2015

A quickly assembled loud speaker atop a make-shift temple first blared the rumour that, allegedly, a cow had been slaughtered in the village and that Hindus must gather apace. Simultaneously, that wonder from Silicon Valley called Whatsapp helped spread the good word within minutes, enabling a large mob to collect in front of the only two Muslim families in the village of Bisada in Dadri, Western Uttar Pradesh.
And, lo and behold, “beef” was discovered in the refrigerator at one of the (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
In the wake of the horrendous incident in Bisada village at Dadri, we reproduce here N.C.’s editorial in Mainstream Annual 1980 highlighting the happenings in Moradabad in August 1980. It is followed by the reproduction of a first-hand report by a Special Correspondent on the Moradabad riots that was published in this journal’s August 23, 1980 issue.
Today‘s Imperative
The time has come when we can no longer afford to indulge in mutual recrimination. The time has (…)

by S.N. Sahu
Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das was one of the extraordinary personalities of modern India. He was born in Odisha on October 9, 1877 seven years after the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and breathed his last in 1928, twenty years before the assassination of the Father of our Nation. He lived only for fiftyone years. But his inspiring legacy of service and sacrifice and modern approach to social change and nation-building endures. What he did in the context of India in general, and Odisha in (…)

I have not been able to understand why Pakistan is reluctant to recognise heroes who went to the gallows during the national struggle for independence. Bhagat Singh is one of them. Eightyfour years ago he was sentenced to death by the special court at Lahore and was hanged in the city jail. Pakistan should lead the celebrations.
In the thickening Islamic atmosphere, Bhagat Singh is a kafir. Bhagat Singh’s life should be taught in Pakistan’s schools as it is done in India. There is nothing (…)

by Dipa Dixit
India is home to 17 per cent of the world’s children, and has the world’s largest child population. Despite this, India’s children are often neglected and their rights ignored. Of the 430 million children in India, an estimated 55 per cent—a staggering 236.5 million—currently experience rights’ violations. Yet children are not considered a key audience segment in either news broadcasting or the print media.
India’s media landscape, one of the oldest and largest in the (…)

book review
by Noor Zaheer
Indian Women: Contemporary Essays, editors: Devaki Jain and C.P. Sujaya; Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broad-casting, Government of India; 2015; pages: (i)- (xi) + 235; Price: Rs 335.
Feminist criticism grew from the moment attention was slowly but definitely focused on images of women in societies and particularly urban, escorted analysis of the socio-economic developments. Women’s effort to construct a movement to represent their (…)

by Sangeeta Thapliyal
Nepal created history by writing a new Constitution through an elected Constituent Assembly. The Constitution was promulgated on September 20 in the Constituent Assembly hall which acted as working place for the CA. On the historic day, the CA building was decorated with lights, flowers and balloons. People were invited to witness and be part of the occasion. The CA members, heads of diplomatic missions, party leaders, and invited guests were inside the main hall. In (…)

Jayaprakash Narayan (the venerable ‘JP’ of Indian politics) was born on October 11, 1902 and passed away on October 8, 1979. To make his 113th birth anniversary we are carrying the following article.
by Vivek Kumar Srivastava
The initial idea of socialism captivated the mind of Jayaprakash Narayan in his student days when he was engrossed in higher studies; he realised that India was being exploited by the colonial power, a Marxian thesis, which he accepted as the real analysis to the (…)

WOMEN’S WORLD
by Shahla Tabassum
The loss of human life in any form is not good for any society, as we know human beings are one of most important creatures of God and, more importantly, constitute vital human resources of the country. A report on Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2014, compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau and released recently, shows the grim picture of our society. The suicide defined in this report is deliberate termination of life and the essential (…)

IMPRESSIONS
When 10 million Bangladeshis poured into India to escape from the brutalities of Pakistan’s army, war followed. When 12 million Syrians were uprooted and four million of them fled across unwelcome borders to get into Europe, a good number perishing in the seas on the way, no liberation war broke out because too many players were working at cross-purposes.
But with the rise and rise of the Islamic State, its barbarous beheadings and proclaimed goal of conquering the globe, the (…)