Archive for January, 2021

Health and Education Sectors Desperately Need High Budget Allocations, But They  Need Something More Too

Health and Education Sectors Desperately Need High Budget Allocations, But They  Need Something More Too

All those concerned are eagerly looking forward to significantly increased allocations for health and education sectors in the new union budget, particularly in the former, as so much loss has been suffered in these two sectors that several years of steady, even if slow, progress has been pushed back. People suffering many serious non-Covid diseases were denied essential medical help[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Why MSP is Not Just A Budget Issue!

Why MSP is Not Just A Budget Issue!

The issue of minimum support price or MSP for various crops grown by farmers has seldom attracted the kind of intense debate as has taken place in recent times, due to the ongoing farmers’ movement. There is wide agreement that government should provide  MSP based purchase for various crops, as this helps to ensure and stabilize a fair price for[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 1 comment India
Gandhi Remembered Amidst Falsehood And Half-Truths

Gandhi Remembered Amidst Falsehood And Half-Truths

  MK Gandhi was remembered across the board, on his death anniversary, January 30, but amid a flood of lies and half-truths in the Big Media, and clouding up truth about what happened in broad daylight on January 26, in capital Delhi. Gandhi is linked with Truth and non-violence, cited as basic tenets of his life and work. But the[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 1 comment India
Wider Meanings of Indian Farmers Movements to Reclaim the Republic and Beyond

Wider Meanings of Indian Farmers Movements to Reclaim the Republic and Beyond

In the darkness of nights, the Hindutva fascists and their trained henchmen are trying to attack farmer’s protests and provoke violence with the help of police. The objective of the BJP government is to discredit the peaceful and democratic movements of the Indian farmers. All slanderous campaign by the ruling classes against farmers movements have failed. But the days of[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 1 comment India
Viral Inequality and the Farmers’ Struggle in India  

Viral Inequality and the Farmers’ Struggle in India  

According to a new report by Oxfam, ‘The Inequality Virus’, the wealth of the world’s billionaires increased by $3.9tn (trillion) between 18 March and 31 December 2020. Their total wealth now stands at $11.95tn. The world’s 10 richest billionaires have collectively seen their wealth increase by $540bn over this period. In September 2020, Jeff Bezos could have paid all 876,000[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 2 comments India
First, They Came For Our Masks

First, They Came For Our Masks

First, they came for our masks! Then they came for our muzzles! But… we’d been masked for so long We all felt naked without them! We’d been muzzled for so long, We couldn’t find our voices! Naked and voiceless, we wandered in darkness. “Didn’t there used to be a sun?” someone wondered, Pointing…. “Didn’t there used to be a moon?”[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
A New U.S. Foreign Policy

A New U.S. Foreign Policy

President Biden has inherited a terribly flawed US foreign policy. For the past few decades, the pro-corporate US foreign policy has been a catastrophic failure, especially in the Middle East. Our criminal military interventions there have resulted in the devastation of much of that area, impoverished millions, created millions of refugees, and injured or killed millions more. Moreover, this criminal[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Rosa Parks and Equal Rights

Rosa Parks and Equal Rights

Rosa Parks learned to stand her ground for which she was hauled off to jail. This incident wasn’t the first time, nor the last time, that an Afro-American would be incarcerated for an act of civil disobedience. Her arrest was due to this event: A bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama ordered her to give up her seat in the “colored”[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Livelihood Crisis Greatly Aggravated in Covid Times

Livelihood Crisis Greatly Aggravated in Covid Times

Written by Bharat Dogra & Kumar Gautam While India had serious unemployment and livelihood protection problems even earlier, the Covid crisis accentuated these problems in unprecedented ways for some weeks, also leaving behind longer-term serious impacts. A report by Oxfam on Covid-time inequalities has highlighted this aspect of the crisis and recommended  shorter as well as longer term measures to[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Voices Which Help to Understand Critical Phase of the Farmers’ Movement

Voices Which Help to Understand Critical Phase of the Farmers’ Movement

There has been a lot of interest in the farmers’ movement and many people in distant parts of the India, and even outside India, feel a strong emotional connect with the movement. Recently this movement has been passing through a critical phase . It is useful to see what some well-informed persons in important positions have said in this context.[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The unraveling of a script in two parts and writing a new Script

The unraveling of a script in two parts and writing a new Script

Written by Amit Bhaduri and Chaman Lal The script of collaboration is in two parts. The first part was written long ago when the once revolutionary Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was released after long years from prison in the Andamans. He collaborated with the British as he had promised in several petitions for mercy he had written to the British authorities[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Elderly Iranian Jews, Daniel Zargari and Neisan Massaband, watch elderly Muslim, Azizzeh Asgarzadeh, from right, draw at the Iranian Jewish convalescent home in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday Sept. 26, 2007. Oct. 1 has been designated the International Day of Older Persons, IDOP, by the United Nations, in recognition of the world's rapidly ageing population. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)

Population Problem Today

ABSTRACT Today no one is talking of controlling population any more. Fertility rates are falling all over the world and many governments are encouraging births; giving monetary support and withdrawing free contraceptives and free vasectomy operations. The new problem is that of ageing. No one is prepared to talk of decreasing the longevity. Increasing longevity has long been a marker[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Protest against lapdog media held to mark Gauri Lankesh’s birthday in Canada

