Amid aggressive protest by the members of the opposition, the Rajya Sabha passed three farm Bills on 20th Sept 2020 by voice vote which were earlier approved by the Lok Sabha. After the approval of the President of India all these three Bills have been the acts for implementation. Those who are not connected to farming argue that the introduction[Read More…]
The state of Punjab rose to the occasion in resurrecting the spirit of immortal martyr Bhagat Singh on September 28th.Commemoration conferences or rallies engulfed the whole state shimmering the spark of the ideology of Bhagat Singh in context of the Imperialist policies enslaving the whole population. It is ironical that the homage assemblies coincided with one of the most impactful[Read More…]
Book Review The Future We Choose: Surviving the climate crisis Authors: Christiania Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac Published: February 2020 Never before have I come across a book that literally screams out to the reader to be the change that you wish to see. And that also with practical imperatives. This is an essential read for all those who wish to[Read More…]
Positioning itself squarely against what Noam Chomsky calls the ‘Reactionary International’, the Progressive International seeks to unite the forces of sanity and progress around the world A news item barely covered by the Indian news media relates to the statement, issued by the council of the Progressive International (PI) on 23 September, 2020, calling upon the Government of India[Read More…]
September 29. Central Criminal Court, London.: Julian Assange’s defence team spent the day going over, reemphasising and sharpening the focus on what awaited their client should he, with the blessing of Her Majesty’s Government, make his way to the United States. Not only will he confront 17 charges under the US Espionage Act and one under the Computer Fraud and[Read More…]
Global warming is ravaging forests throughout the world. “New studies show drought and heat waves will cause massive die-offs, killing most trees alive today.” (Source: We Need to Hear These Poor Trees Scream: Unchecked Global Warming Means Big Trouble for Forests, Inside Climate News, April 25, 2020) According to Bill Anderegg, a forest researcher at the University of Utah: “Global[Read More…]
September 26th was the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. In Chicago, where Voices for Creative Nonviolence is based, activists held the third of three COVID-era “Car Caravans” for nuclear disarmament, travelling through the city from Voices’ own rapidly gentrifying Uptown neighborhood to the statue on Chicago’s South Side which marks the fateful site of Earth’s first[Read More…]
Nidhi Mishra takes us on a nostalgic journey through the syncretic elements of Lucknawi culture “I know you are from Lucknow, but must our daughter lose marks in your mother tongue for some whimsical assertion of your Lucknawi roots?!” my (Kannadiga) husband asked incredulously. He was even more stunned to see the hesitation I had in giving the obvious answer categorically. I had[Read More…]
Overwhelmed by uncontrollable circumstances, the Greek government is bracing for another financial crisis that promises to be as terrible as the last one in 2015. Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced, on September 12, that Athens has made a “robust” arms deal that will “reinforce the armed forces” and create a “national shield”. However, beyond Mitsotakis’ mask of confidence, there is[Read More…]
Cancel culture is a modern form of ostracism, grown on yeast of populism, critical race theory, and struggle for equality. Had been a university professor for 29 years, I remember students’ quest for satisfying clarity: no grey area – this is white or black; no uncertainty – this is right or wrong. Here comes a probable reason for visible success[Read More…]
The white mobs didn’t care whom they killed as long as the victims were Black. They murdered people in public with guns and rocks. They set fire to houses and slaughtered families trying to escape the flames. In East St. Louis in July 1917, white vigilantes lynched Blacks with impunity. It was the prelude to what civil rights activist James Weldon[Read More…]
The world has witnessed an incredible amount of progress in the last five decades that has transformed lives and made people richer and many nations prosperous. The pace of the change has[Read More…]
The horrifically brutal and inhuman act of torture and rape perpetrated by Thakur men on a young Dalit woman in Haathras, Uttar Pradesh, tears at the soul and claws the conscience. It provokes violent thoughts and words and makes it impossible to not imagine a proportional response of the same barbaric extent as the ultimate self-defensive justice. This feeling is[Read More…]
I watch with my lips sealed Watch each girl burn burn the stains of Predators’ Hands till their life is done I watch with my ears closed Watch rancid hands leap and lustfully Immolate last night’s Fun Clear the mess. The job is done. Unemployed, porn-ridden mobiles watch, watch with closed eyes the horror, horror of a life[Read More…]
The coronavirus has claimed more than 1 million lives around the world, the latest dark ‘milestone’ for the worldwide pandemic first detected some 10 months ago, which continues to spread across several hotspots. Infecting more than 33 million since first emerging in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December, the global Covid-19 death toll surpassed the 1 million mark on[Read More…]
“Today, the villages are dung heaps. Tomorrow they will be like tiny gardens of Eden where dwell highly intelligent folk whom no one can deceive or exploit”. Mahatma Gandhi, writing in the Harijan in November 1946 Of all the dreams that Mahatma Gandhi projected for India’s future, none was shattered as cruelly as his wish to make it a[Read More…]
Cotton is the only genetically modified (GM) crop that has been officially approved in India and has been cultivated (illegally then legally) in the country for more than 20 years. Although GM mustard has been approved for commercial cultivation by India’s apex regulatory body for GM crops (the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, GEAC), a public interest litigation led by Aruna[Read More…]
Based on remarks at the RSIS book launch of Alan Chong and Quang Minh Pham (eds), Critical Reflections on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Palgrave MacMillan, 2020 Political scientists Alan Chong and Quang Min Pham bring with their edited volume originality as well as dimensions and perspectives to the discussion about the Belt and Road that are highly relevant but[Read More…]
Bihar is the land of notable religious and social reformers who not only sought reform in dogmatic religious practices but also advocated social equality, social harmony and social justice- key factors for peace and tranquility. This is the land of Buddha, Mahavir, Chandragupta Maurya, Samrat Ashoka, etc. And so also of Jayprakash Narayan, BP Mandal, Karpoori Thakur, etc. They prescribed[Read More…]
For the much of human history on planet earth – till the 18th century – India and China were the two largest economies in the world, who periodically interchanged the top position amongst themselves. This was mainly possible because of the ‘blessing from the heights’: first, the Tibetan Plateau – the largest water tank in the world from which[Read More…]
Reactionary politics in India, and the Indian State itself, seek to promote Hindi and thwart development of other languages and nationalities, not only those of South India, but notably also those in north India. The term “Hindi States” is an artificial construct meant for the same purpose. Whole languages were undermined and shown as “dialects”. The policy on languages and[Read More…]
September 28. Central Criminal Court, London.: Throughout the sham process formally known as the Julian Assange extradition trial, prosecutors representing the United States have been adamant: the carceral conditions awaiting him in freedom’s land will be pleasant, accommodating and appropriate. Confronting 17 charges under the US Espionage Act and one under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Assange and his[Read More…]
A Theater of Dark Fantasy Hearing a hushed commotion outside my room, 203 of the first-line Covid Care Centre at Makkiyad, I opened the door. A young woman with her husband and two small children, looking deeply hurt, confused and restless, was looking around the corridor. I asked if I could be of help. She was about to burst into[Read More…]
The expansion of capitalism translates into an unequal relationship between the employer and the employee, this power disparity also impacts the bargaining power of employees when it comes to safe and equal working conditions. This unequal distribution of power and wealth should be addressed, worker’s rights should be acknowledged and then only can we as a society come closer to[Read More…]
On 21 September, 2020, – World Peace Day – diverse sectors of the Colombian society held protests throughout the country, resulting in 142 actions including in the cities of Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali. In response to these demonstrations, the Colombian state unabashedly used its repressive power. At least 11 people were injured and 13 others were detained by the Colombian security forces. In Bogota, the National Police’s Mobile[Read More…]
The sculpture “Stand Tall, Stand Loud”, conceived by the African American artist Aaron Bell, whose father once was a prominent jazz bassist with the Duke Ellington Band, was originally assigned a spot directly beneath a complex of apartment buildings in New York’s Manhattan Riverside Park that bear the name TRUMP. However, the sculpture was soon removed and silenced by New[Read More…]
The mind is a winding river, its churning waters both cluttering and cleansing many shores and various ports of call. The broad outlines of the 1958 strike by the steel workers of Jamshedpur are still there in my memory; I was all of ten years of age at the time. The strike was a spontaneous uprising under the banner of[Read More…]
In Gujarat a young Dalit activist lawyer Devji Maheswari, belonging to BAMSCEF was killed in Surat by the Brahmin goon who was warning him against his facebook posts not to speak up against Brahmanism but then there are other angles also which are mostly related to land disputes, many time ignored by the activists. Fact is that Devji Maheshwari was[Read More…]
By the end of September 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic registered 34 million infection cases with one million deaths globally. Notwithstanding Donald Trump’s ultra-nationalistic “America Frist” policy, the USA had, for weeks on end, taken the lead when it came to total deaths with 210,000 deaths and by the end of September it had a total of seven million Coronavirus cases.[Read More…]
Literacy is a social fact. The term which is introduced here with ‘gender literacy’ is not a new mere concept but something which needs expression politically and socially. A society with hundred percent literacy many remain unattended to gender literacy. Literacy would mean the act of learning how to read and write in its basic form. But what is gender[Read More…]
Review of “Azadi” by Arundhati Roy In approximately 5 weeks the United States will hold the most important Presidential election in its short and violent history. Bookmakers and Psephologists alike think of it as a 50-50 proposition. The incumbent Donald Trump has been hinting that the election, whatever the result, will be tainted, rigged and that, as such, he would[Read More…]
On 18 August 2020, Bahujan journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police. He is being held in custody over a tweet he had forwarded, which he had immediately deleted upon learning that it contained fake news. This is a routine social media behaviour that one observes on the platform almost every day. However, this was used as a[Read More…]
On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh, Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) held a demonstration to oppose growing state violence in India, on Sunday, September 27 in Surrey. Bhagat Singh was a towering revolutionary who fought against the British occupation of India and stood for an egalitarian and just society. He strongly believed in secularism and[Read More…]
by Badre Alam Khan and Wasim Ahasan While paying homage to Bhagat Singh on his 113th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Nrendera Modi in his Mann ki Baat (telecasted on 27th September 2020) has said that we should not forget the revolutionary legacy of Bhagat Singh and his comrades who gave their precious lives for achieving Freedom from mighty British Empire.[Read More…]
When James Mill periodized the Indian History into Hindu Period, Muslim Period and British period, he not only gave the tool to British to pursue their policy of ‘divide and rule’, he also gave the potent weapon to the future pursuers of communal politics to intensify the divisive policies in the future. The Muslim communalists later claimed that India was[Read More…]
Sep 28 marks important days in the lives of two revered icons of revolutionary action in India – Bhagat Singh and Shankar Guha Niyogi. Both exemplified a sense of identification with the issues of the masses and sought to join the struggle while on the frontlines. Niyogi worked shoulder-to-shoulder with mine workers in Chhattisgarh. Both paid with their lives for[Read More…]
Before the fast, during the lockdown, I had been eating alot of home-made bread and not walking much let alone running. After the lockdown I walked and ran a bit more but my kidney was not working properly, the urine was scanty. So I read about the health benefits of fasting and decided to try it. It started out as[Read More…]
The Sangh was founded in 1925 with the declared aim of opposing the ‘yavan-snakes’ (i.e the Muslims) who ‘were spreading riots in the country.’ It declared with equal determination that it was not concerned with the independence movement. The Sangh kept its word and opposed the freedom struggle with determination. When independence appeared a possibility, Golwarkar dreamt of India as[Read More…]
Along with broader movement against the authoritarian project of RSS and BJP, emphasis must be laid on politicisation of society and balance of social forces must be changed Recently, senior journalist Santosh Bhartiya interviewed me on the contradictions of left movement. Responding to his question, I said that for me left movement in India is a democratic movement which stands[Read More…]
In December of 2019, my best friend Kit took me and my partner to the place where she grew up, in the remote Thora Valley, in the pristine forested foothills of Eastern Australia’s Great Dividing Range. As we drove down Darkwood, the single road into the Thora, Kit told us stories of floods and mouldy houses, of Christmases spent at[Read More…]
Protesters wreaked havoc in downtown Seattle, erecting barricades and setting them on fire to block police from moving in. Violence erupted in the heart of the former ‘autonomous zone’ created by Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters. At least 10 were arrested after a BLM protest in Seattle turned violent on Saturday night, and saw activists storming a boarded store and[Read More…]
An AP report from Kabul said: Afghanistan’s dwindling community of Sikhs and Hindus is shrinking to its lowest levels. With growing threats from the local Islamic State affiliate, many are choosing to leave the country of their birth to escape the insecurity and a once-thriving community of as many as 250,000 members now counts fewer than 700. The community’s numbers[Read More…]
Around 30 Christian families living in Omardho, a village in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, are being hounded by a large group of religious extremists. This action is being carried out in an attempt to force Christians to recant their faith. “On the 20th of September 2020 at around 2 pm, a few policemen along with the fanatics came[Read More…]
I will imagine you Venus tonight and pray, pray, pray to your star like a Heathen. – John Keats Venus, visible in the night sky above Salgotarjan, Hungary, in March, is typically the brightest object in the night sky other than the moon. Credit…Peter Komka/EPA, via Shutterstock The brightest star on a night sky that is visible from Earth[Read More…]
Title: Love is not a word: The Culture and Politics of Desire Editor: Debotri Dhar Publisher: Speaking Tiger, 2020 Love is not a word: The Culture and Politics of Desire edited by Debotri Dhar is a timely and illuminating book. It asks the right questions, sets up the debate on issues which need to be debated in order to bring the many[Read More…]
by Wafaa Aludaini and Ramzy Baroud The inevitable has finally happened, and the coronavirus pandemic is now ravaging the besieged Gaza Strip. On August 24, a total lockdown was imposed by the Gaza authorities following the discovery of several COVID-19 cases outside designated quarantine areas. Since then, over 1,000 cases have been identified and ten people have died. Experts estimate[Read More…]
On August 26th, during the Republican National Convention, Vice President Mike Pence closed out his acceptance speech with a biblical sleight of hand. Speaking before a crowd at the Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, he exclaimed, “Let’s fix our eyes on Old Glory and all she represents. Let’s fix our eyes on this land of heroes and let their courage inspire.”[Read More…]
In my recent post on the current hearings at the Old Bailey over Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States, where he would almost certainly be locked away for the rest of his life for the crime of doing journalism, I made two main criticisms of the Guardian. A decade ago, remember, the newspaper worked closely in collaboration with Assange[Read More…]
Recently Rajya Sabha passed two of the three contentious Farm Reform Bills 2020 that led to various debates on farmer’s rights. Hundreds of farmers came to the streets to protest against those bills which are believed to be a huge disadvantage for the farmers. With the removal of taxes and Minimum Support Price (MSP), mandis under Agricultural Produce Market Committee[Read More…]
by Dr. Urvashi Priyadarshini, Dr. Arathi P Rao and Dr. K. Rajasekharan Nayar The concept of being “healthy” is commonly associated with physical health, and mental health normally occupies a secondary role although it is contained in the WHO definition of health. It was and is considered a taboo and, people with mental health problems feel uncomfortable discussing their issues[Read More…]
