2014

This article is essentially a commoner’s view —one who lacks specialist knowledge of Political Science, understands what works for him, and what doesn’t. The relationship between a politician and a commoner should be give and take. That must be the criterion of judgment, the commoner feels. Much as he admires the politicians who, sitting in TV channels, parry questions, he wants voting to be peaceful, for he cares about his safety. A commoner wants no booth jams, no motorbike brigade; no (…)

Munkurai was on his way to a northern district town of Tripura, bordering on Bangla-desh, to attend a press programme more than one-and-a-half decade back.
While on his journey through the highway as part of a convoy, escorted by the para-military, he could hardly have anything, not even a glass of water. So, when the escort dropped the convoy at Monu station, crossing through all the hill ranges, the crowd got joyous to have something from the roadside food joints as they had overcome the (…)

The following is a statement issued on behalf of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners by its President, S.A.R. Geelani; Secretary-General, Amit Bhattacharyya; Vice-Presidents, Sukhendu Bhattacharjee and Bojja Tharakam; and Secretary, Public Relations, Rona Wilson.
As an under-trial political prisoner, Kobad Ghandy, was initially lodged in the High Risk Ward (a jail within a jail) of Jail no 3 of the Central Jail, Tihar in New Delhi. For Kobad Ghandy, who is a heart patient, (…)

The following is an interview of A.K. Ramakrishnan, a Professor at the Centre for West Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been one of those Indian scholars of international relations who continue to critique the USA and Israel’s hegemony, internalised by many as a fait accompli. An expert of West Asia, Islam and critical theory, Ramakrishnan strongly condemns Israel’s ongoing brutal attack on Gaza and thus calls for a complete boycott of Israel the way the (…)

COMMUNICATION
About 148 workers of Maruti Suzuki India have been languishing in jail following the unfortunate incidents at Manesar plant in Haryana in July 2012. Since then several media reports and eminent activists have expressed their surprise and indignation at the imprisonment of such a large number of workers and the one-sided actions of the authorities ignoring the workers’ viewpoint of the happenings in July 2012. Trade unions and family members have repeatedly emphasised that the (…)

EDITORIAL
What happened at New Delhi’s New Maha-rashtra Sadan on July 22 was indeed shocking, shameful and outrageous even by the standards of boorishness associated with the Shiv Sena, one of the trusted allies of the BJP heading the ruling NDA coalition government at the Centre. A group of 11 Shiv Sena MPs, apparently angry at not being served quality Maharashtrian food at the Sadan, resorted to vandalism which is quite natural for such elements, but one of them crossed the limits of (…)

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s reported statement on July 21 in Parliament regarding the Israeli aggression on Gaza is not only illogical but also morally bankrupt and cowardly.
It was one thing to have said that the Israel-friendly Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] can never bring itself to criticise Israel on any issue under the sun. The ideological affinity between the two protagonists is all too apparent. But to play with words on such a tragic issue as Gaza is a cowardly act; it (…)

by Vivek Kumar Srivastava
Not so much enthusiasm has been exhibited by the Modi Government in criticising the lethal aggression on Gaza, where hundreds have been killed by Israel. This explicitly shows that the government has shifted from the historically established Indian stand on Palestine.
The Modi Government seems to have discovered that the cause of the Palestinian struggle is almost over with the further inference that the fate of the Palestinians cannot be influenced by India; (…)

The Malaysian aircraft crash on July 17 over the Donbas sky in Ukraine that caused death to all the 298 passengers and crew members of the flight is no doubt a serious tragedy of huge magnitude. But playing dirty politics around the tragedy and using it as a weapon in the geopolitical game is absolutely immoral and obnoxious. The blame-game surrounding the incident is so intense and unprecedented that it appears as if some forces were just waiting for this kind of tragedy to happen in order (…)

I find it strange that New Delhi is not seriously considering the pros and cons of what happens once the American and NATO forces reduce their presence in Afghanistan only in the shape of a few thousand troops. US Secretary of State Kerry has visited Kabul to devise the policy after the withdrawal. But New Delhi is not in the picture.
No doubt, the Afghans have the best goodwill towards India because it has helped them to set up hospitals, schools and build roads. Yet Islamabad, which (…)