November 1, 2008

I am among numerous others who felt being very close to Nikhilda. He had that remarkable quality, to quote Rabindranath Tagore, “of bringing those who are distant closer to him and making others his brother”. _nwjds djsN vkiu cU/kq] ijds djsN HkkbZ._ I was drawn towards him because of the unbounded personal affection I received from him and because he embodied the qualities I have cherished most in my life. What drew me towards him was his simplicity; his refusal to be impressed by the (…)

Nikhil Chakravartty, affectionately called by his friends and colleagues as Nikhilda, died on June 27, 1998. He was a veteran journalist, a historian, a scholar, an intellectual with integrity and conviction, a Leftist shorn of dogmatism and, above all, a warm human being with a spirit of understanding and tolerance that helped him evolve a consensus on several controversial issues.
Nikhilda believed that nothing in the world was the last word in history, which was ever evolving and (…)

Of late, particularly after the countrywide general strike on August 20, a virulent campaign has been launched against the trade unions. They have been accused of obstructing industrialisation, of going on strikes that will scare away investors, cause foreign direct investment to peter out, force foreign institutional investors to disinvest. The campaign, obviously designed to malign the trade unions, has further accused militant unions of holding the country to ransom, destroying job (…)

The physical terrain of Kandhamal is breathtakingly beautiful. Green hills, clouds, mist and frequent rains add to this beauty. The name Kandhamal means the garland of hills where the Kandhas live. Kandhas, or Khonds, are the original inhabitants of this region. They are dark, muscular, simple. They survive on agriculture and animal husbandry. Nature or prakruti is their religion. They believe the divine does not reside in a temple, mosque, church or any other houses of worship built by man. (…)