2014

A dozen or so people met on October 20, 2013 to speak of the recent violence against Muslims in Muzaffarnagar and to discuss the possibility of preventing such violence. That was the first meeting of what was named the People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism or PADS. The word “democracy” was added to “secularism” because it was thought that the forces behind religious violence in India are essentially fascist; and it follows that there can be no democracy without secularism.
The (…)

The Congress is a late starter. It firmed up its campaign for the April-May parliamentary elections only two months ago. The party was complacent till it was woken up by the dismal defeats in four of the five States during the Assembly polls.
The surveys conducted by different media hands confirm the drubbing which the Congress is all set to receive in the 2014 general elections. The predictions are that it may not even reach three-digit figures. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, (…)

I. Policy Contradictions
The UPA Government at the Centre, dominated by the Congress party, has followed during the last nine years a dual policy. On one side, a policy of marketisation, privatisation, liberali-sation and globalisation which has led to growing inqualities and dispartities between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, rapid urbanisation marked by a large number of slums and shanties with abominable conditions of living, rising consumerism and its concomitant hedonistic values (…)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced its intention to fight against corrupt leaders from all parties in the coming general election. So, anti-corruption seems to be its main plank since it has not yet announced anything else. Its success in the recent Delhi Assembly election was largely on an anti-corruption plank. Even the promises of cheaper/free water and electricity to the electorate were based on ending corruption in the provision of these services. Beyond these and a few other (…)

We, among the aam aadmi and the middle classes, have habitually seethed over the daily pinpricks that immiserate us. Yet at the defining moment we are caught in two minds. We are watching the AAP and its activist Ministers in Delhi from afar, both with alarm and reassurance. We are alarmed at the slapping around shown on television, particularly when spiced with comment that mobocracy is taking over. We are, however, reassured that barring aberrations a turnaround will rein in prices and (…)

COMMUNICATION
Recently, I had a chance to glimpse portions of a fascinating book by Anil Rajimwale under the title The Particle and Philosophy in Crisis: Towards a Mode of Information. I am yet to fully grasp its contents. But I was fascinated by the bold manner in which the author has tried to trace the development of the present capitalist society towards a ‘mode of information’ and the post-industrial phase, and also the crisis in philosophy.
Being a trade unionist and working among (…)

by Jeevesh Gupta
The difference between saying and doing is infinite, if you really look at the state of our nation today. A Central Parliament along with the Legislative Assemblies and Councils are filled with representatives elected by us who have been either speaking or filling pieces of paper with no action. Our history of last 66 years is verbose and has been written and rewritten but not acted upon yet.
The recent Assembly elections in Delhi saw tall promises being made by all the (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
Varanasi and Kanpur are the danger signals which Mulayam Singh Yadav can hardly afford to underplay. The significant impact that was made on the Indian political scene by his victory in the December elections along with his allies, ousting the BJP in office from the key State of Uttar Pradesh, would be grievously dissipated if his government is shown up as incompetent to govern.
The very character of the support that Mulayam Singh’s government has been able to muster (…)

by Arko Dasgupta
If people are to be believed, 2014 is slated to be a year of much significance for India and its citizens. What makes 2014 so special? Is it the numbers at play? They add up to 7, which I’m told can be a rather lucky number. That, however, is not an answer good enough to convince even the most credulous mind. Ah, the Winter Olympics are round the corner (where our athletes will be competing not under the national but under the Olympic Flag) and we have the FIFA World Cup (…)

When joint statements after high-level visits become verbose, a sense of uneasiness arises: is it an attempt to make a mountain out of a mole-hill? That impression becomes unavoidable when one reads the joint statement issued after the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Delhi, January 25-27.
To be sure, Abe’s visit attracted a lot of commentaries by Indian pundits. Some have gone overboard by even attempting revisionist theories that India never ever heard about Japan’s war (…)