Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Democracy is Inconceivable Without Rights | Vijay Kumar

  28 January 2022, by Vijay Kumar

  The recent speech of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi exhorting the citizens of this country to discharge their duty and his calculated attack on the assertion of their rights has grave implications for the very survival of democracy. Disregarding all the evidence, Prime Minister Modi asserted that the culture of asserting for their rights is impeding the development of the country, and a prosperous future could be secured only through the enforcement of duty. This statement has an ominous (…)

• Kerala: Male bias in the judiciary led to acquittal of Bishop Franko Mulakkal | Sukumaran C.V.

  28 January 2022, by Sukumaran C.V.

  The Sessions Court verdict that acquitted Bishop Franko Mulakkal who was accused of raping a nun, by casting aspersions on the character of the nun, unequivocally proves the masculine bias of the judiciary.
  The revolt of Nora, the protagonist of the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece play A Doll’s House, was a thunderbolt to the male-centric social and moral ethos of Europe. In the notes made for the play in 1878, Ibsen says: “a woman cannot be herself in the society of the (…)

• Pressing Issues before Budget 2022-23 | Sarma & Sunder

  28 January 2022

  by Atul Sarma, Shyam Sunder *
  Budget 2022-23 has to be framed under the shadow of three sets of pressing issues. One relates to the devastating economic impact of Covid-19, the second to restoring growth and putting the economy on a higher growth trajectory and the other to a few major issues emanating from the above two needing urgent government attention.
  Covid-19 exposed utter inadequacy in health infrastructure and health personnel in the country. This is not the first pandemic nor (…)

• Amendments to Biodiversity Legislation Weaken Conservation Efforts | Soma Marla

  28 January 2022

  by Soma Marla
  During the last winter session [Dec 2021] of Parliament, Union government has introduced amendments to the existing Biological Diversity Act, 2002. It was said that the proposed amendments would ease access to biological resources (including rare medicinal plants, seeds, and Traditional knowledge) by the Indian traditional medicine sector. The objective of the proposed legislation is also to simplify the patent application process, widen the scope of levying access and (…)

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  Citizens’ Letter to President of India with alternative proposal regarding the Bose Statue at India Gate

  28 January 2022

  OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT
  We, the undersigned, are writing to you as Head of State on a matter which we believe to be of considerable importance. The Government of India has announced its intention of installing a granite statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate to honour him. At present he is being represented by a hologram.
  Honouring national figures at India Gate is an excellent idea. However, we would like to suggest that instead of a permanent statue, holograms of (…)

• The up-coming UP assembly elections: A macro-level analysis | P S Jayaramu

  28 January 2022

  by P. S. Jayaramu *
  23rd, January 2022
  2022 is the year of elections. The year will witness assembly elections in five states during February-March, biennial elections to 75 seats to Rajya Sabha in June-july and elections to the Gujarat assembly in December. The mega polls are, of course, going to take place in Uttar Pradesh in seven phases spread over 10th February to 7th March, 2022. It is billed as the most spectacular electoral event for a few reasons. Firstly, the BJP has made (…)

• In UP, BJP’s Leaders Know Only Love | TJS George

  28 January 2022, by T J S George

  IMPRESSIONS
  In a matter of weeks Uttar Pradeshians will be lining up to vote. This election will be of considerable significance to all of India. Yogi Adityanath, the politician dressed in saffron, is wellknown for his ambition to replace Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial nominee. In such situations Modi develops ten eyes and twenty ears. This internal yudh makes the UP elections a historical tug of war.
  Election time is the time — the only time — when ordinary (…)

• Dalits in the Coming Punjab Assembly Elections of 2022 | Jaspreet Kaur

  28 January 2022

  by Jaspreet Kaur
  In Punjab Assembly elections, various parties have tried to give preference to the Dalit vote. First, the Akali Dal had announced the appointment of a Dalit face as Deputy Chief Minister. The main reason for this is that Dalit population in Punjab is around 33%. Putting aside the factor of considerable Dalit population, the riddle of appointing a Dalit Chief Minister cannot be resolved. Many other social and economic factors are also responsible for this. It is (…)

• Obtuse Labels: Channi is dishonest and Kejriwal an honest man? | Prem Singh

  28 January 2022, by Prem Singh

  On 20 January, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi a dishonest man, and emphasized that Channi should not be viewed as a common man. That is, the patent of the common man lies with Kejriwal alone, and in this respect, honesty as well. Kejriwal made this statement in a quick response to the ED’s raid on Channi’s nephew’s house. Since then, a series of allegations and counter-allegations have been going on between the two leaders, which may (…)

• Identity Politics in Punjab: A Challenge For Aam Aadmi Party | Rajvinder Singh

  28 January 2022

  by Rajvinder Singh *
  Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been the newest addition in the Indian political system. AAP with its advent promised a new kind of politics. Party made a strong effort to introduce a new issue “corruption” into the arena of party competition. Party was giving the issue of corruption a new salience in electoral politics and using that as the basis for political mobilisation. The AAP does not appeal to a homogenous social group and so does not gain from a structural cleavage (…)