2019

Introduction
It has been evident for some time that the judicial system in India is in a state of crisis. It is also increasingly obvious that this crisis is interconnected with a crisis in the polity and, in turn, has ramifications for the polity. The starkest illustration of this so far is provided by the chain of events surrounding the complaint by an ex-employee of the Supreme Court of India that became public on April 19-20, 2019. This complaint led to responses from the judicial (…)

by Mahendra Ved
Governing general elections in as vast and diverse a nation as India is never easy; it becomes more difficult when integrity and impartiality of the poll administrator are doubted.
India’s polity, despite its robustness and seven decades’ working, is in turmoil as never before and appears divided. Causing and deepening the crisis, ironically, is an election that is being fought no-holds-barred.
Governing this vast and diverse nation is never easy. It is more difficult (…)

“In Hinduism, conscience, reason and independent thinking have no scope for development.... If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt be the greatest calamity for this country. No matter what the Hindus say, Hinduism is a menace to liberty, equality and fraternity. It is incompatible with democracy. Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.” —Dr B.R. Ambedkar
Pragya Singh Thakur claimed at Bhopal on April 19, 2019 that “Hemant Karkare died because of my curse”. In her own words, (…)

For citizens of India who still care about preserving constitutional democracy, it was a reassuring moment when four senior-most judges of the highest court in the land confided publicly their fear that democracy was “in peril”. Their reference was to the coercive and unlawful attempts to influence the all-important independence of the judicial branch of the state.
It is this principled anguish of the highest court that then encourages the citizen to ask a related question. Is it not the (…)

A casual glance at the reports of human rights organisations testifies gross human rights violations in the Kashmir Valley after the enactment of the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990. The recent unusual order of the Governor, made effective from April 7, 2019, has banned movement of civilian traffic on the 270 km Jammu-Srinagar-Baramulla highway twice a week from dawn to dusk, in order to facilitate the movement of security personnel. This ban has already had (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s 158th birth anniversary was observed last Thursday (May 9, 2019). On this occasion we are reproducing a piece by N.C. on Tagore written 78 years ago, in 1941. It was published in The Calcutta Municipal Gazette—Tagore Memorial Special Supplement, September 13, 1941 (that appeared after the Poet’s death on August 7, 1941). This piece was carried under the pseudonym Vanguard. Though written during World War II when the global scenario was (…)

by L.K. Sharma
What are the current elections about? About an “endangered” majority, misdeeds of the “anti-nationals” colluding with a minority, Pakistan being threatened with a nuclear war, a Congress Prime Minister travelling by an aircraft-carrier in 1988, and other past events!
These elections are not about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s false promise of economic nirvana. These are not about the disastrous policy decisions taken by him, a record rise in unemployment and falling (…)

by Binoy Viswam
These eventful days of hectic electioneering reveal the real character and content of Indian politics of the present and future. In the ultimate analysis, this war between various political parties and coalitions broadly point to a single fact. The final test of strength in India will be between two ideologies—the ideology of secularism and the ideology of theocratic fundamentalism. The RSS is the spearhead of the ultra-Right, theocratic, fundamentalist forces indebted to (…)

by R.G. Gidadhubli
The Ukrainian presidential election, held on April 21, 2019, has created history by electing 41-year-old comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy as the head of state with a landslide victory; he secured 73 per cent of votes against 53-year-old incumbent President Petro Poroshenko who got 24 per cent. He has thus ensured his success to take over the presidency of Ukraine from June 3, 2019 and will be the sixth President after Ukraine became independent. It needs to be stated that in (…)

by Nayakara Veeresha
February 20 is observed every year since 2009 by the United Nations as the “World Day of Social Justice (WDSJ)”. The purpose is to take stock of the plight of injustice across the globe and to push for tenable solutions in mitigating the same. It recognises the need to alleviate the levels of poverty, social exclusion, of reducing unemployment, addressing gender inequality, promoting effective participation in decision-making and access to opportunities and justice for (…)