Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

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  Bola Sete - Tour de Force (1963)

  26 March 2021

  Bola Sete was a celebrated Brazilian guitarist

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  Table of Contents, Mainstream, Mar 20, 2021

  19 March 2021

  * The Afghanistan Imbroglio | Jamal Kidwai
  * What is behind the Jan 2021 Deaths of Migrants in Surat, Gujarat?
  * Red, Green, and Saffron - Changing Colours in the Political Landscape of West Bengal
  * 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections: BJP losing ground | Arun Srivastava
  * 2021 West Bengal Elections: Fiftynine questions to Modi-raj by Anindya Ray

• Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, Mar 20, 2021

  19 March 2021

  Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, March 20, 2021
  In September 2018, a judgement by Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled that all Hindu pilgrims regardless of gender can enter the Sabarimala hill shrine; and that any exception placed on women because of biological differences violates the Constitution - that the ban violates the right to equality under Article 14, and freedom of religion under Article 25. The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala which has been vocal for (…)

• The US Led Afghanistan Peace Talks - a minefield | Jamal Kidwai

  19 March 2021

  by Jamal kidwai*
  In the backdrop of the May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, two documents being referred to as ‘moonshot’(unrealistic) have been ‘leaked’ by Afghanistan’s Tolo news channel.
  What has added to the complexity created by these developments is US President Biden’s interview, aired by ABC news on 17 March . In the interview Biden says it will be ‘tough’ to meet the 1 May deadline, but the complete drawdown will not take much longer.
  Getting back (…)

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  A Roadside Mishap or A Systemic Liquidation ? A Fact-Finding Report on the January 2021 Deaths of Migrants in Surat District of Gujarat

  19 March 2021

  by Fact Finding Committee [1]
  The article is based on a Fact-Finding Report [2] of an accident killing 15 migrant workers near Surat. The Surat city is projected as an illuminating illustration of the ‘Development Paradigm’ being followed by Gujarat state. The article delineates how this model has been grossly treating and inhumanly exploiting the workers. They are not only deprived of work-related legally enshrined rights and benefits but they have to live and work in inhuman and (…)

• Conquering West Bengal: BJP’s Dream Turns Into a Nightmare | Barun Das Gupta

  19 March 2021, by Barun Das Gupta

  BJP’s fond dream of “conquering” West Bengal by winning 200 seats (out of a total of 294) as confidently claimed by Amit Shah, is turning into a nightmare. In the Mahabharata we have read the Mushal Parva and the destruction of the Yadu Vansha. The BJP in West Bengal is facing a similar situation. Lacking the human material to run a government and without a chief ministerial face to present to the public, the BJP thought that the best way out is to organize large-scale defections from the (…)

• The Differing Stance of Two Left Formations on 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections

  19 March 2021

  [marron][In the interest of public debate we publish the two differing positions among formations of the left on the 2021 Assembly elections in Bengal]marron]
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  I Full-Text of Commentary in People’s Democracy - March 14, 2021
  CPI(ML): Wrong Turn in West Bengal: A Political Commentary
  THE general secretary of the CPI(ML), Dipankar Bhattacharya, has been airing his views in the media for some time, about the tactics that the Left should adopt for the West Bengal assembly election. (…)

• Red, Green and Saffron — The Changing Colours in the Political Landscape of West Bengal | Priyanca Mathur

  19 March 2021

  by Priyanca Mathur *
  With all 291 candidates for the 2021 West Bengal State Legislative Elections announced, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, headed by its firebrand incumbent Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee aka ‘Didi’, is seeking to retain the 294 seat Assembly for the third term. In doing so it faces a fierce challenge put up the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). West Bengal, which was run by the Congress Party and the Left Front for decades witnessed its watershed moment in 2011 (…)

• 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections: BJP losing ground points to decline of the popularity and charisma of Modi and Amit Shah | Arun Srivastava

  19 March 2021, by Arun Srivastava

  by Arun Srivastava
  Just fifteen days ahead of the beginning of the 8-phase assembly elections in Bengal, the high speed juggernaut of Amit Shah which he had pushed in action a year ago with great gusto appears to be losing steam. His entire efforts to invigorate it have proved futile. Shah’s BJP which till a week back was ordained to make Mamata Banerjee bite dust has suddenly appears to be losing relevance and turning a pariah.
  Media commentators and political analysts are busy burning (…)

• 2021 West Bengal Elections: Fiftynine questions to Modi-raj by Anindya Ray

  19 March 2021

  Ira Ghosh, senior professor of English at a College in West Bengal appeals to every voter to ponder whether to cast vote to the Bharatiya Janata Party only after getting affirmative response on 59 queries. She posted the questions in her wall in face book? 1. What has happened to unearthing black money? 2. What is the net result of demonetization? 3. Did Rs 15 lakh get deposited to your account, as per the promise of Narendra Modi diring his electoral campaign for the Lok Sabha elections (…)