Hindi along with Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri and English, has been made official language of Jammu and Kashmir. A bill is recently passed in the parliament of India to add Dogri and Hindi in list of already existing (Urdu and English) official languages of Jammu and Kashmir. People of Jammu and Kashmir feel alienated and express their distress, as their right[Read More…]
Chris Moffat, India’s Revolutionary Inheritance: Politics and The Promise of Bhagat Singh, 2019, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Pages 282 Chris Moffat has been a British researcher doing research on Bhagat Singh since years and spent quite a lot of time in Delhi and Punjab on both sides of the Indo-Pak border. This book is result of his rigorously academic,[Read More…]
Media reports from Yerevan and Baku said: Armenia declared martial law and mobilized its male population on Sunday after clashes with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. Both sides reported fatalities. Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly ethnic Armenian region inside Azerbaijan which declared independence in 1991, also announced martial law and mobilized the male population after clashes, which the two[Read More…]
The Farm Bills – which pave the way for private companies to buy farmers’ produce and go for contract-farming- have been vigorously opposed by the opposition parties and the farmers. While covering the issue, the mainstream media, particularly the Hindi press, not only largely ignored the concerns of the opposition parties but also pliantly toed the government’s line. Worse[Read More…]
Despite its publication and release in 2012, both the book entitled, Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and criticism of Religion in India, and the theme it attempts to capture stand understated today. Johannes Quack, ethnologist of Religion Studies from Frankfurt, began work on the book as his Master’s thesis project in 2009, which was released in the market as a published[Read More…]
September 25. Central Criminal Court, London: On this Friday, the Assange trial moved into the rarefied realm of computer hacking and the less than rarefied world of when final arguments will be made. The WikiLeaks publisher is confronting the prospect of extradition to the United States for 17 charges under the US Espionage Act and one under the Computer Fraud[Read More…]
He was very much one of those cricketers who made the pulse race, a figure for the advocates of a faster variant of the game. Nothing of the solid blocker in the man, though he could, if needed, linger at the crease. Australia’s Dean Jones sported equipment perfect for the shorter format of the game: lightning quick between the wickets,[Read More…]
If the Anglophone Indians are derided as ‘Macaulay’s children’, then the Hindi speaking Indians can also be called ‘Gilchrist’s children’. My late maternal grandmother – who had studied philosophy and biology in the 1940s Calcutta – had told me once during my boyhood, that Calcutta was the birthplace of the modern Hindi language: it was ‘invented’ by the British[Read More…]
[ I received the news late last night from Counterpunch- one of my favorite columnists- activist, visionary, poet, philosopher, friend of the downtrodden, Andre Vltchek, had slumped into the seat of a taxicab, his wife next to him, while traveling somewhere in Turkey, and never woke up. I truly did not want to believe it- in a worldwide desert terrain[Read More…]
A state-owned initiative in India is called a public sector undertaking or a public sector enterprise. These establishments are owned by the union government or one of the many state governments or both. The company stock needs to be majority-owned by the government to be a PSU. Public sector enterprises in India have now and always been the whipping boys[Read More…]
Hany Babu was my M.Phil supervisor from 2017-19 in the Department of English at Delhi University. I was working on conceptions of citizenship, broadly speaking. Whenever my analysis veered off into being too abstract or ahistorical, he invariably reminded me of the concreteness of the term and it’s efficacy. Yes, its efficacy; for him it was always a concept that[Read More…]
Often in life, when one has kids, they plant a thousand wishes, dreams and aspirations for them- the kind of life they’d want them to have, the kind of clothes they’d like to see them in, the kind of the person they envision them to be and numerous other colours of an ideal life. I was blessed too with the[Read More…]
India is seeing multiple protests by its farmers, citizens and lawmakers. People are coming out on the streets as they are no longer afraid of the pandemic, but are more threatened by the new laws that the Indian parliament is imposing on them. While the ruling party pleads that each of these laws are aimed at welfare of the people,[Read More…]
Here are two comments regarding what we must do regarding the threat to our species’ continued existence being posed currently by global warming; here’s the first one: The primary reason for this headlong fling toward disaster is that our economic system is based on perpetual growth—on the need to consume the earth at an ever-increasing rate. Our world is dominated[Read More…]
The disparity between America’s ideals and America’s main street realities are always vast and often stark. This has always been so, most apparently and appallingly for Americans of color and each new wave of immigrants regardless of color. America’s ideals have, at best, only been partially realized. Too often the nation’s relationship with American ideals has been the proverbial[Read More…]
The United Arab Emirates may have the upper hand in its competition with Turkey in efforts to shape Palestinian politics. Similarly, the UAE’s recognition of the Jewish state gives it a leg up in ensuring that its voice is heard in Israel and Washington irrespective of who wins the November US election. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan didn’t miss a[Read More…]
Think about this: You know how spiders look, ditto for bees, ants and other assorted bugs. Yet, when it comes to termites, few of us can even sketch how they look. Meanwhile, every homeowner and tenant has to be on guard for these creatures, who will destroy the very structures they inhabit. Termites do their dirty deed always in semi[Read More…]
In Kenya during Al-Shabaab standoff Exposing Lies of the Empire (PT. Badak Merah Semesta, 2015) first introduced me to André Vltchek’s remarkable journalism, weaving together unforgettable narratives of Western imperialism and capitalistic fundamentalism. He’s widely considered one of the world’s most gifted thinkers, and even though I did not personally know him, I always looked forward to reading his articles.[Read More…]
Noam Chomsky. 2004. Hegemony or Survival. Australia. Penguin Books. 301 pages, ISBN: 978-0I4I-03734-9. A$9.95rrp “Either you are with us or against us” Noam Chomsky has written one of the boldest pieces in the form of Hegemony or Survival. It aims to dissect the grand strategy of Imperialism of United States since the beginning of 20th Century. The very word hegemony[Read More…]
“ I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it”, said E.B Hall. Today’s era is the era of democracy, a system fraught with significant provisions be it Fundamental rights, universal adult franchise, citizenship, separation of powers, due process of law , independent judiciary or the constitution itself. Among them, the[Read More…]
“The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Saturday that it has busted an al Qaeda module and arrested nine people who were allegedly planning to carry out major terror strikes in India at the direction of their Pakistan-based handler.” The news hit headlines of all major dailies in India last week. Six of these suspects were apprehended from the district[Read More…]
Who cares about comrade’s life and death in rural areas? Who cares to document their lives, sacrifices, struggles and contributions in shaping society in the age of decadent capitalism? The mainstream media ignores and ensures that their names become invisible in public memory. As their memories guide people to love and collectively fight for each other’s rights and liberties. Memories[Read More…]
By Atul and Sandeep Pandey Arun Ferreira is a civil rights activist and human rights lawyer. He has been behind bars since June 6, 2018, when he was arrested in connection to the Bhima Koregaon event held earlier that year. Like many other activists, he was slapped with Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, sedition and other anti-terror related offenses allegedly for[Read More…]
There is a tomato field that is sorrowful to the universe unable to lament though it doesn’t yet know that the farmer is dead. The dust on the field grew wings in the wind and looking for its owner settled down across the river and the mountain valley. The ripe tomatoes that incite the outer reaches of the[Read More…]
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” – Charles Dederich The above quote, used to describe a child’s first day at school, has been prolifically used in the past to impress upon its reader, the value attached to the act of ‘going to school’. It is associated with a certain sentiment, rooted in substantial individual experiences[Read More…]
S P Balasubrahmanyam who had the world record of singing more than 40000 songs in 16 different languages of India represented the idea of ‘India’, very much under attack. The film Industry in Bombay was actually Hindustani and not really Hindi, because I believe it was build mostly by those whose mother tongue was neither Hindi nor is the cities[Read More…]
“Ritwik Ghatak’s stint as Vice-Principal of FTII left something of him in his students. A John Abraham would never have happened were it not for the tutelage of Ghatak. John did what he did because Ghatak validated his angst. Similar was the case with his other protégés, but besides these few men, the legacy of Ghatak seems to have terminated.[Read More…]
Protests were held across the country today after the nationwide ‘Bharat Bandh’ call by farmer organisations against the Farm Bills. The Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, have been passed by both Houses and await[Read More…]
Today farmers all over the country have been protesting against the bills passed in the name of ‘strengthening’ them and giving them ‘free access’ to ‘market. In the Narmada Valley, about 2400 families from 192 villages are living in tents or tin sheds as they have not been provided any alternative places. Why is this that the government planning has[Read More…]
Haider Anwar Khan Juno, one of the most prominent communists and cultural organizers of Bangladesh, is now in life support in a Dhaka hospital. Juno, 75, was suffering from pneumonia when he countered a heart attack. He has also been suffering from several other health complications including kidney disease. Haider Juno is the younger brother of communist leader Haider Akbar[Read More…]
“If the world is upside down the way it is now, wouldn’t we have to turn it over to get it to stand up straight?” – Eduardo Galeano, Upside Down, 1998 For decades, Andre Vltchek, an old-school journalist and artist (but a young man) who traveled the world in search of truth and who always stood up straight, tried to revolve[Read More…]
The journalists, critics and social media writers today are facing false cases foisted by the State and Police. A senior journalist is fighting a sedition case for criticising the Centre’s policies . A doctor in the Government Hospital was victim of abuse of the state power but rescued by the High Court. One news web portal Telugu One.com is out[Read More…]
Tens of thousands of people recently massed close to Thailand’s royal palace demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief who led a coup in 2014. The protests took place on the anniversary of a 2006 coup that ousted ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra. A major rally calling for PM Chan-O-Cha to step down gathered outside the[Read More…]
September 24. Central Criminal Court, London: The lion’s share of today’s Old Bailey proceedings in Julian Assange’s extradition trial was spent on battles over mental health and dire risk. The prosecution continued its attempt to minimise the dangers facing Assange were he to be extradited to the United States for 17 charges under the US Espionage Act and one under[Read More…]
The revolutionary ideals of Shaheed Bhagat Singh have become more than relevant in today’s time. It is beyond the imaginations of many how a man who just lived 23 years of his life had so much of idealism. In his prime time, he spent his life in jails under difficult circumstances. Yet, Bhagat Singh was a voracious reader. His family[Read More…]
For the last one week thousands of farmers in several parts of India have been protesting against three farm reform bills that were finally passed by the ruling party in parliament on 21 September. More agitations are expected as many farmers see the new legislation as inimical to their interests and the future of farming in the country. Peaceful protests[Read More…]
Whether you’re reading this with your morning coffee, just after lunch, or on the late shift in the wee small hours of the morning, it’s 100 seconds to midnight. That’s just over a minute and a half. And that should be completely unnerving. It’s the closest to that witching hour we’ve ever been. Since 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has[Read More…]
Noting the history of the child genocide in Yemen as only one example of America’s genocidal foreign policy and cruel criminal media managed political distraction away from compassionate public interest, article seeks to awaken enough of a feeling of outrage to promote public demand for a halt of what is the ongoing murder of a massive amount of children. Thousands[Read More…]
Pedestrian pictures weekend screening VOICES FROM THE RUINS: Kandhamal In Search of Justice directed by K P Sasi from 25th September 2020 Friday , 6 PM onwards. Please follow this link to watch the film. https://vimeo.com/461484394 Link will be active from 25th 6pm The link for the webinar – Lessons and Reflections from Kandhamal is given below Synopsis: The state[Read More…]
( Since Part-1 of this article was published on Sep20, we had the sad news that Andre Vltchek is no more. This article in countercurrents.org, which has been a platform for his writings, is dedicated to the memory of the comrade who travelled extensively, supported and wrote for Communist and other movements against imperialism and injustice everywhere.) Scores of official[Read More…]
The real downside of the green-profit narrative has been that it created the assumption in many people’s minds that the solution to climate change and other environmental dilemmas is technical, and that policy makers and industrialists will implement it for us, so that the way we live doesn’t need to change in any fundamental way. That’s never been true. The[Read More…]
Protesters took to the streets in cities across the U.S. after Kentucky grand jury indicted a former Louisville police detective involved in the March 13 shooting death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor. Louisville police said two officers have been shot and a suspect is in custody. Protesters took to the streets from Texas to Rhode Island Wednesday night as demonstrations honoring[Read More…]
Against the Institution of War As we start the 21st century and the new millennium, our scientific and technological civilization seems to be entering a period of crisis. Today, for the first time in history, science has given to humans the possibility of a life of comfort, free from hunger and cold, and free from the constant threat of infectious[Read More…]
To Smt Nirmala Sitharaman Union Finance Minister Dear Smt Sitharaman, Articles 21 and 41 of the Constitution cast an obligation on the State to ensure that the aged and other vulnerable sections of the citizens are provided adequate assistance to be able to live in dignity. Right to adequate old age pension is one of the basic universal and justiciable economic[Read More…]
September 23. Central Criminal Court, London.: Following the script sheet of the previous day, the non sequitur, pop medical view of the prosecution was again in sharp evidence at the Old Bailey. In an effort to make the road for Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States for 17 charges under the US Espionage Act and one under the Computer[Read More…]
Palestine can never be truly understood through numbers, because numbers are dehumanizing, impersonal, and, when necessary, can also be contrived to mean something else entirely. Numbers are not meant to tell the story of the human condition, nor should they ever serve as a substitute for emotions. Indeed, the stories of life, death – and everything in-between – cannot be[Read More…]
Endurance of pain is an idea directly drawn from Christianity. However, in the Indian context, historically, endurance of pain is regarded as un-knowledge, avidya (in Sanskrit an antonym of knowledge, but not ignorance) and nonexistent. It is just not there, here, or anywhere. When the “I, myself” does not exist, who is left to endure pain? This is how the[Read More…]
There can be, and have been, countless books on Kashmir and Kashmiris. Given its geopolitical importance in the Indian subcontinent and the constant needling by Pakistan, Kashmir has been a boiling point in the relationship between the two disagreeing neighbors. It has now been a year since the Indian government changed the status of Kashmir by making amendments to Articles[Read More…]
What does civilization stand for and what it has produced over its four to five thousand years of its existence. In Western Europe from the earliest civilised times those societies were supported by the labour of slaves until the Christian era. Yet we highly value the work of intellect whose lives were supported and nurtured by slaves before the end[Read More…]
The World Wildlife Foundation, in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London, recently issued an eye-popping description of the forces of humanity versus life in nature, the Living Planet Report 2020, but the report should really be entitled the Dying Planet Report 2020 because that’s what’s happening in the real world. Not much remains alive. The report, released September 10th, describes how[Read More…]
