2019

Poet Subhas Mukhopadhyay’s birth centenary was recently observed in February 2019. An article on him appeared in Mainstream (March 2, 2019). This is another article on the poet. It was sent to us quite sometime ago but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons.
Subhas Mukhopadhyay was a unique intellectual, who enriched Bengali poetry and journalism by his distinct styles of writing, choice of words and idioms. Other than being a major Bengali poet and prose writer, he made (…)

BOOK REVIEW
by Muzamil Yaqoob
What Happened to Governance in Kashmir? by Aijaz Ashraf Wani; Oxford University Press; 2019; pp. 387; Rs 995.
“Breakdown occurs when a civilisation fails to respond creatively to its challenges. Instead of changing with the times, the declining civilisation idolises, say, an outworn technique, or institution, a form of government, a particular type of marketing, and so on, which was effective for one challenge but not for the next one.”
‘Democracy, Good (…)

This article, carried in www.newsclick.in some days ago, is being reproduced here, with due acknowledgement, for the benefit of our readers.
‘Mere samne waali khidki mein Ek chand ka tukra rehta hai; Afsos yeh hai, ki vo hamse, Kuch ukhda ukhda rehta hai.’
(In the window across, stays a piece of the moon, but what is sad is that it remains a bit alienated from me.)
I was greeted by this song from the Hindi film, Padosan, as I walked into the well-known human rights activist Asma (…)

Oh, forty-plus martyred soldiers, I know not Any of you, even if you are my fellow citizens. To tell you the truth, I hate soldiers, As I hate wars for which soldiers are meant. I hate patriotism that warrants wars; I hate seeing our neighbour as our enemy; I hate talking retaliation for your deaths; I hate seeking vengeance for your killings.
And yet, my heart bleeds when I think of you. You laid down your lives for the Nation; and I hate the existence of Nations that transform Citizens (…)

EDITORIAL
As we go to press news has come of a terror strike in Jammu. An explosive plannted under a bus in a crowded bus terminal in the city led to injury to 30 persons following the explosion in the bus with one of the injured succumbing to his injuries. With the arrest of a 17-year-old after the blast it has now been ascertained that this was the handiwork of the Hizbul Mujahideen. Several residents in the city have declared that in spite of this incident they will not allow terrorism (…)

by Purusottam Bhattacharya
The terror attack carried out by the Pakistani outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed, on the CRPF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway at Pulwama in south Kashmir on February 14 is unprecedented. Forty CRPF jawans lost their lives. It is said that the Pulwama incident has taken the largest toll of lives of all the terrorist attacks made in Kashmir for the last 30 years. This attack has again highlighted the total failure of the Modi Government’s Kashmir and Pakistan policy. (…)

Madness is a topic much discussed From ancient times to ours; Now a crime, now disease, Now an affliction of lovers.
Sane men keep safe distance From unaccounted laughter, Wishing to know what it is That the laughter may be after.
Madness mocks the day’s routine, Upsetting useful work; Often just under a civil skin, Waiting to go berserk.
So when just one goes mad the family Attempts a private cure; But when there are more the state appoints Professional counsellor.
But when madness (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
In the wake of the possibility of another Indo-Pak war breaking out shortly and the rise in jingoistic outbursts in the electronic media in particular, it is instructive to note what N.C. had written in his ‘New Delhi Skyline’ in this journal following the 1965 Indo-Pak war. We are thus reproducing the New Delhi Skyline by N.C. written on November 16, 1965 that appeared in Mainstream (November 20, 1965).
The many facets of the Shastri Raj provide a fascinating study (…)

When I was shaped into words with ink on paper, my creator though had a colour, a religion by birth, I had neither.
I spread far and wide, catching the eyes, entering the hearts of countless masses, resounding into the corners of a whole nation enslaved, its body tattooed, soul scarred.
I inspired them, transformed their passive dream into a fiery articulation. I led them through the burning summer, the dead of winter, the fury of dark, stormy night of their long march, keeping aflame (…)

MUSINGS
If the warlords are over with the war-cries, blatantly whipping up sentiments to further their dangerous political ploys, then it’s about time they look at the rising numbers of those getting lynched by the goon-brigades in the different States of the country. Uncontrolled and unleashed, these Right-wing goons are striking terror to such an extent that either they should be sent to the borders to take on the ‘enemy’, or else booked under any of the existing terror laws.
The (…)