Mainstream Weekly

Apex Court's Welcome Step

SC — 2009-06-02T08:58:43Z

While the stand-off between the Congress and DMK on portfolio allocation and the number of berths the Tamil Nadu ruling party would have in the Union Cabinet has ended with an amicable settlement and the Council of Ministers' expansion is due on May 28, Cyclone Alia has caused widespread havoc in south Bengal including Kolkata even as Punjab has been rocked by street protests affecting rail and road transport following the attack on leaders of the Dera Sachkhand Balan, a predominantly Dalit (…)

- May 2009

Devouring Tiger: Marauding Tiger?

Apratim Mukarji — 2009-06-02T08:57:15Z

Velupillai Prabhakaran died the way he lived, by the bullet. The tiger of violence that he chose to ride at a young age finally devoured him. The nearly 26-year-old civil war in Sri Lanka has ended as was anticipated for sometime. Ideally, it is now time for reconciliation, rehabilitation and establish-ment of the federal constitutional structure in the island nation.
However, in contrast to these idealistic prospects, reports from Sri Lanka continue to convey a large measure of (…)

- May 2009

Lok Sabha Poll 2009: UPA Returns to Power

Kamala Prasad — 2009-06-02T08:55:46Z

The election to the 15th Lok Sabha has thrown up some surprises. Predictions have been proved unrealistic. It is time to put the outcomes in perspective.
The leader of the winning coalition has called the outcome “historic”. Manmohan Singh, though not fighting for a seat, has declared it a “massive mandate”. The Congress party General Secretary and in charge of UP State has read in it signals for an end to the era of regional, identity parties. If these readings are valid, then, (…)

- May 2009

Election Results: Some Reflections

Amitava Mukherjee — 2009-06-02T08:54:13Z

As expected, the results of the Lok Sabha election have led to revolts against Prakash Karat and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee within the CPM as well as the Left Front. Although the CPM leadership tried to put up a smart face, yet the chasm was too deep to paper over as an overwhelming majority of the West Bengal leadership laid the blame for electoral defeat squarely at the door of Prakash Karat. Somnath Chatterjee openly called for his ouster, a sentiment which is shared by many in the CPM's (…)

- May 2009

The Keshpur Line

Meher Engineer — 2009-06-02T08:49:19Z

Here is a “Result Declared”. It is taken from the website of the Election Commission of India. S.No.NamePartyVotes 1 GURUDAS DASGUPTA CPI 625923 2 NARAYAN CHANDRA SAMAT BSP 12065 3 NURE ALAM CHOWDHURY AITC 478739 4 MATILAL KHATUA BJP 35004 5 ARUN KUMAR DAS JMM 5333 6 AHITOSH MAITY RDMP 3515 7 LIYAKAT KHAN IJP 9355
It is for West Bengal's Ghatal Lok Sabha seat = Panskura West, Sabang, Pingla, Debra, Daspur, Ghatal (SC) and Keshpur (SC) Assembly segments. The seat grew out (…)

- May 2009

Grassroots Issues and Elections

Bharat Dogra — 2009-06-02T08:44:34Z

At a time when there is widespread concern over the neglect of grassroots issues in the election campaign, efforts of activists to secure the commitment of (generally) reluctant politicians for protection of livelihoods and environment deserve wider appreciation.
Such an effort was made in the ecologically crucial Western Ghats region. This region is spread over five States (Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka) and includes 32 parliamentary constituencies. The ‘Save (…)

- May 2009

Twenty Years After

Nikhil Chakravartty — 2009-06-02T08:42:52Z

In the sultry summer morning of May 27, 1964, when Jawaharlal Nehru left the land of his birth and its people whose affection he earned in abundance, nobody in this wide world of India had any idea how this country would look twenty years later, how the life and living of its toiling millions would change, how the nation would conduct itself in the comity of nations. As his funeral cortege wended its way through the vast humanity wrapped up in tearful mourning, the one thought that hovered (…)

- May 2009

Jawaharlal Nehru : excerpts from his speeches and writings

2009-06-02T08:41:23Z

On May 27 this year falls the 45th death anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. On this occasion we are carrying some relevant excerpts from his speeches and writings for the benefit of our readers. We are also reproducing a speech by our former President, R. Venkataraman, who passed away earlier this year, and a contribution made by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in a volume brought out in 1989 on the occasion of the Nehru birth centenary. We are further publishing a piece on Nehru that (…)

- May 2009

Nehru, the Parliamentarian

R Venkataraman — 2009-06-02T08:35:55Z

It is a privilege for me to address this distinguished gathering of parliamentarians, authors, scholars and journalists, assembled here today to honour our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on his 96th birth anniversary. A little over twentyone years ago, he left us in deep desolation. But he has handed over to us a priceless legacy of his thoughts and writings which continue to live with and inspire us. Nehru dominated the post-war world scene as an outstanding visionary, humanist, (…)

- May 2009

Nehru and Non-alignment

P.V. Narasimha Rao — 2009-06-02T08:34:24Z

We are presently celebrating the birth centenary of Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the greatest sons of India. He was a multi-faceted personality. He was first and foremost a patriot, a great freedom fighter who bravely faced personal privation and misfortune during the struggle, was chosen by Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, as his second in command to lead the nation after Independence, was India's first Prime Minister, builder of modern India, and initiator of the policy of (…)

- May 2009