Julian Assange is not on trial simply for his liberty and his life. He is fighting for the right of every journalist to do hard-hitting investigative journalism without fear of arrest and extradition to the United States. Assange faces 175 years in a US super-max prison on the basis of claims by Donald Trump’s administration that his exposure of US[Read More…]
Andre, your last moments in Karaköy, İstanbul are yet unknown. But, we know you with your actions and stand – anti-imperialist. Andre Vltchek, (1962 – September 22, 2020), a fighter, was always on the move. He was moving from South Africa to Indonesia, East Timor to Bosnia, Congo to Mexico, Sri Lanka to Peru, Syria to Hong Kong, and many such[Read More…]
Some of the greatest things, as I understand, they have come about by serendipity, the greatest discoveries. – Alan Alda Has living in America been a “serendipitous outcome” for me? Here, I am not thinking out loud but trying to find an answer to this pertinent question asked by my former Higher Secondary School English teacher Ms. Moitri Roy. One[Read More…]
Punjab Farmers Movement reaches a crescendo in shimmering spark of resistance against Agricultural Land Ordinances and preparation for bandh on September 25th One of the most intense agitations in recent times has ignited in the state of Punjab on the issue of Agricultural land ordinances by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan)There is hardly an adjective to do justice to the[Read More…]
Voluntary Action Network India (VANI), being an apex body/national association of Indian voluntary development organizations strongly feels that the FCRA bill, 2020 will be a death blow to the development relief, scientific research and community support work of the NGO community as it prohibits collaboration with other Indian organizations. At a time like this, when India is battling[Read More…]
1. Crackling Aging is like a multitude of doors, closing in back alleys—sunless… (or lit by a lamppost in a film noir script). You think you see a beautiful face—gas-lit, in a secret chamber— hair with a halo around it. You think you know the name of that face…. But… you have forgotten all names. And the face smiles back[Read More…]
Arctic sea ice reached a minimum extent of 3.74 million square kilometers on September 15, likely the annual low, and the second lowest minimum on record. The orange line represents average extent of sea ice from 1981 to 2010 on that day. (NSIDC) Arctic sea ice extent fell to the second-lowest annual minimum on record last week, a status that[Read More…]
September 22. Central Criminal Court, London: Today, the prosecutors in the Julian Assange case did their show trial predecessors from other legal traditions proud. The ghosts of such figures as Soviet state prosecutor Andrey Vyshinsky, would have approved of the line of questioning taken by James Lewis QC: suggest that Assange, accused of 17 counts of violating the US Espionage[Read More…]
A close read of the agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel suggests that the Jewish state has won far more than diplomatic recognition. It won acknowledgement of its claim to historic Jewish rights. By the same token, the UAE has received a significant boost to project itself as a leader in inter-faith dialogue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu[Read More…]
When it rains, pieces of glass, pottery, and metal rise through the mud in the hills surrounding my Maryland home. The other day, I walked outside barefoot to fetch one of my kid’s shoes and a pottery shard stabbed me in the heel. Nursing a minor infection, I wondered how long that fragment dated back. A neighbor of mine found[Read More…]
Leaders Hated and Feared Make False Claims of Global Peace, Security and Justice “Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Justice in the life of and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.” Plato WE, the People of Human Conscience and the UNO[Read More…]
Each year tens of thousands of Irish-Americans proudly celebrate their heritage on St Patrick Day, yet few are aware of the fate of the Irish in the St Patrick’s Battalion,el Batallón de San Patricio, who chose to fight under their green flag for Mexico against the aggression of the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846-48 . How many[Read More…]
At that time, the peacock was eating the grain given by its lord in the bungalow of Lok Kalyan Marg. And by that time, the number of coronavirus affected people has reached 30 lakhs 30 thousand and 752. And 57 thousand 524 people have died. Exactly four days later, the finance minister of the country had discharged her duties by[Read More…]
Background Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has slammed U-S sanctions against his country, saying they are a flagrant violation of the U-N charter. In an address to the UN General Assembly, Rouhani said the Iranian nation successfully withstood the U-S maximum pressure campaign. He added, Iran even flourished under the bans while pursuing its role as a pivot of peace and[Read More…]
In my “Changing Our Species Name” I question Homo sapiens as an appropriate name for our species, and suggest an alternative that I believe to be more appropriate. The reason that I give in that paper is not the only reason, however, for changing our species name; in this paper I suggest another reason. Let me preface my remarks here,[Read More…]
André, my good friend and comrade is no more. We worked on several investigative projects together. André’s professional rigor, sharpness of understanding, vision and ability to connecting the dots is exemplary. We shared some unforgettable moments, when we followed a refugee trail from Bodrum, Turkey, to the Greek Island of Kos in the Aegean Sea – onwards to Athens. I’m[Read More…]
Ask me How I’m doing What I’m thinking about But Ask me What the future holds Where I’ll be But Ask me About the pain About the sadness But Ask me Why I’m hurting Why I can’t move But Ask me About my parents About my kids But It isn’t like The Weather The Game The Show So You Don’t[Read More…]
The discussion on the new education policy so far seems to have omitted the subject of text books. The quality of most text books so far is considered quite poor, especially of books in English language for English medium students… This has been going on year after year, the same mistakes are repeated in next editions. Let me cite the[Read More…]
Any moralistic discussion on social dialectics and civilized ethics is bound to generate euphony when the positive vibes of Harmony vibrate and are complemented by Justice. The great Greek philosopher Aristotle summed up the sentiment by saying, ‘Give each man his due’. It’s a classical philosophical assumption that human instinct craves for justice. It is ingrained in the conscious morality[Read More…]
In 1888, the year before he went insane, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote the following in Twilight of the Idols: We have got rid of the real world: what world is left? The apparent world perhaps? … But no! Along with the real world we’ve done away with the apparent world as well. So, if you feel you also may be going insane in[Read More…]
PART 1 RSS Modelled After Nazi & Fascist Parties The process of Hindutva takeover of the democratic-secular Indian polity got huge push with Narender Modi, a seasoned RSS ideologue becoming PM of India in 2014. His commitment to the cause of the Hindutva politics and hatred for the Indian democratic-secular polity has been unambiguous. While ruling the State Gujarat as[Read More…]
The Supreme Court long back stated in a landmark judgment State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain and Others, “… people of this country have a right to know every public act, everything that is done in a public way by their public functionaries. The Supreme Court long back stated in a landmark judgment State of Uttar Pradesh v.[Read More…]
September 21. Central Criminal Court, London: Today was one of reiteration and expansion. Computer scientist Christian Grothoff of the Bern University of Applied Sciences supplied the relevant chronology on what led to the publication of unredacted US State Department cables, the subject of such concern for the prosecution. This proved a mild taster of what was to come: the alleged[Read More…]
A large borrowing programme is inevitable; data and economic uncertainties show that States cannot handle the matter. Clearly, the Centre is reneging on its promise to the States. The implication is that the States are on their own — cooperative federalism is a casualty. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting has now been deferred to the first week[Read More…]
It was only from the year I was in Class 3 that we finally settled in Delhi. In the few years before that I had lived in many places in India and outside, like Ferozepur, Kartarpur, Yol Camp (Dharamshala), Boston and Kanpur, depending on where my father was studying, posted or teaching. My School vacations would usually be spent in[Read More…]
I am adamant about this topic. I know that the only way forward is to limit ourselves in resource and energy use. In that vein, I wrote to the USA Sierra group that was touting electric cars: “I respectfully disagree with you. From where does the majority of our electricity derive? The answer is fossil fuels. That is obvious. So[Read More…]
Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus [1707 – 1778], known as the “father of modern taxonomy,” is the individual who can be credited with giving our species the name Homo sapiens. The “sapiens” in that species name indicates that we: are highly intelligent primates that have become the dominant species on Earth. Actually, however, “sapiens” is “a Latin word meaning wise;” and[Read More…]
There is no denying of the fact that the Tamils in Sri Lanka have been at the receiving end by the successive Governments in power and targeted in the agenda of GENOCIDE including structural GENOCIDE since the time of independence in 1948. Their history since then is dotted with state discrimination and marginalization aided with legislations like the SINHALA ONLY[Read More…]
by Chandreyee Goswami & Dhriti Sonowal As students of social sciences, we often harbour a sense of enlightenment in knowing that the subject matter we engage with has been historically instituted to identify the varieties of social realities that individuals might find them in. The legacy of social sciences has been its deep inspection and understanding of the social world which[Read More…]
The death of the US Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bidder Ginsburg has created an abyss in the court for the liberal voice where justice Ginsburg was seen as the linchpin of the liberal block of the Supreme Court at a time when that block was shrinking. Especially late judge had vociferously advocated for women ‘rights, environmental issues and often came[Read More…]
Khuda soba ……theek chewhaz. How are you ? Where shall i write to you ? On the skin of Martyrs? Or the shadow of disappeared ? Or in the wail of mothers? Or in the shriek of sisters who used to be raped in orchards of kashmir ? And where shall i post it to ? As[Read More…]
Black Wave – Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unravelled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East. Kim Ghattas. Henry Holt & Company, NewYork, 2020. Among the many books analyzing the Middle East, Kim Ghattas’ Black Wave is outstanding – that not necessarily being a good thing. It is very good as it presents what the[Read More…]
Rabindranath Tagore’s Lyrical Ballad on Freedom and Confinement [Here is a recent performance of this ballad by Lopamudra Mitra and Iman from YouTube: The caged bird was in the gilded cage, the free bird in the wood Perchance, once, the twain met each other, perhaps a quirk in the Maker’s mood. Said the free bird, “Caged bird, dear, come to[Read More…]
The recent observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court towards the functioning of media in India seem to be an urgent need of redefining and restructuring the electronic media in accordance with the constitutional values, freedom of media, individual rights and right to privacy. ‘Sensation above sense’ becomes one of the most important weapons in the hand of media owners to[Read More…]
Well, to this writer, a student of the esoteric sciences, the great Indian Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda was correct: This must be a dream! So many friends and acquaintances over the years have discounted these beliefs as foolish for believing in fairies, demons and angels ( I do). Yet, to comprehend rationally that this current president and his crew are as[Read More…]
Someone who much likes Trump and who plans again to vote for him asked me to provide proof that he is corrupt in presidential dealings. So here is my reply: “The Supreme Court and lower courts ruled against his actions a number of times. The House ruled against him plenty of times and including in impeachment hearings. “He lets others[Read More…]
Mr Narendra Damodardas Modi is a consummated practitioner of remorseless Hindutva politics of hate. He does not spare a moment to capture the headlines with his diversionary tactics, which makes him as one of the sharpest managers of media and prime master of propaganda. The Hindutva propaganda machine with the organisational network of RSS is erasing the idea of India[Read More…]
The accepted definition of Apartheid by the United Nations and the International criminal court is as follows: ‘Apartheid refers to the implementation and maintenance of a system of legalized racial segregation in which one racial group is deprived of political and civil rights. Apartheid is a crime against humanity punishable under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It[Read More…]
(This essay was written in 2015,but remained unpublished. The thing to note is that practically everything it says holds good five years later.) At least three subjects of continuing public interest are on many lips these days – namely, the 40th anniversary this year of the Emergency; the hurried initiatives shown by the Modi government to raise the height of[Read More…]
Shimla Diary is a literary-cultural chronicle and a documentation of its times and society, with a keen focus on the world of Hindi journalism. Well-known poet and journalist Pramod Kaunswal, who has seen Hindi journalism in Shimla, Chandigarh and Punjab at close quarters, pens his impressions of the book. This is not just a book review but a brief and[Read More…]
MAHILA KISAN ADHIKAAR MANCH (MAKAAM) or Forum for Women Farmers’ Rights condemns and expresses deep concern over the increasing incidence of violence, harassment and atrocities against adivasi and other traditional forest dwellers especially women forest dwellers in Uttarakhand. The Forest Rights Act 2006 proclaims the responsibility of the state to defend and uphold the rights of Adivasis and Other Traditional[Read More…]
In early September, circles from the Bengali academia and Left political spectrum, strongly vocalized their seemingly disgruntled voices against the trolling of Professor Maroona Murmu, Assistant Professor from the Department of History at Jadavpur University. At the same time, many of them also claimed to be “astonished” at something of this nature happening in Bengal. Soon after my arrival in[Read More…]
This article is based on the 25th Chandrashekar Memorial Lecture delivered on 20 September 2020. The original lecture was delivered in Hindi and the event was organized by Punashcha, the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) and Koshish. Friends, comrades gathered here; I am very honoured to be invited to deliver the Chandrashekhar Memorial Lecture this year but I cannot say[Read More…]
Protesters attack businesses, burn flags and force motorists to pledge loyalty to BLM Several hundred people smashed up storefronts, torched American flags and harassed motorists in Portland, Oregon, following a brief lull in nearly nightly riots due to wildfires tearing through the state. Around 200 demonstrators marched through the city on Saturday night, with some individuals smashing windows and applying[Read More…]
A central legislation ‘Essential Commodities Act, 1955’ was enacted with a main objective to prohibit hoarding and black marketing of essential commodities which may obstruct the supply and have an adverse effect on the normal life of the people. The other objective was to provide the essential commodities to its consumers at fair prices. The prices of essential commodities are[Read More…]
It was August 2017 and Donald Trump had not yet warmed up to Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s portly dictator. In fact, in typical Trumpian fashion, he was pissed at the Korean leader and, no less typically, he lashed out verbally, threatening that country with a literal hell on Earth. As he put it, “They will be met with fire and fury like[Read More…]
In my “Putting the Decalogue Under a Microscope” and “A Serious Flaw of the Decalogue” I identified several problems with the Decalogue—more commonly known as the Ten Commandments. Those two papers do not, however, exhaust the problems with that list of commandments! At least one more problem exists: Underlying that list of what one should, and should not, do, is[Read More…]
An Emirati offer to invest in Israel’s most controversial soccer club could serve as a figurative litmus test of hopes that Arab recognition of the Jewish state may persuade it to be more empathetic towards Palestinian national aspirations. It was not immediately clear whether the offer was to acquire or co-invest in Beitar Jerusalem, notorious for its links to the[Read More…]
Interview with Prof. Arun Kumar by Mohd. Nuashad Khan What’s your take on the free fall of the GDP? Is it because of the pandemic or something else? I am surprised that the decline in GDP in Q1 is given as 23.9 per cent. It should have been much more because the unorganised sector which is 45 per cent[Read More…]
Allahabad High Court pointed out how the detention of Dr Kafeel Khan was bad, not based on material, without reading the complete text of speech against CAA, and ordered his release. The Supreme Court requested the Allahabad High Court on August 11, to decide the question of release of Kafeel Khan, as early as possible. A campaign to release[Read More…]
Pre-word: In August, 2020, in Jammu & Bangaluru two separate blasphemous messages were uploaded on social media which gave rise to massive protests by Muslims against the blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in both the places. The police claimed arrest of the culprits that were involved in the “communally sensitive” video in Jammu & face-book post in[Read More…]
