Mainstream Weekly

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  Table of Contents - Mainstream, May 20, 2023

  20 May 2023

  * India: Crisis of Democracy or that of its Political Leadership? | Nilofar Suhrawardy
  * Ranajit Guha (1923-2023) and his Legacy | Karli Srinivasulu
  * Spring Time for Thai Democracy | Patawee Chotanan
  * The Menace of “National Socialism” | Max Nettlau

• Letter to the Readers, Mainstream May 20, 2023

  20 May 2023

  Letter to the readers, Mainstream, May 20, 2023
  The two-term Narendra Modi Government at the center seems unstoppable in its zeal to use the central agencies under its command to turn the screws on its critics and make life tough for the opposition party-ruled states. Courts of law occasionally point out the dangers and try to set limits. The Police and the CBI continue to be at the beck and call of the Government, but one central agency that is frequently mentioned in this regard is the (…)

• India: Crisis of Democracy or that of its Political of Leadership? | Nilofar Suhrawardy

  20 May 2023, by Nilofar Suhrawardy

  The coronation ceremony of King Charles III may also be viewed as an illustration of the importance the dress code holds for power-holders, whether monarchical or elected, together with the fascination it holds for people across the world and the extensive media coverage given to it. Undeniably, history stands witness to leaders at practically all levels, from Kings to revolutionaries, having always accorded great importance to promoting their images through their dresses and appearances as (…)

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  Ranajit Guha (1923-2023) and his Legacy | Karli Srinivasulu

  20 May 2023, by Karli Srinivasulu

  The publication of the first volume of Subaltern Studies in 1982 under the editorship of Ranajit Guha has been viewed as a major ‘turn’ in the modern Indian historiography. The publication of Guha’s The Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency the next year added theoretical gravity to this thus making him a formidable historian of ‘lower orders’ in colonial India. The fact that Subaltern Studies series with a new volume every year came to be earnestly looked forward to by scholars across (…)

• Manipur at the Crossroads after Inter-Ethnic Clashes of May 2023 | Ajailiu Niumai

  20 May 2023

  by Ajailiu Niumai *
  How can we negotiate for peace in Manipur in the aftermath of brutal violence that has left thousands of people homeless, 1,700 houses burnt, 221 churches and numerous vehicles burnt, 72 people including women and children were killed, thousands still suffers from traumatic experiences, hundreds of people in the relief camps, and 35,000 people internally displaced? An internet connection was shut off and curfew was imposed. The conflict between the Meitei and Kuki (…)

• Challenges before the newly elected government in Karnataka | Girija K S

  20 May 2023

  by Girija K S *
  The people of Karnataka have once again proved that the political parties cannot take them for a ride and fool them. Their support in bringing back the Congress party to power with a thumping majority has shown they no longer tolerate hate politics and would like to live in harmony. However, it’s for Congress to keep up the promises made by them in their manifesto and assure the people, they care for them. Implementing the agenda as mentioned in the manifesto requires a lot (…)

• 2023 Karnataka Election Verdict and a Shifting Political Discourse | Badre Alam Khan

  20 May 2023, by Badre Alam Khan

  by Badre Alam Khan *
  Since the 2014 Lok Sabha election- perhaps for the first time - it appears that the Karnataka election verdict has shown that the communal narrative around electoral politics is now changing. If one could read and decode election results closely, it can be safely argued that political discourse has now shifted from the Right to Centre if not towards the Left. The majoritarian politics led by the BJP-RSS combined has faced stiff opposition and the communal narrative (…)

• RSS’s Politics of Hindutva losing its relevance and appeal | Arun Srivastava

  20 May 2023

  by Arun Srivastava
  The defeat of the BJP in the Karnataka assembly election does not simply emphasize the erosion of Narendra Modi’s charisma and popularity, it bluntly questions the relevance and equanimity of RSS’s “Politics of Hindutva”, featured by Modi in the political system as the most effective device to turn India into Hindu Rashtra.
  While Congress won 135 seats the BJP got only 66 seats, notwithstanding Modi’s sustained effort to use Hindutva to polarise the Hindu voters. For (…)

• Why do Modi and BJP defy the ancient Shankara order? | M.R. Narayan Swamy

  20 May 2023, by M R Narayan Swamy

  When Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati headed the Sringeri Sharada Peetam as its 34h Acharya, the normally calm and serene pontiff expressed disgust when a group of Hindus outlined a plan to teach Muslims a lesson. This incident is worth recalling in the immediate context of today’s Karnataka politics.
  This happened when the Acharya, a man of vast learning, humility and renunciation, was visiting Tiptur town in Tumkur district in Karnataka. It was an area simmering with Hindu-Muslim tensions. (…)

• Psychological Distress among Salt Pan Workers of Marakkanam | Supriya Bedi

  20 May 2023

  by Supriya Bedi *
  Some ninety years ago, a frail man with a walking stick made an impact on the freedom movement of 340 million people by showing them how to defy laws. Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India.The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 5 April 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt (…)