Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• Whither the Paradise on Earth? It’s a freezing hell actually, courtesy State apathy | MA Sofi

  22 January 2021

  by MA Sofi At the very outset, let us get to the nub of the problem. Institution building is a vital component of nation building. The creation of such premier educational institutions as TIFR, IISc, ISI’s, IIT’s, JNU etc. and now the cluster of IISERs is part of such noble endeavours. Among the more recent instances, IISERs are surely doing well though, however, the same may not be said about all the newly established IITs and more so, the Central universities. Mainly because not (…)

• Citizens’ Commitment to Harmony, Mutual Help, Equality and Justice Will Provide Hope in Difficult Times | Bharat Dogra

  22 January 2021, by Bharat Dogra

  India has been passing through exceptionally difficult times. Millions have faced increased hunger, deprivation and disruption of livelihood. Many people are saddened more than before by discrimination and hostility based on religion. All this happens in times of confusion, uncertainty and fear created by a pandemic, increasing health problems and difficulties in accessing normal health care.
  In the middle of these increasing problems appear thousands of small but significant stories of (…)

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  Photo of PC Joshi - first general secretary of the Communist Party of India from 1935–47, who was removed in an ugly purge

  22 January 2021

  see also:
  P.C. Joshi: A Political Journey by Bipan Chandra https://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article503.html
  Chakravartty, Gargi (2007). P.C. Joshi: A Biography, New Delhi: National Book Trust, ISBN 978-81-237-5052-1.

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  Review of Abul Barkat’s On the larger canvas of society-economy-state | Mizanur Rahman

  22 January 2021

  by Mizanur Rahman
  বড় পর্দায় সমাজ-অর্থনীতি-রাষ্ট্র: ভাইরাসের মহাবিপর্যয় থেকে শোভন বাংলাদেশের সন্ধানে (Boro pardaay shomaaj-orthoniiti-rastro bhairaaser mohabiparjoy theke shovon bangladesher shondhane) [In search of a transition from the virus-driven disaster to a decent Bangladesh: on the larger canvas of society-economy-state]
  Author: আবুল বারকাত [Abul Barkat] Publisher: Bangladesh Economic Association & MutoBuddhi Publishers Price: BDT 1,500; USD 60; GBP 40; EUR 50 ISBN: (…)

• Truth and Beauty | Sagari Chhabra

  22 January 2021, by Sagari Chhabra

  __1__
  In the deep forest By the gushing stream Two friends conversed, While they traversed, The woods. ‘It’s there in each flower, In the heart of the nectar, Within the pollen dust, unsaid; At godhuli time, This landscape of mine: Trees, plants and flowers, All turn divine’. Stooping to stop by a flower, Caressing her petals, he said, ‘Therein lies beauty, the fount of aesthetics!’ But the other turned and asked instead, ‘What about ethics? Good old-fashioned truth is stellar, It (…)

• Deshnayak | AK Das

  22 January 2021

  [Poem on the Birth Anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose on January 23, 2021.]
  Deshnayak
  As the guns fell silent,
  bombers were taxied to the hangers,
  fire ceased to rain from the sky,
  marching steps of heavy squads
  returned to the barracks,
  passive resistance wearing out
  failed to weave its spell again;
  future course uncertain, uncharted.
  At that time of dithering came flashing
  the heroic deeds of freedom struggle
  waged outside the country.
  It electrified the (…)

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  Trump Era Ends | jayaraj Vellur

  22 January 2021
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  . . . But he is still grumbling & complaining - R.K. Laxman Cartoon (Dec 19, 2003)

  22 January 2021
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  Release of Belarusian Translator Volha Kalackaja - Statement by PEN America (Jan 17, 2021)

  22 January 2021

  PEN America Demands Immediate Release of Belarusian Translator Volha Kalackaja
  Author Margaret Atwood says Belarus must halt its "cruel assault" on those seeking democracy
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
  January 17, 2021
  (New York, NY) — The Friday detention of the Belarusian translator Volha Kalackaja is yet another alarming example of the increasing crackdown on the creative community in Belarus, PEN America said today, and she must immediately be released and any charges against her (…)

• Is Standard of Higher Education Falling Under Neoliberalism? | Arup Maharatna

  22 January 2021, by Arup Maharatna

  Introduction and Background
  That the Second World War (WWII) in its wake marked a watershed in the thinking and policy on higher education (HE) is perhaps not a commonplace especially among the younger generations. HE historically (roughly until WWII) used to mean specialized in-depth teaching/learning as well as academic research, driven by curiosity/interest/passion/thirst for new knowledge, conducted in colleges, universities and such other dedicated academic institutions. It is only (…)