The polarized nature of American politics often makes it difficult to address fundamental differences between the country’s two main political rivals, Republicans and Democrats. As each side is intent on discrediting the other at every opportunity, unbiased information regarding the two parties’ actual stances on internal and external issues can be difficult to decipher. Regarding Palestine and Israel, however, both[Read More…]
As people battle with the deadly Coronavirus, the world is sleep walking into an authoritarian future to keep capitalism alive with the help of brute force. The parliamentary and presidential forms of democracies are running the government without effective oppositions. The majoritarian governments in USA, UK, Brazil, India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other countries are busy in bending inclusive,[Read More…]
Burkina Faso’s National Council for Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation (CONASUR) found in its August 2020 report that more than a million people have been internally displaced by the upsurge in violence in the country. This figure represents a 100% increase compared to early 2020 when Burkina Faso had 450,000 internally displaced persons. Now, almost 5% of Burkina Faso’s population has fled their homes because[Read More…]
The US efforts to ruffle-feathers with China does not seem to cease as US has sent its senior Keith Krach to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan on September 17, 2020, as the reports published in The NewYorkTimes 1 informs. This visit was destined to become controversial as it is a well known fact that any US meddling inside Taiwan irks[Read More…]
by Dr. Chandrima Chatterjee, Dr. Parul Malik and Dr. Arathi P Rao Globalization has been described by the economist Brian Easton [1] as “problematic”. He also mentions that often writers avoid explaining about globalization analytically but rather, relate it to a series of phenomena such as capital flow, international organizations and policies as the likes of “free trade”. There is[Read More…]
The youth of the country observed the 70th birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘National Unemployment Day’ (Rashtriya Berozgari Diwas). The mainstream media, which was busy celebrating Modi’s birth day, not only paid scant heed to the youth unrest against unemployment but also maintained a conspicuous silence on the ensuing police crackdown. While the Hindi dailies prominently covered several[Read More…]
On the occasion of the death of the remarkable, pro-women’s rights US Supreme Court judge but fervent supporter of genocidally racist Zionism, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG), one notes that in her outstanding over 60 year career she was utterly silent about the human rights of Palestinians, and that women and children are 75% of the 14 million sorely oppressed Palestinians,[Read More…]
Telangana media for the last several weeks was debating such questions around the date of Sep. 17. It was on that day in 1948 Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan, surrendered. Hyderabad, one of the princely states, surrendered to Delhi’s armed forces and agreed to accession with Indian Union. The context was a sustained campaign by BJP on the issue.[Read More…]
The Zameen Prapt Sangharsh Commitee has played the most defining role ever in determining the destination of the upsurge or emancipation of the dalit community of Punjab from enslavement. The movement it has inaugurated in 2014 has virtually written a new chapter or defined a new epoch in the history of struggle of Dalit agricultural labour. With detailed or incisive[Read More…]
September 18. Central Criminal Court, London. The extradition trial of Julian Assange at the Old Bailey moved into a higher gear today. Testimonies spanned the importance of classified information in war journalism, the teasing offer of a pardon for Assange by US President Donald Trump, torture inflicted by the US Central Intelligence Agency, the chilling effect of indictments under the[Read More…]
Venezuela is again the shining light of Democracy – pushing ahead with the 6 December 2020 National Assembly (NA) elections – despite the endless challenges of covid – of sanctions, of embargos, of confiscation of foreign assets, and even of a totally illicit blockage of reserve currencies – Venezuela’s gold – naturally in the world’s protectorate of international financial fraud,[Read More…]
Part-I Curtain on era of patronage of Arabic and Sanskrit learning The role of Lord William Bentinck (14 September 1774 – 17 June 1839) for restructuring the socio-cultural foundation of the Hindus “debased by three thousand years of despotism and priestcraft” [1] can rarely be exaggerated. His bold move to ban and abolish the cruel practice of suttee, which implied burning[Read More…]
I’ve come to realize that I don’t conform to ideas of any particular political party, religion, ideology and position in the way that others think the world or people should be or other positions should be. It is because I think and feel independently. Besides I was not indoctrinated by my parents or others. They let me be free. Yes,[Read More…]
…So said the famous playwright and political activist George Bernard Shaw. Alas, instead of being celebrated, older age is feared and looked down upon by many and ageism fuels this fear. Ageing is a natural process and begins the moment one is born. But ageism is not. The World Health Organisation defines ageism as “the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against[Read More…]
Muhammad Sajid came to New Delhi with an astronomical aspiration to take admission in Jamia School. When a 17-year-old boy from Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh could not clear Jamia’s entrance examination, he decided not to return to his hometown and instead enrolled in an English-speaking course. Back in the days, being able to communicate in English gave you an illusion that[Read More…]
In a brutal attack, a pastor and his family were hunted down with swords and butcher’s knives by a gang of religious goons. This incident took place on the 17th of September 2020 in TaranTaran, a district in the Indian state of Punjab. “We were on our way back from a prayer meeting at around 10 pm, late in the[Read More…]
This letter was written from the prison at a time when the media predicted imminent arrest of Sitaram Yechuri, which was later denied by the Delhi Police. But many other activists including student leader Umar Khalid were arrested and detained on the same charges. Police is witch hunting several eminent activists and democrats on foisted charges utilising the pandemic situation.[Read More…]
As we pick up the pieces of the shattered economy, the route to the Great Transition becomes clear: we need to recapture and democratize money as a lever for resource allocation and collective power. A quick survey of the GTI scenarios and the world around us will show that we slid from Conventional Worlds to Barbarization in the first three months of[Read More…]
The two world largest armies and unarguably the Asian largest economy and the third largest economy China and India seem determined to undermine each other in this seemingly uneasy scenario which tends to build around these two countries. There is an uneasy chill in the mountains as both the nations are into building their ‘military-build-ups’ to outdo each other, and[Read More…]
The authors, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Zibalatt, in their famous book titled “How Democracies Die: What History Reveals about Future” have said that “Democracies can die with a coup d’etat- or they can die slowly. This happens most deceptively in piecemeal fashion, with the election of an authoritarian leader, the abuse of governmental power and the complete repression of opposition.[Read More…]
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to make Gilgit-Baltistan, a part of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as the fifth province of Pakistan on September 17, 2020, making it the new hot spot in the region. India retorted by saying that ‘Government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus-standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. India[Read More…]
Canadian company Tajiri Resources announced on August 20 that it had entered into an agreement with Sahara Natural Resources to begin drilling in Burkina Faso at the company’s exploration program on the Reo Gold project, located 130 kilometres west of the capital, Ouagadougou. The initiation of a mining project, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflects the entrenchment of extractive imperialism, and its[Read More…]
In my “Putting the Decalogue Under a Microscope” I distinguished between “normative” and “empirical” statements relative to human behaviors. The latter are factual statements that pertain to either a given individual, or humans in general; the former are assertions as to what behaviors individuals should, or should not, engage in. Thus, although both types of statements pertain to human behaviors,[Read More…]
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold Mere anarchy is loosed up the world…. The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. William Butler Yeats ORIENTATION How dare you? “Oh, great, that’s all we need. A cynical radical leftist who is[Read More…]
It is overwhelming to assimilate what is really going on around us, from personal to socio-political to global. No one truly knows all sides of a story. The underlying story in the global media seems to be of doom, from climate catastrophe to rising fascism to the finanancialisation of every aspect of our life. As Michael Parenti said, “The dirty[Read More…]
When I was a boy I once heard my father wondering to my mother why “a day did not have more than twenty-four hours”. I know it is difficult to believe, but it is a fact that my father spent several decades of his life working fourteen to sixteen hours a day. When he ate, slept or relaxed, only he[Read More…]
Diya Barmecha from Mumbai, proving that young minds are capable of thinking equally, if not better than older ones. A stunning essay on the life of a security guard, drawing out the discrimination inherent in society. This day was like any other. What else can you expect from the life of a security guard of a common building? Right on time, the[Read More…]
15 year old Abhipsha Mohanty leads us to this fairytale land of clean skies, green farms, beautiful fragrance in the air and a peaceful life.But all of this for real in her village in Odisha, which she points out is the 6th cleanest village in India. Here is a wonderful message of cleanliness. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The soul of[Read More…]
Public banks have played a historically stellar role in financial inclusion and the development of the underserved sector. These banks have been the backbone of the government’s socio-economic agenda. State-owned banks in developing countries have to shoulder the main burden of the government’s development policies—from rural lending to infrastructure development. But while public banks have striven ceaselessly to bring about[Read More…]
The Afghan-Taliban and the US sponsored Ashraf Ghani government seem to be heading towards a deadlock, as very soon US, after its disastrous war with Afghan-Taliban , is slated to move out in 14-months, after its agreement with the Afghan-Taliban on February 29, 2020 1 , thus, leaving it in-between Ashraf Ghani and Afghan-Taliban to decide their future for themselves.[Read More…]
Paramilitary groups continued to pose by far the biggest threat to Colombia’s community leaders and human rights defenders last year, says a newly released report. In its annual report, Somos Defensores (SD), a human rights organization, registered a drop in assassinations of social leaders from 155 in 2018 to 124 in 2019, but an increase in death threats that went[Read More…]
Constance Galeo Mogale is an experienced South African land activist who has played leading roles in several campaigns and initiatives. She led a grassroots movement called the Land Access Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA), A federation of communities claiming land through Restitution, an organisation that challenged the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act of 2015. She has a proven record in[Read More…]
Since mid-August of this year, there has been an increase in the number of Iranian and Azerbaijani reports celebrating the continued warming of relations between these neighboring states. Of particular interest is the near-completion of a synchronized power grid between Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia. Synchronization is a requirement for buying and selling electrical power and boosting strategic cooperation between these[Read More…]
September 17. Central Criminal Court, London. The extradition trial of Julian Assange at the Old Bailey struck similar notes to the previous day’s proceedings: the documentary work and practise of WikiLeaks, the method of redactions, and the legacy of exposing war crimes. In the afternoon, the legal teams returned to well combed themes: testimony on the politicised nature of the[Read More…]
Don Fitz’s new book Cuban Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution was going to press at Monthly Review in early spring, as the pandemic was ramping up, so he had just barely enough time to slip in a postscript teasingly titled, “How Che Guevara Taught Cuba to Confront COVID-19.” The postscript puts an exclamation mark on the medical history of Cuba[Read More…]
Rome burnt as Nero* played the fiddle. Fiery flames walk highways, creep into homes, stalking, burning, killing not only coronal heat but hearths. Inflamed by the surreptitious smoke seeping under the smouldering trees, breeze rips incensing fierce fires that unquenched swallow clean air and belch apocalyptic hellish skies. Did Nero build palaces by burning Rome? I[Read More…]
The situation between China-India and with India-Pakistan is now into an extremely sensitive zone as there is a report for the first time from the Indian army, though through a retired Brigadier, that ‘Indian army fully geared to fight full-fledged war in eastern Ladakh even in winters’, in Times of India on September 16, 20201 , (Retd) Brig Hemant Mahajan[Read More…]
(This is concluding and Part-3 of an article. ) English medium at primary school level is certainly harmful, more so to the rural and poorer masses. That is a key lesson in my life’s experiences, both as a student and as a teacher. It is being promoted by ruling classes, more aggressively in much of South India : English[Read More…]
Train of thought To start with, here are some recent quotations that weigh heavily on the negative aspects of the US$ and its role as the global reserve currency, also known as the petrodollar. One of the current global issues is refugees, in Europe and elsewhere: These waves of migration – and the anti-immigrant backlash that has done so much[Read More…]
In May 2019, all 194 countries that set the agenda of the World Health Organization met at the 72nd World Health Assembly and endorsed the establishment of World Patient Safety Day to be marked annually on 17 September. But this year’s COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the huge challenges and risks healthcare workers are facing globally including hospital-borne infections, violence, stigma,[Read More…]
An exact replay of history is not likely, but while specific “failed” actors leave the stage, class forces survive to enact the same drama another day. In Joachim Fest’s fine biography of Adolf Hitler, aptly titled Hitler, we learn many things never before taught in our World History classes here. To delve into it now with the needed detail from[Read More…]
The bombings have begun. Sharp splinters of smooth, shiny bombs Penetrate into the rugged dreams of Palestinian emancipation Blinding, bruising, and burying it under the soot of crushing colonialism. Amid the bombardment, shaky screams of subjugated children Rend the sky into flakes of agony, Each flake swirling in a vortex of indescribable pain, Clenching in its fist the veined heart[Read More…]
The “Decalogue”—more commonly known as the Ten Commandments—is a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship. These are fundamental to both Judaism and Christianity. The text of the Ten Commandments appears twice in the Hebrew Bible: at Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–17. I, however, prefer to think of the Decalogue as a collection of normative statements, as opposed[Read More…]
In a 2017 article, I asked what might a future India look like and concluded that, if current neoliberal policies continue, there could be dozens of mega-cities with up to 40 million inhabitants and just two to three hundred million (perhaps 15-20% of the population) left in an emptied-out countryside. And it could also mean hundreds of millions of displaced rural dwellers without any work.[Read More…]
Few years back, at a book release function, Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat remarked , “I have not read the book but the author.” I have been reading the author Mushtaque Barq , the author , columnist, short story writer, poet , translator and what not. He has now joined the group of novelists and come up with a novel titled[Read More…]
Report of the fact finding into the violence and it’s Aftermath at D.J. Halli and K.G. Halli by Bangalore Civil Society Organisations An Executive Summary “Whoever put the post out is wrong. Not registering the complaint is wrong. The violence is wrong.” Sameena, a local resident, Kavalbyrasandra The Action, Reaction and its Aftermath On August 11, 2020, an incendiary image[Read More…]
September 16. Central Criminal Court, London. Proceedings today at the Old Bailey regarding Julian Assange’s extradition returned to journalistic practice, redaction of source names and that ongoing obsession with alleged harm arising from WikiLeaks releases. John Goetz of Der Spiegel added his bit for the defence, making an effort to set the record straight on the events leading up to[Read More…]
Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction (published in 2014) reminds us that mass extinctions are not a novelty in Earth history;[1] and also that there have been some survivors of each of the five mass extinctions of the geological past. In fact, primates were survivors of the last (i.e., fifth) mass extinction—termed the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, and having occurred about 66[Read More…]
