Year 2020 began, as every New year does with the promise of hope and possibilities. It soon turned into a nightmare. COVID- 19 ravaged our world. Even the mightiest nations on earth have felt the chill of 350,000 dead in nations such as the US. But with far fewer dead, India still suffered possibly its worst social impact. It ruined[Read More…]
The spiritual sage Jiddu Krishnamurti who wished to transform mankind at the very root-Tribute on 125th birth anniversary year This year in May we celebrated the 125th birthday of Jiddu Krishnamurti who was arguably the greatest spiritual philosopher of the last few centuries. No spiritual philosopher arguably was less dogmatic, penetrated or delved more deeply in the spiritual realm..To some[Read More…]
Hail Immortal Comrade Lenin and the inextinguishable flame of Leninism on 150th birth centenary year On April 22nd we rejoiced the birth centenary of the figure who shaped the fate of history of man in the 20th century more than anyone,Vladmir Lenin. Lenin defined a new epoch in the history of mankind through discovering Imperialism, and pioneering the 1st ever[Read More…]
The farmer-government talks on December 30 indicated that some progress on a negotiated settlement is being made. This is good for farming and good for democracy. However even at this advanced stage of negotiations there is no clear reference to two very crucial issues. It will be very useful if at least a reference regarding their importance and a commitment[Read More…]
Without a doubt, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the most irresolvable conflicts of our time. It has been the subject of the world’s top conflict resolution convoys, committees and UN-backed peace talks. As yet, it seems to only get worse with time. And the reason why this is the case is because this conflict is not only a dispute over territorial land. It is first and foremost a conflict of ideologies and narratives. As any conflict of ideologies, power dynamics intervene to champion only the most dominant narrative. Therefore, the recent rise of the Palestinian literary narrative could[Read More…]
Memorandum to the Honorable Member of Legislative Assembly, Makhdoompur Mr. Satish Kumar Member of Legislative Assembly Makhdoompur Date: 29th December, 2020 Subject: Actions required for strengthening unity between Dalit Muslim & Organizations with similar Ideology Respected Sir, Samvidhan Bachao Morcha extends its heartiest congratulations to you on becoming the Member of Legislative Assembly. You are[Read More…]
We discuss here the role of the victim and the people around IT IS VERY EASY TO MINIMISE THE DAMAGE! ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BELOW LOOK TOO MANY AND TOO LONG! THEY ARE COMMON SENSE ASPECTS. IT IS EASY TO LEARN AND HANDLE. All of us should read so that we attend on the victim efficiently and save. In most[Read More…]
The education and the department of human resource is always a hot topic in Kashmir valley but from last one month it has been more. It is being discussed at every nook and corner, from top to bottom and by every Tom, Dick and Harry. There has been three trending topics which were discussed by the people in the print[Read More…]
GOOD NEWS 1)Trump will not be the President of USA in the new year and beyond 2) Vaccine for COVID 19 is in the market and more on the way 3) COVID 19 has demonstrated that not possession of sophisticated arsenals nor resources and not well-trained army but empathising leadership and people-centric state capacity are key to guaranteeing safety and[Read More…]
Introduction India with 1 plus billion people stands the second-largest democratic country in the world regardless of having diversities in each and every States / UTs of it. It has so much assortment of language, culture, caste, religion, ethnicity, etc. that except for democracy no other system of governance can be succeeded. It is because of the all-encompassing nature of[Read More…]
An appeal of Progressive Organization of People (POP) to the people of India Farmers’ agitation against the three agrarian laws of the Modi government has snow balled into a major political challenge to the regime. When important institutions of the state like the parliament, and the criminal justice system including judiciary have been systematically hollowed out, and opposition political parties[Read More…]
Tribute to legendary Comrades Baba Bhuja Singh on 50th martyrdom anniversary year and Nidhan Singh Gudhani Kalan on birth centenary year. Comrades who were crusaders for liberation against proto-fascsim and Sikh fundamentalism On July 28th earlier this year, the Communist revolutionary world dipped its blood in memory of one of it’s greatest martyrs,Baba Bhuja Singh on his 50th martyrdom anniversary.[Read More…]
Indian media fraternity sets to bid farewell to the Covid-19 pandemic year 2020 with the horrible statistics of journo-killings with some dangerous countries for working journalists in the world. The largest democracy in the globe witnessed killings of 15 scribes till the last week of December and the populous country also lost over 50 working journalists to novel corona virus[Read More…]
The odds are stacked against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks publisher who faces the grimmest of prospects come January 4. On that day, the unsympathetic judicial head of District Judge Vanessa Baraitser will reveal her decision on the Old Bailey proceedings that took place between September and October this year. Despite Assange’s team being able to marshal an impressive, even astonishing[Read More…]
Written by Medea Benjamin and Marcy Winograd Even before President-Elect Joe Biden sets foot in the White House, the Senate Intelligence Committee may start hearings on his nomination of Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence. Barack Obama’s top lawyer on the National Security Council from 2010 to 2013 followed by CIA Deputy Director from 2013 to 2015, Haines is[Read More…]
Climate change is a global issue but we should not forget that the impacts of climate change are highly localized. Most policies around water and irrigation issues are poorly informed by science and evidence, often leading to implementation failure. More importantly, these programs focus on getting things out, but the real challenge is in getting things to the right people[Read More…]
The year 2020 will go down in modern history as the one ravaged from a pandemic, and riddled with deep political, racial, economic and social divisions. Most notably, the COVID-19 pandemic has humbled the entire world, from the richest and most advanced nations to the poorest and least developed, exposing our vulnerabilities like never before. We were tested in unimaginable[Read More…]
After many distressing developments in the country some good news had to simply emerge during 2020 to end the year on a note of hope and it has finally emerged in the form of a growing unity of farmers and workers. This will strengthen our democracy and increase the ability of people to defend themselves and crucial national interests from[Read More…]
“Secularism in India faces manifold challenges that require multilevel interventions to make it socially relevant and sustainable,” according to Irfan Engineer, noted Human Rights activist and Director, Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai. Engineer was speaking on “India’s Tryst with Secularism: Past and Future Challenges” at the Annual memorial Lecture organised by Vakkom Moulavi Memorial and Research[Read More…]
Written by Surabhi Agarwal, Sandeep Pandey and Kushagra Kumar Sudhir Dhawale, a writer, poet, artist, perennial protestor and a Dalit leader, was arrested and jailed in mid-2018. He remains in jail charged under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and assorted Indian Penal Codes accused of instigating violence at Bhima Koregaon event on 1 Jaunary, 2018. Ironically, the UAPA sections under which[Read More…]
There has been an increasing tendency worldwide to divert a lot of high-nutrition food crops to industrial uses. In addition many other food crops are not being used as staple foods but instead are being processed in many complicated ways to serve as raw materials for food industry in very different forms. What impact will this have on food security [Read More…]
With their army destroyed and their last, best troops wiped out in one morning on the outskirts of their capital Mekele the last remnants of the leadership of Ethiopia’s TPLF regime were forced to retreat to the secret Hagarasalam underground bunkers near the capital. Built by the notoriously paranoid and cowardly TPLF godfather Meles Zenawi, the Hagarasalam bunkers were the[Read More…]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been continuously attacking the opposition regarding the ongoing farmers’ movement at the borders of the capital. He has constantly made accusations that the opposition is misleading the farmers against the three agri-laws to gain its lost political ground. Especially by showing them fear of losing their lands due to the new laws. Modi’s attack is[Read More…]
Global warming is the biggest challenge of all time. It impacts every living species. However, the inherent dangers are very difficult to comprehend, as such, people brush it off as one more issue in life that will somehow be handled, fixed, no worries, human ingenuity will prevail. But, what if it’s not that simple? Stuart Scott, executive producer of Facing[Read More…]
Maybe Scrooge, for the wrong reasons, did have something in his use of ‘ Humbug’. It powerfully expressed the utter disdain he had. Sadly for Scrooge, it was the opposite of who and what he should have had disdain for. However, it was that contemptuous snarl that this writer remembers in my mind’s eye. Of course, that look and that[Read More…]
The K.G.Kannabiran Memorial Lecture, 2020, “Death of Democratic Institutions”, was delivered by Justice B.Sudarshan Reddy, retired Supreme Court Judge. Listening to the lecture led this writer to consider democracy and its institutions, especially as per Dr.B.R.Ambedkar (Ambedkar, hereafter), often considered as the father of the Constitution of India. Ambedkar, who died on December 6, 1956 (precisely 36-years later, we suffered[Read More…]
“I hear the lower castes are finding this lack of monsoons rather difficult for their crops,” droned Aashka’s father at their lavish supper (as usual), in the midst of her father’s normal dull conversing with the other Brahmins. The table was long and elegant and filled every night with rich Brahmins, such as Aashka’s family. Most of them were reserved[Read More…]
With the onset of the American empire’s decline, China is fast emerging as a global actor capable of steering the world towards a multipolar arrangement. The country has repeatedly affirmed its conviction in the creation of a polycentric system of sovereign states which work together, while each respects the national politico-economic order of the other – encapsulated in the motto[Read More…]
The outrageous murder of Right to Information (RTI) activist Mr Ranjan Kumar Das signals new waves of authoritarian ruling class onslaught on democratic movements in Odisha. The state government has failed to protect the lives of RTI activists. Ranjan was murdered near his village Beruan in the Kendrapara district of Odisha on 31st January 2020. Like his friends, family, fellow[Read More…]
The UNHRC Resolutions 30/1 of 2015 and 40/1 after so much hard work, negotiations and after extension for six years have now produced zero achievement and the endless sufferings of the Tamils and Muslims continues. The Presence of Military at a ratio of one soldier to four civilians [01 : 04 [1 soldier to 4 civilians] Tamils are really under[Read More…]
A landmark of one of the most remarkable activists of our land who at even at 100 illuminates spark of Liberation Comrade Sunder Navalkar turning 100 on September 16th this year. was truly a landmark in the Indian Communist revolutionary Movement. It was symbolic of a spirit burning like an inextinguishable light, traversing the most turbulent of Oceans or steepest[Read More…]
Budget analysis is an important and increasingly frequent part of economic analysis. In the days preceding and following the presentation of the union budget in particular the discourse on economic issues is often dominated by the tax announcements, allocations for various sectors or schemes, the deficit , subsidies and related fiscal matters. All this is useful and fine. However problems[Read More…]
Written by: Kishan Kashyap, Shubham Agarwal, Vaishak P If there is one thing that the Government has been exceptionally good at – it is its public relations and image management. On the 22nd of March in 2020, people gathered in their balconies and outside their houses across the country for the “Thaali Bajao” event where we were asked to bang[Read More…]
Draft prepared ahead of round of talks scheduled for December 29, 2020 Note from the editor: In a recent response to an RTI plea filed by Jatin Desai, the central government revealed that it had no record of meetings or discussions with farmer associations ahead of finalizing the three new farm laws. The farmers on protest, however, seem deeply conscientious[Read More…]
The forthcoming 46th UNHRC Sessions in February/March 2021 holds the key to uphold accountability, justice and human rights in Sri Lanka while halting Sri Lanka’s history of evasions and denials of its obligations to comply with and implement the recommendations in the 30/1 of 2015 and 40/1 of 2019 Resolutions. It has so far successfully resorted to devalue and delay[Read More…]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the left parties did not implement APMC Act is firmly being refuted by Kerala government and farmer’s union. Prime Minister Narendra Modi while announcing PM-KISAN scheme questioned the opposition parties who have extended their support to the protesting farmers in Delhi but ignored the non-implementation of APMCs in states like Kerala. “The groups who[Read More…]
Written by Divya Sharma & Dr Anita Banerjee Engulfing the globe under its grim, the unprecedented Corona Virus (COVID-19) has surprisingly shown an upsurge in domestic violence cases worldwide. India being the second most populous country has witnessed around 2.5 times spurt in domestic abuse cases since the nationwide lockdown in March 2020, which is the most prevalent form of[Read More…]
Written by Shobha Shukla, Bobby Ramakant and Sandeep Pandey Think about this: Should a government come up with laws to protect a corporation against liability lawsuits, or should it come up with laws to regulate corporations and empower citizens so that corporations can be held to account for any kind of abuses or exploitation? A statement made by one of[Read More…]
K.P Sasi is a film maker, cartoonist and writer SIGN UP FOR COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
New hopes of resolving the important issues raised by the farmers emerged on December 26, with both sides agreeing to restart of talks, after stalemate- like conditions had emerged following the breakdown of the earlier round of negotiations. Now this new opportunity of resolving the stand-off should be clinched, with the new year beginning on an optimistic note for the[Read More…]
Famed anti-racist Jewish American journalist I.F. Stone opined “Governments lie” and those 2 words summarize the message of “The Most Dangerous Book Ever Published: Deadly Deception Exposed!” This iconoclastic 766-page book contains a total of 78 essays contributed by 7 prominent Alternative writers who variously take a sledgehammer to the monolithic lies of Big Government that are uncritically forced on[Read More…]
This is a follow-up to my 2003 article in defense of Rabindranath Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka as a homage to his Motherland (Tagore and Jana Gana Mana, Countercurrents- https://www.countercurrents.org/comm-chatterjee310803.htm). This is Part II of the same, beginning with my translation of this phenomenal poem in its entirety. Also, for one and all, here is a most soulful rendition of[Read More…]
This 5th August (2020) the Prime Minister of India did the ground breaking ceremony (Bhumi Pujan) for Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The Prime Minster compared the 15th August; when India got freedom to the 5th August, when according to him Lord Ram was liberated. Also he said that as all the people rallied behind Mahatma Gandhi to get India freedom;[Read More…]
As the assembly elections near in West Bengal, the media is busy constructing and spreading a new narrative that the TMC Government under Mamta Banerjee has failed to maintain law and order in the state. The recent incident of the alleged hurling of stones at convoy of the BJP National President J P Nadda not only became the big[Read More…]
The Hong Kong protests of 2019, also known as Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, drew huge attention from many across the world. In fact, Hong Kong protests, which started in June (2019) against the proposed Extradition Bill to allow extradition of Hong Kongers to mainland China for trial, intermittently continued for more than a year and led to brutality of[Read More…]
Here where I dwell in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice has just occurred. The darkest day of the year in a dark year. A few days ago was also the Grand Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn and the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, which is interesting to those who like the musical Hair and believe their fates lie in the[Read More…]
There are some human presences in life that you are unable to trace the beginning. It is like they have been with you always- like a tree whose silent, yet significant presence you notice with shock and remorse only when it is gone. For me, Sugathakumari teacher is one such presence in life. A small attempt I made to scan[Read More…]
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein. As the world is trying to hopefully recover from the tragic effects of COVID-19, it is reminded there is no vaccine for the existential threat for its life support systems posed by global warming, nor for the looming threats of future wars and[Read More…]
