2017

by K. Narayana
I am a born Hindu. I also like the religion and my caste and maintain social relations. But while taking either political or organisational decisions never can religion or caste influence me. At the same time I will not sail either with religion or caste in the above matters. It is purely my personal belief which our pious Constitution permits me to hold. Above all, I do not belong to the Hindutva fold and I am not casteist at all. The BJP has come to power in the name of (…)

by A.V.V.S.K. Rao
The World is Governed by Three Things—Wisdom, Authority and Appearance.
Wisdom for thoughtful people, Authority for Rough People, and Appearances for the great mass of Superficial people who can look only at the outside.—Raynal, Abbe (1711-1796), French philosopher
The Aggregate Happiness of Society, which is best promoted by the practice of a virtuous policy, is or ought to be the End of all Government. —George Washington (1732-1799, First President of USA) (…)

by Arup Banerji
The following is a presentation by the author at a panel on the centenary of the Russian Revolution, Department of History, Delhi University, November 7, 2017.
The second decade of Soviet history, the 1930s, was volatile and consequential in ways that none of the other six were. The revolution that occurred then, explicitly designated as a revolution, and the third since February 1917, recast economy and society in ways that justify the use of adjectives like tectonic and (…)

by Samit Kar
On November 7, 1917, the world could experience an alternative form of governance when socialism came into being in the Soviet Union. But despite an incredible sacrifice of crores of human lives, socialism was unable to deliver and soon it suffered its eclipse. Why did it happen? There are, no doubt, many reasons behind the failure of socialism. The present paper highlights one of the fundamental causes without taking into consideration the entire range of causes due to (…)

This is my broom and that is your world. I clean your yards and roads. Red in blood oozing from your beatings I clean your yards and roads. These are your rags and litter, not mine; I own nothing to show wasteful habits —cartons, wrappers, Greeting cards, food platefuls All I can show is the blood dripping from my body. Centuries of beatings are consecrated in the chantings of Manu (They ‘tut tut’ in papers and on TV) while my blood mingles with my sweat as I clean your yards and roads. (…)

by Gautam Sen
The appointment of Shri R. K. Asthana as the Special Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was challenged recently in the Supreme Court of India through a public interest litigation petition filed by the NGO, Common Cause. The ground for challenge was purportedly the reservation expressed by the incumbent CBI Director on Asthana‘s selection owing to some investigation and vigilance cases pending against him with the same agency. The Union Government contested (…)

Bent on a pair of crutches he makes his tentative move. Stretching the left crutch he feels his balance, then with a slow, sidelong jerk pulls the right hand crutch; his frail body shivers, steadying.
After a few steps, he stops, inhales with a bellowing chest the fresh morning air, leaning on the crutches and memories of days when he was a part of the world. He now lives outside.
A couple of joggers trot past him; a limping dog leaves him behind. The backdrop pins him a sagging figure, (…)

BOOK REVIEW
Kandhamal: Introspection of Initiative for Justice 2007-2015 by Vrinda Grover and Saumya Uma; Media House and United Christian Forum; 2017; pages 304.
Being a member of the majority community it is difficult for this author to assess the inner threat that the members of the minority groups and communities feel living among the vast mass of the majority community. We are really oblivious of their threat perception and their inner feelings. With such a blockage of mind, how (…)

WOMEN’S WORLD
by Abha Yadav
In a first against its own order, Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra has stated in October 2017 that the Apex Court of the country was not in agreement with its earlier judgement on the Anti-Dowry Law. The court was hearing the petition filed by an NGO seeking to include two women in the three-member family welfare committee stipulated by the July 2017 judgement of the Supreme Court.
“We are not in agreement with the earlier judgment diluting the (…)

by A.K. Biswas
Bihar was euphoric over the centenary cele-brations of the Patna University graced by the presence of the Prime Minister of India. After the universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, the nineteenth century saw the birth of two more universities—the fourth, Punjab University at Lahore (now in Pakistan) in 1882, and the fifth, Allahabad University in United Provinces (now UP) in 1887—under the colonial masters. The University of Patna, with jurisdiction over Orissa and (…)