Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Trademark and Political Symbol: Protection of Freedom of Speech and Expression | Sunita Samal

  25 June, by Sunita Samal

  In a democracy, freedom of speech and expression opens up channels of free discussion of issues. This right plays a crucial role in the formation of public opinion on social, political and economic matters. Commercial speech is defined as speech that suggests a commercial transaction or expression solely related to economic interest.
  The High Court of Delhi held that a purely commercial advertisement which does not take into consideration the essential idea of freedom of speech would be (…)

• Why India Needs Impact Assessment Before Passing New Laws | Aftab Mohammad

  25 June

  The Allahabad High Court’s recent order in the suo motu matter concerning the creation of 9,149 additional courts in Uttar Pradesh raises a question that extends beyond court infrastructure in a single State. In its April 13, 2026 Order, a Division Bench of Justices Alok Mathur and Amitabh Kumar Rai observed that it would be “in fitness of things” for Parliament and State legislatures to consider incorporating a Litigation Impact Assessment clause in every Bill before it is enacted. The (…)

• Aruna Roy’s Many-Sided Contributions | Bharat Dogra

  25 June, by Bharat Dogra

  Aruna Roy, the famous activist and author, has said that she prefers to observe her 80th birthday this month quietly at her home, but her colleagues and companions of highly eventful journeys on the path of meaningful social change, justice and democracy would certainly like to use this time to remember her many-sided contributions and learnings from them.
  Aruna Roy the activist started her ‘career’ in a very different way, in fact as an IAS officer. However the call of social activism (…)

• Weaponizing Water Bankruptcy in the Age of Neo-Capitalism | Gopabandhu Dash

  25 June

  The United Nations University recently reported that humanity has entered an era of "global water bankruptcy"—a state in which long-term water usage persistently exceeds natural replenishment, permanently depleting water "savings" such as natural aquifers and glaciers. The term "water bankruptcy" describes a new global reality: humanity’s freshwater usage has so far exceeded natural replenishment that critical water systems have become insolvent and irreversibly damaged.
  Under the (…)

• Labour Value in Indian Knowledge Economy | Soma Marla

  25 June, by Soma S. Marla

  In developing India, Brazil and South Africa, services such as IT, health care and marketing have emerged significant sectors making with predominance of services in GDP over manufacturing. Apart from a revenue of billions of dollars from exports they are also major employer. A characteristic feature of twenty first century neoliberal capitalist development. Service sector, IT industry in particular, often is commoditised with huge investments of capital and labour. Robust software and (…)

• Out of Sight, Out of Credit: Why ’Firm Distance’ Matters for the Northeast, India | Ashraf Rehman

  25 June

  Financial inclusion has become one of the most celebrated milestones of India’s development story, policymakers often advocate to expanding bank accounts and financial literacy initiatives as evidence of an inclusive economy. Yet beneath these advocacies there lies a deeper and precise neglected challenge: access to institutional loan remains heavily influenced by geography. For the small and marginalised entrepreneurs in India’s rural and hilly regions, particularly in the North Eastern (…)

• The troubled memory of marital domesticity in Indian women’s verses | Adrita Mukhopadhyay

  25 June

  “In India, where thousands of young women are murdered every year for bringing in insufficient dowries, a dowry death rarely makes news. But the death of Twisha Sharma in the central city of Bhopal on 12 May has sparked a huge media frenzy, with the case making headlines every day.” read the opening lines of a news article posted by BBC on 22nd of May, 2026.
  From unmarried daughters getting warned by their mothers of "domestic complexities" to progressive, independent women remaining (…)

• The Discomfort of Being Seen Structurally | Disha

  25 June, by Disha

  Drawing from her experiences as a PhD scholar, the author reflects on the discomfort that often accompanies conversations around privilege within Indian universities. She argues that privilege rarely appears as obvious power and more often presents itself as normality, inherited ease, and institutional familiarity. As marginalized voices increasingly challenge older structures of silence, academic spaces are being transformed through new claims to legitimacy and belonging. The article (…)

• From shame to reflection: A journey from trauma to empowerment | Anindita Pramanik

  25 June

  Abstract:
  This personal narrative research explores the real realities of period orthodoxy, cultural taboo, which adhere to a rigid orthodox belief and practices. From personal lens of my adolescence trauma boarder through sociological reflection. This study reinforced how traditional orthodoxy beliefs distress over a natural biological flow which deep rooted stereotypical restrictions. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault to examine the societal (…)

• Loyalty without leverage: India’s US tilt yields little | Anuradha Chenoy

  25 June, by Anuradha M. Chenoy

  June 23, 2026
  India’s attempt to balance ties with the US has turned into a tilt, still deemed insufficient by Washington. For India, it is all stick and no carrots
  In a move that signals a blunt recalibration of South Asian geopolitics, the United States has quietly shifted its strategic focus. It has reverted its “Indo-Pacific Command” back to its traditional designation of US Pacific Command (USPACOM).
  The structural reversal effectively undoes a 2018 policy that symbolically merged (…)