2019

Writing on the social dynamics of communal violence in India, social anthropologist, Julia Eckert, observed: “The success of Hindu nationalist organisations...lies not simply in their nationalist credo but in the specific opportunities of action and participation that are inherent in their mode of operation and form of organization. They reset the terms of inclusion and exclusion not solely ideologically but also in a practical manner offering local possibilities of action.”1
A recent (…)

by Suparna Sanyal Mukherjee
The rabble of India was habituating in and around the Indian woodlands since time immemorial, but they had no legal rights to their homes, lands or livelihood sustenance.
The authorities of the Indian Government have had all the powers over the forests and forest dwellers.
As a result both forest and forest dwellers were diminished and disappointed uninterrup-tedly. The Forest Rights Act 2006 recognised forest-dwellers’ rights and made conservation (…)

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is unhappy with the BJP. After the Lok Sabha elections, Modi took only one Minister in his Cabinet from the JD(U) even though the JD(U) had won only one seat less than BJP from Bihar. An angry Nitish refused to join the Union Cabinet. Now he has asked the Special Branch of Bihar to inquire into the activities of the RSS and its affiliated organisations in the State. This has angered the BJP no end. Whether the JD(U) of Nitish and BJP (…)

by Ram Puniyani
In the 17th Meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council the issue of the rise in hate crimes and mob lynchings against Muslims and Dalits in India was raised. While Prime Minster Modi stated that minorities will be protected, the incidents of lynching are on the rise. A Muslim youth, Tabrez Ansari, was tied to the pole, beaten mercilessly and asked to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Another Muslim, Hafiz Mohammad Haldar, was thrown from the train; another Faizul Usman, a taxi (…)

MUSINGS
Shouldn’t the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, have the Pehlu Khan lynching case re-opened and with that re-examined? Yes, he should. So that the murdered man and his family get justice and also that his killers are not bailed out and with that allowed to roam about scot free, as they are doing so.
I’m simply appalled and amazed at the very turn of events. Short of having the dead man’s broken bones and frame (that is, whatever remains of that!) dug out from his grave, (…)

IMPRESSIONS
Here is an oddity that has not received the attention it deserves: in the voting last May, the south broke from the rest of India—and Karnataka broke from the rest of the south. What made Karnataka go out of step with Telangana, Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala? Dravidian roots are common to all of them, yet one stands apart. What explains this excep-tionality?
Not that all southern States have a unitary approach to life. They are as different in their politics as they are in (…)

by Jayati Ghosh
When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitha-raman’s Budget speech omitted numbers relating to the government’s overall revenue and expenditure, for both the previous and current years, this was widely commented on. After all, these numbers are the reason for having a Budget speech in the first place—to provide Parliament and the general public a quick overview of the state of the Central Government’s finances. Her response to this criticism was that all these numbers are available (…)

by Suranjita Ray
The Budget has always been interpreted as an instrument of social and economic reforms alongside an innovator of far-reaching reforms in fiscal policies. It has a vital role to play in the economy of a welfare state as it aims at bringing social and economic transformation by removing inequalities, poverty and unemployment. As an important step towards the overall development of the nation, the Budget focuses on fulfilling the dreams of every section of society, including (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
July 16 this year marked Aruna Asaf Ali’s 110th birth anniversary. She passed away in the Capital on July 29, 1996. N.C. wrote this tribute after her passing 23 years ago.
Aruna Asaf Ali: A Tribute
Generations spanning over centuries have been told that the French Revolution devoured its own children. In a sense, this could be said also of the Russian Revolution in which many of its heroes had themselves to face the firing squad.
There is however the other side, (…)

TRIBUTE
by Sadasiva Chamarthy
Comrade Shameem passed away after battling cancer for months. After initial diagnosis, he maintained his composure, started undergoing usual routine checkups, then under- went chemocycles but in between regularly attending office, writing editorials and partici-pating in editorial board meetings either in office or at home if his health did not permit him to move out of home. But biology has its own laws. The body weakend and other infections took over (…)