2021

Mangboilal Lhouvum
The death of Mangboilal Lhouvum, a daily wager and father of four, on August 4, 2021, in Manipur, has brought extra-judicial killings once again onto the ‘front page’ .
The horrific manner in which the poor man died has raised great, widespread concern and anger, especially in Manipur. The killer is allegedly an army man who was named by Mangboilal in his dying moments. This has yet again raised outcry against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA). (…)

by Ram Puniyani
Musings on 75th year of our Independence
With India getting freedom from colonial rule, the first Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru summed up the aspirations and dreams of the leaders and participants in the movement in his famous and apt speech “Tryst with Destiny”. He stated, “The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us.” True to these words he initiated a process of strengthening of (…)

IMPRESSIONS
First impressions are of course misleading. When Savji Dholakia bought a bungalow in Mumbai’s classy Worli Sea Face for Rs 18 crore, the image of the "filthy rich" must have crossed many minds. But that image no doubt softened when further information about this rich man became available. Apparently he is an exceptional rich man. He shares his wealth with his employees. Gifts are routinely given by him to his staff; not naam-ke-wastay gifts, but gifts like houses and (…)

by Mohammad Sajjad and Md. Zeeshan Ahmad *
ABSTRACT
This essay attempts at exploring the phenomenon of gangsterism and “entrepreneur criminal” in a small industrial town, Jamshedpur. In recent decades, phenomena of organised crime in rural areas and in small towns have mushroomed like menace. Yet, this remains largely neglected in academic explorations. Caste factor is looked into the composition of institutional politics. We often hear of crime-politics nexus, yet, it is hardly (…)

by Rajaram Panda
It is almost established that Netaji Subash Chandra Bose died in a plane crash in Taihoku, the present day Taipei, Taiwan, on 18 August 1945. However, conspiracy theories appeared within hours of his death, which persisted for decades and kept alive various martial myths about Bose. Many of his supporters in India and elsewhere refused at the time to believe the fact or the circumstances of his death. What has transpired from credible sources that Subash died of (…)

by Mohiuddin Mondal and Abhijit Jana * Democracy as defined by Abraham Lincon, the sixteenth president of the USA, is "government of the people for the people and by the people" People means the citizens of the state, those who have the authoritative power of consent. That power is handed over to the political leadership, which has committed multiple security promises, including food, clothing, and shelter, for five (…)

by P. S . Jayaramu
August 9, 2021
The Karnataka Science and Technology Academy appointed a Committee headed by the former Vice Chancellor of Karnatak University, Prof. S.K. Saidapur, along with a few former Vice chancellor like Dr. H.A. Ranganath, Dr. B.G. Mulimani and others to examine the state of science education in the State. The Committee has come up with a Policy Paper entitled ‘Revamping Science Education in Karnataka’. An attempt is made here to present a summary analysis of its (…)

by Abid Ahmad Shah
Modernism has brought about globalisation of education, where newer tools, techniques and processes emerge to aid and assist the process of teaching and learning development. The yesteryear of 2020 was a watershed in the historical chronicles of education which brought the world to a standstill due to Covid-19 pandemic and hastened about a paradigm shift in teaching and learning process.
Over the world, what followed afterwards was the adoption of online mode of (…)

In India the words Hindu and Muslim always bring into our minds conflict, riots, rapes, killings and incessant bickerings. There are numerous stories that narrate the love and cooperation between Hindus and Muslims in India to show that they coexist as the citizens of our country. But such narratives are blurred by the actions of the bigots and fanatics of both sides. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas tells in his autobiography—I Am Not An Island: An Experiment in Autobiography—the touching story of an old (…)

by Sukla Sen
The Deal, it may be recalled, had been clinched - at the conclusion of a (tension-filled) process stretching over more than three years, back in 2008 October .
Close to thirteen years have elapsed.
Now - out of the blue, a cock-and-bull story has surfaced after the lapse of short thirteen years!
In quest for a lucrative appointment?
Knowing the influence that the Left parties wielded in the United Progressive Alliance government of Dr Manmohan Singh, China perhaps (…)