Mainstream Weekly

Table of Contents, Mainstream, Jun 12, 2026

2026-06-12T13:54:49Z

* Precarity of Border-Crossing People in West Bengal | Arup Kumar Sen
* For the US, Trade, QUAD matters more than human rights in India | John Dayal
* Militarisation: Journalism and Control in Ukraine | Ilya Kharkow

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For US, Trade, QUAD matters more than human rights in India | John Dayal

John Dayal — 2026-06-12T13:52:49Z

June 1, 2026
Christians in India, some of who were expecting that visiting United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio will carry their appeal for revocation of FCRA cancellations to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government are really disappointed that he only murmured worshipful platitudes at the Grave of Mother Teresa in Kolkata, and said even less at his meetings in Delhi during the day.
We do not know what he told Mr Modi in private at the PMO, but it is unlikely the matter of (…)

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Precarity of Border-Crossing People in West Bengal | Arup Kumar Sen

Arup Kumar Sen — 2026-06-12T13:52:41Z

The recent change in the ruling political regime in West Bengal has intensified surveillance and control of the Bangladesh border in different districts. The Telegraph reported (June 4, 2026) in this context: “The Suvendu Adhikari government continued to move forward with its agenda of fortifying the India-Bangladesh border across Bengal during its third cabinet meeting…Bengal shares over 2,200 kilometres of the border with Bangladesh. The new state government has made it a priority to hand (…)

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Kerala's Governance Challenge: Ministerial Inexperience, Bureaucratic Dependence and the Need for Knowledge-Based Democracy | A. M. Jose and Jos Chathukulam

A. M. Jose, Jos Chathukulam — 2026-06-12T13:52:31Z

Abstract: This article examines a growing contradiction in Kerala's democratic governance: elected ministers possess political legitimacy, but many assume complex portfolios without adequate sectoral experience or independent institutional support. Using the recent ministerial portfolio allocation as an illustrative case, the article argues that the issue is not individual incompetence but a structural knowledge deficit within parliamentary governance. In the absence of strong transition (…)

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The Protest in Sijimali in Odisha: A Historic Moment in People's Struggle for Right to Homeland | Suranjita Ray

Suranjita Ray — 2026-06-12T13:51:37Z

Rich in bauxite reserves and biodiversity, and situated at the edge of the sanctuary's eco-sensitive zone, the Sijimali hills in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts in Odisha has been at the center of conflict between the developmental state and the people's right to forest land and livelihood. For the last several months, a large gathering of indigenous people on the lower reaches of the hills has been protesting against the bauxite mining project of Vedanta Limited, one of the largest mining (…)

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India-USA Interim Trade Deal, 2026: Impact on Agricultural Development and Farmers Welfare | Nayakara Veeresha

2026-06-12T13:50:59Z

Abstract
The bilateral interim trade framework between the India and United States of America (USA) is the talk of the nation since its official statement made on 6th February, 2026. The India-US trade deal is labelled as historic and the reduction of reciprocal tariff from 25 to 18 per cent is described as a significant move in deepening the trade relations with USA. The reading of the text gives an impression that India acceded more with little gains in terms of expanding its export (…)

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Understanding educational bureaucracy and caste stratification through A.R. Vasavi's Government Brahmin | Ishita Sinha

2026-06-12T13:50:18Z

Within educational research, much attention has been given to studies at scale that attempt to gather data and analyse the relationship of caste, education and social reproduction. In “Government Brahmin”—Caste, the Educated Unemployed, and the Reproduction of Inequalities, however, A.R. Vasavi (2014) examines these ideas through new forms of ethnography, drawing on observations, diaries and discussions with the interlocutor to study the impact of policies, processes and institutions at the (…)

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Sexual Harassment At The Workplace | Akshita Srivastava

2026-06-12T13:50:15Z

Introduction
Violence against women and girls has been called the shadow pandemic of the current times (UN Women, 2020). While there has been an increasing attention on gender-based violence globally in the wake of the #MeToo movement, we still lack a consistent theoretical framework to capture the multiplicity of forms and their complex embedding in different social, economic and cultural tourism contexts. This might be partly due to the elusive character of violence, which emphasizes the (…)

