Mainstream Weekly

The Jawaharlal Nehru and Narendra Deva Legacies in the Socialist and National Movements in India: A Preliminary Exploration | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2023-02-17T19:31:33Z

Jawaharlal Nehru is an intrinsic part of the nationalist legacy of Indian freedom; nor can the Indian socialist legacy be defined or recalled by excluding him. And on inter-communal questions, which have a bearing on the very definition of India, Nehru's record is par excellence and second only to that of Mahatma Gandhi.
The massacre of unarmed civilians who had gathered for a protest meeting against the Rowlatt legislation at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, took place on 13 April 1919. (…)

- 2023

75 Years of Independent India | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2022-08-12T23:43:37Z

I.
The Soviet Union lasted less than 75 years even if reckoned from 1917.
Independent India has now crossed that threshold and that is a reason for satisfaction.
The Indian experiment has been no less bold than the Soviet if only because the challenges it has faced have been at least equally profound.
Both Russia and India were peasant-based economies when they started out on their new journey, Russia's in 1917 and India's in 1947. India was under a full-scale colonialism, alien and (…)

- 2022

Against The Dying of The Light - Bharat Ratna Frontier Gandhi, Badshah Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988) | A Note By Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2022-07-08T18:20:39Z

[This note is being circulated for the attention of the candidates in the elections for the offices of President and Vice President of India and the respective electoral colleges in these elections. Recently, taking advantage of Covid lockdowns, the Haryana Government renamed Badshah Khan Hospital in Haryana after Atal Behari Vajpayee. This was done although the Frontier Gandhi, Badshah Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988), was, apart from other things, a recipient of the Bharat Ratna. He (…)

- 2022

Allah Baksh and Indian Nationhood | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2022-05-27T19:00:13Z

(Online Lecture by Anil Nauriya on 14 May 2022 at Commemorative Function on Allah Baksh organised by the Society for Communal Harmony).
The 79th Anniversary of the assassination of Allah Baksh (spelt also as Bakhsh, Buksh and Bux) fell on May 14, 2022.
Why is it important to remember Allah Baksh and to commemorate this day?
All communalism thrives on stereotypes. Many of the stereotypes being circulated in the colonial interest have also strengthened communal stereotypes and (…)

- 2022

Gandhi, secularism, reason and faith | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2022-03-05T00:51:58Z

Although Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) derived strength from a sense of faith, he supported the idea of a secular state. And while he did not a priori exclude or reject faith, he stood committed to apply the test of reason even to religious scriptures. This article is concerned with how Gandhi understood and reconciled these various concepts. The secular nature of the state — that is, a religiously neutral state as postulated in India by the resolution adopted by the Indian National Congress (…)

- 2022

The Significance of a Shadow Cabinet: The Opposition Should Establish It | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2021-08-07T12:57:57Z

by Anil Nauriya The political crisis in India has assumed a serious character. Since 2014 there has been an all-round failure in governance with respect to Public Order and Rule of Law, Public Health, Public Welfare, Social Unity, Economy, External Affairs and Defence. Closely associated with this, there has been an erosion in the independence of most Constitutional institutions not excluding even the Election Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. As I (…)

- 2021

Dharwar Firing Centenary | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2021-07-02T19:23:12Z

Today, 1 July, is the centenary of the police firing in Dharwar during the movement for Non-violent Non-co-operation with the Colonial Government in India 100 years ago.
The firing started around 8.20 at night when non-co-operators were picketing market toddy and liquor shops. At least 42 bullets were fired, killing 3 and injuring around 39 persons.
The All India Congress Committee appointed an Inquiry Committee to inquire into the incident and fix responsibility for the casualties, (…)

- 2021

Kenneth Kaunda: The Passing of an African Giant | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2021-06-18T19:42:19Z

Kenneth Kaunda, a giant of the 20th Century, has passed away. He stood in the first line of African liberation struggles and his going marks the end of an era. It is a great loss to Zambia of course, but also to Africa as a whole and to India and the world. He was a tower of strength in Africa-India relations. Growing up in the 1960s in India meant growing up under the moral shadow, not only of our own struggle for freedom represented by such figures as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and (…)

- 2021

Initiate talks for a National Government | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2021-05-14T15:19:57Z

I would like to highlight a few considerations from a political and Constitutional angle. Perhaps these would strike a chord also with Democratic Socialists of various persuasions.
1. There needs to be National Mourning until the current public health crisis lasts. This would emphasise in a formal way to all in the Indian state and outside it the gravity of the crisis before the country. At the moment various sections of the state go into denial at the earliest opportunity or excuse. (…)

- 2021

Essaying The Muslims: Some Issues In The Indian Freedom Movement And After | Anil Nauriya

Anil Nauriya — 2020-09-18T20:19:20Z

[This year marks the 100th year of the Non-cooperation movement, a landmark moment in India's Freedom Struggle. The below extended review essay allows us to travel back and reflect on the aspects of history of the non-cooperation movement and after] __5__
MAKING SENSE OF HISTORY: SOCIETY, CULTURE AND POLITICS Mushirul Hasan Manohar Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, 2003
I
Mushirul Hasan has since the late 1970s been an articulate scholar especially of the Muslim-related (…)

- 2020