2012

by Anup Sahu
I am perturbed by the recent increase in sexual and violent crimes against women. What has been more disturbing is the increasing level of brutality in such incidents. Last Friday (February 24), a minor girl was allegedly raped inside a moving car in Noida by five young men. Earlier last month in Kolkata, a 37-year-old woman and a mother of two was allegedly raped at gunpoint. In another ghastly incident, a woman was dragged out of the train near Kolkata and allegedly raped by (…)

Tribals or adivasis, as they are popularly known as a symbol of self-assertion, comprise of around 8.2 per cent of the national population. The tribals are concentrated mostly in the central belt of India and parts of the North-East. The status of women in the tribal societies is compa-ratively better than that of the women in general society—apparently so. The sex ratio of the tribes in India during 1991 showed 971 females per 1000 males while it was 927 females among the general (…)

Multiculturalism, Secularism and Politics of Veiling
by Tamanna Khosla
Multiculturalism has taken a back-seat in Europe, especially after the London bombings as well as the killing of Theo Van Gogh and the Madrid bombings. The two major countries where multicultural policies are part of the government policies, the United Kingdom and Holland, are putting it into question in its many different aspects. In England, the veil issue has become public and many people are pushing for some (…)

BOOK REVIEW
The Politics of Religion in South and Southeast Asia, edited by Ishtiaq Ahmed; London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group; pp. 268.
“For me, politics bereft of religion are absolute dirt, ever to be shunned. Politics concerns nations and that which concerns the welfare of others must be one of the concerns of a man who is religiously inclined, in other words, a seeker after God and Truth... God and Truth are convertible terms and if anyone told me that God was (…)

In a region surrounded by democratic desert, Kuwait is a shining example of democracy albeit limited. On gaining independence from Britain in 1960, Kuwait took only a year to hold democratic elections for a Constituent Aassembly which drew up the Constitution. Through perio-dic competitive elections Kuwait has exemplified a stable and relatively open political system, which stands in stark contrast to the sea of authoritarianism that surrounds it. Kuwait has been a sounding board, so to say, (…)

The Government of West Bengal constituted a Commission of Inquiry into the Sainbari Murder Affairs under Justice (Retd) T.P. Mukherji on April 28, 1970. The Mukherji Commission submitted its report on July 27, 1970. The government, by a notification dated July 25, 1972, published the Report for general information. The Report is, therefore, in the public domain.
The reason for revisiting the Mukherji Commi-ssion Report is that the present Govern-ment of West Bengal has constituted another (…)

The recent controversy over anti-Kuodan-kulam (nuclear plant) protests and the filing of cases against NGOs has four important aspects. Firstly, the justification or otherwise of anti-nuclear power protests. Secondly, there is the question of whether NGOs can use foreign funds for such protests. Thirdly, there is the more specific question of whether those who were involved in anti-Koodankulam actually used foreign funds? Last but not the least, there is the wider question of international (…)

A Rejoinder from Pakistan
by Mohammad Farooq We have just received the following article from Karachi with a letter that reads:
“Dear Sumit,
I was so pleasantly surprised to read an article titled ‘Islamic Banking in India at the Service of Pan Islamists’ in the latest issue of Mainstream and it engrossed me so much that I wrote a rejoinder on the article which I just finished writing in one sitting and I am sending it to you for publication.
“Mainstream remains the only link (…)

The last few days have been witness to several major developments capped by the February 28 general strike across the country the call for which came from all the central trade union organisations and independent federations. This strike, which incidentally brought into focus the trade unions’ all-in unity on specific demands of the common people and working class (although such unity had been forged earlier as well), evoked wide popular response in the urban areas in particular (notably in (…)

by HOSBET SURESH
The following is the statement of Justice Hosbet Suresh at a press conference held at the Gulberg Society, Ahmedabad on behalf of the Sabrang Trust and Citizen’s for Justice for Peace on February 27, 2012
How does one live with the recurring memories of a gruesome past? Of the hideous acts of mass murder, rape and destruction of properties and livelihood? We have recorded all such stories, as each one, the victims, and all kith and kin of the dead, narrated with tears in (…)