2021

‘You now say consume less For cardiac disease; But there was a time When you made fistfuls of me And the entire Empire trembled in unease.’ I looked down, a glistening grain of salt Was speaking to me From the shores of Dandi And I was listening. ‘Face the assault, Make salt your own way, This flaky Empire will certainly sway.’
I was inside Hriday Kunj Seated on Bapu’s white cotton bolster, When his staff leaned forward, ‘Why have you stopped walking to the bastis, you imposter?’ ‘My (…)

Where does beauty actually lie?
If it is in the ‘eyes of the beholder’,
do the searching eyes find it only
in the hills, snow capped peaks,
blooming flowers, flowing streams,
far away from the quotidian?
Or does it also dwell in the close,
intimate shot of the moment
focussed by mundane niceties
of the marginalised existence
that invites for a poetic journey
to discover the beauty of the banal?
— Ajit Das

* In Memory of Kamla Bhasin: Sept 24, 2021 | John Dayal
* Leadership Change in Punjab: Some Reflections | Prem Singh
* How UBI can make a difference to workers lives | Sandeep Kaur, Nandlal Mishra
* We are 99% | BB Ghosh
* My father was brutally killed by the Taliban | Muska Najibullah
* CNDP Statement on AUKUS and Quad

Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, October 2, 2021
The farmers’ movement was in the news again for its a national day of strike action on September 27, 2021. It is now ten months since this huge mobilisation appeared on the borders of Delhi. The news media may have stopped giving coverage to the farmers agitation but the mobilisation continues. Tens of thousands of peasants from mostly Punjab and some from Haryana and Parts of UP stay camped in the outer limits of Delhi. The long agitation (…)

Kamla Bhasin passes away, but her song of Azadi will reverberate among women, students, and many men
Till three months ago when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the liver, Kamala Bhasin was the salt and leaven of civil society in India. And specially in Delhi, where she lived, and cities she frequented around the globe, she was also the life and soul of the party.
Kavita Nandini Ramdas said of her:
“She sang us songs. Songs of yearning for a world free of hate.
She sang us (…)

IMPRESSIONS
The Ayodhya story is never old. The historical background, the personages involved, the tragedies and the triumphs associated with the city will always remain fresh in the minds of Indians. The main reason may be the religious dimension acquired through the story of Rama. But even without the religious link, Ayodhya has a certain fascination, or shall we say greatness, built into it.
This explains the continuing involvement of Rama in our everyday activities. This month (…)

73 years after his death, Mahatma Gandhi and his messages continue to be remembered in the context of many possible solutions for problems of a deeply troubled world. His birthday October 2 is a time for events in his memory in many parts of world, a time also for re-emphasizing his key precept of non-violence as a way of life.
Even in a world torn by many violent conflicts, statistics year after year show that the toll of everyday violence is even higher, in fact much higher. Violence (…)

by Sandeep Kaur, Nandlal Mishra*
Abstract: The recent migrant crisis has revealed the weaknesses of system and the vulnerabilities of Indian workers. The pandemic has affected the lives and livelihoods of workers like never before. For some workers, these changes were temporary. However, some were uprooted permanently and were forced to accept the sub-par employment opportunities. Moreover, the fear of a third wave looms large. Due to the informal nature of the majority of economic (…)

by Banhi Baran Ghosh *
ABSTRACT
The issue of Inequality seems to be kept in limbo in the democratic practice of this country contrary to its counterpart in the West, nonetheless, the problems emanating from inequality, having varied dimensions, have never been kept out of the purview and introspection of the eminent thinkers. This article makes an attempt to explore the underlying accounts of inequality articulated by eminent thinkers and the reasons thereof of the resilience of the (…)