Conglomeration of Portrait Paintings drawn by Mrs. Bageshri Parikh,- Row One-Rabindranath Tagore, Mona Lisa, Ramakrishna Paramhauns Row Two-Mother Teressa, Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi,Indira Gandhi, Pandit Jasraj, Row Three-Sushma Sawaraj, Atal Biharai Bajpeyi, Sunil Gavaskar, Abdul K. Azad, Amitabh Bachan Introduction:-Above displayed Images are not Photographs but Portrait Paintings drawn in Rangoli! Rangoli & Kolams, an Art Forms which originated in[Read More…]
“Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promise, for never intending to go beyond promise costs nothing.” – Edmund Burke Joe Biden’s statements on resuscitating the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has also reignited an old debate inside Iran. With the Rouhani administration clearly siding with those pushing for unconditional return to the ‘deal’ signed with the U.S. and[Read More…]
It is a threat to food security. It has potential to make owners of agriculture land up to five acres, slaves and sub-servants of corporate agricultural contractors. It deprives annadaatas of the State support. Illustration by DOMINIC XAVIER, Courtesy : Rediff.com The majority of population did not understand these simple consequences, so-called educated are refusing to apply their minds, but[Read More…]
The Metropolitan Magistrate’s recent damaging observation vis-a-vis Delhi Police while acquitting 36 foreigners associated with Tablighi Jamaat who were accused of flouting Covid 19 protocols have largely gone unnoticed. The magistrate in the judgement acknowledged the possibility of the ‘[p]olice picking up these individuals with the malicious intention of implicating them under the directions of the Union home ministry.”(https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/justice-again-tablighi-acquittal/cid/1800862) Definitely[Read More…]
In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor G. N. Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”[Read More…]
All aware citizens know the state of Bangladesh environment. Bangladesh courts of law regularly rule in favor of environment. Bangladesh media cover the area every day. Bangladesh environment activists regularly stand for environment. The commoners take care of environment and nature within their capacity, which is chained by capitals. And, some capitals regularly, everyday and all the time, exploit and[Read More…]
As 2021 arrives I am not planning to wish anyone a ‘Happy New Year’ while everything wrong with the world remains deeply entrenched. And anyway, nothing really changes with the mere flip of a calendar page. Instead my wish will be for a ‘Happy New French Revolution’. This time on a planetary scale, against the corporate monarchs, the political aristocracy[Read More…]
As a crusader of liberation of man and not a performer of miracles The real Jesus Christ and what is professed today by the Church or Christianity at large today is like Chalk and Cheese. Today we celebrate Christmas, but we forget to give the day true respect. The Christian community immortalizes Jesus Christ for performing miracles like turning wine[Read More…]
While the entire nation went into a lockdown on March 25, 2020 in a fight against the novel coronavirus, not many could have foreseen that the lockdown would lead to a “shadow pandemic”. As per a recent report by India’s National Commission for Women (NCW), 587 domestic violence complaints had been lodged during March 23 – April 16 period, a[Read More…]
Although sea levels are rising due to the climate crisis and threatening near-coastal infrastructures, higher temperatures in other areas are having exactly the opposite effect. The water levels are falling and causing massive problems. The consequences are equally serious. But the declining water levels are receiving less attention according to Matthias Prange, Thomas Wilke of the Justus Liebig University in[Read More…]
On Christmas Day 2019, at a Christmas Eve Mass, parishioners were offered a powerful, yet challenging message on how we as everyday Christians must understand and observe Christmas. The priest narrated how the image of the manger is not just that of a humble abode. It is an inclusive and ecumenical space because Jesus came for all the people[Read More…]
Girdhari worked as a farmer for over four decades, toiling in scorching summers and shivering winters. At the age of 62 he could no longer work and was confined more or less to his home. Savitri, who had contributed no less in the farm apart from shouldering heavy household responsibilities, had even more health problems. They now often longed for[Read More…]
Children belong in schools, not workplaces. Child labor deprives them of their right to go to school and leads to intergenerational cycles of poverty. According to the 2011 national census of India, there are 10.13 million child laborers in India. Despite the gradual decline in the rates, children are still being used in severe forms of labor. The continuing persistence[Read More…]
France has been almost regularly featured in the front pages of newspapers across the world, but for reasons that is unexpected from a liberal country like itself. Under the leadership of President Emanuel Macron, France has been taking various steps in recent times undermining human rights — something which have been gradually spoiling the country’s image as the torchbearer of[Read More…]
The other day I came across a copy of an old newspaper – The Statesman (Kolkata edition) of August 4th 1994. As I browsed through the headlines for a glimpse of the world twenty six years back, the heading “Looting in Yemen continues after end of war” caught my attention, given I’ve seen headlines about Yemen being bombed etc., currently.[Read More…]
Indian origin Srilankan Tamil community, who were repatriated and settled in a remote Katchal Island in Andaman and Nicobar, are on relay hunger strike for the past one month, demanding proper resettlement and basic livelihood facilities, which were denied to them for the past five decades. Around 5.25 Lakh Indian-origin Srilankan Tamils, who were repatriated to India based on Srimavo-Shastri[Read More…]
Manual scavenging is the age-old unfortunate practice of cleaning, carrying, and disposing human excreta from dry latrines or sewers into the disposal sites. Despite prohibitive legislations in place, a government survey from 2019, carried out across 170 districts, found that over 54000 people actively engage in the practice. In 2019 alone, 110 people died while cleaning septic tanks and sewers.[Read More…]
No person in the world would tout the practice of manual scavenging to be beneficial to society or a desirable outcome to be pursued. Many people would feel nauseated just by thinking about the activity. With an exceedingly low approval amongst the masses, one would think that manual scavenging would have been eradicated from the nation by now. The reality[Read More…]
The genesis of the issue I was privy to the public outcry regarding the menace of stray dogs when I saw a flurry of newspaper articles published by a leading daily regarding how dog bites were becoming more frequent, especially during the lockdown and people were forced to live in terror. This event triggered a chain reaction from other dailies[Read More…]
Along with COVID 19 and its associated terminology, we are currently being educated in a new jargon regarding one of the oldest occupations, namely, teaching. We now are told of online learning, e-teaching, edtech, edutech, smartphones in the new role of teacher, and so on and so forth. India is a large country with a very young population, where almost[Read More…]
Every one of the world’s coral reefs could bleach by the end of the century, unless there are drastic reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned. Coral reefs are incredibly important and sustain a wide variety of marine life. They also protect coastlines from erosions from waves and storms, sink carbon and nitrogen and help[Read More…]
None would ever have imagined that an octogenarian Stan Swamy would face such a harsh treatment for his committed work for the Adivasis of Jharkhand. When the governments of the world over honor activists who work in tiring circumstances and devote their time to areas far away from their places than we must realise that it is not for money[Read More…]
Latest data on the highly worrying nutrition situation in India is shocking and following the availability of this data the debate on nutrition has intensified again. There has been an increasing unfortunate tendency in recent times for some powerful commercial interests to push their narrow selfish interests in the name of improving the nutrition situation. Sometimes these interests try to[Read More…]
As Punjab was selected for early introduction of green revolution and the accompanying investments and subsidies, and the state also receives more remittances from family members who work abroad or have settled there, there has been an exaggerated perception of farm-related prosperity in Punjab, while the reality for many of the small and marginal farmers has been that of[Read More…]
India being an agrarian economy owes its development progress and emergence at global level to the unquestionable devotion, extreme hard work and selfless service of its farming community in making India not only self-sufficient in food grains but also a surplus food grain country. The Indian farmers have hardly ever been involved in demonstrations, protests or major agitations over the[Read More…]
An Analysis of a decade of arrests, detentions, summons, interrogations and show-cause notices against journalists in India 2010-20 The year 2020 has been a bad one for journalists in India. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused illness and death, and the lockdown resulted in salary cuts and loss of livelihood due to mass retrenchments effected by media houses. The killing and[Read More…]
Farmers and workers in India last month initiated a general strike that saw the participation of over 250 million people. Many have touted this as the biggest organized strike ever witnessed in human history. On 26th November, millions of farmers and workers along with students, social organizations and opposition participated in “Bharat Bandh” against the Narendra Modi’s contentious pro-corporate farm[Read More…]
The dying state of Indian rivers calls for serious actions by the public and the government at large During my recent conversation with Mr. Tapas Das, I was shocked to know the sorry state of the rivers in our country. While he mentioned that the water flow in Ganga reduced by as much as 57% in most parts between 1975[Read More…]
Written by Hemanty Tudu and Vidhyam Introduction Communal harmony has barely been upheld in recent Indian history. It is always one issue or the other that gets attached to religion and then the communal terrorism commences. Kashmir, Ayodhya, mob lynching, elections, these all had their fair share in creating tensions in the name of religion. It is high time we[Read More…]
The caste system in India is the oldest surviving social hierarchy. India is as much a caste-based country as it is an agriculture-based country. The whole societal structure is based on castes and class – dating back to the four varnas system, i.e. the Brahmins (priests), the Kshatriyas (soldiers), the Vaisyas (traders) and the Shudras (labourers). A fifth category that[Read More…]
Education has always been considered as one of the most important weapons for improving the living standards of society and help the nation progress. Though it is seen as a great equalizer, inequality in education leads to the reinforcement of social and economic inequalities, thus, widening the gap and not progressing the society as a whole. As the Oxfam International report[Read More…]
While the sufferings of several sections of population increased this year in India, perhaps it is the silent sufferings of children and students which increased the most. Whether it is nutrition or health or education or exposure to special risk situations and violence, from all points of view there appears to have been all-round deterioration in the condition of children.[Read More…]
Written by Tanisha Nahar and Hadi Kangoo The coronavirus pandemic resulted in governments worldwide imposing strict lockdowns and enforced quarantines. It is common knowledge that ethical evaluations in policymaking are shunned due to political factors, and legislators, bureaucrats and policy analysts resist the challenges of moral evaluation. The Indian government’s one-day notice lockdown was a case-in-point of disregarding ethical considerations[Read More…]
My life is not in vain, my friend, when I sing for you. My song is not in vain, my friend, when you hum along with it. Writing on ecopoetry two decades back, the English writer and scholar Andrew Jonathan Bate said: What are poets for? They are not exactly philosophers, though they often try to explain the world[Read More…]
Brigadier General Mohsen Fakhrizadeh of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Command (IRGC) and Iran’s most important nuclear scientist was assassinated not too far from Tehran recently. Iran immediately accused Israel , an allegation confirmed by a senior Washington official soon after. Meanwhile Tel Aviv has remained silent. Given its many earlier assasinations of Iran’s nuclear scientists and Netanyahu’s specific mention of[Read More…]
Indian Constitution gives us the right to practice, preach and propagate our religion. To not to follow any religion is also a matter of right for the individual. Now in our country as we are facing declining GDP, worsening economic situation, rising prices-unemployment-farmers suicides and currently farmer’s agitation, some of our state Governments are more worried about the interfaith marriages[Read More…]
A projected sharp reduction in trade between the United States and China in the next two years coupled with moves to diversify supply chains potentially position Turkey alongside Vietnam, Mexico, Taiwan and Poland as competitors in efforts to reduce dependency on the People’s Republic, according to a just published study. The study, conducted by the Boston Consulting Group on behalf[Read More…]
It is convenient to surmise that Israel’s current political crisis is consistent with the country’s unfailing trajectory of short-lived governments and fractious ruling coalitions. While this view is somewhat defensible, it is also hasty. Israel is currently at the cusp of a fourth general election in less than two years. Even by Israel’s political standards, this phenomenon is unprecedented, not[Read More…]
On December 10, we celebrated Universal Declaration of Human Rights ‘Who will police the police’ is a big question for which the world could not give any answer till today. But Supreme Court on 2 December 2020 tried to find a solution to this problem in CCTV cameras, which probably can police the police. On December 10, we celebrated Universal[Read More…]
Yes, there is a pandemic. And, yes, the COVID-19 numbers and deaths are rising in certain locales. In the Canadian province of Alberta, lockdown measures were put into effect that include shutting all casinos, gyms, dine-in restaurants, and bars. Mask wearing, despite what science says, has been mandated. As well, all outdoor and indoor social gatherings have been banned. As[Read More…]
Atrocities Caste, Present and Future Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi. Those are the names of the upper-caste Thakurs who tortured and gang-raped a 19-year-old girl in Hathras, Utter Pradesh, JatiIndia, on September 14. Folding his palms, [Manisha’s father] pleaded, ‘Our daughters are no longer safe. We are helpless, I request the nation to stand with us, help us get justice[Read More…]
In 1991, when I was 12 years old and in 8th class in my village high school, the Government of India led by the Congress Party launched new economic reform programmes. I vividly remember reading local newspapers, which carried news on the reduction of agricultural subsidies on seeds, fertilisers, electricity and irrigation. It also started dismantling the universal approach to[Read More…]
Every country, has its share of minorities, whether linguistic, cultural or ethnic. For nearly all the countries, maintaining and securing their interests is a problem. And, for the biggest democracy in the world with largest spectrum of diversity it becomes a far more complex. In India we established a National Commission for Minorities under the National Commission for Minorities act, 1992. We even created a [Read More…]
Looking back at the climate change movements for the past couple of decades, it is easier to notice the role of governments and corporations of the Industrial era, in triggering the massive climate change effect. When it comes to main causes of climate change and global warming, more than often, fossil fuels, chemical affluent and pollutants are the usual suspects.[Read More…]
“The right to know is the right to live”- Boldly stated by Indian activist Aruna Roy, entices the mind to ponder upon a very fundamental thought that one cannot change what one is not aware of, but, once we are aware, we cannot help but change. India is the largest democracy in the world. A form of Governance, where it[Read More…]
The farmers’ protests against the three bills that have been passed by the government has now moved far beyond merely being farm bills. Fact of the matter is despite wide ranging support from different parts of the country, it is mainly a protest led and supported by the Sikhs wholeheartedly. Had it not been so, it would have been difficult[Read More…]
Does the multitude signal the birth pangs of change? The coalition of agricultural workers, marginal landholders, oppressed castes led by rich peasantry surrounding Delhi constitutes a counter-power. Coming alive and united in its opposition to the Farm Bills; a pan Indian gathering calling to account the dominant tyranny enthroned in Delhi and Nagpur. Camped on the highways leading to Delhi[Read More…]
Written by Priyanka Preet, Sandeep Pandey, Kushagra Kumar Gautam Navlakha is a famed author, civil rights activists, human rights activist, journalist, an Editorial Consultant at the Economic and Political Weekly, probably the most internationally well known social sciences journal published out of India, the Convenor of the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir and the Secretary[Read More…]
The recent storm in a Tata teacup over the Noam Chomsky event at the Tata Lit Live festival exposes the shallowness of the Western Left-liberal celebrities’, the Indian institutionalised Left’s and the Indian liberal lit fest establishments commitment to the oppressed in equal measure. What was Noam Chomsky thinking when he accepted the invitation from the Tata Lit Live Fest[Read More…]
