2016

DOCUMENT
We, the persons listed below, a group of retired civil servants belonging to different All India and Central Services, who have worked in the Government of India (GoI), State governments and a wide range of governmental and other institutions, would urge all constitutional institutions in India, the media and general public to reflect upon the deeply disquieting trends visible in the public sphere and in our polity today. These developments are causing deep anguish to us as they (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
Robin Raphel came and went as was expected at the present state of Indo-US relations. The visit of a junior officer of the US State Department was played up by a section of the establishment as if this country has chosen to downgrade itself to the status of a nondescript Timbuctoo, where everything short of a red-carpet and a presidential guard of honour was provided for.
The manner in which she had hit the headlines in the last few months—questioning the very (…)

by Sanhita Mukherjee
Recently there was a frightening report in a mass circulated vernacular daily of Kolkata. The report indicated that the Ghoramara island of the Sundarbans, situated just three miles away from the Bay of Bengal, is now on its way to obliteration as the advancing river is certain to gobble it up in the near future. Only 3000 bighas of land now remain out of the 29,000 bighas which constituted the island previously.1
The report should raise consternation as in the event (…)

by R.G. Gidadhubli
Russia is facing a major economic crisis. The magnitude of the economic crisis is evident from the following. In 2015, as per official sources, the GDP declined by 3.7 per cent, while a few experts contend that the fall was nine per cent. During the last couple of years Russia has also been facing the problem of decline in investment by 8-10 per cent and has been suffering from a high inflation rate of over 11-15 per cent. In 2015, Russia’s imports declined and the (…)

“There is bound to be lingering doubt at the end of the day whether President Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba measured up as a ‘historic visit’. What is Cuba’s history without Fidel Castro? Except for a last-minute drama, the possibility of Fidel receiving Obama at his home seems very remote. And that caps the optics of Obama’s visit despite the red carpet welcome he received.” (Mail)
Washington put on a brave face saying no meeting with Fidel was planned; neither side sought one; and, the (…)

by Arunava Narayan Mukherjee
“Work culture has to come from within”, “China and Japan have progressed owing to their work culture, while we cannot progress as we do not possess it to their level.”
Division Bench of Arun Mishra, Chief Justice, and Justice Joymalya Bagchi of Calcutta High Court, February 8, 2013 during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the Court’s intervention to maintain normal conditions during the two-day nationwide strike from February 20, 2013 (…)

EDITORIAL
Today is March 23, the eightyfifth anniversary of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom. On this day in 1931 three intrepid revolutionaries—Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru—were hanged in Lahore Central Jail by British imperialism, an event that left a deep scar in the minds of our people. As Ajoy Ghosh, the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (the last topmost leader of the united Communist Party), a close associate of Bhagat Singh and one of the accused in the Lahore (…)

The following is the latest article written by Kobad Ghandy, the noted Marxist-Maoist thinker, now lodged in Tihar Jail 3. He first sent it to The Indian Express requesting them for publication at the earliest as it is topical—linked to the JNU issue; however, since he did not hear anything from them, he sent it to us for publication. We are thus carrying it at the earliest possible opportunity for the benefit of our readers.
What is real nationalism/patriotism? Quite naturally, love for (…)

“People must everywhere learn to defend themselves against misbehaving individuals, no matter who they are. The question of non-violence and violence does not arise. No doubt the non-violent is always the best, but where that does not come naturally, the violent way is both necessary and honourable. Inaction here is rank cowardice and unmanly. It must be shunned at all cost.” —M.K. Gandhi’s statement in Sevagram, June 22, 1942; published in Harijan, 28/6/1942; Collected Works, Vol. 1, LXXVI (…)

The judiciary in India has a long way to go to retrieve its reputation. One judgment by the Allahabad High Court which said that dissent should be “protected” cannot rub off the stigma it acquired during the Emergency. This is still beyond my comprehension, even after some 35 years since the judgment was pronounced.
The judiciary caved in and upheld that Parliament could suspend the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. Even the imposition of the Emergency was justified. Only (…)