2020

by Ram Puniyani
From last three decades or so the debate comes up intermittently as to whether Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin. Many political parties; time and over again; have been taking up this formulation as a justification for Third front, which is away from BJP and Congress both. In previous Bengal elections, Congress-Left coalition did come up but could not muster a victory against Trinmool Congress. Currently such a choice is posed by many Dalit parties and lately (…)

November 22, 2020: Editors Guild of India
The Editors Guild of India is deeply concerned to see Padma Shri awardee and Editor of Shillong Times, Patricia Mukhim, being dragged through a cumbersome criminal charge procedure that is borne out of a complaint on one of her social media posts. The criminal complaint was filed in response to her Facebook post in July 2020 over a skirmish between tribal and non-tribal youth in Lawsohtun at a basketball court. Mukhim’s case is a reflection of the (…)

INDIAN SOCIAL ACTION FORUM (INSAF) A124/6, 1st floor, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi 110 016 Tel: +91-11-40582589 Email:insafdelhi[at]gmail.com; insaf[at]vsnl.com Website: http://www.insafindia.com
November 27th, 2020
Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
Dear Shri Narendra Modi ji,
Farmers have been marching towards Delhi from different states of India, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, determined to get their concerns on the new farm bills (…)

by Pulin B Nayak and Mark Lindley *
Abstract
Pulin (Formerly, Professor of Economics, DSE) praises a lecture by Mark (Professor of Eminence, MGMU) on UBI but says India cannot seriously consider implementing UBI, because certain other government tasks — including the availability of basic health facilities to all, effective implementation of the public distribution system, and better public education — need to be taken care of first. He sees Mark’s notion of using steep Pigouvian taxes (…)

by Mahesh Rangarajan
16 November 2020
India and the world of the 21st century have moved beyond the ideas of Jawaharlal Nehru. Environmental writers and activists have been prominent critics of his development model. More than any other speech, the one on big dams extolling them as ‘temples of modern India’ stand out in public memory.
Critics of big dams point to the displacement and the loss of ecological amenity that have so often plagued large river valley schemes in India, Asia, (…)

One of the most frightening aspects of our times is that the possibility of space warfare can become a reality. Although direct space warfare has not taken place so far, militarization of space has been increasing at several levels to such an extent that space warfare is no longer confined to fiction or games and the probability of this becoming a reality within the next decade is now quite high.
Space warfare can take place in several forms. One object placed in space can attack, destroy, (…)

(The following for understanding Indian media without consulting learned American journals: Editor)
Brahmamuhurt is the best time to learn. At that sacred hour before sunrise, the Goddess of wisdom is in a mood to give generously.
This morning, as usual, my online education is making me information-rich and wiser.
I learn that Anushka Sharma is pregnant and glowing. Sana Khan loved and married Anas for the sake of Allah. The marriage may seem crowded to some. But Sana wants (…)

BOOK REVIEW
by Susan Sreemala *
Election Commission of India: Institutionalising Democratic Uncertainties Authors : Ujjwal Kumar Singh, Anupama Roy Publisher: Oxford University Press, 09-Aug-2019 ISBN; 0199096961, 9780199096961 Length: 384 pages
Intuitively, elections mediate democracy. They provide the apparatus of political representation in democracies and much has been said about the method, outcomes, and environments in which elections perform the legwork of democracy in India. (…)

by Md. Chingiz Khan *
The multi-ethnic state of Manipur in north east India is home to different indigenous (yelhoumees) communities including the Meiteis, the Pangals, the Nagas and the Kukis. The Pangals speak Manipuri language as mother tongue like the Meiteis while the tribes such as Kukis and Nagas speak their own dialects. It is seemingly said that among the Pangals of Manipur, there are still lesser number of writers, poets, scholars, civil servants, historians and intellectuals. (…)