November 24, 2007

Parliament has discussed the Nandigram issue indepth and the role of the CPM hoodlums—constituting the harmad vahini—who launched the attack on the villagefolk has come under close scrutiny. This is doubtless welcome as it has exposed and brought into focus the misgovernance and maladministration of those at the helm of affairs in the State of West Bengal. Union Minister of I&B and Parliamentary Affairs Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi needs to be complimented for his objective presentation of the (…)

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s rationalisation of the violent “recapture” of Nandigram by CPM cadres as mere “retaliation” against their opponents, who were paid back “in the same coin”, is one of the most brazen defences by an Indian leader of the state’s abdication of its fundamental responsibility to protect the life and limb of all its citizens. What Nandigram witnessed was a CPM campaign of armed violence to regain control of two of the area’s three blocks, which (…)

The media in general has made the question of the Indian government’s ‘nuclear deal ‘ with the United States of America into an affair between the Congress and the left parties., or to be precise a few leaders in select left parties. Both the print and the electronic media report what they understand as happening between the two sides. This does not mean that there are not people who understand the intricasies of the deal. Even in the limited number of dailies and journals I see, (…)

[(On the occasion of the ninth death anniversary of Parmeshwar Narain Haksar (September 4, 1913-November 27, 1998), the eminent administrator and diplomat, we reproduce the following piece that was published in Mainstream (May 11, 1991).)]
In one of his books, the perceptive British historian, Sir Louis Namier, observed that arguments, howsoever cogently presented by the weak and supported by facts, are apt to cause annoyance and are likely to be dismissed as mere quibbles. We are (…)

January 7, 1993, was like any other day in the humdrum life of an overcrowded city tinged with a glow of the Bengali’s undying faith in life. That’s Calcutta. And yet by the time evening descended on the picturesque newly built bridge over the river, one got a glimpse—just a glimpse—of the malady that sometimes afflicts the most reputed among politicians in this day and age. One suddenly realises how fragile our political order is, thanks to the callousness of politicians claiming to be (…)

There is a lingering belief among quite a few in West Bengal that there is something of “Leftism” still left here. That the pro-poor radicalism that the “Left” once had, had been reduced to ashes due to the malignant heat of authority and pelf being in power for the last three decades in this State, escaped notice of many a non-discerning onlooker.
One MP of the ruling party openly and proudly proclaimed in a public meeting in the presence of the Chief Minister of the State that he had (…)

On November 2, 2007 eleven security personnel were killed in a blast and indiscriminate firing by Naxalites near Tonguda village close to the Pamed Police Station in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, not far from the Andhra Pradesh border. Grey-hounds from Andhra were brought in for combing operations. It is known that this area has been subjected to Salwa Judum earlier, a form of civil war, by the BJP Government on the Adivasi villages of Dantewada district. The investigations of numerous (…)

[(BOOK REVIEW)]
Government Accountability and Public Audit—Re-Engineering the Comptroller and Auditor General of India by B.P. Mathur; Uppal Publishing House, New Delhi; 2007; Price: Rs 495; pages 328.
Dr B.P. Mathur, who is the author of the book, Government Accountability and Public Audit, is a former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General and Chairman, Audit Board, and has been an eminent member of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) with vast, varied and rich experience in (…)

Badri Raina’s essay on on the cowardly attack on Dr Taslima Nasreen at the Press Club in Hyderabad recently (Mainstream, September 15, 2007) needs to be supplemented on several points.
First, what really happened on the fateful day? A book release programme was organised at the Press Club, Hyderabad on August 9, 2007 at 11 am. Two books, translated into Telugu from English and Bengali by Mrs Venigalla Komala, were released. One of the books, Wild Swan, has exposed the atrocities on women (…)