The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) suffered a vertical split on December 23, 2020, with the rival factions of the party led by the two chairmen claiming their faction to be the authentic NCP in separate central committee meetings held in Kathmandu, the capital city. The faction led by Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal removed KP Sharma Oli from the post[Read More…]
“If among the band of robbers, knowledge of robbing is obligatory, is a pious man to accept the obligation? So long as the superstition that men should obey the unjust laws exists, so long the slavery will exist”- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Hind Swaraj, 1909) With the new ‘farm laws’ democratic India’s saga of forced marriages remains in continuity. India remains[Read More…]
As Covid and lockdowns increased distress and deprivation in many countries, governments in most countries including India responded with relief packages aimed at directly helping the poor and vulnerable sections as well as reviving the economy. However there are several indicators that the actual relief which reached needy people in India was much less than what was suggested by official[Read More…]
The Indian Farm Reforms Laws of 2020 were rushed through the Parliament of India on 27 September 2020. The RSS-BJP government seemed to be in hurry to impose these laws as the same were promulgated by the President of India as ordinances on June 5, 2020 as part ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (self-reliant India campaign); a favourite aphorism of PM Modi[Read More…]
Addressing the requirements arising out of Covid-19 Pandemic, in a populous country spread across the length and breadth, has received substantial economic, and social support from the self-help group(SHG)/Samuh members. Rising to these testing times, operational challenges like financial delays must be done away with, driving sustained empowerment of the most vulnerable. Restructured in 2011, as DAY-NRLM(Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural[Read More…]
“Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast/ Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast!” (If there is a paradise on earth/ It is this, it is this, it is this!”) When Amir Khusrau, the famous Sufi poet of 13th century lavished his praise on Kashmir with this Farsi couplet, he would never have anticipated a day that centuries after befall the same land, when its beauty[Read More…]
Introduction It is rare for any legislation to become the rallying point of such large-scale and prolonged opposition as the three farm laws enacted together this year in India have become. The biggest farmers’ movement of recent times in India has emerged to protest against this ‘kala kanoon’ or black laws as these three laws have been repeatedly labeled by[Read More…]
I am Aniketh Brian Madhok from Kolkata, West Bengal, The Republic of India. I am 17 years old and in the 11th Grade. I would like to take this opportunity to present my work in support of the Farmers’ Agitation which is currently on-going in India as of December 2020. The following are my own SHORT YouTube clips on the[Read More…]
She works hard for her money, as the song relates. She’s the cleaning lady, the one who gets on her knees and scrubs your toilet of all the things that none of us would ever wish to look at, let alone touch. She mops and dusts and vacuums your house for $60 to $90 bucks, then hurries off to her[Read More…]
“Climate change is posing one of the greatest threats to our existence on the planet Earth. It is real, and we need to panic.” It has already been five years since 196 countries signed Paris Agreement, but we are still miles away from the target of limiting global warming to well below 2 (preferably 1.5) degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial[Read More…]
Ever heard of ‘Sabji Cooler’ or the zero-cooling chamber? It is a refrigeration unit built indigenously that runs without power and helps farmers preserve their vegetables for days. And this has been made possible in Odisha’s Sundargarh district which is known as mecca of Indian hockey and has produced many hockey legends. Today, farmers of this tribal-dominated district have been[Read More…]
It’s around 2.30 at night. In the silence of the night, when darkness engulfs the surroundings and there is deafening silence, people are sleeping under their roofs, suddenly a police jeep sneaks into the settlement. People are forcibly removed from their tenements, causing a disturbance in the sleep of the hard-working daily wage laborers who have been labouring hard and[Read More…]
There is a tempest in India’s farmlands even as their tillers wage an extraordinary crusade for alleviating age-old distresses. Away from the bustle of the raging storm in the Delhi-National Capital Region is a small semi-literate group of women farmers in a remote hinterland who are assiduously managing a farmer producer company (FPC) to help alleviate the woes of other women growers[Read More…]
The discussion on what should happen with Jammu & Kashmir has always been an interesting one, with no feasible, sustainable solution that can ensure peace in the valley on the table. While as an Indian, one might think of the J&K for its strategic location benefits for the military purpose, and the utter pride to say that such beautiful heaven[Read More…]
Goods and services have been globalized; maybe its time that human lives get globalized as well From fighting with wooden sticks to carrying guns in school, humans evolved. Centuries of technological advancement has made the world more connected and integrated than ever. As the age of IoT dawns upon us, humans can expect numerous unimaginable experiences moving forward. With the[Read More…]
Written by Aastha Dhiman, Mitesh Rajput and Ravneet Kaur Solid waste management in India is one of the most misunderstood topics in the country. It is one of the most pertinent issues due to the wave of rapid urbanization and subsequent lifestyle changes that come across along with it. The per capita waste generation of urban areas in India is[Read More…]
Violence against women: Violence against women (VAW) is one of the significant problems in the country. It is very underreported because of multiple personal and societal reasons like embarrassment, fear of retaliation, the family’s privacy, and victim-blaming issues by society [1]. According to a study conducted by WHO, at least 1 in 3 (~35%) women faced physical and/or sexual[Read More…]
Am I doing my part in protecting the environment? Am I entirely aware of how to do the required? Are the government’s policies in favour of the protection of the environment or corporate-driven? Is media bringing the relevant environmental issues in front of me? These are just a few questions, and there are many more which come in our mind[Read More…]
In choosing a title for his final, posthumously published book, the prominent public intellectual Tony Judt turned to a poem by Oliver Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, published in 1770. Judt found his book’s title in the first words of this couplet: Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey Where wealth accumulates, and men decay A poignant sentiment but let me acknowledge that[Read More…]
Modi and His Washington Masters in Dismantling of Agricultural Economy and Food Security in India The surge of wealth of Indian billionaires and the Modi led BJP government’s onslaught on poor, marginalised and farmers continue to grow simultaneously as masses face annihilating pandemic of Coronavirus. There is 90 % rise of Indian billionaire’s wealth over last one decade. It is[Read More…]
As K P Sharma Oli, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) chair and prime minister, in a bid to achieve a majority in the party Central Committee announced a 1,199-member general convention organizing committee a question looms over Nepal – is the Nepal Communist Party is heading towards a split? At a meeting of the Central Committee with the members close[Read More…]
Ten leading economists of India wrote a letter to the Union government and supported the farmers’ demand to repeal the Farm Acts. The letter dated December 17, 2020 is as follows: To Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India. Dear Sir, Sub: Serious concerns from economists regarding the recent Farm Acts, which merit[Read More…]
Scientist Seetaramayya Kolachala, Father of Tribology (Chemmotology) (Born 1899 July 15 – Died 1977 September 29) India’s Ambassador Inder Gujral, later Prime minister, spoke at his funeral in Moscow 1977: “We are bidding goodbye to a great scientist, a great son of India and son of mankind.” Seetaramayya was a scientist who influenced the motor vehicles and machines[Read More…]
RTI Act is supposed to be the most influential of Acts because unlike other Acts, this is one which is implemented by the people. Thus, this act is a true representation of the democracy. But in the current context of the country, is it really able to represent the different factions and bring out the much-needed transparency? In order to[Read More…]
Education is the foremost tool that can be used to empower entire communities towards progress. Consider any issue that plagues a community, and education would be a key resolution mechanism. It is therefore of highest importance that right education is dispensed to all members of a community from an early age. This equips them with the necessary skills to take[Read More…]
While agriculture has been much in discussion, the related work of food-processing has hardly received any attention, even though there is a huge scope for providing millions of rural jobs while at the same time also improving the nutrition situation very significantly by moving from present-day large scale big-business controlled food processing to food crop and other crop processing[Read More…]
My interview with the celebrated filmmaker centers on his recently released film “Rupsa Nodir Banke” (Quiet flows the River Rupsa). 2017 Ekushey Padak (the second highest civilian award given to a citizen of Bangladesh) winner Tanvir Mokammel needs no glowing introduction. He is a well-known filmmaker, director and published author of our time. He won Bangladesh National Film Awards a total ten[Read More…]
We interviewed a prominent Pakistani physicist and noted peace activist Dr. Abdul Hammeed Nayyar to understand the dynamics of nuclear disarmament between India and Pakistan. Dr. Nayyar taught nuclear physics at Qaid – E- Azam University, Islamabad for thirty years and was a visiting scholar at Princeton University. Dr Nayyar is well known for voicing for education reforms and military[Read More…]
In the modern day academic arena, often the two closely associated disciplines of anthropology and history inform our notion of the past. In the context of modern South Asia or to be more specific postcolonial India, Prof Thapar admits that historians in the postcolonial era did engage in writing history (or build up the past) keeping in mind the nationalist[Read More…]
Written by Medea Benjamin and Marcy Winograd Photo credit: Witness Against Torture It was painful enough to live through the U.S invasion of Iraq that caused untold devastation and human misery for no justifiable reason. Now we are again reminded of the grim Bush legacy with President-elect Biden’s nomination of Avril Haines for Director of National Intelligence. Haines, who has[Read More…]
Written by Nilkantha Mandal, Sandeep Pandey and Kushagra Kumar All his life he fought valiantly to defend the rights of the people belonging to marginalized sections of society who were persecuted by the State or people who would stand up for their rights and consequently were targeted by the ruling elite but in the end he paid a price for[Read More…]
Written by Abhishek Sethi, Suganda Sharma and Kunal Pant Shanti was 14 years old when she got married. Despite being an income provider for the family, her husband continuously harassed her and her family for dowry. She suffered the abuse for 14 years after which she decided to move out of her marital home with her children. Later, her husband apologized for[Read More…]
The caricaturish representation of women through popular media have not only led to the lopsided knowledge production about women’s identity, it has also perpetuated and normalised their degraded representation, for global consumption. Popular media, specifically cinema has either directly normalised the act of representing women through the lenses of patriarchal social order or has indirectly glorified toxic masculine identity. If[Read More…]
Two weeks before Christmas and the darn stove broke. She had the ham butt in the fridge and was really looking forward for her first big dinner in the new place. Having just, six months earlier, relocated to Florida from Flat Broke Mississippi, she wanted to at least spend the holiday somewhat contented. A nice, down home roasted ham with[Read More…]
The Japan government approved on December 21, 2020 a record defense budget for fiscal 2021 totaling ¥5.34 trillion ($51.7 billion), as it seeks to introduce new standoff missiles capable of attacking enemy vessels from outside their firing range amid growing threats from China. The draft budget is up 0.5% from fiscal 2020, including outlays linked to hosting the U.S.’ military[Read More…]
Media reports from Nepal said: In a dramatic turn of events, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on December 20, 2020 decided to dissolve the House of Representatives (HoR) and call mid-term polls to be held in two phases. Oli, who has been mired in an intra-party feud with the rival faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), recommended[Read More…]
People are at the center in the pandemic now ravaging the world. It’s in terms of toll and contribution from the people. It’s in economy, and consequently, in life. Bangladesh is no exception. The stories of suffering are broadly the same in all lands: hunger/hunger-scar, less-/least-accessible health care, death. Reports from the country considered the world’s richest, smartest, wisest, most[Read More…]
While the critical importance of soil health for good farming is well-established and widely recognized, one aspect which has not received adequate attention is the link of soil health to nutrition of crops. This aspect needs to be explored further and the already available evidence should also be better appreciated and collected. In a note of the Food and[Read More…]
The ongoing farmers agitation on the outskirts of Delhi is not a symbol of proletariat against bourgeois rather a sign against institutions including government and electronic media. The farmers are willing to go to Jantar Mantar to hold protests against three laws which they found against the interests of both the farming and farmers. Why do farmers need Jantar Mantar?[Read More…]
Statement of POP in solidarity with farmers struggle Last 25 days thousands of Farmers are protesting at the Delhi border along with their wives and children in the coldest winters of Delhi against the anti- farmer laws and the electricity bill enacted by the BJP central government. These laws are(1) the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act,[Read More…]
The idea of diversity being practised today, in a large number of Indian firms, is mostly shallow. Diversity is all-encompassing, which includes but is not limited to gender; it is a process of inclusion in every act you undertake or plan to pursue. It is context-specific too; the diversity that is required to be there in place in Indian firms[Read More…]
This article is about visiting Keezhvenmani after 50 years, where the Keezhvenmani Massacre was held and I discussed about the present condition of the village. It was during my post-graduation journalism studies at the Central University of Tamil Nadu in Thiruvarur, one of my professors enquired about my view on the recently watched movie; Asuran, a 2019 film directed by[Read More…]
What If, After 9/11, George W. Bush Had Thrown Parties? And What If, After the Pandemic Arrived, Donald J. Trump Had Launched a Global War on Covid-19? ‘Tis the season to be folly Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la Don(ald) we now our gay apparel, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!… It’s party time in the nation’s capital and the Christmas spirit reigns supreme, even if the Texas[Read More…]
Top Left: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman giving his penultimate speech on 7th of March 1971 at Racecourse Maidan, Dhaka, (then East Pakistan) Bangladesh); Top Right. Major (then) Ziaur Rahan announcing independence of Bangladesh at Kalurghat make-shift radio station in Chittagong, Bangladesh on 27th March, 1971; Bottom: Mr. Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister of Government-in-Exile of Bangladesh formally proclaiming independence of Bangladesh on[Read More…]
Featuring an Interview with Bill Fletcher Amid the horrendous pandemic ravaging of the globalized political-economy of Europe and North America, particularly the imperial U.S. heartland with close to half-a-million deaths, peripheral nations remain negligible. The neoliberal consensus has collapsed, inaugurating a new era of trade wars and ecological disasters. Such “shithole” countries like the Philippines, to use President[Read More…]
Dear Father Stan Swami, It would be silly for me to start by hoping you are well, for I know about the state of your ill health and the complete disregard of the prison authorities in this respect. However, I have been moved to write to you by the Xmas season that is upon us. I am saddened that due[Read More…]
Debates on rural distress generally take place only or mainly in the context of economic issues. Certainly economic issues, and related issues like those of technological change, are very important for understanding rural distress but at the same time it will not be proper to try to have an understanding based only on economic issues while ignoring important aspects of[Read More…]
When the focus of the country’s intellectuals, activists, journalists should be on the immediate challenge before us particularly the issues of agrarian sector and farming communities who have been protesting against the three farm bills, ‘liberals’ and ‘seculars’ seems to have now been obsessed with the Gandhi family. The fulminations of Ram Chandra Guha, an elite brahmanical secularist, against the[Read More…]
