Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Ghosts: Open Letter to Sonia Gandhi | Murzban Jal

  29 April 2022

  by Murzban Jal
  The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. —Henrick Ibsen, Ghosts.
  As long as I am Prime Minister I will not allow these communists to dictate our foreign policy.—Manmohan Singh, as quoted in Sanjay Baru, The Accidental Prime Minister.
  Dear Mrs. Gandhi,
  I am writing this letter to you because one hears from various quarters that the Congress party, the good old, Grand Old Party of India (GOP,) is suffering from an existential crisis. Yes, there is a (…)

• B.R. Ambedkar’s Views on Women Question and Current Electoral Politics | Badre Alam Khan

  29 April 2022, by Badre Alam Khan

  I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved (B.R. Ambedkar)
  To commemorate 131st Ambedkar Jayanti [birthanniversary] on 14 April, this time several programmes and memorial meetings were organized by the political parties belonging to Left, Right, Secular and Social Justice Parties. Besides, this time Phule-Ambedkar Jayanti was celebrated together with much compassion and commitment across India including on social media platforms. Despite the (…)

• A Conversation with Shishir Jha on his film ‘Tortoise Under the Earth’

  29 April 2022

  This interview explores the insights related to Shishir Jha’s recently released docudrama film Tortoise Under the Earth (Dharti Latar Re Horo) which is based in Adivasi area of Jharkhand state and exposes the issue faces by the Santhal- the largest tribe in the state. The film focuses on the exploitation of the tribals in Jharkhand since the 80s after the government along with private companies discovered minerals and uranium. Adivasi songs, which have been performed on various occasions, (…)

• How an American college refused to be cowed down | Pramod Ranjan

  29 April 2022

  by Pramod Ranjan *
  For the Brockport College of the State University of New York, March 2022 was a period of frenetic activity. The College faced acerbic attacks from White politicians and a section of newspapers. Reason: The College had invited a convicted Black Panther intellectual for giving a lecture.
  It may be pertinent to mention here that Black Panther was the inspiration behind the founding of Dalit Panther in India in the year 1972. The ideology of the Black Panther was the (…)

• 

  Industry Bosses and Factory Fumes - Cartoon by Mario Miranda

  29 April 2022

• Statement of Protest against Russia threatening to use nuclear weapons | World Conference against A and H Bombs

  29 April 2022

  April 28, 2022
  Steering Committee, Organizing Committee of the World Conference against A and H Bombs
  We strongly protest against the repeated statements by President Putin, Foreign Minister Lavrov and other Russian leaders threatening to use nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapons are the “weapons of absolute evil” which, if used, would cause catastrophic humanitarian consequences, and the use of which can never be accepted.
  The use of nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass (…)

• A Clash of Civilisations: the Russian vs. the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | James M. Dorsey

  29 April 2022

  by James M. Dorsey
  Apr 26, 2022 Russia and the Nordic countries’ pavilions at this year’s Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious art exhibition, project two different concepts of civilisation, nationalism, and sovereignty that have come to blows in Ukraine.
  Newly renovated, brooding, and inward-looking, Russia’s art nouveau pavilion stands empty and abandoned after its Lithuanian curator and artists resigned in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A lone armed guard is (…)

• "Fight for Africa, which you deserve" The Industrial Workers of Africa in South Africa, 1917-1921 | Lucien van der Walt

  29 April 2022

  by Lucien van der Walt
  Johannesburg, South Africa. May 1918. A group of African workers, and a handful of white radicals, meet in a small room behind a general store on the corner of Fox and McLaren streets, as they have done on a weekly basis for over a year. Several new faces are present, so Rueben Cetiwe, a key African militant, outlines the purpose of the gathering:
  "We are here for Organisation, so that as soon as all of your fellow workers are organised, then we can see what we can (…)

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  Video: Charlie Chaplin - Factory Scence - Modern Times (1936)

  29 April 2022

  Play
  Charlie Chaplin - Factory Scene - Modern Times (1936) by Charlie Chaplin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n9ESFJTnHs

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  Audio: Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie | BBC Radio Drama

  29 April 2022

  https://youtu.be/rIuQtxEzzm4