Protest against lapdog media held to mark Gauri Lankesh’s birthday in Canada

Members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) came together on Saturday January 30,to mark the birth anniversary of a slain journalist, outside the Indian visa and passport center in Surrey. Gauri Lankesh was a critic of the current right wing Hindu nationalist government. Born on January 29, 1962, she was assassinated in 2017 by suspected Hindu extremists. Her murder[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Here On The Edge Of Hell, Stands Harlem

Here On The Edge Of Hell, Stands Harlem

The U.S. celebrates February as Black History Month and one of the prominent prospects of African-American history is Jazz Poetry; poetry that mirrors jazz-like rhythm or feels of improvisation, i.e. the jazz milieu. Jazz poetry was initially conceived in the 1920s as a voice of acceptance, racial pride and expression of individualism. The 1950s oversaw the focus shift towards spontaneity,[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Was Mahatma Gandhi a true crusader for liberation?-Tribute on 73rd anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination 

Was Mahatma Gandhi a true crusader for liberation?-Tribute on 73rd anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination 

Exactly 73years ago  Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu Communal fanatic who made an impact on humanity at large as few individuals ever did in the history of mankind. Whether for good or evil. few men ever on the face of this earth could mobilise or influence people to the extent or manner Gandhi did .Arguably there is no[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The Big Lie And Endless Grievances

The Big Lie And Endless Grievances

In the U.S. the strident arguments put forward that “voter fraud” has taken place in the recent election continues to resonate with a segment of the population. What do the deniers really want? Is it a return to a status which kept Blacks and Indigenous in a secondary role? Is it that those who have, up to the present, been[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The somnambulist

The somnambulist

not that i sleep and walk or walk and sleep or read and sleep or sleep and read not that my head nods when a tractor collides headlong with a police van parked beyond barbed wire not that i stand outside a tent and peep on a langar where slogans and rotis roast on a large griddle treat me as[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 1 comment Arts/Literature
On Intellectual Property

On Intellectual Property

This article seeks to elaborate an argument that I had merely touched upon, at the beginning of another article. I would like to reproduce here the relevant portions of that argument first, to facilitate its elaboration here: …I would like to present my ideological and political stand on intellectual property, which, baldly put, is that it is not, and should[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Martyr’s Day: Recalling Gandhi’s Vision of Freedom and Liberty as Creating an Inclusive, Plural, Tolerant India with a Sense of Humour!

Martyr’s Day: Recalling Gandhi’s Vision of Freedom and Liberty as Creating an Inclusive, Plural, Tolerant India with a Sense of Humour!

On 30th January, 2021, we mark the 73rd anniversary of the very date when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by someone who did not share his vision of an inclusive and plural India. The PUCL would like to mark this important date by remembering the values which Gandhiji stood for which are under threat today. We want to remember a Gandhiji[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Mahatma Gandhi’s Enduring Message of Non-Violence

Mahatma Gandhi’s Enduring Message of Non-Violence

         In a world increasingly troubled by violence and strife Mahatma Gandhi’s message remains highly relevant today, 73  years after the assassination of this man of peace. Gandhi’s work and writings covered a very wide range of activities, but perhaps what present-day  world needs to learn most from Gandhi is his overwhelming emphasis on non-violence to resolve any conflict or[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 2 comments Life/Philosophy
Contribution of Gandhian Ideas in Responding to the Survival Crisis

Contribution of Gandhian Ideas in Responding to the Survival Crisis

          The concept of survival crisis refers to the emergence of life-threatening conditions on our planet due to factors like accumulation of weapons of mass destruction and a range of very serious environmental problems led by but not confined to climate change. This is the most serious problem on earth today, but the recognition of this by more and more[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Admiral Ramdas Writes Open Letter To The President Of India: Break The Terrible Divide Between Kisans, Jawans And Our People

Admiral Ramdas Writes Open Letter To The President Of India: Break The Terrible Divide Between Kisans, Jawans And Our People

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT AND SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE ARMED FORCES OF INDIA Shri Ramnath Kovind President of India and Supreme Commander Rashtrapathi Bhavan New Delhi 110001                                        Dear President and Supreme Commander, Shri Kovind ji, I am writing to you, as my Supreme Commander, to inform you that I am deeply concerned and saddened by the turn of[Read More…]

by 30/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The Identity Of The Assassins Of Gandhiji As Disclosed By Sardar Patel

The Identity Of The Assassins Of Gandhiji As Disclosed By Sardar Patel

The world is mourning the 73rd anniversary of MK Gandhi’s assassination by the Hindutva terrorists on January 30, 1948. RSS, the most prominent flag-bearer of the Hindutva politics and cadres of which rule India today reacts angrily whenever the truth is spoken or written that the criminals who assassinated Gandhiji were not only part of the ideological world-view of Hindu[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
False Cases Are Slapped On Farmers’ Leaders

False Cases Are Slapped On Farmers’ Leaders

CDRO strongly condemns the continuing targeting and intimidation of the farmers’ protests/ foisting false cases against farmers’ leaders and arrest of protesting farmers 26th January 2021 will go down in history as a landmark day in the history of independent India. It is not yet another Republic Day because farmers decided to celebrate the adoption of the Constitution of India[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
It’s Facebook versus India’s Farmers

It’s Facebook versus India’s Farmers

The tug-of-war between Indian farmers and government over new laws facilitating corporate takeover of the country’s agriculture is getting uglier by the hour and likely to get quite bloody too. And when the blood does flow, it will not only be the hands of Indian corporates that will be drenched in red but also those of global investors backing them.[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India, Editor's Picks
In A Democracy What Should be the Ideal Response of Government to Peaceful Protest Movements?