MGNREGA has been a controversial scheme, politically, since its inception in the year 2006. Some politicians has referred to it as a means for menial jobs to poor, while some others claim it as a symbol of erstwhile UPA government’s failure. But undeniably it is the only employment scheme that directly benefits the unemployed poor and downtrodden. It is quite[Read More…]
“When a stranger does it, he doesn’t know me, I don’t know him. He’s not doing it to me as a person, personally. With your husband, it becomes personal. You say, this man knows me. He knows my feelings. He knows me intimately and then to do this to me – it’s such a personal abuse.”1 Gravity of Domestic Violence[Read More…]
In 2012, the spirit of India was violently shaken by the heinous Delhi gang rape. People took to the streets demanding justice for the girl we named Nirbhaya – “the fearless”. The Government amended the rape law bringing in a stricter, more formidable Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Nirbhaya Act) on laws related to sexual offences. In 2019, according to[Read More…]
Donald Trump’s Travel-ban, which was first issued in January 2017, was a blessing in disguise for many, who perhaps would have ended in similar situation to those kids on the southern border. It is written in the Atlantic (June 19, 2018) that when the children are separated from their parents, they’re sent to facilities where they are kept in chain-link[Read More…]
It would perhaps not be incorrect to say that the overview of the recently passed farm bills is to say that the farmers, rotting in the clutches of the APMCs, will now finally be liberated by the corporates. Seemingly, the farmers in this country will now have wings to fly, out in an open market, exercising choices. But what have[Read More…]
While issues relating to farmers are being discussed widely these days, we need to also discuss issues concerning landless farmer households. The fact that the landless also need to be provided at least small plots of cultivation land had a lot of acceptance till the not-too-distant past. Around this acceptance policies were framed, legislations were enacted and special drives for[Read More…]
Are you an adult and thinking of getting married? Do you believe you have the freedom to marry the partner of your choice, even if he/she is from a different caste? If you think the answer to this question is ‘Yes’ on the premise of the Fundamental Rights granted by the Indian Constitution, then your beliefs are soon going to[Read More…]
A phenomenon not seen for nearly 800 years will light up the sky next week. Two of the largest planets – Jupiter and Saturn – in the solar system will come together in “a great conjunction” right in time for Christmas, the U.S. space agency NASA reported. It is also the same day as the winter solstice. Jupiter and Saturn[Read More…]
To Indian ladies above 15: ‘Think before you marry’ – By section 375 exception 2 of IPC When I searched for the status of marital rape in India, the first link that popped up had content that was both bizarre as well as mind wobbling – ‘It says Section 375 of IPC considers the forced sex in marriages as a[Read More…]
Procurement of various crops from farmers at a fair price by the government is an integral part of the farm and food system of India. This can be reformed in various ways—reducing costs while improving income of farmers and overall food security. When various crops are being harvested in a village, the government should procure a part of the staple[Read More…]
This collection of short stories by Gaither Stewart takes readers on a journey of the human drama; those questions that take us into and out of ourselves; those reflections that question time, history, our interactions with them and energetic influences that run between us and them and our actions within the resulting context. This collection is being released in the[Read More…]
Historically, Republicans project the image of containing public spending, keeping the public debt low, and creating more wealth for society. From Reagan to Trump, history shows that spending for defense, intelligence, domestic security goes through the roof, at the same time that taxes of the rich are cut while indirect taxes paid by the mass consumer rise, and corporate subsidies[Read More…]
One of the several important aspects of debate on farm and food sector is that there should be more encouragement to increasing production of pulses, oilseeds and millets. This will be very good for nutrition and health of people, good for farm ecology and good for the self-reliance ( atma-nirbharta) of the country as well as its rural communities. One[Read More…]
Unlike other leaders, why is Ambedkar’s statue caged? Is a question that needs to be answered before starting any debate about Dalits and the policies being framed for them. India’s social division is based on “caste” and not “class”. Sadly, the privileged lot always tries to confine the topic of “Caste discrimination & Dalits” to “Class discrimination & Reservation policies”[Read More…]
All sections of society — farmers, agricultural labourers, small shopkeepers — must oppose the new farm laws and hold the central government accountable for trying to jeopardise the country’s food security. Farmers across the country are agitating in a single voice for the rollback of the recently enacted farm laws. The new laws have the potential to restructure Indian agriculture[Read More…]
There are increasing apprehensions worldwide that the ability to minimize pandemic related distress and damage is being compromised seriously by widespread corrupt practices at various levels. Several warnings have being voiced already that this is leading to very heavy costs and even loss of precious human lives. In order to appreciate how heavy such costs can be, some key information[Read More…]
In recent years, tensions mounted between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers in South Asia. The 2016 Uri attack, the 2019 Pulwama attack on a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber that led to deaths of 46, and the retaliatory Balakot airstrikes by the Indian air force can[Read More…]
Remembering their egalitarian-secular ideology and joint martyrdoms can be a bulwark against the Hindutva onslaught On August 9, 1925 a group of Indian revolutionaries affiliated to the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) which included Chandershekhar Azad, Ashfaqullah Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajender Lahiri, Roshan Singh, Manmathnath Gupt and others waylaid the British Government treasury loaded on a passenger train at Kakori[Read More…]
The Global Nuclear Rat Race The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United[Read More…]
Sudihrbhai (name changed) is a tea vendor in Ahmedabad and since the time first curfew was imposed he has been struggling to survive. Now when the country has opened up, his earnings are no where near the pre-lockdown levels. Earlier he used to make about Rs. 500 on daily basis but now it is less than Rs. 200. People like[Read More…]
Farmer protests throughout the country have now been going on for quite a while without any ending in the sight. These protests came into force when government introduced 3 new farm bills: Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services; Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill. Government’s rationale behind[Read More…]
What should be the priority of a development-focused country? Some would say to bring more FDI, some would argue to enable more businesses, and some would say to develop the rural infrastructure. But are we thinking from the grass-root level? India, being a developing country, is rapidly taking steps to reach to its next milestone of being a developed nation.[Read More…]
The pandemic and the extended lockdown in India has hit the poor disproportionately hard. They have a higher risk of infection, significant loss of income and livelihoods, and immense learning losses for their children as the schools were closed for 7+ months. During this period, government schools have been struggling with identifying new ways of working and trying to enable[Read More…]
The recent death of Baba Ram Singh, who shot himself in protest against the repression of agitating farmers in India, has revealed the true colours of those in power. Singh was associated with the Sikh sect of Nanaksar in Karnal, Haryana. On Wednesday, December 16, he shot himself dead, leaving behind a suicide note explaining the reason behind his action.[Read More…]
Tragic happenings of the 1980s continue to perturb the Sikhs. Most of them want to know what actually took place behind the smokescreen erected by the power of the day. In this context, the new arrival ‘The Khalistan Conspiracy’-A Former R&AW Officer Unravels the Path to 1984” (2020) authored by GBS Sidhu, who retired as Special Secretary of India’s Intelligence[Read More…]
On the first anniversary of a movement that seems to be a reaffirmation of democratic processes in a nation torn with angst, Meenakshi Malhotra reviews Shaheen Bagh and the Idea of India Title: Shaheen Bagh and the Idea of India: Writings on a Movement for Justice, Liberty and Equality Editor: Seema Mustafa Publisher: Speaking Tiger Books, 2020 Shaheen Bagh is a compendium[Read More…]
The notion that the COVID-19 pandemic was ‘the great equalizer’ should be dead and buried by now. If anything, the lethal disease is another terrible reminder of the deep divisions and inequalities in our societies. That said, the treatment of the disease should not be a repeat of the same shameful scenario. For an entire year, wealthy celebrities and government[Read More…]
To appreciate what is happening to agriculture and farmers in India, we must first understand how the development paradigm has been subverted. Development used to be about breaking with colonial exploitation and radically redefining power structures. Today, neoliberal dogma masquerades as economic theory and the subsequent deregulation of international capital ensures giant transnational conglomerates are able to ride roughshod over[Read More…]
It was 9 pm when Banarasi Mushahar, 55 was sitting with family friend Rampreet Nat picked up his night meal to go to the agricultural land he was guarding for the last seven years. In the typical village terminology, it is called Seermai which means an arrangement where in lieu of your work for guarding or agricultural work, the owner[Read More…]
In the year 1927 a glorious chapter of the freedom movement came to an abrupt end as four young men were hanged to death for their courageous contribution to the independence of their country from colonial rule. Three of them attained martyrdom on December 20 and one on December 17, all in jails of the then United Provinces ( present[Read More…]
Epic movie that resurrected Charlie Chaplin and immortalised the Joker who made the world laugh while weeping within Today we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the release of the epic classic of Raj Kapoor,’, ‘Mera Naam Joker. ‘Arguably it was the most defining or touching film ever directed or enacted by the legendary Raj Kapoor.Raj Kapoor enacts the character of[Read More…]
It was in 1917 that Gandhiji visited Bihar for the first time. He was pursued and persuaded by one Raj Kumar Shukla, a peasant from Champaran, to come to the rescue of the peasants against their exploitation by the British planters under the ‘Teen Kathiya system’. The peasants in Champaran were forced to cultivate indigo in three kathas out of[Read More…]
US president Trump dismissed Christopher Krebs, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Reason? Krebs had disputed Trump’s contention that the presidential election had fraudulent ballots and software glitches that changed millions of votes. Krebs spoke his “truth”, which did not match president Trump’s “truth”. Krebs paid the price by losing his job. In our country in recent[Read More…]
Now that Joe Biden will be America’s next president, it might be worthwhile to take a closer look at some of the choices for his cabinet, White House staff, and national security positions. There are some real crazies here, as we shall see. As we dig deeper and deeper, what emerges is a network of people whose views can quite[Read More…]
Cuban Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution by Don Fitz Monthly Review Press, 2020 ISBN: 978-158367-860-2 (paper) –Reviewed by Kim Scipes Don Fitz has written a fascinating account of the development of the Cuban health care system. Placing developments in their historical context—and emphasizing Cuban internationalism throughout—Fitz has illuminated how the Cubans have developed a health care system that is[Read More…]
It was the end of October 2001. Two friends, Max Elbaum and Bob Wing, had just dropped by. (Yes, children, believe it or not, people used to drop in on each other, maskless, once upon a time.) They had come to hang out with my partner Jan Adams and me. Among other things, Max wanted to get some instructions from fellow-runner Jan about taping his[Read More…]
The International Movement for a JUST World (JUST) has published an ebook. “Exploring the Coronavirus Crisis”, a collection of articles contributed by the President, the Vice President, some members or the Executive Committee, some individuals within the general membership and certain staff of JUST. They run through the pandemic looking at the socio-economic consequences of the lockdowns and the persistence[Read More…]
The number of figures extolling the merits of Britain’s Westminster system and how it supposedly embodies a glorious model of democracy are too numerous to mention. This is despite exploits by the government of Boris Johnson, marked by the appointment of unelected advisers with enviable, unaccountable powers and a record of assault on Parliament’s scrutineering functions. “As the government blunders[Read More…]
With no dissolved oxygen to sustain animals or plants, ocean anoxic zones are areas where only microbes suited to the environment can live. These strange ecosystems are expanding, thanks to climate change – a development that is of concern for fisheries and anyone who relies on oxygen-rich oceans. Escaping predators, digestion and other animal activities — including those of humans[Read More…]
India and Indian democracy have been passing through difficult times. A many –sided effort is needed to check the decline and take effective steps to protect democracy, plurality, harmony, equality, justice, environment and livelihoods. Public spirited intellectuals, like various other sections of society, can contribute much to this effort, if they are suitably humble and polite, do not try to[Read More…]
K.P. Sasi is a film maker, Cartoonist and a writer SIGN UP FOR COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
It has been estimated that up to a quarter of a million children, young people and vulnerable adults were abused in state and faith-based care between 1950 and 2019 in New Zealand. The Royal Commission into Abuse in Care has released the findings. Of 655,000 in care during the period, it is estimated up to 40 percent were abused. An[Read More…]
India is witnessing the farmer protests which is being described as the largest protest in history. Delhi has become the epicenter of the protests with protests by farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh. About 1.2 million farmers are said to have thronged to the capital or in Singhur border along with about 96 thousand tractors. About 500 farm[Read More…]
There have been widespread and prolonged protests by farmers against three controversial farm laws enacted this year in a great hurry in India , the primary reason being that these are widely perceived by protesting farmers to be against their interests. This has been widely discussed, but it is necessary to look also at some of the wider implications of[Read More…]
I had hoped that I will exit this world without getting into the clutches of the medical profession. I also had a good reason to be hopeful. In my almost 57 years of life I had not spent a single day or night in a hospital as a patient. I often use to boast about it. Unlike my four siblings,[Read More…]
Attorney General KK Venugopal has given consent to a contempt plea against Kunal Kamra for his tweets on the Supreme Court order of granting interim bail to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami. In his consent letter, the attorney general said that Kamra’s tweets were “highly objectionable” and it “constitutes criminal contempt of court”. Background The tweets by Kunal Kamra which are at the background of the contempt[Read More…]
In an interview, Saif Ali Khan, who is playing the role of Ravan in the film ‘Adipurush’, had said that the film will show the ‘humane’ side of Ravan. He added, “It’s interesting to play a demon king, less strictures in that. But we will make him humane, up the entertainment quotient, justify his abduction of Sita and the war[Read More…]
December 8 came and went as if it was an ordinary day. For Palestinian political groups, it was another anniversary to be commemorated, however hastily. It was on this day, thirty-three years ago, that the First Palestinian Intifada (uprising) broke out, and there was nothing ordinary about this historic event. Today, the uprising is merely viewed from a historic point[Read More…]
For the past two decades, 75-year-old Swami Shivanand Saraswati has been an eco-champion, fighting for the cause of protecting the holy river, fasting with fellow seers of Matri Sadan, and most importantly posing the right questions for the decision-makers. Surviving on just five glasses of water and living at a small forest-ashram in Haridwar, environmental advocates like Swami Shivanand Saraswati[Read More…]
Twenty years back, on this day of 16 December 2000, three tribals had died and seven people were injured in a police firing at Maikanch village in Kashipur of Rayagada district, Odisha for opposing establishment of bauxite mines and alumina plant of Utkal Alumina- Aditya Birla Company. The tribals of the region had a dream to live with self-respect on[Read More…]