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The Politics of Fiscal Allocation: What the GDP Criterion Signals in India's 16th Finance Commission | Shubhalaxmi Jaydeep Sagare, Tiny S. Palathara

2026-06-12T13:49:40Z

The Union Finance Commission is a constitutional body established under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution. Its primary task is to recommend the distribution of net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the states, and also to suggest measures to enhance the fiscal health of states. Over time, the criteria used by successive Commissions have shifted in response to economic developments, national priorities, and the need to ensure both equity and efficiency in resource allocation. The (…)

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The Poltics of Violence Against Doctors | Alok Ajakkala

2026-06-12T13:49:36Z

Abstract: This essay examines violence against doctors in contemporary India through the Marxist concepts of alienation and reification. While conventional explanations focus on infrastructural failures and emotional distress among patients' relatives, the essay argues that these alone cannot explain why physicians become targets of violence. It proposes the idea of ‘hyperidentity', where doctors become so reduced to their professional role that their humanity fades from social perception. (…)

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Sufism: Towards a Truer Picture | Khizra Abidi and Bhavuk

2026-06-12T13:48:48Z

Introduction
“My message is that you have to study history in depth and in detail and look at particularities” stated William Dalrymple in an interview with Vrinda Gopinath last year . The interview has been doing the rounds lately again. In this light, are you also among those who associate Sufism with just Raqs (dance) and Sama (music) and the peripatetic Darveshis (wandering Sufis) aloof from this world busy in finding solace in the remembrance (zikr) of God? If so, then you may need to (…)

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Recognition undone: the Transgender Persons Amendment Act, 2026 and the return of social morality | Divya Parmar

2026-06-12T13:47:15Z

June 2026
Abstract
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, is widely described as a regression, a reversal of the rights framework established in National Legal Services Authority v Union of India (2014). This article concurs, but contends the regression has a distinct character that existing commentary has not been fully articulated. Drawing on B.R. Ambedkar's distinction between constitutional morality and social morality, it argues that the Amendment does (…)

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Beyond the Hindi versus regional languages: the case of Khortha | Mrinalini Raj

2026-06-12T13:46:42Z

When Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin warned that the expansion of Hindi was threatening smaller Indian languages, he listed several languages struggling for survival. Buried somewhere near the end of that long list was Khortha, my native language. It was one of those rare moments when I encountered Khortha in a national political debate. Despite being spoken by millions of people across Jharkhand, the language rarely features in discussions on language policy, linguistic rights, or (…)

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Re-reading Gangadhar Adhikary's Thesis through the Lens of Thomas Kuhn, Phil Anderson, and Swami Vivekananda | Sindhunil Barman Roy

2026-06-12T13:46:38Z

1. Introduction: The Scientist-Theoretician in a Newtonian Trap
Dr. Gangadhar Adhikary was not merely a political organizer; he was a Berlin-trained PhD in Chemistry, a man who viewed the social world through the rigorous, albeit rigid, prism of the natural sciences. As a scientist-revolutionary, he approached the chaotic landscape of 1940s Indian politics with the mindset of a laboratory researcher. His 1942 thesis, Pakistan and National Unity, was an ambitious effort to distil the (…)

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What is missing in Piketty's well-intentioned aim of prosperity for all while achieving climate goal | Bharat Dogra

Bharat Dogra — 2026-06-12T13:44:01Z

Thomas Piketty is a world famous economist known for his emphasis on justice. Srijana Mitra Das of The Times of India is a famous journalist known for her detailed interviews with famous academics and thinkers. So it is nice to see a full page carrying the interview with Thomas Piketty titled ‘India's growth ambition is valid—99% can get richer without climate disaster' (see The Times of India, Chandigarh edition, June 10).
This detailed interview has a lot of valuable information for (…)

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Militarisation : Journalism and Control in Ukraine | Ilya Kharkow

2026-06-12T13:39:47Z

First, one group of journalists writes that the president has signed a decree introducing a minute of silence. Now, every day at 9:00, the entire country must fall silent in memory of the victims of the war. These texts usually include an exhaustive list of who can be considered a victim. As you might expect, the men who died while trying to escape conscription are not included in that list.
Then a second wave of journalists joins in. They add details: pedestrians and vehicles must stop in (…)

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