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) will be celebrating 100 years of its existence soon. Hence, it becomes increasingly important to have an audit to establish if the University has been on the designated path as envisioned by the Aligarh movement torchbearers. The Aligarh movement founders conceptualized the course of educational, cultural, economic, and moral prosperity. In the present situation, Muslims of[Read More…]
Root Cause: I don’t know if it is right to attribute this to the education system and societal values but the most important thing that is sought after in life is ‘career’ and ‘money’. Because let’s face it, it is only after possession of this that you can afford the most sought after livelihood, you can enrol your child into[Read More…]
On September 2, the Israeli government approved a proposal that allows the military to indefinitely withhold the bodies of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli army. The proposal was made by the country’s Defense Minister, Benny Gantz. Gantz is the main political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also serves the role of the ‘alternate Prime Minister.’[Read More…]
Loud screams woke up a Pastor and his family from a deep sleep at the dead of night on the 9th of September 2020. Religious fanatics had set his car and the church on fire in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. “At approximately 12:45 am, my father and sister ran outside after hearing the locals yelling and shouting outside[Read More…]
When Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh declared on record, in parliament, that China is illegally occupying 38,000 sq. kms of land in Ladakh 1 and eyeing further 90,000 sq. kms in Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls as South Tibet, India had made it clear to the world, about the expansionist designs of China and to which India is ready to[Read More…]
A new Arctic is emerging. The regions landscape is changing rapidly. Temperatures are skyrocketing, sea ice is dwindling and many experts believe the far north is quickly transforming into something unrecognizable. This week, new research confirms that a new Arctic climate system is emerging. A new Arctic will be warmer, rainier and substantially less frozen. Animals that used to be common may[Read More…]
Satellite images show that two important glaciers in the Antarctic are sustaining rapid damage at their most vulnerable points, leading to the breaking up of vital ice shelves with major consequences for global sea level rise. In recent years, the Pine Island Glacier and the Thwaites Glacier on West Antarctica has been undergoing rapid changes, with potentially major consequences for[Read More…]
C N Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu , and who headed the first DMK ministry in the state, was one of the few political leaders in the country who welcomed Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar’s decision to convert to Buddhism. Here is what he wrote (in 1956) about that momentous event. Annadurai’s birth anniversary was observed on September 15, and[Read More…]
There couldn’t be a better audience than the youngsters for a book on the environment. If the youth are the harbingers of change, it is they who will have to care more about the earth and the environment. This new book on India’s environmental history is a commendable work simply for the reason that it is written for children. ‘Unearthed:[Read More…]
Writing an essay on Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Philosopher Akeel Bilgrami noted that “Its generally foolhardy to write about Gandhi, not only because you are never certain you’ve got him right, but because you are almost sure to have him wrong”. This is a pessimistic proposition in the light of the huge corpus of literature that is been brought out by[Read More…]
When India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, met in Moscow on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on September 10, 2020, and issued a joint-statement, the peace-lovers had a sigh of relief as it signalled towards a significant de-escalation between the two countries, but on the contrary the situation is by all standards[Read More…]
by Pranab Doley, Jacinta Kerketta, Deme Oraon, Gladson Dungdung, Sharanya and Rajaraman Sundaresan A recent protest, through a petition endorsed by around 300 Adivasi leaders, academics, activists, environmental groups and people’s movements in India, has brought the issue of decolonization to the forefront by protesting against the decision of IUAES and its member organizations to hold the World Anthropology Congress[Read More…]
Justice Ramanna has observed that ‘judges have become victims of juicy gossip’ while CJI Bobde has said that independence of the judiciary is not only independence from the Executive, but also from many other pressure and prejudices. They are not wrong, but they should introspect why things are happening which did not happen before. Have the people degenerated or the[Read More…]
When Babri Mosque was being demolished in broad day light, the slogan being chanted by the leaders was, Yeh to Kewal jahnki hai, Kashi Mathura Baaki hai (This is the beginning, Kashi Mathura are next on the line). Supreme Court despite giving the same land to those who demolished the Mosque did call it a crime. The Ram Temple was[Read More…]
It is an undeniable fact that today’s corporate India is intoxicated with the idea the digital. It is constantly on the fast-track to transform all into the digital, and as quickly as possible. In such an environment, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, popularly called as Raghuvansh Babu in friendly circles, sent his hand-written resignation addressed to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu[Read More…]
September 15. Central Criminal Court, London. Today, witnesses appearing in the extradition trial of Julian Assange fleshed out some points touched upon the previous day: the fate awaiting the WikiLeaks publisher in the US prison system, and the political nature of process. Before commencing, Judge Vanessa Baraitser was a touch peeved. She noted that one defence witness who took the[Read More…]
by Medea Benjamin and Barry Summers “Gorgon Stare will be looking at a whole city, so there will be no way for the adversary to know what we’re looking at, and we can see everything.” That same persistent eye in the sky may soon be deployed over U.S. cities. At the time he made that comment about surveillance drones over[Read More…]
Over 50 years have transpired since the lyrics of this song, Salt of the Earth, resonated then, just as much as now: Let’s drink to the hard working people Let’s drink to the lowly of birth Raise your glass to the good and the evil Let’s drink to the salt of the earth Say a prayer for the common foot[Read More…]
If Covid-19 was as lethal as Ebola, the six million US infections registered on 9/1/20, would have already resulted in 3 million Covid -19 deaths. This is the reality of the murderous; let them die “herd immunity” policy the administration is intentionally following, by forcing us back to unsafe work/school. How many deaths will they accept with this abuse and[Read More…]
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said five or six more countries are ready to make peace with Israel, Times of Israel reported. However, he did not name those countries. Shortly before the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Trump said, “We’re very far down the road with about five additional countries… Frankly, I[Read More…]
Will the Saudis formalize relations with Israel or will they not? That is the 64,000-dollar question. The odds are that Saudi Arabia is not about to formalize relations with Israel. But the kingdom, its image tarnished by multiple missteps, is seeking to ensure that it is not perceived as the odd man out as smaller Gulf states establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.[Read More…]
On 19 August 2020, an article in Foreign Affairs argued that a “botched peace plan” in the Middle East accidentally produced the Abraham Accord between the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel and the US. On the surface, the Abraham Accord appears to be a ‘botched peace plan’. However, it is consistent with the goals of the Trump administration to forge[Read More…]
In our new era of nearly unparalleled upheaval, as a pandemic ravages the bodies of some and the minds of nearly everyone, as the associated economic damage disposes of the livelihoods of many, and as even the promise of democracy fades, the people whose lives were already on a razor’s edge — who were vulnerable and isolated before the advent of Covid-19 —[Read More…]
Swami Agnivesh has left us. And yet he is still with us. He was undoubtedly one of the most courageous fighters against religious fanaticism and religious bigotry of our time. He spoke out without hesitation against fanatical Hindus who distorted religious teachings to justify exclusive interpretations of the faith. Chauvinistic trends within the community that have been gaining currency in[Read More…]
by Kalu Naik and Ajit Kumar Lenka The much-awaited and ambitious ‘New Education Policy-2020’ rolled out by the NDA government under the chairmanship of former ISRO Chief K. Kasturirangan. This New Education Policy is popularly known as the Kasturirangan committee on Education Policy. This is the third education policy since 1968 and 1986 and considered as the modern education policy[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey and Shivi Saba What purpose does a religion serve? It serves you the meaning of living a life in the right way. Lately, the sentiment around the religion in our country is undergoing transformation, religion has become a marker of character. Earlier this thinking was limited to a very small section of society but now the politics[Read More…]
Condemn the arrest of Umar Khalid by the Delhi Police in the name of investigating the North East Delhi pogrom! Stop the harassment of activists and intellectuals! On September 13th, after a lengthy interrogation lasting over 10 hours, the Delhi Police arrested former JNU student Umar Khalid. His arrest under FIR 59/2020 invokes several sections of the draconian Unlawful Activities[Read More…]
The deep state in Pakistan is no more a mere conglomerate of civil bureaucracy, army, intelligence, and/or other administrative agencies. The ‘state within the state’ has also its predictable partners in religious constituencies across the country. There is a growing concern now if the judiciary is also becoming a partner of the deep state congregation. A few years back, a[Read More…]
Letter to the Prime Minister E.A.S.Sarma Maharanipeta Visakhapatnam To Shri Narendra D Modi Prime Minister Dear Shri Modiji, India’s groundwater resources have come under severe stress as a result of increasing pressure on the same for urban water needs in cities and towns and from irrigation requirements in the rural areas. In many parts of the country, the rate of[Read More…]
You change the meaning of violence To mean that your violence is non-violent And those who question your violence Are the perpetrators of the actual violence If you define your violence as non-violent And those who question your violence as violence Your non-violence has a violent nature And questioning of your violence has a non-violent nature The foundation you want[Read More…]
Conjuring consent in a post-factual, post-truth scenario Freedom of the press is under siege: from without by the State and its thriving band of storm troopers and from within by the owners of private media who have cut loose from the rule of law and due process, rendering scores of journalists at the precipice of precarity. This seemingly relentless double[Read More…]
In the last six months the world has witnessed an unprecedented period of vulnerability and socio-economic insecurity and distress – India has been no exception to this casualty. In these extraordinary times, the centralised, undemocratic and non consultative manner in which the government has formulated and implemented policies have been damaging to India’s working people – further perpetuating an already[Read More…]
Having had a coronavirus scare towards the end of last week, necessitating a brief suspension of proceedings for September 11, the extradition proceedings for Julian Assange resumed with Eric Lewis. The chairman of the board of Reprieve, who has cut his teeth on representing Afghan detainees in US custody and those in Guantánamo, has not been shy in arguing against[Read More…]
Book Review Oral History of Indian Freedom Movement By Dr Licy Bharucha; Pp240; Rs 300; Published by National Museum of Indian Freedom Movement The Congress has won political freedom, but it has yet to win economic freedom, social and moral freedom. These freedoms are harder than the political, if only because they are constructive, less exciting and not spectacular. -Mahatma[Read More…]
Since 2014, we all have seen how Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg constantly talks about changing the world. Will his billionaire philanthropy actually save the world? His estimated wealth to date is $111 billion USD. It makes him the fifth richest man on the planet. In 2017, while Zuck was nabbing an honorary degree from Harvard College, Harvard’s 28th[Read More…]
–“Sir, I haven’t been feeling well for last few days! I need rest at least for a day.” –“Well, you know that all the leaves including casual and medical have already been disapproved due to the covid19 pandemic. Moreover, all of our employees are working from home. What is the need of availing any leave?” — “Sir, as I have[Read More…]
On December 11, 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the United States. Even within the most avowed Leftist anti-war activist there exists a belief that the Second World War was fully justified in stopping Hitler’s Nazis. They claim it was a just war for freedom and to halt the Holocaust. The position[Read More…]
A Christian family was chased away after their home was demolished by local religious fanatics in Chhattisgarh. The fanatics made this move although the family holds all legal documents of ownership of the said property. “*Bhushan, *Bani, and their three children used to live in a 7×9 sq. ft room which belonged to *Bhushan’s parents. When the family accepted Christianity[Read More…]
Why is it alone students of Tamil Nadu are known for committing suicides due to NEET? Since 2017 during this time around the NEET exam in the corner, Tamil Nadu always has the news of students committing suicides? Who should we blame for this? Is it the students themselves or their parents? or the government and the entire society? As[Read More…]
This is a crucial time and an unprecedented crisis is unfolding where the worst-hit are the most neglected ones. The Government must find a way out with utmost dedication, even if it is an act of God, and look after the farmers, so that they do happy harvesting rather than committing unwelcoming suicides. How does the novel coronavirus travel from[Read More…]
Mysore Shrinivas Sathyu, who turned ninety on July 6 this year, is an important figure in the annals of New Indian Cinema by virtue of just one film- Garam Hawa (Hot Winds, 1974), a scathing dissection of the diseased mentalities that caused the Partition of the country (read, Partition of Bengal and Punjab). Garam Hawa achieves its purpose by portraying[Read More…]
This is a scene from Basanta Utsab ( spring festival) song- and-dance programme at Visva-Bharati, Shantiniketan, a couple of years back. The VC of the University, Bidyut Chakrabarty, called it “Basanta Tandav” and banned it along with the Poush Mela. How can you expect a person found guilty of sexual harassment and punished, to understand, leave alone to appreciate, such[Read More…]
On October 3rd and 4th, the Reclaiming India virtual conference will take place online. Please do not miss it. Hear Luminaries like William Barber, Prashant Bhushan, Indira Jaising, Hamid Ansari www.reclaimingindia.org Organized by Global Indian Progressive Alliance, Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, India Civil Watch International, Students Against Hindutva Ideology this conference is a magnificent event highlighting[Read More…]
By Vivek Sinha, Parijat Ghosh, Dibyendu Chaudhuri Introduction Sukanti Oraon of Jana, a village in Gumla district of Jharkhand, clearly remembers the day her Self Help Group (SHG) was formed. It was the 25th of November 1995, Saturday. Women of this Adivasi village came together to form SHGs with guidance from PRADAN, a national level Non-profit. Like many other villages[Read More…]
To: Mr. SN Srivastava, IPS Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police Headquarters, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi Subject: Urgently stop the motivated and malicious investigation and carry out bona fide investigation into the violence in North East Delhi in end February, 2020; Stop filing of charge sheet on the basis of fabricated evidence and false confessions in the conspiracy case made[Read More…]
The first of PUCL Maharashtra’s series of discussions on the impact of the lockdown on civil liberties, examined the rights of prisoners and the responsibility of the State to ensure the safety of all its citizens. The speakers for the session were Maja Daruwalla, Board Member and Senior Advisor, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Mihir Desai, Senior Counsel and Convenor,[Read More…]
It was a calamity in cultural terms likened to the destruction of the Buddhist statues of Bamyan and the ancient city of Palmyra. The explosive eradication of two Aboriginal sites in West Australia’s Juukan Gorge in May, said to be 46,000 years old, moved Peter Stone, the UNESCO chair in Cultural Property Protection and Peace, to call it “a black[Read More…]
The UAE-Israel formalisation of ties on August 14, 2020 1, was a bang and Bahrain-Israel normalisation of ties declared on September 12, 2020 2 turned out to be a whimper. The reason is plain and obvious. It was very much on the expected lines as the sprawling presence in the backdrop of all these ‘deals’ is Kingdom of Saudi[Read More…]
Cinematic aesthetic in a public space is defined by the sensibilities of such a space. Dictating these sensibilities becomes the privilege of a dominant hegemonic group. Consequently, it panders to clichés and tropes that simultaneously borrow from and lend to a collective imagination – strengthening it with each rendition. Eventually, repeat renditions become the unchallenged mainstay of a popular narrative,[Read More…]