In A Democracy What Should be the Ideal Response of Government to Peaceful Protest Movements?

Peaceful protest movements by various sections of people are an essential part of a democracy. A government in a democracy should respond to smaller movements at  an initial stage at a decentralized level so that the issues are tackled at an early stage and there is no need for protests to become too big and overwhelming. Systems should be in[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Understand the chronology

Understand the chronology

Attempt to vilify and intimidate the farmers movement will fail. The modus operandi of those guiding the north block is amply known to all who have followed their actions since 2002. First try to intimidate a protest followed by efforts to prolong it deliberately, then create disturbance among them by infiltrating anti social elements in these movements. The shameless loudspeakers[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The Government Attitude Towards  Farmers’ Movement Needs Basic Change

The Government Attitude Towards  Farmers’ Movement Needs Basic Change

There are several indicators of a hardening attitude of the government towards the farmers’ movement. Therefore it needs to be emphasized at this juncture that a policy of repression will be very harmful for the nation and those who are committed to peace, democracy and justice within and outside government should do all they can to prevent this. There is[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Government Efforts To Sabotage Farmers Movement Condemned

Government Efforts To Sabotage Farmers Movement Condemned

Samyukta Kisan Morcha has released a Press Statement late night on 28th January, after observing the latest actions by Modi and Yogi Government at Ghazipur Border. The Statement has been produced here in full: Samyukt Kisan Morcha condemns the action by Uttar Pradesh police in cutting off basic facilities for the protesting farmers at Ghazipur Border and its attempts to[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 1 comment India
What Philosophers say about Coronavirus Prevention?

What Philosophers say about Coronavirus Prevention?

Written by Thomas Klikauer and Nadine Campbell The 2020-2021 coronavirus is by no means the first pandemic that has impacted people’s lives. Throughout history, philosophers have contributed to our understanding of what pandemics mean and how to fight them. Self-evidently, philosophers are dedicated to philosophy. Like the term pandemic originating in Greek’s pandēmos – “pan” or “all” linked to “demos”,[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Boris Johnson and the Deaths of the Hundred Thousand

Boris Johnson and the Deaths of the Hundred Thousand

Not exactly Thermopylae.  Not even close.  The hundred thousand who have now been taken by COVID-19 in Britain were not determined warriors holding up the forces of a mighty empire to save their land.  They were the innocent victims of infection, mismanagement and miscalculation.  Central to the policy which led to such losses was a practised bumbling which has become[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 1 comment World
Covid-19 Makes the Rich Richer, the Poor Poorer: That is Capitalism

Covid-19 Makes the Rich Richer, the Poor Poorer: That is Capitalism

“When the laws undertake to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of the society have a right to complain of the injustice to their government.” — President Andrew Jackson P B Shelly invoked an injunction from the Bible to explain the effect of capitalism in widening the gap between haves and have-nots. “The rich get richer[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Students in Thailand wage epic protests against the monarchy

Students in Thailand wage epic protests against the monarchy

College and high school students began to hit the streets in February 2020, angered at the government outlawing the only opposition party in parliament — the Future Forward Party. When Covid-19 struck and all schools were shut down, the rebellion stalled. But not for long. Deepening anger at suppression of free speech and mounting economic need erupted in mid-July as[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Unequal before the law

Unequal before the law

The founders of the US Constitution accepted social inequality in many spheres, but they did insist on equality in one sphere. All citizens must be equal before the law. That is, the law must apply equally to all. No one must enjoy legal immunity, not even – indeed, especially not — those chosen to govern the country. For otherwise the new[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The Power of Magick: Why Materialists, Atheists And Marxists Need It

The Power of Magick: Why Materialists, Atheists And Marxists Need It

 Magick is the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the Will.   ― Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth            ORIENTATION Throwing the baby out with the bathwater In two articles I wrote in 2019, Facing the Music: Religion, Nationalism and Sports Have Enchanted the Working Class; Socialism Hasn’t  and Re-Enchanting Socialism: How Not to Throw[Read More…]

by 29/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
If US Foreign Policy Toward Palestine is any Indication, Trump is Here to Stay

If US Foreign Policy Toward Palestine is any Indication, Trump is Here to Stay

As I watch the unfolding political drama of the impeachment trial in the US Senate, the glimmer of hope for change I had following the incredible scenes at the Capitol on Jan 6 is being dimmed. The question in my mind now is whether it is even possible, with the tools being used by Joe Biden, to turn the tide[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
The Pentagonization of America

The Pentagonization of America

Written by Mandy Smithberger and William D. Hartung This month’s insurrection at the Capitol revealed the dismal failure of the Capitol Police and the Department of Defense to use their expertise and resources to thwart a clear and present danger to our democracy.  As the government reform group Public Citizen tweeted, “If you’re spending $740,000,000,000 annually on ‘defense’ but fascists dressed[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Will Biden End America’s Global War on Children?

Will Biden End America’s Global War on Children?

