2019

by Prem Singh
First phenomenon: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s team has succeeded in projecting the political debate from the ground on to the virtual world. The political and intellectual class has played a pivotal role in the last three decades in the crystallisation of this successful endeavour of Modi. As political and intellectual discussions began taking shape in a manner which led to the decimation of any opposition to the New Economic Policies introduced in 1991, the virtual world (…)

The eminent political philosopher of our time, Giorgio Agamben, argued in an interview: “. . . the state of exception or state of emergency has become a paradigm of the government today...The state of exception establishes a hidden but fundamental relationship between law and the absence of law.” He further argued in this context: “...governance through administration, through management, is in the ascendancy, while rule by law appears to be in decline”. Agamben highlighted a paradox in the (…)

It is that time of life
When no matter where you tie
The belt, the belly escapes
Over or under.
Let me say of old age that
Should you not have your pills
Ready to hand, it is a blunder;
And should you be well nonetheless,
It is a wonder.
There are those who wilt and die
For no discernible reason;
And there are those who flourish
Unexplained in many a mortal season.
But those alone are happy past
That proverbial three score and ten
Who feel beyond their ailments. (…)

by Ranbir Singh and Sonia Aharwala
The present States of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh had been carved out on November 1, 1966 as a result of the linguistic reorganisation of the trilingual State of erstwhile Punjab on the recommendation of the Parlia-mentary Committee on the Punjabi Suba headed by Hukam Singh. The Punjabi-speaking areas were left in Punjab for accepting the Akali demand for Punjabi Suba, the Hindi-speaking areas were constituted into the State of Haryana and the (…)

To understand the very critical times through which all inhabitants of planet earth are passing, the concept of a survival crisis is of crucial importance. Briefly, this concept refers to a range of serious problems which taken together can badly disrupt the special life-nurturing conditions of earth due to which such a wide diversity of life has flourished here. This disruption can take place within the 21st century, in fact as early as within the next few decades. Several very senior (…)

by Santosh Kumar Biswal
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) witnessed its catastrophic failure in three Hindi heartland States—Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan—in the recent State Legislative Assembly polls, when these are compared to the 2013 elections. Its strongholds of MP and Rajasthan saw its declining mode in these regions. Moreover, the BJP was badly routed in the recent polls in Chhattisgarh. Could the failure of the Public Distribution System (PDS) be responsible for (…)

by L. K. Sharma
The following is the fourth or concluding article written by the author on the theme of Politics and Hinduism. These were published as “Divine players in Indian Politics” (Mainstream, January 26, 2019), “Sowing Division: Caste is Crucial in Indian Elections” (Mainstream, February 9, 2019), “Rising Roar of Faux Faith in Poll-bound India” (Mainstream, February 16, 2019). A brief version of the following article appeared in Mainstream Annual 2018 (December 22, 2018) under the (…)

EDITORIAL
What happened today in Kashmir has once again brought back the issue of India-Pakistan confrontation on Kashmir to the forefront. The sheer magnitude of the terror strike in Avantipora in the Pulwama district, about 20 kilometres south of Srinagar, on the Jammu-Srinagar highway should make the authorities alarmed over the extent of alienation of the local Kashmiris from the Government of India and the security forces: from all available accounts of what took place this afternoon (…)

by Partha S. Ghosh
Now that India’s secularism is degenerating into one of competitive Hindutva, it is being seen as the Pakistanisation of Indian politics.
Even the liberal fringe of Pakistan, ever unhappy with all that has been happening in that country, looks at it that way. A video clip that went viral sometime ago lamented: “Alas, you too turned out to be like us” (in Urdu: Aap bhi hamare jaise nikle).
But this comparison is only partly true. In reality, India resembles (…)

If there is one issue on which almost every Sinhalese would agree, it is the incompatibility of federalism in Sri Lanka. Yet, their government has introduced a draft Constitution to replace the traditional executive presidency system with a Westminster type of government and a federal state.
The question naturally arises about the prospects of such a move; will such a Bill pass muster in a House consisting overwhelmingly of Sinhalese members? Will these legislators dare to antagonise their (…)