by Thomas Klikauer and Nadine Campbell Amidst 93,000 daily cases and 80,000 deaths, some cities in India are experiencing a lockdown because of the the Coronavirus pandemic also known as Covid-19. Just a few months ago, Germany’s capital Berlin experienced the very same. If Berlin’s experiences is anything to go by, here is what such a lockdown means for you[Read More…]
Seeking Truth in a Country of Lies – Critical and Lyrical Essays. Edward Curtin. Clarity Press, Atlanta, Georgia. 2020. In the introduction to “Seeking Truth in a Country of Lies – Critical and Lyrical Essays” Edward Curtin writes, “…We live in the era of massive fraud where the transnational wealthy elites, led by the American war and propaganda machine, continue[Read More…]
A review of Seeking Truth in a Country of Lies: Critical and Lyrical Essays, by Edward Curtin. (Atlanta, GA, Clarity Press, Inc. 349 pp. 2020.) “There’s something happening here What it is ain’t exactly clear.” –Buffalo Springfield, “For What It’s Worth.” Happily receiving my review copy of Edward Curtin’s new book, the first thing I noticed, naturally enough,[Read More…]
A Post-Coronavirus Economy Can No Longer Afford to Put the Pentagon First The inadequate response of both the federal and state governments to the Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the United States, creating what could only be called a national security crisis. More than 190,000 Americans are dead, approximately half of them people of color. Yelp data show that more than 132,000[Read More…]
As the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 showed an overall improvement in the political representation of women, it became obvious that we have come a long way but there is still a long stretch to cover. In all of our misplaced understanding of just “helping” women to ensure we empower them, we forget that empowerment lies in building agency, above[Read More…]
I was remembering yesterday about an event from when I was in my twenties. I was sitting on a hard wooden bench waiting for a train to take me to my parents’ hometown from Grand Central Station in NY City. I looked around myself and saw homeless women living there. The view took a while to sink into my being.[Read More…]
by Dr. Arathi P Rao, Dr Parul Malik, Dr. Anil K Bhat and Dr. Kesavan Rajasekharan Nayar The concept of “Health Literacy” (HL) is gaining importance, more so in the COVID-19 era and is now being frequently applied in various studies. The levels of HL are being assessed for patients, their caregivers and the population in general (students, teachers etc.).[Read More…]
‘We will shoot you’, ‘Stop religious conversion’ & ‘This is a Hindu Rashtra’. These were the slogans yelled out by a mob of religious fanatics, who stood outside a Church in Rajasthan, India. This incident took place on the 11th of September 2020 at roughly 5:30 pm. “Around 50 men stood outside our gate, creating a huge commotion and threatening[Read More…]
Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K, he knew he had done nothing wrong but one morning, he was arrested. These opening lines of Franz Kafka’s classic novel, The Trial, published just over a century ago, in 1925, still ring true. Joseph K, the novel’s protagonist, is cashier at a bank. On his 30th birthday, two unidentified agents arrest[Read More…]
As citizens deeply committed to Constitutional values, we condemn the arrest of Umar Khalid who has been subjected to a malicious investigation targeting peaceful anti-CAA protestors. He has been booked under several charges including UAPA, sedition and conspiracy for murder. With deep anguish we have no doubt in saying that this investigation is not about the violence in February 2020[Read More…]
The mainstream media – particularly Hindi newspapers – has reproduced the police version while covering the news related to the naming of opposition leaders, activists, scholars in a supplementary chargesheet in the February 2020 Delhi riots. CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Swaraj Abhiyan leader and scholar Yogendra Yadav, JNU economist Jayati Ghosh, Delhi University professor and social activist Apoorvanand[Read More…]
We are in the midst of an unmitigated natural disaster here in Oregon and on the West Coast. I struggle to find the words to express what’s happening and the toll it’s taking – on our natural treasures, on homes and businesses, and on our collective psyches. People outside our region probably don’t grasp the magnitude of how massive and[Read More…]
The intended target of the UAE-Israel alliance is not Iran but Turkey, whose regional clout poses a threat to Gulf rulers, says David Hearst, the editor in chief of Middle East Eye. In an article titled – A new message resounds in the Arab world: Get Ankara – Hearst wrote Saturday: Israel had been saying for some time to Arab diplomats[Read More…]
It is well known fact that the Khalistan movement, which was to make a separate homeland for the Sikhs within India, had been considered ‘long-dead’ by the Indian government, after it coalesced to its high-point in 1984, when the Ex. PM Indira Gandhi organised ‘Operation Blue Star’ to suppress it. But, even after 36 years the embers still tend to[Read More…]
by Thomas Klikauer and Nadine Campbell In a great workplace, most people would work independently of their immediate boss, and they might even like what they do. Having enough time and being flexible is increasingly more important to many employees in Germany. Even before the Coronavirus pandemic, there were more and more German companies that started to realise that the[Read More…]
As a student of both the Kennedy brothers’ assassinations and 9/11 this writer was able to interview very interesting researchers on these topics. Ed Curtin and James DeEugenio have been very astute as to the former. They joined my radio show in the past and shed important light on what really most likely went down in Dallas and in Los[Read More…]
Recently, actor Samyuktha Hegde and her friends were assaulted by All India Congress Committee member and civic activist Kavitha Reddy at Bangalore’s Agara Lake. Reddy can be seen in videos put up by Hegde on her Instagram threatening to hit the women if they wore “such” clothes, charging at the women to hit them, inciting a mob to shame them[Read More…]
Very sad to have lost Swami Agnivesh. My respectful salute and Shraddhanjali to my human rights co-fighter and colleague. Deepest condolences to his friends and associates.Remember the innumerable occasions when we worked together or few where we differed. Remember my presence in the discussion and meeting on the hillocks bordering Haryana with Swami Agnivesh and Kailash Satyarthi the day when[Read More…]
Janhastakshep takes serious note of and unequivocally condemns the inhuman, illegal and unethical demolition of thousands of houses (Jhuggis) of the Indian citizens along the railway lines near Keshavpuram and Nangloi in Delhi, the day before yesterday (10th September 2020), by the Railway authorities and Delhi Police under the pretext of Supreme Court Order, 31 august 2020, by a bench[Read More…]
On 13th September the Communist revolutionary contingent dips it’s blood in memory of late Comrade Zora Singh Jalajan,a member of the Communist Party Re-Organization Centre of India.(Marxist-Leninist ) on his 20th martyrdom anniversary. He lived for only 33 years, succumbing as a victim of cancer in the year 2000.However in his lifetime he lit the flame of Mao thought at[Read More…]
The Grameena Pedala Sangham (GPS- Organization of Rural Poor) deeply condoles the death of Swami Agnivesh (80) who is no more. He died on September 11 at Delhi. He was a great social worker and a democrat , who worked all his life- time for the cause of the oppressed, and was the Founder of Bandhua Mukti Morcha that worked[Read More…]
English medium at primary school level is certainly harmful, more so to the rural and poorer masses. That is a key lesson in my life’s experiences, both as a student and as a teacher. It may be useful only to the elite, including those of dalit bahujans, and to the vote bank politics of ruling classes. I am a[Read More…]
The recent order by the Supreme Court 3-judge bench that threatens the homes and livelihoods of an estimated 48,000 families living along 70 km of railway tracks because they were “encroachments which are there in the safety zones,” has understandably raised many concerns. To place this order in context it is necessary to understand the trajectory of the courts and[Read More…]
Recently the PM Modi led Cabinet has approved the New National Education Policy (NEP-2020). After that, it is being argued that current Education policy has been designed to fulfill the needs and emerging aspirations of students. In this respect, the ruling dispensation led by PM Modi has said that current policy on education will help us to achieve an[Read More…]
Each time, Saadat Hasan Manto changes position in his 65-year-old grave in Lahore, “wondering whether he is a better short story writer than God”, the subcontinent, more than any other part of the world that recognized his genius belatedly, goes into raptures. Some recent films, books, and stage adaptations to do with the great writer and liberal humanist provide[Read More…]
Forgotten souls that weep for an Unfinished dream, for a life Half-lived that ended in an agony of twin blasted Implosions. Forgetting the past — Al Qaeda Osama the terror the horror of tumbling towers the cries that pierced the silences of death and yet triumphing Arabian perfumes silver bricks Clear the stench of corpses, Wars for Holy[Read More…]
Biochemist, writer, humanitarian activist, and artist, Gideon Polya has had a selection of his essays gathered into a compendium titled US-Imposed Post-9/11 Muslim Holocaust & Muslim Genocide (Korsgaard Publishing, 2020). The compendium is important because it brings to the forefront, for anyone who cares an iota for peace and social justice, the horrible crimes of the “mendacious and politically dominant[Read More…]
In an op ed titled “Losing Both Elections” Gwynne Dyer sees Trump’s presence in the White House as exposing the U.S.’ racism leading to its being “extinguished”, a “necessary evolution of American history.” That is a very positive summation, but it comes about through some very strange presentation of information. Dyer is a Canadian historian/journalist with degrees in military history[Read More…]
America commemorates the 19th anniversary of 9/11. The BBC broadcasted live from Somerset County, Pennsylvania, that President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania attended. The mainstream U. S. media just showed clips of the bells, which ring after every name of the victims from the plane cash in Shanksville was read. Didn’t they report because Trump attended the[Read More…]
On May 25, 2020, African American George Floyd, was arrested and killed by a white Minneapolis police officer. The officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt forcefully on Floyd’s neck, and in effect crushing Floyd’s wind pipe. Three other officers were involved, two helping to restrain Floyd, and another standing guard between witnesses and the actual killing. Eight minutes passed and Floyd was[Read More…]
Before taking up the engagement with issues related to communal harmony and national integration, I was trying to associate with issues of labor movement. During that time I used to hear from friends the name of Swami Agnivesh in the context of movement against bonded labor. Later after the demolition of Babri Mosque, I decided to understand the issues of[Read More…]
We were always told what to think; what is correct and what is wrong. By the white dudes living in or coming from Europe and North America. They knew everything. They were the most qualified. When I write “white,” I don’t mean just their race or color of their skin. To me, “white” is their culture, where they belong. Yes,[Read More…]
The Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Pangong Tso remains poised on a razor’s edge. India- China animosity is high, mutual trust is nonexistent, and all past agreements and mechanisms that provided the basis for managing the border dispute have gone for a toss. The situation is slipping fast towards a point of no return, but a war that looks[Read More…]
by Punsara Amarasinghe & Eshan Jayawardane Sri Lanka has been often portrayed as being in the crossroads of geopolitical encounters with powerful nations throughout its history and its unique geographic location in Indian ocean closer to the Indian mainland, yet distinct from it has made the island’s destiny extremely intertwined with India. Sri Lanka’s own historical identity is the[Read More…]
The death of Swami Agnivesh is a great loss to civil society movements in India which he was an active member all through his life. Those of us who have been frequented with various protests at the Jantar Mantar knew him well how he would encourage youngsters and join their protests at any available time. Swami Aginvesh was basically a[Read More…]
In Conversation with Dr Obadele Bakari Kambon on Racism, white supremacy and caste system Dr Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon, Ph.D. is an Afrikan anti-amerikkkan. In India, he has been known for advocating vociferously for the removal of the statue of Gandhi, from the University Campus in Ghana which was gifted by the government of India. He had famously advocated that ‘we[Read More…]
19 years after the ghastly tragedy of 9/11, civil rights remains the major problem for the seven-million-strong American Muslim Community. The Covid-19 Pandemic shut down the US economy and disturbed the social life however even in this challenging times American Muslims were victims of hate crimes, discrimination and Islamophobia. Almost two decades after 9/11, American Muslims still dealing with the[Read More…]
I believe that for us Arabs to survive and progress we must have in common more than religion, language and rhetoric. We need unity, transparency and honesty. We Palestinians are teetering on the edge of a precipice. Until very recently, every Arab leader, politician, cleric and pundit, given half a chance, would mount the platform and raise the Palestinian flag[Read More…]
I have been following Kangana Ranaut with a mixture of fascination and admiration ever since she showed the extraordinary courage of taking on the bigwigs in Bollywood by attacking the source of their power—nepotism. Beginning from Koffee With Karan where she famously called Karan Johar the ‘flag bearer of nepotism’, she has been relentless in her attack. She must have[Read More…]
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers in Moscow, Russia, on September 10, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua) India and China have agreed to ratchet down tensions that have been building along the disputed Chinese-Indian border, leading[Read More…]
Have you heard the quote _ “Health is Wealth”? Recall it and it’s very high time to implement it now. Aren’t we creatures wearing masks since ages? “Covering ourselves – our real face and showing the fabricated image to this world, at times we hide our emotions and reveal ourselves as being so cool humans on this planet”. Yes that[Read More…]
Human calamities abound. The unrelenting coronavirus pandemic has already claimed more than 900,000 lives worldwide. The images of exploding wildfires from the American Southwest—California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington—look apocalyptic. Racial injustice and inequity in the United States marches on. And, the economic suffering?—painful. In this moment of so much death and suffering—do we even have the capacity to extend our[Read More…]
As James Lewis QC for the prosecution, representing the US government, revealed, “I’m just saying about my charger. It’s in court and I’m going to run out of battery.” It was one of those moments that said much about the fourth day of proceedings at the Old Bailey regarding one Julian Assange, publisher, Australian national and wanted by the US[Read More…]
“The party is always right, even when it’s wrong” – Democratic Workers Party slogan ORIENTATION Everybody knows what cults are People who join cults are mentally unstable before they join and less educated than the general population. True or false? Cult members also define themselves as lonely. True or false? Most people who join cults are from the poor and[Read More…]
On 2 September, 2020, the US sanctioned two officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigating into alleged war crimes by US forces and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan since 2003.The officials are ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and the ICC’s head of Jurisdiction, Complementary, and Cooperation Division, Phakiso Mochochok (sanctioned for having materially assisted Prosecutor Bensouda). Announcing this decision,[Read More…]
“I think there’s a comfort in knowing and having confidence that there are things bigger than you…it’s why I have so much faith in democracy overall, it’s why I care so much about giving people a voice” -Mark Zuckerberg Dear Mark, Very few have the privilege, convenience and power to give the masses a voice, like you do. Facebook has[Read More…]
On the 6th of September 2020, a news channel by the name of Pahad TV made a short video about how Christian missionaries from the south have ‘deviously’ come to the north and are ‘in the business’ of converting people there. A group of fanatics, led by a man identified as Gyan Singh Rana is seen threatening a group of[Read More…]
The Forum for Constitutional Rights and Democratic Freedoms (FCRDF) was constituted in August, 2020, after discussion among its Principal Members, comprising both individuals and organizations, all representing different constituencies. All were concerned with the erosion of constitutional rights and democratic freedoms in the last few years and came together on a common platform to stem the tide. The groups represented[Read More…]
During the initial months of the Covid-19 crisis, experts expressed their concern that this pandemic could set women back decades and rollover 50 years of progress in gender equality. As time passes, data from across the world are proving that the threat is real. With extra burden of childcare and household chores, unsecured jobs, job loss, risk-prone working conditions, hard to access[Read More…]
Narendra Modi The Prime Minister of India Subject: I wish you a long life so that you can live to see the consequences of your actions Mr. Modi, Hope you are doing well, even under these difficult circumstances when your country is now the second most hit in the world by COVID 19. Too bad that your lockdown did not[Read More…]