Written by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies The first day of the 2020 school year in Taiz, Yemen (Ahmad Al-Basha/AFP) Most people regard Trump’s treatment of immigrant children as among his most shocking crimes as president. Images of hundreds of children stolen from their families and imprisoned in chain-link cages are an unforgettable disgrace that President Biden must move[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
And Flowers Die

And Flowers Die

“Nothing ever seems to last promises made promises lost and pride is kept at any cost and flowers die and children cry and lonely people carry on.” She was tired, but not too tired to go to work. Matter of fact, she was lucky to be able to have a job. So many of her friends were still at home,[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
We Have Had Enough of Answering – No Lessons Needed on Composite Culture

We Have Had Enough of Answering – No Lessons Needed on Composite Culture

Contrary to popular opinion, that theory and practice are two irreconcilable extremes, the fact is the two are sequential steps, where theory must precede practice and not the vice versa. While in theory rests the intellectual part, the practice covers the operational aspects of any revolution. Any effort to switch the process would result in catastrophe. To elaborate further, every[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Mercenaries of Capitalism

Mercenaries of Capitalism

“Economic Hitmen (EHM) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the Globe of trillions of dollars…funnel money from W.B, US.AID, …into coffers of huge corporations and into the pockets of a few wealthy families…tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, pay off, extortion, sex and murder…” (1). EHMs arrange loans larger than the country’s ability to pay; it defaults and[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Of double quotations and contradictions

Of double quotations and contradictions

The abject servility of the mainstream media to the US imperialist order is once again on naked display, as anti-Putin protests surge across Russia and the new Joe Biden administration seeks to capitalize them. In contradistinction, headlines, comments and presentation styles of stories on anti-Putin protests and the recent pro-Trump protest in the U.S. Capitol, would yield the hypocrisy, ulterior[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
COVID: Health experts call for greater vigilance

COVID: Health experts call for greater vigilance

  “Even as the surge in COVID-19 cases has sent ominous signals across districts in Kerala, the state and civil society should have shown utmost vigilance in the direction of containing the pandemic,” says Dr B. Ekbal, Chairman, Kerala State Expert Committee on COVID-19 and member, Kerala State Planning Board. He was speaking at a Web-Colloquium on “COVID Keralam: What[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 1 comment India
The India I Loved

The India I Loved

kitnaa hai badnasiib zafar dafan ke liye do gaz zamiin bhii na milii kuu-e-yaar men Exiled in Rangoon in the colonial British India, the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar wrote these lines, which expresses regret for the fact that he was not allowed a burial in his own beloved country. Used emblematically as the figurehead for the 1857 revolt,[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 5 comments India
DV Rao on  India’s Constitutional System (Part-2)

DV Rao on  India’s Constitutional System (Part-2)

This is Part-2 of the article. Part-1 was published on Jan 26 : https://countercurrents.org/2021/01/dv-rao-on-constitutional-system/ “The essential feature of the Constitution is to provide with certain limited democratic rights with one hand, and take them back with another hand,” DV Rao analyses in his court statement. “The Constitution grants all powers to the ruling classes to snatch away all freedoms, which[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 2 comments India
B’Tselem’s Historic Declaration: Israel’s Open War on Its Own Civil Society

B’Tselem’s Historic Declaration: Israel’s Open War on Its Own Civil Society

“A Regime of Jewish Supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is Apartheid,” was the title of a January 12 report by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem. No matter how one is to interpret B’Tselem’s findings, the report is earth-shattering. The official Israeli response merely confirmed what B’Tselem has stated in no uncertain terms. Those of us[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The Will to Believe: Americans and their Divine Masters  

The Will to Believe: Americans and their Divine Masters  

“Ah, mon cher, for anyone who is alone, without God and without a master, the weight of days is dreadful.  Hence one must choose a master, God being out of style.”    – Albert Camus, The Fall Propagandists are smart people. They begin their devious machinations with the premise that people need to believe in something rather than remaining suspended in[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Majority Report

Majority Report

There is something at the very core about us that needs to change.  This cannot be emphasized often enough.  We need to change how we think.  How we think of ourselves, our place in creation, how we think of how we live, how we think of our relationships to the diversity of planetary life, to structures, elements, systems of nature[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Counter Solutions
Is This The Chauri-Chaura Moment In The Farmers’ Satayagraha?

Is This The Chauri-Chaura Moment In The Farmers’ Satayagraha?

On 1 August 1920,  Asahyog Andolan or a Non-cooperation Movement, the first of the three major Satyagrah in the course of the country’s freedom movement, was launched by the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. As part of this, the people would stop cooperating in the functioning of the government – give up their government jobs, titles[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Negotiating Peaceful Farmer Leaders Should Not Be Blamed For Violence

Negotiating Peaceful Farmer Leaders Should Not Be Blamed For Violence

Nearly 40 leaders of unions of farmers have been negotiating with the government regarding important demands of farmers for over 8 weeks. In the course of negotiations the representatives of the government including the Agriculture Minister have expressed their appreciation of the disciplined and peaceful nature of the protest. Others in the national and international media also appreciated this. The [Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Some Significant Aspects of the Forthcoming Union Budget

Some Significant Aspects of the Forthcoming Union Budget

The forthcoming union budget is considered to be of extraordinary importance as it is being presented in the middle of a serious economic crisis. More specifically there are exceptionally high under-achievements regarding GNP and revenue receipts combined with very pressing needs of several sectors at the same time. Whatever the constraints, the budget of health and education sectors has to[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The ring has finally arrived!

