Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Bihar Verdict Checked Intolerance and Defeated the Politics of Hate

  21 November 2015, by Ravindra Sharma

  Historical Background of Bihar
  Historically, Gautam Buddha was born in Bihar (in Lumbini, now in Nepal). The famous Indian thinker, Chanakya, was from Bihar and so was Aryabhatt. Between the 5th and 7th centuries, many eminent Chinese Buddhist scholars—such as Fa Xian, Xuanzang and Yi Jing—visited India and studied at the Nalanda University (in Bihar). During the Mughal empire, handicrafts, agriculture and architecture of Bihar prospered considerably and Sanskrit remained as popular as (…)

• Why Narendra Modi Lost the Historic Battle of Bihar

  21 November 2015

  by Arun Srivastava
  The BJP-led NDA, which was riding high on the Narendra Modi wave, eventually lost to the mahagathbandhan in the Bihar elections. After being severely mauled in the Delhi elections with the BJP winning just three seats in the 70-member Assembly, the loss in Bihar has completely eroded the political credibility of Modi. Till a week back Modi was visualised as invincible. But now he is not even treated as one among equals.
  For creation of this situation no one but Modi (…)

• The Mission of Religion: Hierarchy, Power and Emancipation in Indian Political Thought

  21 November 2015

  by Sri Ram Pandeya
  With the advent of modernity, the Middle Ages were characterised as dark ages as the Church had assumed power at that time (in the Middle Ages) and it produced knowledge as a consequence of that—further it could be said to have monopolised knowledge in the sense of prohibiting any other claims on it as power had become the precondition for knowledge, leading to knowledge becoming a closely guarded secret as it could not have passed the test of verification.
  On the (…)

• Jawaharlal Nehru and Socialism

  21 November 2015, by Narain Dutt

  Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had been the Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964. He made an important contribution to the building of modern India during his prime ministership. In 1956 Nehru was considered the most arresting figure in the world political stage since the end of the Churchill, Stalin and Rosevelt era.1 Although he played an important role in the independence struggle, yet his contributions are related to solving many deep-rooted issues, political challenges and socio-economic (…)

• Nehru and the Question of Communalism

  21 November 2015

  by Vivek Kumar Srivastava
  Nehru, the architect of modern India, was a staunch nationalist for whom communalism was the worst socio-political evil. He fought his whole life against it. His views about communalism were shaped in his upbringing which was absolutely secular; the other reasons lay on his ideas about religion and composite culture. In his childhood he had come across people from different religions. His teacher, F.T. Brooks, his father’s munshi Mubarak Ali, his brief interaction (…)

• Ved Bhasin, Praful’s Book-launch, Bihar Results

  21 November 2015, by Humra Quraishi

  MUSINGS
  When news came in of the passing away of the Jammu-based veteran journalist, Ved Bhasin, my first spontaneous reaction was—we have lost a brave man, who spoke and wrote so very fearlessly ... He wrote with conviction and passion.
  Though this soft-spoken man looked mild and had a certain serenity spread on his face but he didn’t mince words, nor dilute details to the horrific human rights violations in the Kashmir region. I’d met him about five times and each time I was amazed to (…)

• Being a Proud Indian

  21 November 2015, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  A midst the profusion of tributes paid to Indira Gandhi on the tenth anniversary of her martyrdom on October 31, perhaps the most eloquent but concise was by the eminent scientist-philosopher, Professor Yash Pal, who said she had made us feel proud of being an Indian.
  To be proud of belonging to our motherland was the constant injunction that my generation had to abide by when we were young students—that was before the country became independent. The galling yoke of (…)

• The Orop “Gift” That Lowers Military Morale: National Security Compromised

  21 November 2015, by S G Vombatkere

  Pradhan Mantri (PM) Modi celebrated Diwali with Army troops at Dograi and reportedly announced that OROP (One-Rank One-Pension) was a Diwali gift to military veterans. Perhaps he was not aware that veterans are critical of this tainted “gift”, since it is a version of OROP seriously diluted by bureaucratic machinations. This includes a proviso that OROP benefit will not extend to soldiers who retire prematurely (PMR) in the future—“No-OROP-for-PMR”. Perhaps Mr Modi does not know that troops (…)

• Knowing K. Madhavan in his Own Words

  21 November 2015

  BOOK REVIEW
  by B. Surendra Rao
  On the Banks of the Thejaswini: An Autobiography by K. Madhavan (translated from Malayalam to English by Dr P. Radhika Menon); National Book Trust, India; New Delhi; 2011; pages 340; Price: 175.
  A good autobiography bares the man as much as it unveils the world he lived in and transacted with. It also reflects on the relationship between the two, with full awareness of the forces that impinge on such reflection. The past cannot be reflected upon in (…)

• Remembering the Great October Revolution: Assessing its Impact and Lessons

  21 November 2015

  by Aurobindo Ghose
  The Russian Revolution took place on October 25, 1917 as per the old calendar and on November 7 as per the new calendar. The birth of the Soviet Union, an island of socialism in a sea of capitalism, “shook the world”, as American writer John Reed’s noted in his famous book on the subject, Ten Days that Shook the World.
  The establishment of the first workers’ state was regarded as a man-made ‘miracle’ to end exploitation and free the workers from their chains. The (…)