Adverse Effects among participants of Oxford-Zeneca Vaccin Trials in the UK In 1922-23, about two years after the end of Spanish Flu which infected over 500 million people, the United Kingdom experienced a very small epidemic of a very rare disorder called transverse myelitis (TM). No virus or any micro-organism behind this. These were adverse effects from vaccinations against small[Read More…]
The controversial demolition of the allegedly illegal construction in film star Kangana Ranaut’s bungalow at Pali Hill in Bandra on September 9 should be seen in a broader perspective. The crux is that over the years there is a tacit understanding between sections in the State government, the municipal corporation and the rich about land grab and illegal construction, enjoying[Read More…]
The president of US Donald Trump is of course too much meant to be busy for the November 2020 elections, and despite the stand-off with China on many fronts, particularly in South China Sea, will not be able to ‘look-that-hard’ into with China until the elections are over, which is not ‘that much’ to India’s liking, yet Israel, which is[Read More…]
I came to power in 2014. Till that period, all the sickulars, commies, libtards, prestitutes ruled the country. The land called India was destroyed by these anti-nationals. From the time I became the prime minister, I took on a war with these anti-national forces. I identified all the Urban naxals and Islamic jehadists by their speeches and dresses and got[Read More…]
The third day of extradition proceedings against Julian Assange at the Old Bailey resumed on the point of politics. Assange as a figure of political beliefs; Assange as a target of the Trump administration precisely for having them. The man sketching the portrait was Paul Rogers, Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University. It is no mean feat trying[Read More…]
The terms ‘medial trial’ and ‘media circus’ that are frequently invoked to describe what is happening to actor Rhea Chakraborty following the alleged suicide of her partner Sushant Singh Rajput, merely masks the reality of what our society is subjecting this young woman to. So let’s call it what it really is, shall we? This is a modern day[Read More…]
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the long-drawn-out conflict at the Escobal silver mine in Guatemala – the second- largest in the world – is intensifying. The Escobal mine is located in southeast Guatemala, outside the town of San Rafael de las Flores, approximately 40 km from Guatemala City. Since the beginning of commercial production in early 2013, the mine has been[Read More…]
The United Arab Emirates’ establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel is damaging its efforts to garner religious soft power by projecting itself as a model of Islamic moderation and tolerance and a force for peace. The UAE move has sparked splits within a key group, created and nurtured by the Gulf state, to project its image as a moderate[Read More…]
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance in name alone. Recent events notwithstanding, the brewing conflict over territorial waters in the Eastern Mediterranean indicates that the military union between mostly Western countries is faltering. The current Turkish-Greek tension is only one facet of a much larger conflict involving, aside from the two Mediterranean countries, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, France,[Read More…]
The group, Buffalo Springfield, with both Neil Young and Stephen Stills as members, had a major hit song For What It’s Worth, in 1967. It was the lyrics that are almost frighteningly valid in today’s socio-political climate: For What It’s Worth Buffalo Springfield There’s something happening here What it is ain’t exactly clear There’s a man with a gun over[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey and Mohini Mullick When the only cause for elation, even a smile in the morning, is news of the release of an innocent detainee with the words that his detention ‘was bad in law’, then democracy is indeed staring at its nadir. Priyanka Gandhi called Kafeel after his release. We would have liked to call the judges[Read More…]
We, the undersigned academics, journalists and concerned citizens strongly condemn the fresh round of harassment and arrests of academics and activists by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is trying to implicate them in the Bhima Koregaon case. After Partho Sarathi Ray, the NIA has now summoned Prof Satyanarayana and senior journalist KV Kurmanath to appear before it on 9[Read More…]
We are members of the scientific and academic community. We are writing to express our deep concern at the actions of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in its investigation of the Bhima-Koregaon violence. Instead of investigating those responsible for the actual violent clashes in Bhima-Koregaon, the NIA (and earlier, the Pune police) has focused on the Elgaar Parishad event—a large[Read More…]
Most U.S. citizens believe their government, legislators and courts are corrupt and unaccountable to the public, according to a new poll. Strikingly, both Democrats and Republicans share this opinion. Seventy-three percent of the U.S. citizens say that elected officials do not face “serious consequences” for misconduct, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Pew Research Center, the Washington, DC-based[Read More…]
Sometime back a video of a police officer from Maharashtra, Bhagyashree Navtake had gone viral wherein she is seen bragging about how she files false cases against Dalits and Muslims and tortures them. It represents a crude but true picture of social prejudices in India’s police force. It is a fact that after all our police men come from the society, hence[Read More…]
Lessons for today from the 1960’s Everyone agrees that the 1960’s were very special. Those of us who lived through that era remember it as a time when the danger of a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union was very real indeed. The world came extremely close to disaster during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In[Read More…]
The highlights of the second day of Julian Assange’s extradition proceedings at the Central Criminal Court in London yielded an interesting bounty. The first was the broader public purpose behind the WikiLeaks disclosures, their utility in legal proceedings, and their importance in disclosing instances of US extrajudicial killings, torture and rendition. The second involved a discussion about the practice of[Read More…]
The year was 1991 and the United States was suddenly the globe’s lone superpower, its ultimate hyperpower, the last and greatest of its kind, the soon-to-be-indispensable nation. The only one left — alone, utterly alone and triumphant atop the world. Who could have asked for more? Or better? It had been a Cold War fantasy of the first order —[Read More…]
The 24th edition of the Kolkata international film festival, held in November 2018, showed a surprisingly large number of films from Australia, which has never been counted among the foremost film-making nations of the world; no less than two dozen in all. It is hard to tell whether the ‘focus’ had anything to do with an increasing interest in Down[Read More…]
The simplest form of a question, addressed by indefinite horde communities from hitherto. The reply always varied spatially and temporally. ‘A FILM BY’, a hackneyed yet modish way to address a cinema by the film makers, is a lesser film maker ideology, suggests Nasruddin Shah, a prominent mainstream actor of the era. A complete filmmaker, Charlie Chaplin, never used[Read More…]
There is nothing inherently noble or respectable about institutions. Institutions become what their political masters want them to be. All institutions all over the world and across all spectrum are vulnerable to political interference. This political interference can influence their overall direction and day-to-day functioning. Respect for government is at an all-time low. A Gallup poll shows that majority don’t[Read More…]
I am a teacher of maths, arithmetic to be precise, not a great teacher but an unconventional one: A school teacher without a school; without a place; without a job; without regular salary. A rare kind of a teacher who taught maths to more than one lakh students over 30 years. A teacher who ‘taught’ maths-teaching to qualified teachers, while[Read More…]
Numerous videos of Christians being persecuted by religious radicals are being widely circulated on social media, with Facebook alone having a network of 33 million users in India. These videos are especially uploaded on groups run by the fanatics themselves and then spread to other social media platforms like twitter and WhatsApp. These videos aim at inciting hatred and defaming[Read More…]
By Medea Benjamin and Leonardo Flores Election season is a difficult time to develop good policies towards Latin America, since both Democrats and Republicans cater to the small, but organized, conservative factions of the Latinx community in Florida, vying for their votes. But if Biden wins the White House, there is a chance to reverse the Trump administration policies that[Read More…]
UNCERTAINTIES OF AMERICA’S LAW & ORDER PARTY The moment of truth fast approaches in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and soon the world will learn whether or not if it will be Donald Trump, his dynastic family, and their Law & Order Party who will once more continue to rule for yet another four years, eight years, twelve years, or[Read More…]
Amazon Day, a day of celebration for over 100 years on September 5th has passed. Amazon Day commemorates the year 1850 creation of the Province of Amazonas, encompassing 60% of Brazil and extending into Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, and French Guyana. Meanwhile, illegal fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rage on, and on, and on stronger than ever.[Read More…]
National Solidarity Forum (NSF) Cordially Invites for National Webinar TWELVE YEARS OF KANDHAMAL MEMORIAL ‘RECLAIMING DEMOCRACY, DEFENDING DIVERSITY’ Date: 12th September 2020 Time: 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm Dear Friend, The National Solidarity Forum invites you to a National Webinar ‘Twelve Years of Kandhamal – Reclaiming Democracy, Defending Diversity’ on Saturday, 12th September 2020 to mark the 12th Anniversary of[Read More…]
After the arrests of leading public intellectuals like poet Varavara Rao, Prof. Soma Sen, Prof. Anand Teltumbde, Mr. Gautam Navlakha, Ms. Sudha Bharadwaj and others, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has trained its gun yet once again on democratic right activists, lawyers and other intellectuals. One of their latest targets is Prof. Parthosarathi Ray, a leading biologist of the country, an Associate[Read More…]
Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor of Kabir Kala Manch, have been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case. Later today, NIA arrested Kabir Kala Manch activist Jyoti Jagtap in Bhima Koregaon case. With the arrest of Jyoti, the number of persons arrested in this case has risen to 15. Sagar Gorkhe[Read More…]
Many women and girls around the world have experienced contraception failure, missed taking oral contraceptive pills, or been forced to have sex against their will. For these women, emergency contraception is a safe and effective method that reduces the risk of pregnancy. Expanding the range of choices for girls and women to prevent unintended pregnancies, depending upon their specific realities[Read More…]
The fine circus that is British justice resumed at London’s Central Criminal Court on September 7, with the continued extradition proceedings against Julian Assange. Judge Vanessa Baraitser was concerned that approximately 40 individuals had received remote video access they apparently should not have. “In error, the court sent out orders to others who had sought access. I remain concerned about[Read More…]
What Happened As the presidential election draws near both contestants make fatuous appeals to America’s near-sainted Founding Fathers and that almost sacred scroll known as the Constitution. History has seen more than its share of distortion. Myths and misconceptions have sprung up that many people now take as fact. However, historical interpretation must be based on evidence, which in many cases[Read More…]
Youths and children, the most demographic dividend of any country, are equally important for the society specifically as well as for the nation-building in general. They are the impregnable pillars of any country’s social integration and economic growth. Education is treated as best mode of shaping these young populations towards their holistic development, thereon the destiny of any nation depends[Read More…]
India’s war with China is getting more and more imminent, as what has finally come out, after the talks between India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Moscow, it has become clear that situation is clearly heading for a deadlock 1. India in a true case of running with a hare and hunting with a[Read More…]
Speculations about a presidential pardon for the whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked National Security Agency’s classified information to the press in 2013, have grown since last month after Donald Trump commented on the case in an interview [1] with The New York Post on August 13. “There are a lot of people that think that he is not being treated[Read More…]
I had cultivated an idea before 2014 elections that BJP in power is a better option than out of power. It was based on the perception that BJP in the long run wants to grab power and it creates an anti Muslim rhetoric to win majority community votes .And when power is achieved they don’t need the anti minority path.[Read More…]
Given the events of August 5th in Ayodhya, how do we conceive Savarkar as a progenitor of this invidious movement? The answer to your question is not an easy one, given the complexities of Savarkar’s ideas and the interpretation of those ideas over one century by a number of thinkers. However, in thinking specifically about Rama, Ayodhya, and the Babri[Read More…]
A new freely downloadable book I would like to announce the publication of a book entitled “Some Aspects of Quantum Theory”. The book may be downloaded and circulated free of charge from the following link: http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Some-Aspects-of-Quantum-Theory-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf What readers may expect to find in the book I hope that this book will be of interest to students and researchers in mathematics,[Read More…]
On the Trail of Buddha—A Journey to the East is ‘a unique sojourn in the search of the spiritual, philosophical, and cultural linkages that bind India to the East Asian civilizations. From the wandering monks of Asia to the temples and monasteries they visited; from the statues and frescoes in grottoes to those in the museums; from the diverse ethnicities[Read More…]
From Devulapally Venkateswara Rao group one Suryaprakash and Krishna have been writing very unreadable document type of writeups against me. They have been trying to spread lies as information, rubbish as Marxist knowledge. One major unverified lie that they are spreading is that I did not write the first booklet on caste and Marxism in the history of Indian communist[Read More…]
Many of us – the readers of Countercurrents – are eating plastic although we do not buy the plastic for eating. There are incidents of recalling of several food items, because there were traces of plastic in those foods items. Almost 60,000 pounds of Pilgrim’s Pride chicken nuggets were recalled back in June because they may contain plastic. Now, scientists have found[Read More…]
Ever since the passage of the draconian & unconstitutional laws, namely, the CAA, NRC & the NPR, peaceful protests spontaneously arose across the country. These protests were organised in the best traditions of the Gandhian principles of non-violence and dissent. The movement that arose committed themselves to defend the Constitution of India and the fundamental values espoused in our preamble,[Read More…]
Why the 2020 election is so important Why did Prof. Noam Chomsky call the US Republican Party “The most dangerous organization in the history of the world”? He did so because the party is characterized by climate change denial and by support for giant fossil fuel corporations. According to the 2018 IPCC Report, the world has only a very short[Read More…]
In my new book I examine an area of our thought process that is the primary cause of our extinction possibility today; the dark neurotic psychotic side of the human brain. XXXX That “dark side” is driven by a self-serving dynamic. We allow it to enrapture us. It can turn us against each other. We have been and continue to[Read More…]
From sneering dismissiveness of the coronavirus as nothing more than a common cold to a grand promise to find a vaccine, President Donald Trump is all promises. “We remain on track to deliver a vaccine before the end of the year and maybe even before November 1st,” he told a White House news conference on September 4. “We think we[Read More…]
Losing your father is definitely heart wrecking when he has been the emotional support system all through the life. Besides unconditional love, Dad also provided stability, acceptance, and encouragement when it mattered most. It becomes more painful when one had been in direct daily conversation of a couple of hours with Dad for last 20 years. It is an Irish[Read More…]
To The Honorable Chairperson National Commission for Scheduled Tribes New Delhi Dear Sir Sub: Online harassment and caste violence against Dr. Murmu Dr. Maroona Murmu is an Associate Professor of the Department of History, Jadavpur University. In the Brahmanical landscape of academia in West Bengal, she is one of the few Adivasi women to have catapulted into success and prominence.[Read More…]
We have come to know that our dear friend and comrade Dr Partho Sarothi Ray, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), has been summoned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case. He has been asked to present himself before the investigators in Mumbai on 10 September at 11am. Partho[Read More…]
When ‘mainstream’ politicians and media pundits talk about the structure of American society, they focus mainly on a vaguely defined group called ‘the middle class.’ The middle class is considered the mainstay of society, a bulwark of social stability and cohesion. Indeed, the middle class is the symbolic representative of the whole society. The ‘typical Americans’ of TV sitcoms are[Read More…]