The ring has finally arrived!

You guessed it right. I am talking about the dapivirine vaginal ring (DPV-VR), which is one of the top advances happening in the field of microbicides. It is the first long acting prevention product whose Phase-3 randomised controlled studies have shown that using the dapivirine vaginal ring reduced the risk of HIV infection in women and long-term use was well-tolerated.[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Hindutva Conspiracy Against Historic Farmers’ Struggle Foiled

Hindutva Conspiracy Against Historic Farmers’ Struggle Foiled

The Hindutva stooge,  Deep Sidhu with his real Masters. He is the culprit who tried to derail the historic farmers struggle by putting up a religious flag at Red Fort on January 26, with no Delhi police which works under the Indian home minister Amit Shah, a senior RSS cadre who is often described ‘Iron Man’ by the Hindutva gang[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The Pandemic: Global cases top 100 million

The Pandemic: Global cases top 100 million

Global COVID-19 cases topped 100 million Tuesday as virus mutations continue to create new concerns, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. Although the U.S. makes up just over 4 per cent of the world’s population, the country remains the leader in recorded cases of the COVID-19, also identified as coronavirus, with more than 25 million infections. India ranks[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Conspiracy of BJP Government in Delhi

Conspiracy of BJP Government in Delhi

Conspiracy of  neo-fascist state to give an anti-national tilt to one of India’s most genuine revolutionary democratic agitations of all time in Delhi on Republic day  Tragically a historic peaceful march in the Capital of over 20 lakh peasants has been foisted as  a conspiracy against the nation. By the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.The sinister act of hoisting the Sikh[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 1 comment India
Attempt to vilify the farmers Protests will not create a healthy atmosphere for negotiations

Attempt to vilify the farmers Protests will not create a healthy atmosphere for negotiations

The tractor rally on Republic Day in Delhi allegedly turned violent at several places as the protesters clashed with the police and tried to remove the barricade but these incidents could be termed as stray as given the nature of it things could have gone out of control. Ofcourse, the attempt to run through a tractor trolley in and around[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Dr Jayan Jose Thomas, IIT Delhi

“Job challenge for the young is critical in India”

“India has been facing a tough challenge in creating decent jobs for its growing young population in the country and the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated the job challenge in India,” according to Dr. Jayan Jose Thomas, Member, Kerala State Planning Board and faculty at the IIT, Delhi. Dr Jayan Jose was speaking at the Web-Colloquium[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The Syncretic Lore of Guru Nanak’s Legacy

The Syncretic Lore of Guru Nanak’s Legacy

While skirmishes continue to line the borders of India, Sameer Arshad Khatlani, author of The Other Side of the Divide, explores the deeply embedded syncretic elements in the heritage left behind by the founder of Sikhism. Part of his legacy still lives on in Pakistan. ‘Beating of Retreat’ Ceremony at International Border at Wagha. Photo Courtesy: Wiki Poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal’s ‘tremendous work’, wrote German writer Hermann[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Chembaka Raman Pillai: forerunner of Rash Behari Bose and Subhas Chandra Bose

Chembaka Raman Pillai: forerunner of Rash Behari Bose and Subhas Chandra Bose

Unsung hero of freedom struggle who was brave enough to defy Hitler in his own land This story is the story of that unsung hero of the Indian freedom struggle who stood at the forefront to fight for Indian Independence, even before Gandhiji, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (NSC Bose), and many other dignitaries who got their place in the recorded[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Why There Are So Many Policy Failures Despite the Existence of Democracy and Batteries of Experts

Why There Are So Many Policy Failures Despite the Existence of Democracy and Batteries of Experts

The incidence and frequency of major policy failures has been increasing in some of the major countries of the world , including the USA, UK, Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan, to mention only some of the more obvious examples. This has brought immense and avoidable distress to hundreds of millions of people, apart from inflicting other longer term[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Beyond Slogans: Palestinians Need an Urgent, Centralized Strategy to Counter Israel in Africa

Beyond Slogans: Palestinians Need an Urgent, Centralized Strategy to Counter Israel in Africa

Arab normalization with Israel is expected to have serious consequences that go well beyond the limited and self-serving agendas of a few Arab countries. Thanks to the Arab normalizers, the doors are now flung wide open for new political actors to extend or cement ties with Israel at the expense of Palestine, without fearing any consequences to their actions. African[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 2 comments World
Thomas Cole, “The Course of Empire: Destruction.”

While America Was Sleeping- Waking from a Four-Year Fever Dream to Find Global Power Gone

After four years of Donald Trump’s fitful tenure, America is awakening from a long, troubled sleep to discover, like the fictional character Rip Van Winkle, that the world it once knew has changed beyond all recognition. In that classic American tale by Washington Irving published in 1819, an amiable but shiftless farmer strolls out of his colonial village to go[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Is This Revolution Truly Rinky-Dink?

Is This Revolution Truly Rinky-Dink?

