2017

by Sardar Amjad Ali
Dr Subramanian Swamy, a Tamil-born highly qualified person and Harvard economist, an eloquent speaker in my estimation, might have failed in his memory. In this age of 78 years (just one month and 15 days older than me), he seems to have forgotten this writer who had the privilege of being the first speaker from the ruling Congress party in the Rajya Sabha when in the year, 1976, Shri Om Mehta, the then Minister of State in the Department of Home Affairs, moved a motion (…)

by Rajaram Panda
India’s engagement with the African continent registered a new milestone when President Ram NathKovind made a visit to two African states —Ethiopia and Djibouti—in the first week of October 2017, during which many agreements, including on institutionalisation of foreign office consultations and greater economic cooperation, were signed. This was the President’s first trip abroad since taking office and the visit to Ethiopia was the first by an Indian President after 45 (…)

by Aishwarya Bhuta
Padmavati says— It does not matter Whether I was a queen Or a figment of someone’s imagination. They did not let me live. Neither in dreams Nor in reality.
Hadiya says— But I am alive! I voluntarily adopted another religion And loved someone who followed it too. They did not listen to me. They labelled me as emotionally unstable And imprisoned me.
Padmavati says— Yes, you are imprisoned And so am I. The only difference is You are in a house While I was in a palace. I (…)

The following is the Socialist Party’s, statement on US President Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. The statement was issued by the President, of the Socialist Party, Dr Prem Singh, on December 9, 2017.
The Socialist Party believes that the unilateral and arbitrary announcement of Donald Trump, the US President, to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to shift the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to this city is coercive and dangerous, to say the least, (…)

by Mustafa Khan
As of now, the evening of December 17, 2017, the virtual black out of the 2002 carnage in the Gujarat election campaign is causing dehydration in Modi. The ghost of Banquo has reappeared to claim him as victim. It is not 2002 when President Musharraf took the matter of mass murder to UNO because Modi had termed the September-December 2002 campaign as fight between Modi and Mian Musharraf. In the 2007 elections Modi used Sohrabuddin as the villain whose murder he not only (…)

by Nasima Khatoon
The uncertainty over the Iran-US nuclear deal not only has implications for the Arab world and US but also for South Asia, especially India. Until now New Delhi has not issued any official statement on this issue, but this could undermine India’s larger interests in West Asia. If the US Congress decides to impose the economic blockade again, it will be a major setback for India’s West Asia policy, considering some ongoing and upcoming projects between Iran and India and (…)

by Prashant Kumar Sharma
Background
Climate change has become a global challenge that does not respect any national or international boundary. Every nook and corner of the globe is facing the irreversible impacts of climate change. The impacts of climate change are palpable in terms of changes in extreme weather events, increases in temperature and sea-level rise. All anthropogenic activities, including greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, are driving climate change and these (…)

by Naren Singh Rao
Over three lakh farmers from various parts of the country marched to Delhi on November 20, 2017. While the ‘nation’ of politicians and television anchors was busy discussing whether the film Padmavati should be allowed to release or not, the farmers with dedication to their demands, protested against the spiral of miseries and sufferings being imposed upon them by the government of the day.
The protest was indeed a massive one, organised by as many as 184 farmers’ (…)

by Pradeep Nair and Sandeep Sharma
‘Look East’ is a phrase which pops up occasionally among the Asian nations whenever they seek to counter Western dominance and the West’s vested agenda. The possible reason for this East-ward inclination could be the internal geo-polity of Asia and the domestic situation of a particular nation. Whatever may be the case, the regions like Tibet, Taiwan and Xinjiang which are fighting a battle for autonomy under the Chinese regimen, are pushed to redraw (…)

by B.D.G.
Veteran journalist Sukharanjan Sengupta passed away on December 9 in a Kolkata hospital at the age of 85. He was suffering from old-age ailments for some time. His association with and reportage of the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 made him well known.
He began his career in the now defunct Loksevak daily of the erstwhile Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party (which later merged with the Socialist Party to become Praja Socialist Party) in 1950. After the paper closed down he joined (…)