Environment can’t escape contradictions. Exploitative economy with its antagonistic connections to environment creates antagonistic contradictions with and within environment; and, the antagonistic contradictions are inescapable in the economy. Capitalism intensifies the contradictions. Two revolutionaries, Marx and Engels find: “Our own age, the bourgeois age […] has simplified class antagonism. More and more, society is splitting into two great hostile camps,[Read More…]
An advisor to the Iraqi parliament’s foreign affairs committee said: Iraq government is planning to lodge an international lawsuit against the U.S. for violating the country’s sovereignty and using internationally-banned munitions in civilian areas. Hatif al-Rikabi told Arabic-language al-Maalomah news agency in an interview that Iraq is going to file the case at Swedish and German courts over appalling crimes that the U.S. has perpetrated[Read More…]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Dec 15 Tuesday said that a conspiracy is going around Delhi. The PM was speaking at the inauguration of mega energy projects in Kutch, in his home state Gujarat. The PM’s statement came even as the farmers’ agitation across the country entered its 20th day. Five rounds of talks between the government and the farmers[Read More…]
I simply do not have an adjective in the dictionary to sum up the intensity of the farmers resistance in Delhi. History continues to be re-written like an inextinguishable light. It is reminiscent of a protracted war launched by an army against unflinching odds, confronting the enemy in the very belly. Each and every day it is further consolidating. With[Read More…]
A woman who weaves stories from the past, from history, from what has been and makes them so real that they become a part of ones’ own existence – this has been my experience of Dr Aruna Chakravarti and her writing. A winner of the Sahitya Akademi award for her translation of Sarat Chandra’s Srikanta, Vaitalik award and Sarat Puraskar, Chakravarti was[Read More…]
In India we have the biggest programs on nutrition and we have also have some of the highest rates of malnutrition. Despite the expanding nutrition programs (checked for the time being by Covid related factors ), malnutrition levels remain high, as revealed also in the latest surveys. This curious and sad phenomenon has been examined by several learned experts, but[Read More…]
“The story of methane really is a story of a very serious definitive threat to our future existence on this planet.” (Peter Wadhams) Legendary Arctic explorers Sir James Clark Ross, who located the northern magnetic pole in 1831 and Sir William Edward Parry, who set a record in 1827 for the Farthest North exploration serve as footnotes in the context[Read More…]
As autumn fades and winter looms, the dire predictions public-health experts made about Covid-19 have, unfortunately, proven all-too-accurate. On October 27th, 74,379 people were infected in the United States; less than a month and a half later, on December 9th, that number had soared to 218,677, while the 2020 total has just surpassed 15 million, a number no other country, not even India, which has[Read More…]
Governments that issue press releases about the abuse of human rights tend to avoid close gazes at the mirror. Doing so would be telling. In the case of Australia, its record on dealing with refugees is both abysmal and cruel. It tends to be easier to point the finger at national security laws in Hong Kong and concentration camps in[Read More…]
Bleak was something he could easily relate to, especially now. He didn’t know which bothered him more, the bitter Detroit December cold, or his jobless situation. When he was going strong, along with the economy, being a massage therapist was great. He made really good bucks and the hours were fine. Working in the mornings and again at night gave[Read More…]
Brief Background: Definition of Homelessness: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which is adopted by the UN General Assembly defines “‘Homeless’ as those who do not live in a regular residence due to lack of adequate housing, safety, and availability”. (Urban homeless India: Miseries untold and Promises unmet, 2017) The UN Economic and Social Council also defines homeless in[Read More…]
This time the election was held under the eye of digital gadgets and the Internet when every hand was carrying a smartphone at least having an account on Facebook, WhatsApp and other social networking sites. Assembly elections were held in a very peaceful atmosphere with guidelines amid Covid-19 followed strictly. Both administration and political parties are subject to congratulations for[Read More…]
In democracies leaders are called upon time and again to resolve protests of people. In fact this is a primary responsibility of democratically elected leaders and the sense of responsibility should be all the greater for leaders who have received enormous respect and trust of people, like a leader like Shri Narendra Modi of India. Time and again people of[Read More…]
Family Planning was a lynchpin of our health services at one point of time especially in the seventies and it almost resulted in health services becoming an ancillary and essential health programs getting overshadowed by intensive drives and forcible sterilizations. This also led to negative stereotyping of health services in many states of India. India evolved a comprehensive national population[Read More…]
Populated at the time by fluent Hebrew speakers, the Israel desk of Armenia’s foreign ministry waited back in 1991— in the immediate wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union—for a phone call that never came. The ministry was convinced that Israel, with whom Armenia shared an experience of genocide, were natural allies. The min¬istry waited in vain. Israel never[Read More…]
After the rise of Mr Narendra Damodardas Modi led BJP, Indian media, capitalist classes and their liberal hunks have ostensively argued for him as the only alternative for a strong and developed India. Mr Narendra Modi was projected as a messiah of the masses. There is no alternative to the Modi’s model of development and economic growth. The Indian and[Read More…]
Context Recently, as a part of the ‘Satyagraha series’ organized by SPI, I got an opportunity to listen to Dr. Shreekumar, who is an organic farmer in the south, and “student and practitioner of sustainability and just resource use”. He has a BTech (chemical engineering from Karnataka Regional Engineering College), Ph.D. (Indian Institute of Science), and has taught at NITK[Read More…]
Since the beginning of the farmers’ agitation against the three new agri-laws, there has been a series of allegations and counter-allegations between the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and opposition parties. The pace and volume of allegations and counter-allegations between the government and the opposition increased significantly after the opposition actively supported the Bharat Bandh called by the farmers’[Read More…]
Dozens of leaked documents from Amazon’s Global Security Operations Center reveal the company’s reliance on Pinkerton operatives to spy on warehouse workers and the extensive monitoring of labor unions, environmental activists, and other social movements. A report by Lauren Kaori Gurley on 23.11.20 in Vice (https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dp3yn/amazon-leaked-reports-expose-spying-warehouse-workers-labor-union-environmental-groups-social-movements) said: “A trove of more than two dozen internal Amazon reports reveal in stark[Read More…]
Abstract– As we come closer to new Termination Of Pregnancy Act (MTP Act) 2020, a look at the MTP act 1971 can help us understand the importance of abortion laws in relation to women’s reproductive rights better. Unsafe abortions claim many lives in India even with such strong legislation. Can the MTP Bill 2020 with its increase time limit help[Read More…]
Ed Yong is a very insightful science journalist. In an article published in The Atlantic in September Yong lists what he calls nine errors of intuition, conceptual errors that still hamstring the US pandemic response. Remarkably many of Yong’s errors of intuition offer valuable insight into the global failure to enact effective climate mitigation. The successful and not very successful[Read More…]
Climate change truly is a global phenomenon whose ripple effects remain invisible to even the most well-read and educated. Part of the challenge is in understanding how an activity as simple as burning coal to generate electricity in India can have ramifications for the icecaps and glaciers in the Arctic. The human mind simply cannot fathom these far-reaching implications. We[Read More…]
When the government announced special Covid relief and stimulus package, perhaps the most welcomed feature was that of free food grain ( mainly cereals and a little pulse ) for the needy sections of society. Despite several limitations, this fulfilled an important need in a society experiencing widespread hunger in Covid times. When this provision was extended up to November[Read More…]
If you cannot modify something you have to destroy it completely and rebuild. We need to destroy the whole caste system – Mr. Bezwada Manual Scavenging: a heinous practice While scrolling through YouTube, a documentary made by Samdish Bhatia on Manual scavengers in Mumbai stunned me. Immediately, multiple questions were in front of me. What is manual scavenging & why[Read More…]
“There is a global epidemic of violence against women – both within conflict zones and within societies at peace – and it is still treated as a lesser crime and lower priority” had said Angelina Jolie, actress and then UN Ambassador for refugees more than five years ago. With the onslaught of the pandemic and global public health emergency and[Read More…]
The proposed 1,600 MW Godda Power Plant in Jharkhand, to be set up by the Adani Group with the aim of supplying power to Bangladesh, is to get its turbines from General Electric. A press conference on Friday, December 11, 2020, conducted online by civil society groups from Kenya, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Bosnia and Herzegovina urged GE to pull[Read More…]
Instead of listening to the grievances of the farmers and objectively reporting the concerns raised during more than half a month-long farmers’ demonstrations being held around the areas in and around the national capital Delhi, the media is busy maligning them. The pages of newspapers are filled with the negative stories and anti-farmers opinion pieces. The farmers continue to[Read More…]
The US Supreme Court´s rejection of Donald Trump and his associates´ plea to overturn the results of the presidential election has effectively come as the death knell for them in this regard. It might be seen as the last spike on the coffin of their last-ditch maneuvering for hanging on to power illegally based on lies and distortion of facts.[Read More…]
These kisans are an ungracious lot. What a bunch of ignorant fools! We give them concessions. They say they need rights. We offer Ambani’s bazaar. They prefer mandis. We offer Adani warehouses. They prefer MSP. We pass bills without asking. They pass resolutions that jolt us. We praise Kisans are good for country. They troll us in wedding songs. We[Read More…]
The River Ganga is facing challenges of preserving ecological integrity due to declining flow and degrading water quality primarily due to pollution, illegal mining & quarrying of rocks, and unsustainable ways of constructing dams and barrages in the foothills of the Himalayas. Also, the ongoing and planned construction of hydroelectric projects on the river Ganga and its tributaries in the[Read More…]
Have we won the fight against COVID? Wait, let us rephrase that. Do you think we have won the fight against COVID? One may assume that we have left the worst behind. After all, amid the Unlock v5, as with its predecessor, the country is finally opening up. One sees the streets bustling, traffic jams jostling and shops abuzz; while[Read More…]
Written by Ketan Mundhada, Rohan Saxena and Sai Unmesh In August 2016, Pratik Sinha was accompanying his mother, Nirjhari, on a 10-day protest march from Ahmedabad to Una. Earlier that month, seven Dalits were flogged by a vigilante mob for skinning a dead cow to make leather. Having had previous experience and a reach among the masses from his previous[Read More…]
Raj Kapoor arguably is the most defining character in the history of Bollywood who took the Indian film industry to another spectrum. It was Raj who enabled the film world to reach the broad masses and identify with them. He donned the Charlie Chaplinesque form, classically transplanting or grafting it to Indian conditions. As a director and actor he revealed[Read More…]
When an international arms historian discovers the famous Indian firearms in a book with a focus on the legendary Jodhpur collection, it ought to be stimulating. Jodhpur was one of the most important military states in Rajasthan, playing a major role in the subcontinent’s history. During the reign of Maharaja Ajit Singh (1678-1724), large of numbers of guns were purchased[Read More…]
Around the world, every now and then, we see a large group of people coming together with posters and boards, singing slogans and songs, trying to make a change in the system. These people are either not happy with the current way or are against a future way of doing the things, which are declared by the government in its[Read More…]
After more than a century, yet another Stabbed in the Back Myth (Dolchstoßlegende ) is being born, this time in America. As is well known, Trump has never shied away from using the fascist playbook of the 1920’s. He has already made good use of the primary fascist myth of the rebirth of the nation saved from the decadent hands[Read More…]
We are all aware of the dire consequences of subjecting young kids to intense academic pressure from an early age. In India, we have coaching institutes like FIITJEE and Resonance offering programs for 6th standard kids to prepare them for “NTSE, IJSO, PRMO and other Olympiads”. The duration of these programs is around 175 hours – hours that could’ve been spent playing[Read More…]
Have you ever noticed, what is your source of information? From where do you get the daily news? Is it social media, TV news or newspaper? Irrespective of the news, do you think you get all sort of information which is of monumental importance to you and the society? Well, I think, in the world where we have got ourselves[Read More…]
With the ever-increasing businesses around the globe and increasing penetration of media, people are becoming aware of the pertinent problems of the disadvantaged groups more than before. It’s a modern-day dilemma for graduating students, who are standing at the cusp of their careers, to strike a balance between the two- between abiding by the employer and abiding by one’s conscience[Read More…]
It is inexplicable why the union government is taking so long to resolve an issue which is so simple to resolve . Millions and millions of people including farmers put their faith in wisdom of Narendra Modi in the last general elections; he was without doubt the biggest vote catcher for the BJP and the NDA. This faith is now[Read More…]
The invisible hand As everyone knows, Adam Smith invented the theory that individual self-interest is, and ought to be, the main motivating force of human economic activity, and that this, in effect, serves the wider social interest. He put forward a detailed description of this concept in an immense book, “The Wealth of Nations” (1776). Adam Smith (1723-1790) had been[Read More…]
Pragya Singh Thakur is no ordinary member of BJP, the ruling dispensation in the country. She is a MP from Bhopal and was also made the member of defense committee before she was removed from that committee for her statement hailing Nathuram Godse. She first came to lime light after the Malegaon blasts, in which six people were killed. Hemant[Read More…]
Water might become the most sought-after commodity in the world and the most traded resource on the exchanges if the depletion and mismanagement of water resources continue at the present rate. Several cities around the globe have become ground zero, and many are on the verge of falling into this category. India is a land where water resources are revered[Read More…]
Americans’ trust in the federal government in handling major problems has fallen nearly to all-time lows, finds Gallup. Based on an annual poll conducted between August 31 and September 31, 2020, Gallup found: About 48% of Americans say they have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence in the government to handle international problems and 41% on its[Read More…]
Warring over fish in the twenty-first century might seem an unlikely proposition. But the deployment of four Royal Navy ships to deter European fishing vessels from encroaching on British waters in the event of a no-deal Brexit has tongues wagging. The prospects of a trade pact between the EU and UK by the end of this month are becoming cold[Read More…]
Written by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies Joe Biden will take command of the White House at a time when the American public is more concerned about battling coronavirus than fighting overseas wars. But America’s wars rage on regardless, and the militarized counterterrorism policy Biden has supported in the past—based on airstrikes, special operations and the use of proxy[Read More…]
“We have let the government’s evil-doing, its abuses, power grabs, brutality, meanness, inhumanity, immorality, greed, corruption, debauchery and tyranny go on for too long. We are approaching a reckoning. This is the point, as the poet W. B. Yeats warned, when things fall apart and anarchy is loosed upon the world.” John W. Whitehead “Monsters with Human Faces: The Tyranny[Read More…]
Martin Luther King, Jr., offered this all-too-relevant comment on his moment in his 1967 speech “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?”: “The contemporary tendency in our society is to base our distribution on scarcity, which has vanished, and to compress our abundance into the overfed mouths of the upper classes until they gag with superfluity. If democracy is to[Read More…]
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has run a fascinating long report this week offering a disturbing snapshot of the political climate rapidly emerging across Europe on the issue of antisemitism. The article documents a kind of cultural, political and intellectual reign of terror in Germany since the parliament passed a resolution last year equating support for non-violent boycotts of Israel –[Read More…]
