2017

As darkness fell on September 5, noted activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh was entering her home in Bengaluru, and unknown gunmen extinguished the life of a courageous and outspoken upholder of democracy and opponent of communalism. Gauri is the fourth well-known person after Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and M.M. Kalburgi, to be murdered for speaking out her mind. What is common to these four martyrs for the cause of democracy and freedom is that they were unequivocal in their (…)

by K. Ramachandran
“If Gauri had not attacked the RSS, she would have been alive today”—that was BJP MLA from Chikmagaluru C.D. Ravi. Kannada TV channels were flashing this statement made on September 7, 2017 repeatedly. The RSS-BJP people also sometimes speak the truth and in the process expose their true colours. This BJP MLA’s statement makes it amply clear the Gauri’s killing was a political assassination.
But who was Gauri Lankesh and why was she killed? We will draw a short profile (…)

by Gautam Sen
General Bipin Rawat, India’s Army Chief of Staff, has spoken twice publicly on India’s ability to wage a two-front war against China and Pakistan, inter-alia stating that internal insurrection, Maoists, etc. can be controlled simultaneously. The first such assertion was at the beginning of the recent Doklam border crisis, which drew sharp derisive reaction from China with the latter drawing reference to the Indian Army’s debacle in 1962. Thereafter, the General did not dwell (…)

To the men —
Cage me if you wish.
You can bind my hands and legs
But not my thoughts and ambitions
Remember that ideas are bulletproof.
To the society —
Condemn me if you wish.
You can insult and ostracise me
But you cannot close your eyes to the naked truth I show you.
Remember that our powerlessness is your only weapon.
To the fascists —
Kill me if you wish.
You can threaten to rape or destroy me
But my honour is not your slave.
Remember that the pen will (…)

Tonight I write the saddest lines, They killed my sister, last night. As she came back from work, Parked the car To open the gate to her house, They pumped three bullets Into her forehead, And there she lay Bleeding, oh! so forlorn.
They sped away on their motorbike, I know they will come again, I do not write these lines in vain; They killed Kalburgi, They killed Dabholkar, They killed Pansare, And called it a law and order game.
Tonight I write the saddest lines As my sister lay (…)

With a clutch of followers, Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat was about to storm into Kolkata when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelled the use of a hall which the RSS had hired for him to address a meeting. He was quite right when he criticised the cancellation as undemocratic. But the record of the RSS in polluting the Hindu-Muslim equation is so long that the precaution is quite in order. True, Mamata Banerjee looks dictatorial. But her act can be (…)

The US-Russia diplomatic tit-for-tat escalated with the announcement in Washington on August 31 ordering the Russians to shut down their consulate in San Francisco as well as two trade annexes. Moscow has regretted “the escalation of tensions” and promised a reaction after careful review of the “new measures”. The State Department press release is titled “Achieving Parity in Diplomatic Missions”, implying that the US has merely followed up the “Russian desire for parity in the diplomatic (…)

This article has been sent to us for publication by the eminent Marxist-Maoist thinker, Kobad Ghandy, from the Visakhapatnam Central Jail where he is currently lodged. He started writing it in Hyderabad Jail and completed it at the Visakhapatnam Central Jail. We are carrying here its first part due to paucity of space. The second part will follow shortly.
Part I : Evolving New World Order
It was the spring of 1972. Standing as an accused in a Court in London, I was asked for my (…)

by Shreya Upadhyay
The Indo-US strategic partnership is broad-based and has found resonance in shared values, democratic principles as well as geopolitical interests. Both the countries over the years have taken innovative steps and exceptional foreign policy measures to gain optimal and mutual benefits in the fast changing global order. Signing of the historic civil nuclear cooperation agreement, multiple defence deals, the defence technology handshake, regular maritime exercises and (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
Even if the Finance Minister’s wishes were horses, there is no escape from the economic blizzard that India is about to encounter. Without claiming to be a pundit one can without much difficulty discern from Venkataraman’s Budget oration that our economy is today in doldrums. Leaving aside the inescapable impact of the alarming rise in oil prices, the mismanagement of the economy itself is bound to create serious difficulties.
Six months of the new government has (…)