Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Amit Shah’s Innocence Proven?

  5 July 2014

  by Rajinder Puri
  According to media reports, the decision to appoint Amit Shah as the next President of the BJP has been all but finalised. The official announcement expected in a few days is to be a mere formality. Senior BJP leaders, L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj, had expressed reservations about Shah’s appointment until the murder cases in which he is accused are satisfactorily disposed of. It may be recalled that earlier Nitin Gadkari was removed from the BJP President’s post on (…)

• Iraq is not just a Sunni-Shia Clash; it’s Fundamentalist Wahabism’s Challenge to the World

  5 July 2014, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  The dimensions of the Iraq crisis began hitting us only when Indian workers were kidnapped and Indian nurses stranded. There is also an awareness now about the possible economic disaster if oil prices go crazy. These are grave issues and we must exert every nerve tackling them. But the big danger Iraq poses is ideological. A militant religious force is on a conquering spree and India will be among its prime targets.
  Other versions of this religious force were frightening (…)

• Coming Full Circle in Iraq

  5 July 2014, by Uttam Sen

  It is one of those ironies that the Khilafat movement of 1919 that brought two subconti-nental communities together in the cause of the Ottoman Caliphate, ostensibly came to naught. The Caliphate itself was neutralised by the secular vision of Kemal Attaturk. Yet that ideo-logical separation of church and state, mostly confined to the elite, has been under fire from the West Asian fundamentalism of the past few decades as the middle class-led masses have first assailed the state, the world (…)

• Arbitrary Removal of Governors by the Modi Government

  5 July 2014

  by Shiladitya Chakraborty
  The newly elected BJP-led NDA Government appears to be determined to make a clean sweep at all levels. Many heads rolled in the mass exodus of the UPA-II appointed Governors. At least three—Karnataka Governor H.R. Bharadwaj, Uttar Pradesh Governor B.L. Joshi and Assam Governor J.B. Patnaik—have resigned from their posts on June 17, 2014. In fact their actions were lauded by the Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, saying: “If I were in their position, I would have quit a (…)

• From Azad to Irani: Road Traversed by Human Resource Development Ministry

  5 July 2014

  COMMENTARY
  by Navneet Sharma, Harikrishnan B. and Pradeep Nair
  The euphoria of Narendra Modi’s landslide win is at its peak. Every Indian is basking in the glory of electing a stable government which is hoped to provide a new direction to governance and administration in India. The PM, Narendra Modi, has taken the oath of secrecy along with his small Cabinet. Though the selection of Ministers is the PM’s prerogative, it reflects the concern and seriousness of the PM elect, with which he (…)

• Tribute to Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis | Panchsheel and After

  5 July 2014, by Nikhil Chakravartty

  From N.C.’s Writings
  June 29, 2014 marked the 121st birth anniversory of Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. On this occasion we reproduce the following piece by N.C. that appeared at the time of Mahalanobis’ birth centenary. This is particularly important now that the Narandra Modi dispensation has decided to completely devalue and destroy the Planning Commission which was painstakingly built during the days of the Nehru-Mahaalanobis model of development that charted out the path for the (…)

• Lok Sabha Polls 2014: Kerala Bucks Modi Wave

  5 July 2014

  by M.R. Biju
  The sixteenth Lok Sabha elections were held in nine phases from April 7 to May 12, 2014. According to the Election Commission of India, the electoral population of the country was 814.5 million, an increase of 100 million since the 2009 general elections. The 2014 elections were the longest and most expensive polls in the electoral history of the nation. The polls cost Rs 135 billion excluding the expenses of political parties. The parties spent around Rs 30,500 crores in (…)

• Umbrage against Activists

  5 July 2014, by Kuldip Nayar

  Democracy and personal liberty should never be taken for granted. This is a warning that the imposition of the Emergency gave 39 years ago when the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, furtively extinguished the lights of freedom on the night of June 25-26 to save her skin.
  The Allahabad High Court had disqualified her as an MP for six years for using official machinery during her election campaign. Instead of stepping down, she suspended the Constitution, imposed Press censorship and (…)

• Swami Vivekananda — A Warrior Saint

  5 July 2014, by Ajeet Jawed

  Swami Vivekananda was born on January 12, 1863 and died at just 39 years of age on July 4, 1902. His 150th birth anniversary was observed in January 2013. The following article has been written on the occasion of his 112th death anniversary that falls this week.
  In the struggle for India’s freedom numerous men and women sacrificed their lives. One amongst them was Swami Vivekananda. Though he did not directly challenge foreign rule, yet his contribution in the awakening of his countrymen (…)

• Development in the Land of Status Quoist Politics

  5 July 2014

  by Arun Srivastava
  Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik and Bihar’s former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have many similarities: Both are perceived as the icons of development and growth; both are prime ministerial materials; and both have mustered courage to rebuff the BJP and chart out their own independent political lines. But they have one poignant difference. While Patnaik stopped the juggernaut of Narendra Modi in Odisha notwithstanding the latter’s incredulous boast to wipe out Patnaik (…)