2017

This article was written before the presidental elections in France and South Korea. Yet its contents are not yet outdated Here it is being published for the benefit of our readers.
The month of May is going to be momentous for international politics. Three countries—France, South Korea and Iran—are heading for presidential elections and politics in Europe, Far East and the Middle East will be in transition. Sharp ideological clashes characterise all three elections. All three are (…)

‘Wake up, baby, wake up.’ Cradling his infant twins sobbing Al-youssef uttered, choking back his tears.
Toxic gas: the silent killer, had snuffed out their life. The grieving father realised bodies in his arms were dead.
At their final resting place, in a heart-wrenching voice he mumbled: ‘Say goodbye, baby, say goodbye.’
Goodbye? Was it to a father they hardly came to know or to a world they got no chance to live in, before they were killed?
Ajit Kumar Das
[The aforementioned (…)

Once again the hardliners and moderates are confronting each other in the coming Iranian elections on May 19. There are over 100 candidates in the field. The moderates are led by Ebrahim Raeisi and the religious conser-vatives are likely to be led by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former President. The country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had tried to prevent a contest by asking Ahma-dinejad not to take part in it. In the 2013 elections, a moderate, Rohani, had been elected the (…)

The first Martha Farrell Awards for Women’s Empowerment were presented recently at a well-organised event in Delhi. These have been instituted to honour Dr Martha Farrell and her ideals. These awards recognise and honour mid-career individual and institutional contributions to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Dr Martha Farrell (1959-2015) is widely known and respected for her work in the areas of women’s rights, gender equality and adult education including distance education. She (…)

by Jajati K. Pattnaik
The OBOR (One Belt One Road) Forum for International Cooperation was held at Beijing on May 14-15, 2017 to build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. New Delhi boycotted the meeting because the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. As Gopal Baglay, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “Regarding (…)

The year 2017 brings good news for the Russian economy that looks all set for a steady growth trajectory overcoming the long crisis stemming from widespread international sanctions. The economy looks confident to register positive growth from the current year onwards. The most convincing argument in favour of the crisis being a thing of the past is the dynamic growth in industry as well as agriculture. According to the statistics available from Gosstat, the official statistics body of (…)

COMMUNICATION
In recent years extreme hostility between the CPM and Trinamul Congress (TMC) has been a predominant characteristic of the political scene in Bengal, so much so that there have been a lot of violent incidents leading to several deaths. There are several reasons why this extreme hostility between the two leading political parties in the State should end.
First and foremost, hostility of such an extreme nature between two political parties that time and again leads to (…)

by Prashant Kumar Sharma
The climate change issue has become a significant part of the global discourse today. Climate change poses an ‘existential challenge’ to the entire humanity. This could lead to the greatest environmental threat facing the planet. Moreover, this daunting challenge is often described as the ‘defining challenge of our age’. But there is a visible dearth of unanimity over the question of inception of the phenomenon of climate change.
Scientific Discourse
However, (…)

BOOK REVIEW
by B.P. mathur
On the Corridors of Power: The Theatre of the Absurd by Parimal Brahma; Patridge India; 2017; pp. 302
Parimal Brahma is one of the rare breed of civil servants who have retained intellectual honesty and independent outlook and were not overwhelmed by the corrupting influence of power, while working in senior positions in the government. He had a ring-side view of the government, having worked in the Ministry of Defence, Civil Aviation, Environment and the (…)

by Kamalakanta Roul
The following article was sent to us sometime ago but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons.
It is being published now as its contents are still relevant.
The globalising Indian economy has emerged as a brutal means of accumulating natural resources and also proved to be a sturdy thrust for displacement-related development. The creepy aspects of liberalisation and globalisation continue to exploit the unprocessed raw materials piled up in the tribal (…)