Jan Adhikar Mancha supports the ongoing farmers’ movement. Mancha condemns state repression and false propaganda against the movement From the very first day of the call of “Delhi Chalo” programme of the All Indian Kishan Sangarsha Samiti to the observation of International Human Rights day of 10 December, we have been observing the Goebbelsean propaganda of misinformation and disinformation unleashed[Read More…]
“True education must correspond to the surrounding circumstances or it is not a healthy growth.” – Mahatma Gandhi Reports and Surveys such as the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) by NGO Pratham or National Achievement Survey conducted by NCERT repeatedly point out that the learning outcomes in school children are steadily declining. There can be two aspects to[Read More…]
India is home to a diverse set of ethnic and religious communities. On most days, people in India enjoy their civil rights and the freedom to profess their religious beliefs. But it is not always the case. Tensions do exist, and in some cases, these tensions escalate into violence. One of the recent incidents that come to mind is the[Read More…]
The Indian rightist government, intoxicated by its power induced due to number of seats occupied by its party in the Lower House of Parliament which enabled it to form the government without the need for a political alliance, has assumed power to be absolute. Although it has a dummy alliance under the umbrella named as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA),[Read More…]
The changing geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East have re-opened an old debate in Pakistan as well; should Pakistan re-examine its policy towards Israel? This is not the first time that Pakistanis are discussing this issue pertaining to the recognition of Israel, but it has been done before, during the Benazir and Musharraf modernization eras. The Prime Minister of Pakistan[Read More…]
“Dadi Canal is to the Dochnipora what Indus was to the Harrapan Civilization and Nile to the Egyptian Civilization” The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is situated in the subtropical and sub- temperate latitudes hence is characterized with great variations in terrain and altitudes. Consequently, it experiences the extremes in the mean monthly and annual range of temperatures. The[Read More…]
After its passing on the 11 December 2019, the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), providing pathway to Indian citizenship for refugees from the neighbouring countries on the basis of the religion they belong to, had caused large-scale protests all over India. The news in the initial few month’s period of 2020 was rife with citizens on the street voicing their[Read More…]
In the land where people worship nature and treat plants, trees, animals, and rivers as Gods and Goddesses, India performs abysmally low on environmental indicators. India is the second most polluted country after China. Moreover, 21 out of 30 cities around the world with the worst air quality are in India (Regan, 2020). According to the IQAir quality index, Kolkata[Read More…]
While traveling through Lucknow, one is bound to come across e-rickshaws and autorickshaws driven by women. The picture of women driving e-rickshaws/autorickshaw across Uttar Pradesh, a state notorious for patriarchy and crime against women, is bound to surprise onlookers. Behind this effort to create livelihood opportunities for women is HUMSAFAR, a Support Center set up for women in 2003[Read More…]
The Modi government is facing one of the strongest oppositions since it came to power. And it is not from its biggest rival Congress. Rather it is from the people that Modi government promised to make the life easy for- the farmers of India. The seeds of this massive protest were laid on 27th September 2020 when the president gave[Read More…]
Education is a very powerful transformative force, provided we first transform education itself. India has always been a patriarchal, feudalistic society, and even now, it is. There are certain societal and cultural norms, so deeply rooted in our culture, that a shift in mindset for the better is extremely slow, and sometimes, even close to impossible. Even today, in the[Read More…]
For nearly two decades now Countercurrents has provided millions of readers around the world with deep insights and analysis of news, events, trends that are usually ignored by mainstream media. A key quality of this unique information platform has been its eclectic and open minded choice of themes, ranging from caste, gender and communalism to issues related to ecology, rapidly[Read More…]
“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity” – Albert Einstein Coding is a short reference to the use of programming languages to provide lengthy sets of instructions for a computer to perform specific tasks. The continuous lines of text written behind the fancy looking websites and apps are what constitute as code for the application.[Read More…]
Farm workers in various regions of Peru- such as Ica, Viru La Libertad and Piurahad – went on a strike in the first week of December, 2020, blocking the strategic Pan-American motorway to demand wage increases, basic social security benefits and the repeal of the decades-old Agrarian Promotion Law, enacted in 2000, as a mechanism to bolster the bourgeoisie’s power in the[Read More…]
In the last one decade we are witnessed three major protests in different issues, but the outcome of each protest was the same. The protesters became popular but the issue lost in between the crowd of protesters. The issues are carved to harness more and more crowds irrespective of the issues. The three major protests at least indicate a pattern[Read More…]
In November alone, the Allahabad High Court issued orders providing relief to couples in more than 125 cases, web journal livelaw.in reported on Dec.1. They were involved in inter-caste and inter-faith marriages. But UP’s CM, his colleagues in power, and UP police have no fear indeed…they uphold rabid hindutva. PM Narendra Modi quoted Subramanya Bharathi, Tamilnadu’s great poet, in his[Read More…]
Introduction Over the past nine months, the entire news and social media has been flooded with reports of rising cases of Covid-19 and the impact it has had on India’s economy. Millions of people lost their jobs or were forced to take pay cuts. Migrants were forced to walk hundreds of kilometers back home and economic activity in rural areas[Read More…]
All over the world there is increasing concern over the misuse of special difficult conditions created by Covid-19 pandemic by corrupt and authoritarian elements in various countries and societies. To counter this and to ensure a need and evidence based, honest response, many citizen groups and independent experts have called for increasing transparency and accountability in various aspects of Covid[Read More…]
Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, while getting acquainted with new digital modes of learning, it suddenly struck me hard on listening to the plight of a 15-year-old girl, living in a semi-urban area of India and struggling to learn from Zoom classes on the single smartphone of the family being shared between her and four siblings. Plights of children belonging to[Read More…]
Written By Shubham Bijalwan & Abhishek Sanwaria While media censorship is an issue pestering the entire nation today, the situation in Kashmir is grave. The self-governing territory has become a testing laboratory for several undemocratic practices. Some half a dozen journalists have confirmed the reports of unjust practices being followed by the government authorities to suppress the individuals’ right[Read More…]
Transgender health access has been widely neglected by governments and legislative bodies in India. While a bill is passed now and then to reaffirm action, the system has failed to tackle key issues that lead to the lack of healthcare utilization by transgender people. These issues have their roots in stigmatization and the resultant social and economic marginalization of the[Read More…]
I am revising a previous article, Palestine’s Achilles Heel: The Begging Bowl, to expose that the normalisation of the recent UAE and Moroccan ties with the Jewish ‘state’ of Israel brokered by Trump is a piddly PR show. Spoiler alert! The Arab normalisation occurred 72 years ago and has never let up. This explains why Trump was not awarded the[Read More…]
Denmark’s 16 pension funds have together invested almost 3 billion Danish kroner ($500 million) in foreign arms manufacturers supplying weapons to countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), finds a new research. Those weapons were most likely used in the war in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are heavily involved in the conflict there, said[Read More…]
Government is on the backfoot with determined farmers, especially from the northern states, protesting peacefully against the Farm Laws. They are joined by farmers and workers countrywide. Whatever the official obfuscations, this is a People’s agitation/ protest against laws which they well understand will do them harm. In present times, barring ritual voting in elections, the will of We the[Read More…]
‘Sarkar ki asli majburi; ambani, adani, jamakhori’ (The Compulsions of the government is Ambani, Adani and hoarding cum corruption). This is the slogan that the protesting farmers are raising these days in the course of their nationwide struggle for their dignity and rights. Though very brief, but this slogan expediently and succinctly captures the issue, the farmers are foregrounding. On[Read More…]
It has been 45 years since the day when entire India was stunned due to a sudden declaration of emergency by the third prime minister of the country. On June 25, 1975, independent India witnessed the start of its darkest chapters. “The President has proclaimed Emergency. There is nothing to panic about.” were the words of Indira Gandhi when she[Read More…]
In the context of a massive farmer agitation to protect the agrarian productive mass self-respect and future of their age old occupation, it is important to see whether the ruling Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideology has any scope for developing agriculture as against its pro-business ideology. If one looks at the policy documents of the RSS right from 1925 it’s Cultural[Read More…]
First they came for the corner shops And I did not speak out Because I was not a shopkeeper Then they came for the taxis And I did not speak out Because I was not a taxi driver Next they came for travel agencies And I did not speak out Because I was not a travel agent Then they came[Read More…]
The Trump administration just officially recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara region and like clockwork, the relics of colonial machinations stick out like a sore thumb in, yet another region of Africa divvied up during the Berlin Conference. By 1975, in the wake of independence movements across the African continent, Spain had withdrawn from the Spanish Sahara, a[Read More…]
© Reuters A trans individual’s fight for survival begins from their adolescence. Majority of them are relinquished by their families, denied formal schooling, and have severely confined access to employment opportunities. They are constrained into begging and sex work to make an earning. Additionally, there is a perennial verbal and sexual maltreatment in the community. Even quality medical care[Read More…]
Across ages, we have seen a persistent gender-based discrimination in India. This discrimination manifests in the form of gender-based violence (40% of women have experienced domestic violence), trafficking of women, sexual abuse (42% of girls have been sexually abused), etc. A low sex ratio also (940 females for 1000 males) indicates the prevalence of evil forms of patriarchy. India’s daughters[Read More…]
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused hardships among people, and even more so, for the most marginalised groups in the society. At a time when even the more privileged groups began scouring stores for food and medicines, one could realize the plight of the transgender community seeking rations and medicines only to face discrimination and harassment. As always, shopkeepers sent them[Read More…]
Touted as one of the biggest milestones in the movement by the LGBTQA community for equal rights, the abrogation of section 377 of the Indian penal code in 2018 by the Supreme Court was considered as a landmark judgment with an expectation that the situation of those people will considerably improve. However, even after 2 years of the judgement, the[Read More…]
Published as Introduction in Chowdhury A. and Alok John (Ed.). Excellence in Higher Education: Emerging Concerns and the Road Ahead. N Delhi: Rajesh Publications. 2020. Introduction Policy makers in India have constantly strived to provide greater access to high quality education to youth. This has been the endeavour since independence70 years ago.This is also crucial for the demographic dividend that[Read More…]
The jingoist nation and nationalism have got weaponized by the political class to destroy dissent and polarize people. The mass frenzy has accomplished complete derationalization and inversion of meanings where destroyers of the nation become deshbhakts (patriots) and selfless servers of people become deshdrohis (traitors). As I see my India being ruined, it is with a feeble hope that I[Read More…]
In less than a few weeks since the celebrated Argentine filmmaker Fernando Ezequiel Solanas—a legendary figure in Latin American cinema—died of coronavirus in Paris, another internationally admired filmmaker, Kim Ki-Duk, fell prey to the rage of the pandemic in Latvia. The South Korean ‘new wave’ fame Kim was reported to have arrived in the Baltic state a few weeks ago[Read More…]
You did not know did you? That my house gives me rights. You did not know did you? That my house gives me virtue. Food, Clothing, Shelter I demand that you are not naked But not full or warm I won’t offer you sleep Not on my lawn Or even in a park Not here, I say Brooms and authorities[Read More…]
To profiteers, this pandemic is very good; it hasn’t hurt their profit-making mechanism. Net worth of US billionaires has soared by $1 trillion – to total $4 trillion – since Pandemic began, a report released on December 8, 2020 by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) said: “The total net worth of the 651[Read More…]
While questions have been raised regarding the response to Covid19 in many parts of the world, it has still been rare for a medical journal of international repute to take a strong stand on this issue. It is in this context that the publication of a recent editorial in the famous medical journal BMJ has attracted a lot of attention.[Read More…]
“He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity’s sun rise.” – William Blake, Eternity Great songwriters, like great poets, are possessed by a passionate melancholic sensibility that gives them joy in the telling. They seem always to be homesick for a home they can’t define[Read More…]
Media censorship by the Indian government has become a large issue in Kashmir, the government’s actions being unchecked in deciding what news should reach the Kashmir citizens. The freedom of the press and thus the citizens is under serious threat since the government has taken over the power to control every single news that goes out and ensure a positive[Read More…]
With a majority of the opposition boycotting and an abstention rate of almost 70%, the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) obtained 69% of the vote in the country’s December 6 National Assembly (AN) elections. The PSUV and its allies will now hold 253 of the 277 seats in the new parliament. This is in sharp contrast to the[Read More…]
The intellectuals whose release we are demanding are those who have stood firm against the oppressive and communal attacks waged by the Modi government on Indian society. They have made huge sacrifices, and are now braving a life in prison but they have never shied away from their duty to speak truth to power and communicate this truth to the[Read More…]
Enlarged farmers’ protests at Delhi that succeeded in mustering active support from adjoining states have forced the Modi government to leave its earlier stand that the Farm Act would bring ‘bonanza’ for the farmers. And in a way of confessing its error, the government has come down with a negotiating proposal for amending the Acts. But by exhibiting trust-deficit in[Read More…]
Wish to thank you all for your condolence messages on the passing away of our maai : Mrs Ramrati Devi whose inspiring journey to protect her land is inspiring. It has been an honor to work with her and share some of the most interesting moments with her. She was my mother though not biological. My biological mother passed away[Read More…]
ORIENTATION When I first considered myself a socialist revolutionary in 1970, I was hounded by free marketers’ challenge: “name me one country where socialism works”. These market fundamentalists would then hold up the most strident expectations for socialism: Everyone is exactly equal with no classes. There is an abundance of goods which are conveniently circulated. Political rule is not dictatorial.[Read More…]
A Nomad is a community member who regularly moves from one place to another without any fixed habitat. Known as the wandering community, the members of nomadic tribes were generally entertainers and transporters historically. The Denotified tribes (DNTs), a part of a wandering community, are the tribes that were originally listed under the ‘Criminal Tribes act’ of 1871. Currently, there[Read More…]
Written by Md Rahat Hasan & Mohd Shahwaiz The election of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), 2020 perhaps characterized the most happening civic body election in the history of India. The reason behind gaining attention of media and political pundits was the extreme level of politics of polarization played by both Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and AIMIM. The GHMC consists[Read More…]
This year the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) day is different in a way that never before the UHC message was so loud and clear. From first case of coronavirus eleven months ago to nearly 70 million cases worldwide, the pandemic has made us realize how essential is health security for each one of us – and – unless we ensure[Read More…]