During the late 60s, when the US war on Viet Nam was going strong and people were questioning capitalism, I drove from Eugene to Berkeley where my sister was living.  I ran into folks who invited me to a discussion about starting a commune. There, everyone talked about dropping out of consumer society and buying land to get away from[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Neoliberalism and State in the Age of Pandemic

Neoliberalism and State in the Age of Pandemic

The doxa of neoliberalism as the post second world war dominant ideology spreads utilitarianism, narrow visions of life, individualistic values, and competitive-essentialist knowledge traditions that destroy the emancipatory and collective foundations of social, political, cultural and economic life. It has dismantled the collective foundations of families, states and governments. The ideological and political differences have submerged within different waves of[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
India’s Tribes: Unfolding Realities 

India’s Tribes: Unfolding Realities 

India has witnessed a sea change in its social structure and political culture since Independence. Despite the progressive developmental model that the country has followed, we are witness to fissiparous tendencies that is on the path of dividing the Indian masses based on religion, ethnicity and caste ladder. Unquestionably, there is a need to develop a fresh approach to dismantling[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Limitations of Several Approaches to Environment Protection

Limitations of Several Approaches to Environment Protection

When we see all around that so much  is being said and done in the name of environment protection, it seems very surprising that on the whole environment protection is not really progressing and environmental conditions are in fact deteriorating from the point of view of most indicators. This situation can be better understood if we see clearly the different[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
‘Republic’ at Delhi’s borders: the making of a new collective

‘Republic’ at Delhi’s borders: the making of a new collective

Since the time of Pandemic led lockdown different sectors of Indian economy were experiencing the heat and stress. Particularly significant is the case of agriculture. Agriculture constitutes a very important aspect of people’s social and economic life and not merely of the farmers and traders. Annual growth rate of agriculture in real terms has been constantly low in past several[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Sikh Flag at Red Fort or Ram temple tableau in Republic Day parade: Which is Outrageous?

Sikh Flag at Red Fort or Ram temple tableau in Republic Day parade: Which is Outrageous?

Those incensed with the hoisting of a Sikh flag on Red Fort should actually be angry over the tableau of Ram temple in Republic Day parade of a secular nation The ongoing farmers’ agitation in India took a dramatic turn on January 26, when some protesters stormed the iconic heritage Red Fort building in New Delhi and raised Nishan Sahib[Read More…]

by 27/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Earth’s ice melting at record rate, finds study

Earth’s ice melting at record rate, finds study

The world’s ice is melting so fast that sea level rise predictions cannot keep up. The ice melting is faster today than in the mid-1990s, new research suggests, as climate crisis nudges global temperatures ever higher. In the 1990s, the Earth’s ice was melting at a rate of about 760 billion tons per year. That has surged 60 percent to[Read More…]

by 26/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
Farmers Breach Red Fort; One Farmer Dead

Farmers Breach Red Fort; One Farmer Dead

India’s historic farmers’ tractor parade breached police barriers and briefly took control of the historic Red Fort. The agitating farmers climbed on a pole and foisted a flag sacred to Sikh religion. There were violent clashes between farmers and the police. One farmer died in the commotion in ITO. Police used tear gas on groups of farmers and resorted to[Read More…]

by 26/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Iraq: Biggest Corruption Scandal in History

Iraq: Biggest Corruption Scandal in History

‘A colonizer never leaves the colony in the hands of honest people’ – Iraqi saying In her article “Iraq’s century of humiliation in the globalised age”, Aneela Shahzad writes: “In May 2020, the Special Representative of Secretary General for the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq announced that the poverty rate in Iraq would double to 40% from around 20%, where[Read More…]

by 26/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Freedomwashing

Freedomwashing

We make equipment, we give it to our so-called allies[in the Middle East], who we don’t even know who the hell they are… 2,300 Humvees sent over. A couple of shots are fired and these guys run like a bunch of thieves, which they are. Our allies. Our allies. And ISIS picks up the weapons, the Humvees, the this. It’s[Read More…]

by 26/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Patriarchy
Kisan Sansad Makes Important Contribution to Better Understanding of Farmers’ Movement

Kisan Sansad Makes Important Contribution to Better Understanding of Farmers’ Movement

At a time when the farmers’ movement is in the middle of a courageous and much needed struggle for preventing the farming and food movement from falling further into the stranglehold of big business interests, it is of great importance that many leading social activists and public-spirited intellectuals got together to organize a kisan sansad ( farmers’ parliament ) with[Read More…]

by 26/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Inequalities of Health Systems Increased Distress in Covid Times

Inequalities of Health Systems Increased Distress in Covid Times

Written by Bharat Dogra& Kumar Gautam India is known to have a highly unequal health system which creates problems even in  normal times. However, in Covid times these problems created by inequalities and unequal access in health systems were greatly accentuated , reinforcing the need to reduce inequalities in health system. A report by Oxfam released very recently on January[Read More…]

by 26/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
DV Rao on Constitutional System

DV Rao on Constitutional System

India has a Constitutional autocracy, DV Rao, veteran revolutionary and an MP,  told the Court, in his assessment of India’s  Indian Constitutional System DV Rao, veteran revolutionary and an MP This is Part-1 of an article. Com DV Rao. Devulapalli Venkateswara Rao (Born 1917 June 1- died on 1984 July 12),  prominent communist revolutionary of India, had a political life that[Read More…]

by 26/01/2021 3 comments India
Photo credit: National Press Club

Rob Malley for Iran Envoy: A Test Case for Biden’s Commitment to Diplomacy

 Written by Medea Benjamin and Ariel Gold President Biden’s commitment to re-entering the Iran nuclear deal—formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA—is already facing backlash from a motley crew of warhawks both domestic and foreign. Right now, opponents of re-entering the deal are centering their vitriol on one of the nation’s foremost experts on both the[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Wealth Of Indian Billionaires Increased 35% During Covid Pandemic

