2022

It is true that the Agnipath recruitment scheme is a contractual-soldier scheme. That is, a youth of 17 to 21 years of age will be recruited in the three armies on a contract for four years term. They will not be entitled to the facilities and social security available to the regular soldiers till now. (The concessions being talked about after massive, and widespread violent protests against the scheme are the government’s after-thought. How long this after-thought will last cannot be said.) (…)

by Radhakanta Barik *
INDIA IS THE LARGEST country of origin for international migrants. It is, thus, the world’s top recipient of remittances from Indians working abroad. Eight million workers working in the Gulf region help about forty million people within the country live well through these remittances, which not only benefit society but the government too. Besides the material benefits to families living in India, this access to funds allows people from small towns and villages to (…)

by Farooq Ahmad Bakloo *
Panchayati Raj means to uplift the common people socially, politically, and economically and also connect them with the governance. In India, the Panchayati Raj system is one of the significant cornerstones of the democratic structure. This Panchayati Raj system is also acknowledged by the constitution of India under the 73rd constitutional amendment. Its prime purpose was to provide the citizens with the right to run their local administration themselves according (…)

BOOK REVIEW __0__
Indian Foreign Service: Charms and Challenges by T.P. Sreenivasan
Current Books ISBN : 978-93-5482-615-3 Pages:108 Price: Rs 250 https://ebooks.dcbooks.com/indian-foreign-service-charms-and-challenges
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Nawaz Sharif told Inder Kumar Gujral that neither could India give Kashmir to Pakistan nor could Islamabad take it; most Indian expatriates may have their minds in India but do not want to live there; Foreign Secretary Jagat Mehta was eased out of office by a (…)

Reviewed by Jonathon Dreeze (Cornell College) __0__ Revising the Revolution: The Unmaking of Russia’s Official History of 1917
by Larry E. Holmes
Bloomington: Indiana University Press 2021. 220 pp. (paper) ISBN 978-0-253-05479-1; $27.99 (e-book), ISBN 978-0-253-05482-1.
Historians pride themselves on the ability to study the past objectively and produce quality academic research. However, as political developments continue in the United States, with local and state governments (…)

There are serious differences in perceptions and priorities between the Pacific island nations and larger powers in defining regional challenges and priorities. A strategic competition further complicates regional dynamics and undermines sovereign choices limiting options for sovereign islands.
Over the past several decades, China has sought to gain militarily, economic and political clout over small states and tiny island countries throughout the pacific region. The US and its allies (…)

by Huw Thomas *
June 24, 2022
In what has been called the “biggest moment for workers’ rights in a quarter of a century”, the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted a safe and healthy work environment as one of its five fundamental principles and rights at work for all at its June 2022 international conference. This is the first extension of workers’ human rights in almost 25 years and it means governments must now commit to respect and promote the right to a safe and healthy (…)

by Thomas Rowley Serhiy Guz
20 July 2022
Zero-hours contracts set to be legalised and 70% of workforce exempted from workplace protections
The Ukrainian parliament has passed two new radical measures on labour liberalisation, prompting fears of Ukrainians losing workplace rights permanently as Russia’s war puts huge pressure on the country’s economy.
In two laws passed on Monday and Tuesday, MPs voted to legalise zero-hours contracts and made moves towards removing up to 70% of the (…)

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Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, July 16, 2022
The Republic of India’s institutions of state and governance have been under strain over the past decades. But, the post-2014 phase stands in a league of its own. The ruling BJP holds absolute dominance and control in the Parliament and beyond. We are living in a situation where the opposition is very small in numbers and facing a state of siege both inside and outside the Parliament. There is a near breakdown of trust, between the ruling (…)