2012

The Congress should see the message that stands out in the form of the Assembly election results, on the portents it holds.
Addressing the media on March 7, a day after the results of the five Assembly elections were announced, Congress President Sonia Gandhi attributed the outcome against the party to “wrong candidates, organisational weaknesses, party members not taking serious responsibilities, and too many leaders in the party”. Further, she observed that the electoral rever-ses would (…)

There was a time when any statement on Kashmir, either by the Prime Minister of India or that of Pakistan, used to create rumpus. Politicians and the media on both sides would dwell on for several days on what a particular remark tried to convey. Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Reza Gilani said the other day that his country would seek a solution on Kashmir through a dialogue, no hostilities. I have not seen any comment in India nor have I found any Pakistani Opposition leaders or the press (…)

by PANNALAL SURANA
“Great burden put on the people”—was the shrill cry of the electronic media after the Budget for 2012-13 was presented to Parliament. And what was repeated umpteen times? The A/c travel has become costlier, cigarettes, drinks, eating out etc. have become dearer. The gold and silver traders all over the country declared a hartal for three days in protest against the two per cent increase in the service tax.
All that is really amusing, if not exasperating.
One may (…)

FROM N.C.’S WRITINGS
The searing experience of genocidal attack on a whole minority group in neighbouring Sri Lanka has naturally sent shock waves throughout India. It would be wrong and invidious to regard it as a matter of emotional upsetting for the people of Tamil Nadu alone, as some circles bereft of a sense of national integration seem to suggest. In fact, the pre-planned gangsterism in Sri Lanka has spared no pains in turning it into an anti-Indian fury: nothing else can explain the (…)

DOCUMENT
The following is a Joint Statement of Sri Lankan intellectuals, mobilised under the aegis of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, issued on February 17, 2012. It could not be used earlier for unavoidable reasons.
Several valuable recommendations are contai-ned in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s (LLRC) Report and they are all the more compelling because they have been issued from a Presidential Commission. In pursuance of this, we the undersigned call upon the (…)

Press freedom in our country is not a special privilege of journalists. It is the general principle of freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution for all citizens that is being enjoyed by journalists as citizens. In the absence of any special provision and privilege, no special protection for journalists is available today on the basis of any specific legislation.
Whether or not special freedom needs to be given to journalists may be a matter of different opinions. But special (…)

The huge public debt the Western countries have accumulated, has created an economic crisis and threatens their standard of living. Daniel Gross, the economic editor of Yahoo Finance, writing in Newsweek (Special Issue 2011) says: ‘Until now power has been defined largely by military strength, by control over vital resources like oil, but in coming years, ability to manage debt may be the best indicator where global economic power resides. Threats to sovereignty now come not from domestic (…)

The United Nations Security Council statement on Syria on March 21 marks a turning point. The unanimity of opinion over the year-long crisis in Syria is appearing for the first time; why and how this happened needs to be understood. Russia finds itself in the driving seat in crafting the future of a key Middle East nation. This is unprecedented and it impacts the alchemy of ties between the presidency of Vladimir Putin and the West. Indeed, the Arab Spring won’t be the same again.
But (…)

[The following article appeared forty years ago in Mainstream (January 15, 1972). It is being reproduced after forty years to mark the fortieth anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence on December 16, 1971 and the fortyfirst anniversary of Sheikh Mujib’s declaration of freedom struggle at Dacca’s Ramna Maidan on March 7, 1971 as well as the consequent West Pakistani military crackdawn on the East Pakistan people on March 26, 1971.]
When Sonar Bangla is played as the national anthem of (…)

COMMUNICATIONS
Investors are Exposed and Exploited
Apropos the commentary on Islamic banking entitled ‘Islamic Banking in India at the Service of Pan-Islamists’ in Mainstream (March 3, 2012), let me say that the proponents of Islamic banking are none other than radical Islamists, responsible for the distorted image of Muslims the world over. They offer nothing of merit in the name of Islamic banking vis-a-vis modern banking practices. The way they advance their logic is the way Muslim (…)