialogue. Dialogue and deliberation between the Centre and States are a must in a federal democratic set-up. However there has been lot of controversy revolving around the formation of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre. Federalism in this case has been in a flux to deal with the (…)

This piece was sent sometime ago but could not be used earlier for unavoidable reasons.
Facing the double whammy of climate change and its affluent society-triggered dwindling non-renewable resources, the Indian energy policy is at crossroads! The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear calamity is leading to a global moratorium on nuclear energy. Japan apart, Europe has opted out of new nuclear power plants. Germany has shut down half its reactors and decided to shut down all by 2022, while the USA has (…)

An emerging human rights organisation of Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement, has released the first “Jharkhand Human Rights Report 2001-2011”, which was welcomed from all corners of the society. However, I was just checking to know the reason of the absence of some human rights activists at the report release function held in Ranchi on March 10, 2012. While responding to my queries, one of the noted human rights activists of the State told me: “You have written a lot against us (…)

FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
On July 27, the Congress-I Working Committee was called by the party President, Rajiv Gandhi, and it adopted, among other things, a resolution on the political situation.
What was strange was that this ten-para one-thousand-word document, claiming to reflect the ruling party’s views on the present situation, had no reference at all to the crisis in Punjab or to the serious developments in Kashmir, not to speak of the Bodo or the Jharkand agitations. There is a (…)

With the Swedish ‘Deep Throat’, who brought out the Bofors kickbacks issue through his exchange of valuable information with investigative journalist Chitra Subramaniam-Duella, having decided to identify himself 25 years after the scandal emerged in press reports (he is none other than former Swedish Police head Sten Lindstrom), Bofors has resurfaced in the public domain. In this context we are reproducing what an elder statesman, C. Subramaniam, who held both Finance and Defence portfolios (…)

On the tenth anniversary of the Gujarat carnage, we reproduce here page 5 of Mainstream (May 4, 2002).
Save the Conscience and Honour of Our India
PROFESSOR HIREN MUKERJEE’S FERVENT APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT
Following is the text of Professor Hiren Mukerjee’s letter to President K.R. Narayanan dated April 21, 2002.
Dear Mr President,
I write this to you not so much as a dear friend and young brother but, with a certain solemnity, as President of our Republic of India. The horrendous (…)

Some major developments—release of abducted MLA Jhina Hikaka by Maoists after 32 days in their captivity, the conviction and symbolic sentence of Pakistan PM Yusuf Reza Gilani by the country’s highest court, and India’s successful test-firing of its heaviest remote-sensing satellite RISAT 1—took place in the course of the day today.
But the most striking event of the day was the renewed Bofors storm in Parliament. The Opposition urged for a fresh probe into the allegation of Rs 60-crore (…)