Wealth Of Indian Billionaires Increased 35% During Covid Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in India made the rich richer said a report by Oxfam. The report – titled The Inequality Virus – said the wealth of the country’s billionaires increased by an estimated 35 per cent during the lockdown, while 84 per cent of households suffered varying degrees of income loss, and 1.7 lakh people lost[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 1 comment India
 The ‘humanitarian’ left still ignores the lessons of Iraq, Libya and Syria to cheer on more war

 The ‘humanitarian’ left still ignores the lessons of Iraq, Libya and Syria to cheer on more war

The instinct among parts of the left to cheerlead the right’s war crimes, so long as they are dressed up as liberal “humanitarianism”, is alive and kicking, as Owen Jones revealed in a column last week on the plight of the Uighurs at China’s hands. The “humanitarian war” instinct persists even after two decades of the horror shows that followed[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Oxfam Report Makes Strong Case For Economic Recovery To Be Led By Reduction of Inequalities

Oxfam Report Makes Strong Case For Economic Recovery To Be Led By Reduction of Inequalities

Written by Bharat Dogra and Kumar Gautam An important report prepared by Oxfam titled ‘The Inequality Vitus’ ( as also its India supplement), released on January 25, has made a strong case for the economic recovery path to be led by reduction of inequalities. Similarly it argues that for strengthening the crucial health and education sectors inequalities in these sectors[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Get the vaccine shot but do not throw away the mask to fight COVID-19

Get the vaccine shot but do not throw away the mask to fight COVID-19

The message from all scientists is very loud and clear that vaccines alone will not be able to stem the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after getting vaccinated, we will have to continue to wear masks, maintain physical distancing, wash hands frequently and avoid congregated settings, to break the chain of transmission of the virus. Some leading scientists such[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Impressions from the Farmers’ Protest- Will It Last?

Impressions from the Farmers’ Protest- Will It Last?

“Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet….” Mick Jagger and Keith Richards sang in 1968. I was reminded of this song, the moment I reached Singhu border of Delhi. Although the sounds were not of marching and charging feet, but the song resonated with what I saw. As is common knowledge now, the country is witnessing a mass[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Republic Day May Be Just the Right Time for the Government to Reach Out to Farmers, Minorities and Political Prisoners

Republic Day May Be Just the Right Time for the Government to Reach Out to Farmers, Minorities and Political Prisoners

The Republic Day is the time of the year when feelings of national unity and working together to create a better India are at their highest level among all the citizens of India. This may be just the right time for the Government of India, and more particularly for the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, to reach out to the[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Government, Farm Laws And Farmers: Is it an uneven match?

Government, Farm Laws And Farmers: Is it an uneven match?

The farmers’ peaceful protest demanding repeal of the farm laws began on 26 November 2020, Constitution Day, non-violently overcoming physical and political obstacles, to encamp at the gates of Delhi. The repeal-the-farm-laws “ball” served to government by the farmers, was tossed into the Supreme Court by government. Without hearing pending petitions questioning the constitutional validity of the farm laws, the[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Biden in the White House:  Is US on the mend?

Biden in the White House:  Is US on the mend?

Biden is in and Trump is out. Despite all the drama, America’s flawed democracy has managed to make the will of its people prevail. Americans have got their President, Mr. Biden that they voted for. Mr. Biden was officially sworn in on 20th January 2021 as the 46th President of the United States of America and sadly, due to COVID[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 3 comments World
Indirect Deaths

Indirect Deaths

The Massive and Unseen Costs of America’s Post-9/11 Wars at Home and Abroad “I got out of the Marines and within a few years, 15 of my buddies had killed themselves,” one veteran rifleman who served two tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq between 2003 and 2011 said to me recently. “One minute they belonged and the next, they were[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
J’accuse: Joe Biden’s policy on Israel isn’t “transformative” or “decent”

J’accuse: Joe Biden’s policy on Israel isn’t “transformative” or “decent”

Many are noting happily that Joe Biden’s flurry of executive orders are “surprisingly” progressive … and decent. In an essay in Jacobin titled ‘If Joe Biden Moves Left, You Can Thank the Left’, Lisa Featherstone acknowledges that, though “deeply implicated in much of what is wrong with America and the world today,” Biden nevertheless appears to be doing the right[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 1 comment World
The ‘Insurrection’ and Its Discontents: ‘American Exceptionalism’ Revisited 

The ‘Insurrection’ and Its Discontents: ‘American Exceptionalism’ Revisited 

History is being written in the United States today. Even the most pessimistic about the prospects of American democracy have rarely ventured out this far while offering a bleak analysis of America’s future, whether in terms of political polarization at home or global standing abroad. As shocking and, certainly, telling as the images of thousands of American protesters taking over[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Life in a Rehabilitation Center

Life in a Rehabilitation Center

While in a US rehabilitation center, one has to be able to basically accept and get along with an assortment of people from many different cultures, ethnic groups and countries. Indeed, lots of staff members in a rehab place originated from various lands around the world rather than just the U.S. All the while, most of the residents were born[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Why can’t Supreme Court hear on this issue?

