2023

Bill Gates said : The next pandemic could be far more fatal than this one. This one killed over 20 million, mostly older people. You could have a pandemic that would kill hundreds of millions - like small pox level of fatality. It might be particularly risky for younger people.
Has Bill Gates come to India to frighten us and create a fear psychosis? According to the WHO the number of people who have died globally of Covid till end February 2023 is about 70 lakhs (actually 68,59,096) of (…)

by Srinivas K. Saidapur *
Human development is making of a man for harmonious living with fellow human beings, animals and plants. The overall ecosystem must be congenial for all living beings including the microbes- lest they become virulent! Whereas, national development pertains to overall welfare of the citizens, material prosperity and economy, business and trade, security of the nation, maintenance of law and order as well as good international relations. The human/national (…)

by Neeraj Bunkar
Abstract: In this interview, Meghwanshi recollects his experience in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and his active engagement in the fact-finding group for the Gujarat riot, 2002. He characterises his book I Could Not Be Hindu as a “guide note” not only for fighting against the RSS but to show a path to Dalit youths who, knowingly and unknowingly, get caught in the trap of the Sangh Parivar organisations and their mission of hatred. His transformation from hardcore (…)

by Santhosh Mathew *
Abstract
As opposed to the regarded Chinese hydro-hegemony in the South Asian and the Southeast Asian region, India is often questioned about its own hegemonic practices of conducting hydro-relations with the Himalayan nations which largely impedes cooperation. Focusing mainly on the India-Nepal hydropower diplomacy, numerous treaties like Kosi, Gandak or Mahakali treaty has been largely ineffective in cases of major disagreements ranging from hydropower generation, (…)

by Jeevesh Gupta * I remember when music was thrown out of the deer park in South Delhi by DDA. This was sometime in 2016-17 when a group of drummers called the Delhi Drums Circle having 20000+ active members on Facebook and 100+ in attendance for every get together, were asked to stop playing because as per DDA the music was troubling the animals inside the deer park. All this group was doing was playing drums and other instruments, dancing, bringing people from various walks of life (…)

The yearnings for spiritual development have always been a very important part of the various quests of humanity, although their context may differ from time to time. The most significant context of present times is that human made causes have created a survival crisis (related to very serious environmental problems, weapons of mass destruction and other factors) and as we struggle to face this enormous challenge, we can get important help from spiritual development.
To start (…)

From: Second Wave, Volume 4, Number 3, a magazine of the new feminism, Spring 1976
by Peggy Kornegger *
In the past year, the national and local media have given a great deal of coverage to the spread of spirituality in this country. Feature articles on Transcendental Meditation (TM), Erhard Seminars Training (EST), and the general trend toward therapeutic mysticism have appeared in newspapers and magazines of the right, left, and center. In addition, feminist publications have devoted (…)

by Martha Rosenberg *
In 2004, bird watchers, golfers and just those passing by in Audubon Park New Orleans were treated to an amazing rookery. Great egrets, cattle egrets, snowy egrets, little blue herons, green and tricolored herons, ibises, night herons and anhinga roosted and bred in trees on Oschner Island, next to the golf course. Mallard and wood ducks, geese and swans patrolled the swampy waters as Mississippi kites and hawks sailed overhead. Cormorants dried their wings on (…)

by Amara Thiha and Marte Nilsen *
The political implications of ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks and ideologies in Myanmar received much attention in the years before the 2021 military takeover. As Myanmar has turned more violent since the coup, ultra-nationalist monks have been radicalised further. What role are these monks playing in the political landscape of Myanmar today? And what is their rationale for supporting the military?
The coup leader, Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw (…)

Communist Party of India New Delhi,
March 15, 2023
Press Release
The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India issued the following statement today (on March 15, 2023) demanding full protection of the rights of LGBTQIA+ community:
The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India urges the Supreme Court and the government of India to fully protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ community. The party takes note of the decision of the apex court to refer the matter to the (…)