Please remember that in 1961 when JFK took office the top bracket for federal income tax was at 90%. Now, we all should know that no one in that top bracket actually paid at 90%. That is what a slew of deductions and bright accountants were for. When Reagan took office he was able to lower the top bracket down[Read More…]
“Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” –Robert Frost It is always interesting to come across someone who has taken the path less travelled by, in my case this interesting experience comes from one of the founders of the Annapurna[Read More…]
We live in disconcerting times. The wealth of USA’s 643 billionaires has soared by 29% since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. On 13 August, 2020, the top twelve US billionaires had surpassed a combined wealth of $1 trillion. This year, the world’s 500 richest people have grown their fortunes by $871 billion, a 15% increase. All this while, the[Read More…]
One in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence. Most of this violence is perpetrated by either their intimate partner or a relative. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak and the subsequent lockdown, the violence against women, especially domestic violence, has increased significantly. This is known as the Shadow Pandemic. With the reports of the second wave of the[Read More…]
Written by Dr. Md Afroz & Md Tabrez Alam ‘Bad governance fails government’ is being used synonymously to refer to the fragile political system. A democratic state transform citizens aspiration into policy documents and it barely take chance to legislate anti-people policy. Unfortunately, most developing countries political system functions under the influence of crony capitalism that compromises people’s aspirations. Jharkhand[Read More…]
Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year. It is the day when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adapted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The document is made available therewith in more than 500 languages and is the most translated document in the world. ‘Recover better – stand up for human rights’ is the[Read More…]
With the idea of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2026 and Hindutva ideology gaining momentum, concerns related to marginalized communities, in particular Muslims, have somewhat taken a backseat. With nearly 14.2% of the total population, the second-largest religious group of India is constituted of the Muslims. However, when one glances at the socio-demographic statistics in the fields of[Read More…]
“Military leader, council, assembly of the people are the organs of gentile society developed into military democracy – military, since war and organization for war have now become regular functions of national life. Their neighbors’ wealth excites the greed of peoples who already see in the acquisition of wealth one of the main aims of life. They are barbarians: they[Read More…]
A slow learner is one who is neither an average child nor mentally retarded, and they are somewhere in between the two. There are several terms used to address slow learners- dull normal, borderline, below-average, sub-average or partially mentally-subnormal. Often it is misunderstood that these children are ‘mentally weak’ or ‘dumb’. But, in reality, only the learning rate of these[Read More…]
After the initial welcome address, I was curious and simultaneously wondering how to begin discussions on such a sensitive but blatantly ignored social and political issue not only for Tibet and India but also on a global sensitivity on violation of human rights. I had the privilege of interacting with Mr Tenzin Tsundue, who is a Tibetan freedom activist for[Read More…]
Written by Aman Rathi, Ashutosh Rungta and Darpan Jain It was a fine morning, about 4 AM, in a remote village named Beliyapal, in the state of Chhattisgarh. Shiv Kumari, a tribal woman of around 40 years, readied herself to make her way to the jungle. She would walk about 5-6 km deep in the wilderness with a basket ready[Read More…]
By Richard Lachmann, Michael Schwartz, and Kevin A. Young As Donald Trump gave in to the demand that the transition process to the Biden years officially begin, the administration and its fossil-fuel allies doubled down on their efforts to implement destructive environmental policies that President Biden might try to reverse. Those initiatives have included a campaign to jump-start oil drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; the approval by[Read More…]
Introduction–While this story is written more as a fantasy on what happens when Mahatma Gandhi decides to come back to earth, it is at the same time related to serious contemporary problems and issues. Among the many distinguished residents of heaven, Mahatma Gandhi was regarded as among the most peaceful and patient ones. Yet even he had of late shown[Read More…]
Our young ones are our primary social responsibilities; we must ensure the planet is able to support them in the best health and spirit by maintaining a bountiful life, which was our responsibility when we lived in small groups that were able to know every one’s character. However, it’s impossible to know the character of every one in a large[Read More…]
As 2020 is almost drawing to a close, we’re still not sure exactly when and how the pandemic started. Now, a new study from the US adds more evidence to the idea that the virus was already circulating outside of China in December, when the Wuhan outbreak was first declared. Reports of a mysterious pneumonia spreading in Wuhan, China,[Read More…]
In recent years a lot of attention has been drawn to the high hazards of non-ionising radiation which have unfortunately been ignored for too long. Adding in a very significant way to these warnings last month an organization of prominent international experts issued an important statement on serious and adverse health impacts of Non-Ionising Radiation (NIR). This statement has[Read More…]
Today women and men in the farmers’ struggle are standing shoulder to shoulder at the Delhi borders. This movement is a symbol in the history of India—a symbol of freedom, of voices, of ideas, of protests, of slogans, of resolutions. This is not just a farmers’ struggle; it is a joint campaign of all of us, of children, women and[Read More…]
(Optimistically dedicated to Steven Pinker) In a world suffering from a global pandemic, it would be both easy and understandable to be morosely pessimistic. Yet, even here, midst frantic calls of doom, there are some good reasons for optimism. After a mere 10 months, the world has been able to produce at least three vaccines capable of effectively combating Covid-19.[Read More…]
The United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) emissions gap report – Emissions Gap Report 2020 – released on December 9 warns: Despite a brief dip in carbon dioxide emissions caused by the pandemic, the world is still heading for a temperature rise of 3.2°C this century. The report published at the end of every year measures national commitments to reduce emissions[Read More…]
A Poet and Editor Who Was the Voice of the Marginalized Poet and editor Manglesh Dabral passed away at the age of 72 at AIIMS Delhi due to Covid related complications. In Hindi literature Manglesh Dabral is widely known as a poet of great sensitivity who gave voice to the main marginalized sections of society. He is also known for[Read More…]
Cultural evolution In all terrestrial organisms, information is transmitted between generations by means of the genetic code; and genetic evolution takes place through natural selection acting on modifications of this code. In human cultural evolution, information is also transmitted between generations by means of language and writing. This second mode of evolution gave our species enormous adaptive advantages. While genetic[Read More…]
Too Much of Democracy has derailed our economic ‘growth’ says CEO of Niti Ayog, who once professed that ATMs will cease away in the coming years. A ‘devotee’ of Narendra Modi’s ‘digitalisation’ process, Amitabh Kant wanted government to get away from Schools, Colleges and Jails by handing them over to private sector. Now, he is disturbed with the ongoing farmers[Read More…]
Before the January 4 ruling of District Judge Vanessa Baraitser in the extradition case of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks publisher will continue to endure the ordeal of cold prison facilities while being menaced by a COVID-19 outbreak. From November 18, Assange, along with inmates in House Block 1 at Belmarsh prison in south-east London, were placed in lockdown conditions. The[Read More…]
No one seemed as excited about the election of Joe Biden being the next President of the United States as Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas. When all hope seemed lost, where Abbas found himself desperate for political validation and funds, Biden arrived like a conquering knight on a white horse and swept the Palestinian leader away to safety. Abbas was[Read More…]
An important strength of India is that about two-thirds of its people live in villages. As the world grapples with life-endangering environmental problems, the rural base of a country can be an important source of resilience in protecting life-nurturing conditions and getting close to self-reliance in terms of meeting basic needs. However in the absence of proper priorities and policies, [Read More…]
It is not every day that one needs a doctor, a lawyer, a policemen or a priest, but everyday, three times a day, you need a farmer. Farmers are not a homogenous community. There are caste and class differences because, among land-owning farmers, the socio-economic spectrum of farmers is huge. At one end are wealthy, university-educated farmers with large land-holdings,[Read More…]
Those who supported Biden did so primarily to see America free of the Fascist-style president and Republican Party determined to bring the country as close to the Third Reich as possible. To be sure, there were many who backed Biden-Harris because they espouse the platform of the establishment Democratic Party. However, the demographics have changed, and the middle class has[Read More…]
Just like clockwork, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has set off another ‘heartfelt’ warning to the rest of the world, saying that, if conditions in the West African Sahel region continues to deteriorate, areas in four concerned countries could slip into famine, this was stated in the FAO’s Early Warning Analysis of Food Insecurity Hotspots and includes; Northeastern[Read More…]
As we celebrate the International Human Rights Day, it is worthwhile to ask if a missing soldier of the country has any of rights that we commemorate with fanfare. This might sound an insulting query in a country which swears by the breath, life, and death of its soldiers. This is rightly so, for, the soldier is the cream of[Read More…]
Over two-thirds say nutritional quality has worsened and quantity has reduced (in September-October) compared to pre-lockdown The Right to Food Campaign is shocked with the worsening situation of hunger, although it is more than five months since the lockdown has ended. This emerged in the presentation of the Hunger watch study carried out by Right to Food Campaign and Center[Read More…]
New farm bill 2020: Why farmers are protesting? Farmers from several Indian states are protesting against three new Agriculture Reforms Acts, that the government says will open up the tightly-controlled agriculture sector to free-market forces. It is claimed that the bills, passed by India’s parliament make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to private buyers and enter[Read More…]
Bhubaneswar: 9th December-A unique Gram Sabha on gender-based violence was organised across 17 districts in Odisha where the meetings were being led by the women as they were holding centre stage to discuss issues that concern them the most. The objective of these Gram Sabha were to ensure the involvement of women in Gram Sabha and place issues that concern[Read More…]
We are living in unusual times. These are uncharted territories for those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s. We were raised in another era with absolutely different values than which exist today and so it is all the more surprising that so many of us have fallen for the bizarre narrative that exists in India today.[Read More…]
The most prominent feature of world farming in recent decades has been that of growing corporate control, and this has often been at the expense and interests of farmers. It is important to understand the wide-ranging adverse implications of this corporatization of farming for the sustainability of farming systems, for the welfare of ordinary farmers and for food-security of the[Read More…]
As the farmers protest has grown powerful and looking for a long haul, the BJP as well as its ‘information network’ has gone overboard to discredit them. Whatever things happen at the ground, the social media trolls and disinformation has its impact even if we deny them or mock at them. Travelling in the train from Uttar Pradesh give you[Read More…]
They didn’t raise their voice And we called them under privileged By our own choice Do you eat food? Of course, from when you were born But today you are being unjust With the ones that provide. A doctor, a teacher and even a parent, We need them but not all the time, A farmer, we just cannot do without.[Read More…]
It was on October 2, 2019, that PM Narendra Modi declared the completion of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission with the construction of over 107 million toilets – calling India, for once and for all, “Open Defecation Free” (ODF). The announcement came 11 years ahead of the United Nations’ 2030 vision. However, even a year later, experts disagree on the rose-tinted[Read More…]
Leafing – or in this case scrolling through – the commemorative issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists after 75 years of publication is a tingling exercise of existence. The subject matter pushes you to the edge. You threaten to fall off. Death is promised; extinction contemplated. Nuclear holocaust. Your sanity is called into question. The Bulletin’s own Doomsday[Read More…]
Whenever we hear about serious problems relating to farmers and farming and how to resolve them, we hear this generally in the context of three versions. One version is of existing and upcoming big business interests who want to have an increasing role and ultimately domination in the farming sector. The second version is of the government which while supporting[Read More…]
Along with everyone else, the fashion industry is also experiencing the effects of a global health crisis because of Covid-19. The $400 billion US fashion industry is in the middle of a huge crisis. The severe deterioration in fashion is having a serious impact on the global economy resulting in unemployment of millions of artisans, craftspeople, weavers, tailors and seamstresses[Read More…]
Delhi right now is witnessing an unprecedented outburst of long suppressed agony and muffled voice of the Indian farmers. The protest that started in August 2020 against the three Agricultural Laws bring forth by the NDA government is projecting a shift in its vigor and valor since this November 25th, when the farmers from Punjab and Haryana have decided to[Read More…]
Ahead of the 6th International Academy for Autoimmunity, held at St. Petersburg State University on December 6, Russian scientists from Putin’s Alma Mater published a study on the direct link between slowing the spread of coronavirus in countries where mass vaccination against tuberculosis is carried out. The University of St. Petersburg, founded by order of Peter the Great, is one[Read More…]
In fact “these people ( the bureaucrats ) have even made the Prime Minister give wrong statements about the Acts,” says leader of BKS. It shows how the State functions and ruling politicians have to toe the line and sell it to the public. It bulldozes any dissent, even if it is from its own camp. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh[Read More…]
Tigray crisis, started in November 4 between the federal government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray regional state, led to deaths of hundreds and displaced around 44000 to neighbouring Sudan. Weeks of conflicts have almost come to an end at this moment with the Ethiopian government’s announcement of its taking control of Mekelle on[Read More…]
A cursory observation and popular perceptions reveal a ‘fatigue’ with respect to the current trends. In plain language, people are fed-up with the unusual control on their lives and this is especially severe among young people and the children. The fatigued also include parents who have to manage the dichotomy with respect to professional and personal lives with extra efforts[Read More…]
Co-Written by William J. Astore and Danny Sjursen If you have a moment, how about joining two retired officers, Bill Astore and me, Danny Sjursen, as we think about this country’s catastrophic forever wars that, regardless of their deadly costs and lack of progress, never seem quite to end? Recently, in a podcast chat about our very different but somehow twin journeys through those wars,[Read More…]
“I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round…” John Lennon “Regain a sense of wonderous awe at the miracle of creation and work tirelessly to protect and restore nature’s splendor.” Dr. Glen Barry Look out the window, any window, and behold portends of the end of being. The very ecological fabric of being is unraveling. Disease, famine,[Read More…]
One of the biggest and most persistent myths of the discourse on agriculture relates to the success of the so-called green revolution. Let’s look at the actual experience of the green revolution (G.R.) in India. In agriculture the period after mid-sixties is generally regarded as the ‘green revolution’ phase of Indian agriculture. The most important feature of this technology[Read More…]
1. Armed Forces Veterans are closely following the unfolding situation of the farmer’s peaceful agitation to repeal the three laws passed by Parliament. We are also aware that workers across sectors have supported the demands of farmers, in addition to peacefully raising objections to amended labour laws. 2. The purpose of this statement is to inform protesting farmers that Armed[Read More…]
