March 2020

Remembering “unworthy victims”

Friday, March 20 marks the twentieth anniversary of the killings of 36 Sikhs in Indian-occupied Kashmir under mysterious circumstances. It happened close to then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to…

Kashmir to Corona

Dear Baba, Since you left us, nothing has much changed except that we could not celebrate Bebo's birthday last year. I forgot to tell you about the postponement of marriage…

Women to Prepare Fuel, Kids to Catch Fish, Yet Elders Lack Nutrition

Walking across the muddy road at the end of the Irongmara bazaar area (near Assam University), we reached a village, around 1 km from the bazaar. This was the time…

Coronavirus: Economic uncertainty rises

Supply shocks from China have caused a fall in production and decline in demand, leading to fears of recession. Stock markets globally have declined since the big drop this…

For the 1st time since outbreak, China reports NO NEW LOCAL coronavirus case

Mainland China has had no new local coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours – the first time since the outbreak began in December. However, China is still struggling to…

Coronavirus pandemic: China and Cuba send medical teams, equipments and medicine to countries

China and Cuba have stepped in with practical measures at international level amidst the near-collapse health care situation in a number of capitalist countries in the face of coronavirus pandemic.…

BioCubaFarma guarantees production of 22 medications for the treatment of Covid-19

Although there is no preventive vaccine or specific treatment, at this time, for the new coronavirus SARS COV-2, which causes COVID-19, the Cuban pharmaceutical industry guarantees the production of proven,…

Coronavirus pandemic: Reports from U.S., India, Pakistan, Afghanistan

US struggles to fill requests for protective gear A Salem, Oregon, March 18, 2020 datelined Associated Press report by Andrew Selsky said: The U.S. government is rushing protective equipment to…

Do you think solidarity between women is possible?

During the first few decades of the feminist movement, it was assumed that women as a social group, as a political constituency could organise themselves as a unified entity in…

The difference

Puta Bhatta Jataka. The Buddha himself had narrated this story to a married couple. He had waited for them ‘like a hunter on the trail’ in his monastery cell in…

A lesson coronavirus is about to teach the world

If a disease can teach wisdom beyond our understanding of how precarious and precious life is, the coronavirus has offered two lessons. The first is that in a globalised world…

Viral Reactions: The Smugness of Celebrity Self-Isolation

The rush to elevate self-isolation to Olympian heights as a way to combat the spread of COVID-19 has gotten to the celebrities. Sports figures are proudly tweeting and taking pictures…

Death at the Greek Border: Syrian Refugees Should Not Be Used as Political Pawns

In a surprising move, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announced on February 29 that he will be re-opening his country’s border to Europe, thus allowing tens of thousands of mostly…

Tone-Deaf Techies

In yet another tone-deaf ejaculation of mind-blowing idiocy, member of the tech elite Hadi Partovi declared that recession could be good for Seattle. Read it here, faithfully reported by Geekwire.…

Helping Haymarket

I make no bones about it- this piece is a plea for help. I’m lucky; so far I’m fine. So the help is not for me. It’s for an institution…

Denying Interim Bail To Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha Is Alarming

Statement by MRSD on Supreme Court’s rejection of pre-arrest bail plea of Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon violence case Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy (MRSD) is…

Telangana Assembly passes resolution against CAA, NPR, and NRC

The Telangana State (TS) Legislative Assembly, by way of a resolution passed on March 16, Monday, has opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR), and National Register…

Surf the Internet Instead: Britannic Herd Immunity and Coronavirus

Epidemiologist William Hanage was more than perplexed by the plan. “When I heard about Britain’s ‘herd immunity’ coronavirus plan,” he reflected in The Guardian, “I thought it was satire.” Much…

Food Waste Management: A Global Dilemma

Co written by Bipasha Saikia and Bishaldeep Kakati According to Food and Agricultural Organization, every year one-third of the food produced across the globe goes to waste. The staggering amount…

12 Ways the U.S. Invasion of Iraq Lives On In Infamy

Co-Written by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J S Davies While the world is consumed with the terrifying coronavirus pandemic, on March 19 the Trump administration will be marking the 17th…

Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws, A Humanitarian Message

U.S. sanctions against Iran, cruelly strengthened in March of 2018, continue a collective punishment of extremely vulnerable people. Presently, the U.S. “maximum pressure” policyseverely undermines Iranian efforts to cope with…

When “Fake News” Was Banned- An America Trump Might Have Loved

Every month, it seems, brings a new act in the Trump administration’s war on the media. In January, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo exploded at National Public Radio reporter Mary Louise Kelly…

Playing for Higher Stakes: Saudi Arabia Gambles on Oil War with Russia

With stock markets crashing and economies grinding to a halt as the world struggles to get a grip on the Coronavirus, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could not have…

Silence between the Notes – Anthology of Partition Poetry

Title: Silence between the Notes – Anthology of Partition Poetry Selected, edited and introduced by Aftab Husain and Sarita Jenamani Despite being more than seven decades old, Partition continues to…

Facing off the virus

Expatriates returning from Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon wait to be retested in a Kuwaiti health ministry containment and screening zone for COVID-19 in Kuwait City on March 16, 2020. In…

One Pandemic, Many Possibilities

A month ago, if someone had said ‘social distancing’, I would have really thought they were talking about the Indian caste system with its perverse idea of untouchability. ‘Lockdown’ till…

NPR presents a Clear Danger to Women, De-link NPR from Census house listing

More than 1000 WOMEN FROM ACROSS INDIA Write to State Chief Ministers, saying - “NPR presents a Clear Danger to Women, De-link NPR from Census house listing” Given that the…

