Mainstream Weekly

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• Why is BJP’s popularity declining in Bengal | Tarun Kumar Basu

  22 April 2022, by Tarun Kumar Basu

  The loss in the bypolls will send an alarm signals to the saffron camp
  The massive erosion in vote share for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in bypolls in both Asansol Loksabha and Ballygunge assembly in West Bengal have kept the saffron camp aggrieved with just around two years left for the next parliamentary election in 2024.
  But central leadership of BJP is not disquieted about the decline of vote sharing in all, the elections from Municipal Corporation to the bypolls. Since the (…)

• Three cheers to Comrade Brinda Karat! | Faraz Ahmad

  22 April 2022, by Faraz Ahmad

  Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Politburo member Brinda Karat deserves our salute for rising up to the occasion and demonstrating what real leaders are made of.
  Ever since the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won elections in four out of five states where it was politically relevant, including UP, which went to polls in February-March this year and the Congress lost in all the four states where it was in direct fight with the BJP, the upbeat mood of the victors has translated (…)

• Will the Nagas get a peace deal ? | Sandeep Pandey and Pankaj Pushkar

  22 April 2022, by Sandeep Pandey

  by Sandeep Pandey and Pankaj Pushkar
  Dimapur Conclave for ‘Save the Peace,’ organized by Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights on 25-26 March, 2022, adopted the following resolution: Indo-Naga political talks must be supported and protected till it achieves the desirable goal of honourable and lasting peace for both the parties in talks. The Framework Agreement signed on August 3, 2015 at Delhi is a solemn commitment between the Naga people and the Government of India (…)

• Audit of UIDAI reveals what Delhi High Court is yet to reveal | Gopal Krishna

  22 April 2022, by Gopal Krishna

  by Gopal Krishna *
  The audit of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India revealing “flaws in the management of various contracts entered into by UIDAI” reminds one of a case related to a RTI reply that partially revealed the content of MoU/ Contract executed between UIDAI with L1 Identity Solutions Operating Company, currently a subsidiary of French conglomerate Safran Group, Sagem Morpho Security Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Safran Group, (…)

• Reflections on 103rd Commemoration of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre | Shamsul Islam

  22 April 2022, by Shamsul Islam

  Contemporary documents of the brutal massacre and people’s heroic resistance remain hidden in boxes of National Archives
  India has turned into a grazing field for all kinds of religious bigots led by the Hindutva gang. Even PM of the country who took oath to uphold democratic-secular polity is identifying himself as a Hindu nationalist as if he is in office to serve the cause of Hindutva. The RSS/BJP rulers are openly declaring their commitment to turn India into a Hindu state where (…)

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  Elephants face an elephantine problem | M.R. Narayan Swamy

  22 April 2022, by M R Narayan Swamy

  BOOK REVIEW by M.R. Narayan Swamy
  __0__
  Trumpet Calls:
  Epic Tales of Extraordinary Elephants
  Nalini Ramachandran
  Hachette India
  Pages: 242; Price: Rs 350
  ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 939102890X ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9391028909 __0__
  Elephants have been caught and tamed from as early in history as 6000 BCE. And the practice of training them to fight in wars began in India around 1000 BCE. So many were trained to fight with deadly effect that King (…)

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  Ram Puniyani on Bremen and Shah’s Gujarat, Cradle and Harbinger of Identity Politics: India’s Injurious Frame of Communalism

  22 April 2022

  Book Review by Ram Puniyani
  __0__ Gujarat, Cradle and Harbinger of Identity Politics: India’s Injurious Frame of Communalism
  by Jan Breman and Ghanshyam Shah
  Tulika Books, New Delhi 2022. 388 Pages Price: Rs. 1200 ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 819505594X ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8195055944 __0__
  India has witnessed communal violence from over a century. The Gujarat carnage stands out as a major blot in the series of acts of violent episodes for more reasons than one. This was a state where even before (…)

• What is going on in Pakistan? And why has the US been dragged into it? | Ayesha Jalal

  22 April 2022

  [The below article was written before the fast-paced developments in Pakistan where the Supreme court ruled in favour of a vote in Parliament that led to the outer of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the subsequent election of Shabaz Sharif as the new Prime Minister]
  by Ayesha Jalal *
  April 6, 2022
  Pakistan, a nuclear nation that is home to some 220 million people, is in a political mess.
  On April 3, 2022, Prime Minister – and former national sporting hero – Imran Khan dissolved (…)

• Against the war, for global solidarity - International of Anarchist Federations

  22 April 2022

  The Committee of Relations of the International of Anarchist Federations (CRIFA) met in Marseille on 19–20 March 2022, and discussed matters on the ongoing war in Ukraine. Although there are different views on some points among member Federations, on which we commit to continue exchange and constructive discussion, important common points emerged from the discussion.
  We condemn the criminal aggression to Ukraine promoted by the Russian government, alongside all militarisms, and we stand in (…)

• Russia-Ukraine war: Israelis are in denial at parallels between their occupation and Putin’s | Gideon Levy

  22 April 2022

  by Gideon Levy *
  14 March 2022
  Both Russia and Israel justify their invasions under the auspices of ’self-defence’, and in both cases, that is untrue
  The shockwaves from the Russia-Ukraine war quickly reached Israel, revealing some embarrassing truths and challenging Israelis to see their country as it actually is - so very different than what they like to imagine.
  It began with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s declaration, or its subsequent military occupation, any different than (…)