2023

History has its own ways of revivifying past icons and their politics. Of late, Karpoori Thakur has seen such a revival in contemporary political discourse. In particular, politics in Bihar is suffused with references to his simplicity, honesty, integrity and his lifelong commitment to the welfare of the poor and the downtrodden. Parties across a wide-ranging ideological spectrum – from the real and pretentious legatees of socialist politics to the ruling JD (U)-RJD alliance and also the BJP (…)

The increasing environmental crisis, coupled with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), prompts changes in the behavior of consumers, investors, and producers. Sustainable development calls for the integration of sustainable consumption and production patterns into national development and planning. Its relevance and significance are well emphasized through SDGs Goal 12, listed as ’responsible consumption and production.’ This goal aims to promote the efficient and (…)

ANYONE who is familiar with the history of Spain under Muslim rule before the 1492 Catholic pushback — and there’s an excellent body of work on the theme by Tariq Ali — could not miss the intermingling of Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures in a cornucopia of art, literature and philosophy at its zenith. One was sadly reminded of that slice of history in the face of the needless pain and trauma coming with the uptick in the bloodletting between the people that once represented a blessing (…)

Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security (CPDCS]cv
October 8, 2023
The Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel War. In contravention of International Law, it is civilians on both sides who are the primary victims. The war should cease before more people are killed, wounded, or traumatized for life, and before it expands into a still more catastrophic war with disastrous consequences for people of (…)

10.10.2023
As a renewed and intensified cycle of violence unleashes atrocities on innocents, members of the Council of the Progressive International call for progressive forces to march in their millions for Palestinian liberation. A catastrophe is unfolding over Gaza. Following the 7 October operation from inside the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Defence Minister has ordered its “complete siege” from the outside. “There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything is closed. We (…)

Since its inception, BRICS has positioned itself as a group to challenge Western hegemony and present a viable alternative to the existing international order. This has led to a great deal of appreciation from the developing world, largely because the developing world has long complained that the international system, which is dominated by the Western world, has been unfair to them.
The international financial system is one of the areas, where this Western-led order receives the most (…)

There is a memorable scene in the Hindi movie Sholay, which I suppose any Indian and many foreigners would have seen umpteen times. The villain Gabbar Singh after shooting down ruthlessly his three gangmen in his lair for fleeing away from just two men hired by Thakur to save Ramgarh, charges with his entire team of dacoits into the village in the midst of Holi celebrations shooting and plundering. Having subdued every one, he turns his attention to the two, Veeru and Jai who had scared away (…)

I am under a rubble, without water or bread; my mother and father are lying face down, dead. My little sisters, aged five and seven, have been taken as hostages and will soon be sent to jannat, heaven.
I do not know how long I have to live, for no one has anything to give. The electricity has been cut off, all roads lead to the morgue, there is something in vogue, geo-politics of the rogue, playing out in a frenzy on a strip of land called Gaza, where in a spiral of violence Generals are (…)

To The Editor, Mainstream Weekly
I would like to mention that I was rather puzzled after reading the Interview by Joe Hayns with an old friend of mine, Pritam Singh, on The Khalistan Question. (in Mainstream Weekly, October 7, 2023)
The interview dwells on the trajectory of the Khalistan agitation and responses within India and the diaspora.
However, I was struck by the fact that for our friends in the now not so New Left, the organised left in India, in a way, still remains the (…)

Samyukt Kisan Morcha
Press Statement | 8th October, 2023
SKM TO LAUNCH NATIONWIDE MASS PROTESTS AGAINST BJP-RSS LED MODI GOVT FOR ITS RENEWED ATTACK ON FARMERS’ MOVEMENT THROUGH NEWSCLICK FIR
Delhi, 8th October, 2023: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) is shocked to learn about the scurrilous and malafide allegations made against the historic SKM-led Farmers’ Movement at Delhi, in the FIR lodged by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police against media house Newsclick and several journalists. (…)