The on-going pandemic is unprecedented. None will question this statement today. It’s unprecedented in terms of not only number, extent, speed, etc. It’s also without any precedent in terms of the power and resources the world economy, capitalist, exploitative, owns and the vulnerability the economy faces. It’s the economy’s sheer hapless condition, plain powerlessness, downright inability. Together with these, the[Read More…]
South Korea and Japan set to be the biggest winners in the Asian oil and chemicals markets as the world’s largest regional free-trade agreement paves the way for a gradual reduction in tariffs. Some analysts claim that China stands to gain most income from the pact. The China-backed agreement is seen as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a[Read More…]
~ Complete Bandh in some states, huge protests all over India ~ More than 50 Lac people participate in 20,000 places to make Bharat Bandh Successful ~ All Sections of common working class people and white-collar workers join Bandh; city streets and markets deserted ~ Organised and Unorganised Sector workers involved in supporting Bandh; Daily wagers sacrifice to make Bandh[Read More…]
India is a nation of second largest population in the world. China is the first largest populated nation with a land size bigger than India. India’s population according to 2011 census was 1210.2 million and China’s population was 1347.3 million. India’s land size is 3.287 million KMs, whereas China’s land size is 9.597 million KMs. China’s land size is three[Read More…]
As the author penned down his thoughts on a very recent case of death on account of severe domestic violence of a twenty-three years old girl who was newly married and was carrying a baby of five and half years months in her womb at Sarulah village, Sualkuchi in rural Assam on 16 November, 2020, a peripheral location from the[Read More…]
When French president Emmanuel Macron was pilloried in some quarters for defending freedom of expression as a French value, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison backed his European counterpart: “We share values. We stand for the same things.” This professed French/Australian value for freedom of expression has now come back to bite the backside of the Australian prime minister. When it[Read More…]
One of modern India’s great shames is the official failure to eradicate manual scavenging, the most degrading surviving practice of untouchability in the country. – Harsh Mandar, Human Rights Activist Consistent with caste-based custom and centuries-old feudal practices in the country, ‘manual scavengers’ coddle in the practice of manually cleaning excrement from public and private toilets and drains on a[Read More…]
In 1997, Don DeLillo, the author of seventeen novels, published what many consider his masterpiece, Underworld. It was a prophetic book in many ways, especially with its focus on the World Trade Towers and the way the book’s cover, front and back, pictured the towers shrouded in smoke or clouds with what seemed like a large bird approaching it at[Read More…]
This is a six-part novella about the struggles of young people to save their endangered housing complex, symbolic of the much bigger efforts needed to protect the badly endangered life nurturing conditions of our planet. Here fact and fantasy are combined to create interesting situations which are symbolic of the wider critical issues of our times. 1 The Inspector from[Read More…]
There are many kinds of social movements and it is understandable that social movements are often preoccupied with their immediate demands which are likely to be of a very specific nature. At the same time there are some very basic concerns and priorities which should be common to more or less all social movements on an enduring basis. No matter[Read More…]
Co-Written by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies President-elect Biden’s choice for Secretary of Defense has turned out to be one of the most controversial and difficult of his Cabinet appointments. The early front-runner, Michèle Flournoy, was originally seen as a shoo-in and was touted as a great breakthrough for women, but her hawkish views have provoked serious concerns.[Read More…]
Many news from the Empire interest many readers, as the Empire itself is interesting. It’s interesting due to its economy, politics and diplomacy, part of its geostrategic and geotactical games, and for its audacity and arrogance, and for its hated character, and for its perished core, which lies in its home, in its economy. International news agency AFP’s news-report “Pandemic[Read More…]
Narayan Govind Sagar, a 74-year-old farmer in Sangli district of Maharashtra, holds a Below Poverty Line ration card. He has four acres of land, but ground is rocky and there is little water, so farming is hard. Despite all this, though, he is quite parsimonious and managed to save Rs25,000. He went to the ICICI Bank at Khargani village[Read More…]
(Report of the Virtual Meet of All India Peoples Front held on 5.12.2020) In order to save the corporate economy undergoing a period of deep economic crisis, the Modi government legislated three anti-farmer acts by passing them in a highly undemocratic manner in Parliament. Similarly, by creating anti-worker Labour Code, all the rights acquired after long struggles have been trampled. Even provision has[Read More…]
There is growing unease at the inexplicable delay on the part of the union government in accepting the well-justified demands of the farmers’ movement. It is by now widely recognized that the three controversial farm laws are not justified and were somehow pushed through with undue hurry. The government representatives have already accepted the need for several amendments and the[Read More…]
AIKSCC APPEALS FOR SUPPORT & SOLIDARITY WITH “BHARAT BANDH” ON DECEMBER 8 – CALLS FOR MASS PROTESTS BY ALL DEMOCRATIC & PROGRESSIVE MASS ORGANISATIONS, TRADE UNIONS, TRADERS, ASSOCIATIONS & GUILDS This is an appeal from All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) to all democratic & progressive mass organisations across India including trade unions, students’ organisations, women’s organisations, teachers’ organisations,[Read More…]
Withdraw the 3 Pro-Corporate, Anti-Farmer Laws: Uphold Farmers Sovereignty Over Agriculture Historic Farmers Resistance is a Struggle to Reclaim Democracy from Fascists National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM) expresses its complete solidarity with ongoing farmers’ nation-wide protests and endorses the Bharat Bandh on 8th December. The call has come after several rounds of failed negotiation between the protesting farmers in[Read More…]
On November 30, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation (CEIEC) – a state-owned company specializing in engineering and defence electronics – for having provided technological support to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s administration. The CEIEC has been supporting the state firm National Anonymous Telephone Company of Venezuela[Read More…]
Dr.BR Ambedkar (1891-1956) was remembered across the country on his death anniversary, December 6. It has become a showy ritual for many, more so for the most oppressive, fraudulent and corrupt rulers, the big media ready to give them plenty of coverage that is denied to burning issues of the day. They are interested more in making a stony[Read More…]
Security think tanks are the leeches of industry. Attached to their appropriate field, they compile analysis that is supposedly masterful, insightful and even useful. Reports can recommend courses of action, from a troop surge in a failing war, to an increase of defence spending in bolstering cyber capabilities. Bunkered in these institutes, the think tanker achieves eminence by detecting what[Read More…]
Noam Chomsky is right when he says that, in the US, sports creates the necessary “fantasy world” required to shield people from understanding, organizing, and attempting to “influence the real world”. Referring to sports commentary and phone-in shows, Chomsky, in an interview with AlterNet, marveled at the intellectual and analytical skills of people engaged in the sports culture. Ultimately, however,[Read More…]
Media all over the world ran headlines similar to this: Lawmakers hear bombshell allegations of Georgia election fraud. CBS 46, ADAM MURPHY, DEC 3, 2020 Thursday, a Georgia Senate Judiciary subcommittee heard new jaw-dropping allegations of alleged election fraud in the state from several people including President Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani. For the first time, the president’s legal team,[Read More…]
“And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint; And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profits shall this birthright do me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him:[Read More…]
In the military realm, Donald Trump will most likely be remembered for his insistence on ending America’s involvement in its twenty-first-century “forever wars” — the fruitless, relentless, mind-crushing military campaigns undertaken by Presidents Bush and Obama in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia. After all, as a candidate, Trump pledged to bring U.S. troops home from those dreaded war zones and,[Read More…]
Stop. Think. To me, the first word that comes to mind is development. Cambridge Dictionary defines development as the process by which something grows or changes and becomes more advanced. In Economics, development is irretrievably tied with persistent growth with the most popular metric for measuring such growth: GDP. As a consequence, some countries are considered developed, and others, like[Read More…]
On the death anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – the architect of the Indian constitution – South Asian activists came together to raise their voices against growing repression of religious minorities and political dissidents in the world’s so called largest democracy. Organized by the Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) on Sunday, December 6, the rally was called in response[Read More…]
Oppose the Modi Government’s farm laws meant to favour the big business and buttress the Centre’s autocracy The UCCRI(M-L) supports the call for a Bharath Bandh on December 8, 2020 given by the various farmers’ organizations to oppose the Modi Government’s farm laws. These farm laws are meant to favour big business houses to enter into production and distribution of[Read More…]
“Education should be so revolutionized as to answer the wants of the poorest villager, instead of answering those of an imperial exploiter.” Mahatma Gandhi With Article 21A being introduced in the Constitution, elementary education became a fundamental right to all the children from the age of six to fourteen years. With the Right to Education Act 2009, it became the[Read More…]
“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members” Mahatma Gandhi Indian economy was in doldrums even before the pandemic. COVID-19 has dealt it a fatal blow. Millions of livelihoods have been lost, millions of families permanently forced into abject poverty. The economists and ruling party politicians have offered various “solutions” which[Read More…]
Co-Written by Dr. Md Afroz & Md Tabrez Alam 6 December 1992 was the day when Babri Masjid was demolished and it was the day when Muslims realised the horrific trailer of Hindu-Rashtra. This was the day of minority’s illusion of equality and egalitarian fade away and the credibility of state badly damaged in failing to provide safety & security[Read More…]
Several Hindi newspapers continue to support “Love-Jihad” law, carrying stories and opinion pieces in upholding it. “Love-Jihad” is an unproven conspiracy theory designed and propagated by the Hindutva forces to demonize the Muslim men for feigning love for the Hindu women. According to the Hindutva narrative, Muslim men marry Hindu women and later convert them into Islam for changing[Read More…]
The year coming within days, 2021, is shaping up to be a humanitarian catastrophe and rich countries must not trample poor countries in a “stampede for vaccines” to combat the coronavirus pandemic, top U.N. officials told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly on Friday. World Food Programme (WFP) chief David Beasley and World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke[Read More…]
These are things that might have been done earlier. During the last, flickering days of the Trump administration, activity is being witnessed across countries which have a US troop presence. Numbers are being reduced. Security wonks are getting the jitters. Is the imperium shrinking? Will President elect Joe Biden wake up and reverse the trend? With the Beltway foreign policy[Read More…]
On December 5 the 5th round of talks of farmers’ representatives with the government in Delhi was not successful, but the situation was redeemed somewhat by a statement made by the Union Agriculture Minister at the end of the 5 hour talks. Speaking in a very gentle voice he told media persons that he would like to thank farmer leaders[Read More…]
The peasantry of Punjab belonging to 32 different organisations of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Co-ordination Commitee have literally written a new chapter in history after igniting a spark into a Prairie fire. Arguably in the entire world has a farmers movement hit such a crescendo. There is hardly a adjective in the dictionary that can do justice to the[Read More…]
A journey is forgotten once it is made, these days the journey goes on, continuously on like seasonless serials on internet tv journeys his and his theirs, same these men who come to us in photographs as moments of their worlds, captured in reel, more than one cared to know, now it sends a chill down our spines, now real[Read More…]
The Hindutva governments led by BJP in India are brazenly attacking Muslims, students, journalists, writers, human right activists, youths, farmers and marginalised communities. These assaults are integral to RSS and its ideology of Hindutva politics. The suppression of civil liberty is growing. The independent judiciary and free democratic institutions are abjectly surrendering to the Hindutva project shaped by the crony[Read More…]
Anand Teltumbde in conversation with Vidya Bhushan Rawat “ Sangh Parivar has not begun using Babashaeb Ambedkar today. It started way back in 1980s. Initially, Ambedkar was an anathema to it because of his utterances against its Hindu religion… But when Deoras, the lowest profile Sarsanghchalak, took over the RSS, he gave a clear strategic direction…It was during his period[Read More…]
According to a statement (December 4, 2020) of the Science and Technology minister Harsh Vardhan a new campus with in the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala would be named “Shri Guruji Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar National Centre for Complex Disease in Cancer and Viral Infection”. Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar was the second Supremo of the RSS (1940-1973) and the[Read More…]
Spanning some 60 years of employment, this writer has some conclusions. Of course, these are from my own personal experiences. Yet, having spoken with a myriad of working stiffs over the years, perhaps this analysis is valid. During those 60 years of work, I think only twice , for a mere two weeks and then 5 months, did I work[Read More…]
We, the Core Group members of the Vikalp Sangam, stand in solidarity with the ongoing farmers’ protests for the repeal of the newly enacted farm laws – The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. We[Read More…]
The movement of farmers, with its epicenter on the borders of the capital city but also having manifestations in many parts of the country, has attracted widespread attention. This is clearly a very important movement. It is attracting a large number of farmers and getting strong material and emotional support from several sections of society. However attracting a large number[Read More…]
On 6th December, 1956 a great son of India Dr. B.R. Ambedkar breathed his last breath leaving behind billions of his followers in tears. His followers pay tributes to this visionary social scientist by Celebrating 6th December as Mahaparinirvan Day. In contemporary world, the thoughts and vision of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar are still alive in the minds and hearts of[Read More…]
Denmark has decided to end all oil and gas activities in the North Sea by 2050 and has cancelled its latest licensing round, saying the country is “now putting an end to the fossil fuel era.” “We are now putting a final end to the fossil era,” said Denmark’s climate minister Dan Joergensen, a Social Democrat. Greenpeace called it “a[Read More…]
The farmer is the provider of food (Anndata) to the world, but in today’s system, he often has a craving for grains. People thrive in towns and cities using his earnings, but only disasters come in his share. The crop dries due to droughts. Floods submerge fields. But a big disaster over these two comes when the price of the[Read More…]
A Chinese official has used a cartoon showing an Australian soldier threatening a child with a knife to rightly castigate US lackey and serial war criminal Australia over horrendous Australian war crimes in Occupied Afghanistan. Australian politicians, journalists, academics and commentators have indignantly responded by falsely describing the cartoon as a doctored image or fake image, and ignoring passive mass[Read More…]
If one were to get into the head of Australian government MP Andrew Hastie, a security tangle of woe would no doubt await. Having been a captain with the Special Air Services and having also served in Afghanistan, he has been none too thrilled by the publicity soldiers he served with have received. The report by New South Wales Court[Read More…]
Venezuelans are set to vote in elections like no other in the country’s recent history when they go to the polls to elect a new National Assembly (AN) on December 6. Ever since Hugo Chavez’s victory in the 1998 presidential election, electoral contests in the South American country have been highly polarised between the pro-Chavez, pro-poor Bolivarian Revolution and the[Read More…]