2022

Book Review by Ram Puniyani
__0__ Gujarat, Cradle and Harbinger of Identity Politics: India’s Injurious Frame of Communalism
by Jan Breman and Ghanshyam Shah
Tulika Books, New Delhi 2022. 388 Pages Price: Rs. 1200 ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 819505594X ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8195055944 __0__
India has witnessed communal violence from over a century. The Gujarat carnage stands out as a major blot in the series of acts of violent episodes for more reasons than one. This was a state where even before (…)

[The below article was written before the fast-paced developments in Pakistan where the Supreme court ruled in favour of a vote in Parliament that led to the outer of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the subsequent election of Shabaz Sharif as the new Prime Minister]
by Ayesha Jalal *
April 6, 2022
Pakistan, a nuclear nation that is home to some 220 million people, is in a political mess.
On April 3, 2022, Prime Minister – and former national sporting hero – Imran Khan dissolved (…)

The Committee of Relations of the International of Anarchist Federations (CRIFA) met in Marseille on 19–20 March 2022, and discussed matters on the ongoing war in Ukraine. Although there are different views on some points among member Federations, on which we commit to continue exchange and constructive discussion, important common points emerged from the discussion.
We condemn the criminal aggression to Ukraine promoted by the Russian government, alongside all militarisms, and we stand in (…)

by Gideon Levy *
14 March 2022
Both Russia and Israel justify their invasions under the auspices of ’self-defence’, and in both cases, that is untrue
The shockwaves from the Russia-Ukraine war quickly reached Israel, revealing some embarrassing truths and challenging Israelis to see their country as it actually is - so very different than what they like to imagine.
It began with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s declaration, or its subsequent military occupation, any different than (…)

* India’s Agribusiness Firms Consolidate Power | Pritam Singh
* Agitated Lankans Could Learn From Their Calm Indian Counterparts | Badri Raina
* A.R. Wadia (1888-1971) - Remembering a Liberal Educationist | Murzban Jal
* Russia’s assault on Ukraine - An appeal to everyone who speaks Russian

Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, April 16, 2022
Summary justice with disregard for rule of law has been on open display in Madhya Pradesh following Ram Navami violence in Khargone recently. Police rounded up and arrested over 70 odd suspects involved in the violence in Kahrgone and a day after the violence sent in bulldozers to demolish their homes or shops and some 45 properties were demolished. Institutions of the state and the enforcement agencies are supposed to strictly follow the (…)

Agribusiness corporations have been on the rise in India since the 1970s. Unless there is a change in government policy, smaller farms face a bleak future.
April 5, 2022
A qualitative change took place in Indian agriculture in the 1970s: the government then had announced that the country had achieved domestic food self-sufficiency, and also that India had a surplus of food for export.
Fifty years on, this idea of achieving a food surplus remains elusive for India, especially since the (…)

Sri Lankan people are mostly sedate and peace-loving by temperament.
But, now, they are agitated about the grave conditions in their pretty Island home.
Things, they say, have been mismanaged to the worst they could.
So, their agitation is understandable, but, as custodians of order tell us, , agitations are not good.
Agitations bring bad name to duly elected governments.
And, duly elected governments are never wrong. Only those agitations are kosher which (…)

Sri Lankan politics has turned 180 degrees with the Sri Lankan Buddhist haters of the Tamil minority, who celebrated and danced on the streets of Colombo when the majoritarian Buddhist regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa wiped the Liberation of Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) out from the northern Jafna province, after capturing alive its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in a net, tortured him mercilessly and humiliated him thoroughly before killing him.
Even the Tamil civilian population was not (…)

by Murzban Jal
When the old liberal world dies and authoritarianism takes its place, it is definitely the time to mourn. But it is also a time for remembrance, remembrance where memories of making the world a better place can be evoked.
There was definitely a time where teachers were recruited at least where the dreams of a free, cultured and educated India could be possible. At least then in the good old days, teachers and Vice Chancellors were recruited with larger goals in mind. And (…)