The real ‘Turkish-Delight’ was into its consonance as Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan, on August 21, 2020 announced the discovery of large reserves of oil/gas and hydrocarbons in Mediterranean sea 1 and with it obviously the objective of ‘blue-homeland’ of Turley has started to be counted inside Turkish populace as it has started to hit everyone’s imagination that Turkey is soon[Read More…]
In my personal calendar of gains and losses, September is a craven, cowardly month. It robbed me, born the same month, of my two closest relatives. I don’t expect everybody to be interested in this humble story of comings and goings, but, who knows, someone out there might read a useful metaphor here. Come late August/early September each year, and[Read More…]
All India Catholic Union National President Lancy D Cunha has listed the long-pending restoration of scheduled rights for Dalit Christians, Targeted hate and violence against religious minorities, and the skewed National Education Policy as the chief concerns of the Christian community in the first year of the third decade of the 21st Century. Speaking at a webinar organized by the[Read More…]
Will there be any use in searching answer to a question like this? For me, no. There is no point at all. But then, hey, should not we discuss and debate on some speeches made by leaders invoking mythical characters? If one rejects religion and God, does it mean that they should also dismiss discussion on religion? May be not.[Read More…]
I was driving on Highway 90, just outside of Bellevue, WA, where I live- in the first week of September, 2020. The drive East from Bellevue on I-90 is for the most part absolutely incredible. The physical beauty of the land, the sylvan cover, the density of the vegetation- all of these remind one that the Earth has beautiful parts,[Read More…]
The mainstream newspapers have given very little space to the story of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shirking by the steepest ever 23.9 per cent that it deserves. In their reporting, they have ended up solely blaming the corona pandemic for the steepest decline. Hardly has any newspaper dared to link the sharpest fall in the GDP to the Government’s economic[Read More…]
Main points on the basis of the talk with Akhilendra Pratap Singh, Member, National Working Committee of Swaraj Abhiyan by senior journalist Santosh Bhartiya of Loud TV India about the political initiative required in the present situation: (Akhilendra Pratap Singh in this conversation has expressed his views about the new ideology and strategy in the present situation, pointing out the[Read More…]
Belarus-born American writer Evgeny Morozov, a scholar of the political and social implications of technology, is among the early technology sceptics whose words have now proved prescient. Morozov had questioned the claim that the internet would challenge dictatorships even at an inconvenient time to do so. While thousands were out on streets during the Arab Spring, he delivered a Ted[Read More…]
On August 31, 2020, Hamas announced that it had reached a ceasefire with Israel that would end the recent hostilities in Gaza. Since 6 August, the besieged Palestinian enclave was being bombed daily by the Israeli forces. In order to bomb Gaza, the “terror balloon” narrative has been used by the Zionist state. These so-called “terror balloons” are contraptions made from everyday materials, gas-soaked[Read More…]
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, claims to be against the use of his popular social media portal for spreading hatred. He said that there “is no place for hate speech or content that promotes violence.” Can we trust him? How serious is he to ensuring his claims? Is he ready to walk the talk? After all, accusations[Read More…]
August 15, 1947 is a memorable day in the history of the British Empire since from that day onwards the sun started setting on the British Empire and India received its independence from the clutches of the British. What dreams we had for the future; what aspirations were built up for a young nation who could breathe free after being[Read More…]
Pr. Sangeeta and her husband Chandra Shekhar Upadhyay were unjustly arrested and imprisoned in Indore a district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, by the Police after the complainant wrongly accused them of forcing her to convert to Christianity. “This is a dishonest accusation. My Mother has been a devout Christian and a faithful Pastor. My parents would never[Read More…]
India which is already bogged down by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as its economy is into a ‘meltdown’, right now is in quite a piquant position as the likelihood of a conflict now only on Line of Actual Control (China) but a conflict on Line of Control (Pakistan) is almost waiting to happen. Going by the details, it[Read More…]
Opening before us A crack in the Earth So deep So deep Headphones on Chatting on the phone We walk Into the muck Insouciance Ambien-induced haze Our collective lives Under this mask The crack widens And deepens We walk Without a pause Will you save me Before I fall? Romi Mahajan is an Author, Marketer, Investor, and Activist SIGN UP[Read More…]
‘The Grace Prayer House’ was demolished at the dead of night by religious fanatics on the 2nd of September 2020, in Khammam, a district in the southern Indian state of Telangana. The attack is the aftermath of a Police complaint made against the fanatics who have been harassing the Church since 2019. “At around 2:00am, my wife woke up with[Read More…]
In a recent committee meeting at my institution, I heard a colleague say: “Our job is to prepare students for the world.” This comment wasn’t intended as an earth-shaking revelation, but it nevertheless caught my attention and got me thinking. On the surface, the idea appears to be simple and non-controversial, even banal. Those of us who are associated with[Read More…]
People Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) expresses its disappointment at the decision of the Supreme Court of India dated 31.08.2020 in `M.C. Mehta v Union Of India & Ors’ (Writ Petition No. 13029/1985), and condemns the direction to demolish within the next three months over 48,000 homes of the urban poor in Delhi as being in complete violation of the[Read More…]
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of weak health systems that were ill prepared to withstand the onslaught of the pandemic. As documented by the Pulse survey of the WHO, the pandemic has resulted in disruption of essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, in most countries. Weak and perpetually poorly resourced health systems have escalated the[Read More…]
Human beings distinguish themselves from other animal species by, inter alia, their ability to communicate elaborately through multiple languages. Over time, the spoken languages have also been transformed into written languages, bringing a visuality and cognition to the language which also made possible recording of history and creation of literature, essentially extending the reach and precision of language over time,[Read More…]
I run a small bank for rural women in a drought-prone area of Maharashtra. It’s called the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank. It’s the first bank set up in the country by and for rural women. Most of our customers are micro business owners – women who work at weekly markets or run their enterprises from home. They are vegetable[Read More…]
Chakravarty Gautam is one of the founders of Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organizations in the United Kingdom (FABO UK). He was born in Gujarat and migrated to the UK in 1969. He established himself as a business person and also linked to various Ambedkarite groups working in the UK. He became one of the leading figures of the Ambedkarite[Read More…]
The photo was taken when he was around 75. He was very active and agile until he was down with cancer late in 2017. A few months before that, he was walking and talking with some students for 8 hours, on a hot summer in a forest on a project. After retirement and surgery also he was available to his[Read More…]
The Tatas have all along been opposed to the idea of having a university in Jamshedpur. In fact, Tisco did not want even a college in the city. Which brings us to the saga of Medioma Dhanjishah Madan (1913 – 1962). Dissidents give a character to a place, as much as devotees do. But since, as a rule, dissidents are[Read More…]
It often happens this way: extreme right-wingers, or call them ‘ultra-conservatives,’ either in the United States or Europe, suddenly fall from grace, after committing the most heinous crimes. Sometimes it is child abuse or sexual harassment, but most of the time, it is a corruption of tremendous proportions. In theory, in their own theory, it is not supposed to be[Read More…]
Missing from thoughtful decision is that the Emirates bewildering moment and the shattered Palestinian moment are due to a misrepresentation of what is called the Middle East conflict. The misrepresentation has led to a fallacious approach for rectification, and an impasse for obtaining peace with justice. Even the terminology seems incorrect. Is this a conflict between Palestinians and Zionists or has it[Read More…]
Coronavirus could have sounded the death knell for capitalism. The Economic Times called it a time of “ethical reboot,” while New Statesman invoked “the need for an entirely new economic system” of governance. This could have become our new reality, if not for the governments all over the world swooping in to rescue their most beloved—The Corporates. Our current business-centric,[Read More…]
Káśmīra, the Sanskrit word of Kashmir; or Kasheer, the Kashmiri word for Kashmir; only inscribed in the pages of the books or in minds similarly as how the beloved land “Maej Kasheer”- the Mother Kashmir set aside in the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. The paradise was only known as the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and[Read More…]
The first-round between China and US, from the past couple of months, has gone to the US side, as surely and certainly a lot is happening in terms of geo-politics, a change in what is called as ‘an old guard’ is taking place, as new blocs are getting formed and new formulations are in vogue, to be put forward, for[Read More…]
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a massive toll on the economy: broken supply chains, record unemployment, failing small businesses. Much the same way it is affecting people with pre-existing health conditions more strongly, so is the pandemic-triggered economic crisis exposing vulnerable communities to greater distress. The pandemic has frozen the wheels of economy and affected every aspect of life. Lockdowns[Read More…]
A gate was deliberately installed to prevent Christians from visiting a prayer house at a residential and commercial colony in the Indian state of Telangana. Persecution Relief was alerted about the incident on the 31st of August 2020, by *Andrew, a Christian resident of the colony. “Over the past year, the colony members have been purposely creating one issue after[Read More…]
By Dr. P. S. Sahni & Shobha Aggarwal The rights of people with different sexual orientations – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual needs to be respected; all the laws that criminalise or discriminate against the LGBTQIA community should be abolished. India should pass laws that allows marriage among same sex and LGBTQIA communities. – A People’s Manifesto for[Read More…]
Over 1000 citizens from all walks of life including, filmmaker Aparna Sen; former Culture Secretary culture Jawahar Sircar; Historian Ramchandra Guha; former Chairperson, Delhi Minority Commission Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan; Former Governor, Margaret Alva; Academics – Zoya Hasan, Partha Chatterjee, Jayati Ghosh, Poonam Batra, Nivedita Menon, Sucharita Sen; former senior civil servants – Wajahat Habibullah, Madhu Bhaduri, Deb Mukherjee, Amitabha Pande,[Read More…]
By Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker Workers in 2020 have a unique opportunity to vote to put two fellow workers in the White House. Howie is a recently retired Teamster and Angela is a dump truck driver. We know the economic realities that working people face in the United States. This Labor Day we call for a better class of[Read More…]
Statement released by Activists of Anti-CAA-NRC-NPR movement, Apoorvanand, Harsh Mander, Yogendra Yadav, Kawalpreet and Umar Khalid questioning the malicious investigation of the Delhi riots by Delhi police This press conference has been called in the backdrop of a continuing attempt by the Delhi Police to falsely implicate activists of the anti-CAA/NRC/NPR movements as the masterminds of the brutal communal violence[Read More…]
500 academics, scientists and researchers from India, across various educational institutes, have written an open letter to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change listing their concerns with the Draft Notification of the ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ 2020. Together, the signatories come from over 130 research institutes and universities, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of[Read More…]
Israeli settlements or Jewish communities in Occupied Palestine Territories, especially in the East Jerusalem and West Bank, are a major historical cause of concern, not only for Palestine and Israel but also for the entire Arab region and beyond. In fact, every Israeli effort to build expansionary settlements and outposts has, of course, created chaos between Palestine and Israeli and[Read More…]
On this coming Father’s Day I want to salute three fathers whose sons, who have not broken Australian law, were and are betrayed by the Australian government: Terry Hicks the father of David Hicks incarcerated in a cage in Camp X-ray Guantanamo Bay for 5 years; John Shipton the father of Julian Assange who is presently incarcerated by the British[Read More…]
It is difficult – and futile – to argue which American president has historically been more pro-Israel. While former President Barack Obama, for example, has pledged more money to Israel than any other US administration in history, Donald Trump has provided Israel with a blank check of seemingly endless political concessions. Certainly, the unconditional backing and love declared for Israel[Read More…]
Dil ki basti purani Dilli hai Jo bhi guzra hai uss ne loota hai (My heart is [like] the Delhi of yore Whoever has passed through it, has looted it) The renowned poet Bashir Badr compared the afflictions of his heart with the city of Delhi in this famous couplet. Like the city, he claims, his heart was looted[Read More…]
President Gotabaya’s throne speech on August 20, 2020 as expected does not spring any surprise or disappointments to the minorities particularly Tamils as it is a frank and forthright speech which is crowning Buddhism and Sinhalese and expressing his gratitude to them for their endorsement to his pledges. The two-third majority of SLPP in the Parliament was made possible due[Read More…]
The US Office of the Secretary of Defense Report released on Sep 2, 2020, is a 200-page document available free in PDF form, is named as Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of China-2020, has been put to the world to see and probe as to what miracle China has become, militarily, apart from what economically it is. [Read More…]
By Giuseppa Cochiara and Gary Steven Corseri Food for the poor, Water for plants Rain for arid land. Everyone adds A pinch of hope To the dish of Life. It’s a rose-tinged feeling— Nourishing, supporting. Everyone hopes For a better day— A turnaround To something new. Love, success, pride…. Can we imagine them Without hope? [Read More…]
• Journalists, because they can rub shoulders with so-called VIPs, start thinking that they too belong to the elite circle. Over the years many in the profession enjoying good perks, have started looking down on trade unions of journalists. But with Covid leading to loss of jobs and health hazards, it is time for a rethink. • In Maharashtra the[Read More…]
“You Christian’s will never change” said *Inspector Kumar, as he lashed his belt on *Pastor Rupesh’s back. “I am fed up of trying to stop you Christians” he exclaimed. For the next couple of hours, Pr. Rupesh and a fellow believer endured the fury of the Inspector as he mercilessly beat them with a (lathi) wooden rod and his belt.[Read More…]
The rapidly shifting geopolitical realities, every new emerging international security situation, and (especially) current circumstances in South Asia behoove Pakistan to treat the Kashmir issue as its top priority – and thankfully Islamabad is doing that. The recent statement by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, concerning the establishment of an alternative Muslim bloc to deal with the Kashmir issue[Read More…]
Co-Written by Peehu Pardeshi and Sandeep Pandey It is unusual for a bright young scholar like Amrendra Narayan, with a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from Mississippi State University, preceded and followed by research stints at Indian Institutes of Technology at Kanpur and Mumbai, respectively, to go and work at a relatively little known Veer Kunwar Singh University in a small[Read More…]
An eastern bluebird perches on a branch, watching the ground As the bleary summer days are coming to an end, lately I have been thinking a lot about birds and nature in general. Because of the ongoing pandemic due to the coronavirus when all normal activities have been rerouted, we are finding alternatives to live our day, and such thoughts[Read More…]
Court hearings in Britain over the US administration’s extradition case against Julian Assange begin in earnest next week. The decade-long saga that brought us to this point should appall anyone who cares about our increasingly fragile freedoms. A journalist and publisher has been deprived of his liberty for 10 years. According to UN experts, he has been arbitrarily detained and[Read More…]
He has become part of the furniture when it comes to discussions about privacy rights and personal liberties, arguably an odd sort of thing for a man who also dealt in the shadows of intelligence secrets. But Edward Snowden has been doing his bit to reveal and chip away at the foundations of the national security state that continues to[Read More…]