Wedding In Corona Times: No Restriction On Karnataka CM? Letter to the Prime Minister

To Shri Narendra Modiji Prime Minister Dear Shri Modiji, I compliment your government, especially Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Health Minister and Dr S. Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister for the…

History: No forgetting, no forgiving

History does not forget & forgive those who make it. Making of history does not mean always doing right. It equally means doing wrong. Those who did wrong are never…

The Taliban Scores a Coup

It threatened to disappear under the viral haze of COVID-19, but February 29 saw representatives from the US and Taliban, loftily acknowledged as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, sign the…

China – US Media War

The U.S. is insulting the Chinese media. It is affecting both countries. My colleagues in Beijing believe, correctly, that Washington should have tried to increase communication, not to bring it…

Light Will Get In ! Writes Gautam Navlakha As He Readies Himself To Surrender

As the Supreme Court allows the government to incarcerate and silence two more voices Gautam Nawlakha and Anand Teltumbde that dared to speak out against its excesses Gautam Nawlakha one…

COVID-19 and Responsibilities of Libraries

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute…

Xenophobia related to pandemic Coronavirus in India

India with a population of 1,210,193,422 as accounted by the1st March 2011 population census. India is a colourful canvas portraying a unique assimilation of ethnic groups displaying varied cultures and…

‘Zionist’ Biden in His Own Words: ‘My Name is Joe Biden, and Everybody Knows I Love Israel’

"I am a Zionist. You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist," current Democratic Presidential candidate, Joe Biden, said in April 2007, soon before he was chosen…

Remembering Ghulam-ud-Din Khan

Some people meet their maker after receiving a worldly commendation for every good they do. However, some meet their end without coming into public notice although they also contribute to…

Circle in the Darkness – Memoir of a World Watcher

Circle in the Darkness - Memoir of a World Watcher. Diana Johnstone. Clarity Press, Atlanta Georgia. 2020. Diana Johnstone has done a masterful job of writing her autobiography, Circle in…

COVID-19: An opportunity for the revival of SAARC

With COVID-19 virus declared as a pandemic, spreading across countries including South Asia, people are being advised to live in isolation. Claiming more than 6500 deaths worldwide and more than…

“Maximum-pressure March”: US hybrid war on Venezuela heats up

The first quarter of 2020 has seen the Trump administration escalate its rhetoric against Venezuela. At the State of the Union, President Trump promised to “smash” and destroy the Venezuelan…

Helping in Corona Times

During these tragic and anxiety-filled times, we are witnessed extremes in human behavior. Extremes. On the one hand, we have the fundamental decency of medical professionals and first responders who…

Trump Reportedly Offered German Firm ‘Large Sum’ for Exclusive Rights to Coronavirus Vaccine

German lawmakers and government officials voiced outrage at reporting Sunday that the Trump administration is seeking to secure exclusive rights to a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by the German firm CureVac…

Relaxing The Environment Impact Appraisal Norms For Bulk Drug Units A Health Hazard

To Shri C K Mishra Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Mishra, It is reported widely that your Ministry is thinking of…

Taliban fought IS with ‘limited’ US military support, reveals U.S. general

Since signing of the U.S-Taliban deal, some revealing reports are coming out. A Washington, March 11, 2020 datelined AFP report, “Taliban fought IS with 'limited' U.S. military support, U.S. general…

Baghdad’s Tahrir Square protest waning, but the movement is going on

The biggest democratic movement in modern Iraq is waning, but the movement is going on. Activists of the Tahrir Square in Baghdad are struggling to keep alive the movement. Security…

Destroying Constitutional ‘Fraternity’: NPR-NRC from Assam to All-India

There was public alarm following enactment of CAA-2019. The 2003 Rules [Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003] may not have been examined in…

A Covid-19 Vaccine Quickly And Cheaply

The urgent need for a vaccine Public health experts say that if the COVID-19 epidemic is not successfully contained, it could become a global pandemic, perhaps spreading to 80%…

In time of a growing Pandemic: Some thoughts

Japanese Magnolia in full bloom On Sunday morning, I hardly noticed that the Japanese Magnolia outside my study room window is in full bloom as it is mid-March. Every year,…

Corona in a teacup!

As I write this, I am sitting at my workstation at home, a cup of hot green tea in hand, like any other day. But that is where ‘like any…

The Release of Chelsea Manning

Chelsea Manning’s release last Thursday by order of Virginia District Court judge Anthony Trenga had an air of oddness to it. “The court finds Ms. Manning’s appearance before the Grand…

Two Covid-19 viruses meet Albert Camus

The world was calm now. And silent. Only the birds chirped tweeted sang cawed. Only the animals barked mewed mooed growled. Only the river gurgled. Only the sky thundered. Only…

Book review: The Tragedy of American Science-From Truman to Trump

In the Time of Covid-19 and runaway Global Warming, interest in science is no longer considered either passé or purely the realm of so-called nerds. Enhanced by the existence of…

Recent important environmental news

In recent news, several significant events were simultaneously happening across the world. Here are just a few of the seemingly most relevant ones. Many Californian beach goers are using the…

Coronavirus, Economic Networks, and Social Fabric

Connections will be strained in the coming weeks—some of them interpersonal and local, some economic and global. It’s up to us to nourish the connections that are most essential, while…

Why Are Epidemiological Principles Not Being Followed To Know The Extent Of Spread Of Coronavirus Cases In The Community At Large In India?

In India most of the people who are being tested for coronavirus infection are those who have a travel history or who have been in contact with a coronavirus positive…