Why can’t Supreme Court hear on this issue?

January 11 remains a great day in the current history of the Supreme Court when it strongly stood by the agitating farmers. Chief Justice of India Mr Justice Sharad A Bobde was humane, highly reasonable and was in right form in questioning the political executive’s complete failure in dealing with the farmers agitation against its unconstitutional laws. But the interim[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Remembering Michael Madhusudan Dutt

Remembering Michael Madhusudan Dutt

Michael Madhusudan Dutt is considered as a poem, who played a key role in turning poetry from the age of ancient to modern. He is the only poet who dared to change the philosophy of art of epic, for which, people of Bangladesh will never forget him. Today Monday is the 197th anniversary of the birth of the great poet.[Read More…]

by 25/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Taiwan Tension: U.S. carrier group enters South China Sea

Taiwan Tension: U.S. carrier group enters South China Sea

Tensions are rising in the South China Sea. A Taipei, January 24, 2021 datelined Reuters report said: A U.S. aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas”, the U.S. military said on Sunday, at a time when tensions between China and Taiwan have raised concern in Washington.[Read More…]

by 24/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
What’s Right vs The Right on 26th January

What’s Right vs The Right on 26th January

The farmers and the Govt’s rallies will run parallel on Republic Day. Which one makes the point? From first being noticed to gathering worldwide recognition to now cruising at a steady momentum the farmer’s protest has been going strong since it emerged from Punjab and Haryana, joined later by the other states of India. Amongst everyone but mainstream news outlets[Read More…]

by 24/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Villagers Will Bring Stray Cattle To Yogi Adityanath’s Residence On 26 January

Villagers Will Bring Stray Cattle To Yogi Adityanath’s Residence On 26 January

Yogi Adityanath is very fond of cows. He gets his adverstisement published feeding jiggery to cows. On the other hand villagers in Uttar Pradesh are fed up of stary cattle. These animals graze crops standing in fields. The cow sheds which have been started by the government are non-functional. There is no arrangement to feed them. As a result they[Read More…]

by 24/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
 Review: “The Unraveling of America” by Wade Davis – Covid, Omissions, Truth Spectrum & UDHR Article 25

 Review: “The Unraveling of America” by Wade Davis – Covid, Omissions, Truth Spectrum & UDHR Article 25

“The Unraveling of America” by anthropologist Professor Wade Davis was the most-read of tens of thousands of stories published by Rolling Stone in 2020. He argues that Covid-19 signals the end of the American era, that the moral and economic failure evident in the US Covid-19  disaster will help end the post-WW2  American economic, military  and ideological domination of the[Read More…]

by 24/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
PUCL and 100 Organisations demand the repeal of the UAPA

PUCL and 100 Organisations demand the repeal of the UAPA

Activists, Advocates and commoners came together virtually to discuss and demand the repeal of the UAPA and underlined the legal, socio-cultural issues around it in a consultation organised by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties.  ——– IN a session packed with human stories of abuse and misuse of law where activists and commoners were abused, the People’s Union for Civil[Read More…]

by 24/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
The Great Reset Initiative or The Great Neoliberal Capitalist Lie

The Great Reset Initiative or The Great Neoliberal Capitalist Lie

As the mutilating power of Coronavirus strikes on lives and livelihoods and create havocs across the globe, the Davos priests of the World Economic Forum have started ‘the Great Reset Initiative’ to manage the consequences of the pandemic. It rightly recognises the urgent need for global cooperation to end the uncertainties and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis. There is[Read More…]

by 24/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
While Repeal of Three Controversial Farm Laws is a Must, A Wider Vision is Also Needed Urgently

While Repeal of Three Controversial Farm Laws is a Must, A Wider Vision is Also Needed Urgently

While the union government inexplicably finds it so difficult to agree to the simple, straightforward and well-justified demand of repeal of three controversial farm laws, social movements as well as public spirited intellectuals have been quickly reaching near consensus on supporting this most emphasized demand of the farmers’ movement. One point of consensus is that these three laws will make[Read More…]

by 24/01/2021 1 comment India
The  Sangh Parivar Should Prevail Upon The Government to Change Its Stand on the Three Controversial Farm Laws

The  Sangh Parivar Should Prevail Upon The Government to Change Its Stand on the Three Controversial Farm Laws

Sometimes when a very powerful person in the family has become unreasonably adamant and is not listening to the good advice coming from several sides, then it is the duty of family members  themselves to come forward and convince the powerful member of the family to stop being adamant  and accept the good advice that is coming from many well-intentioned[Read More…]

by 24/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
 The Captive Media in the USA

 The Captive Media in the USA

          “A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.” – Joseph Pulitzer A media system set up to serve the needs of the Financial Institutions will not serve the interests of the majority of the population. Media ownership, since the Bill Clinton deregulation, has been greatly concentrated and globalized.  1. Its[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
‘Un-Trumping’ America   

‘Un-Trumping’ America   

With Joe Biden’s assumption of office as 46th President of the United States, there are expectations of a ‘liberal internationalist’ foreign policy set to emerge from Washington. However, the new team in the White House knew from the first day in office that this would not have been possible without constant recalibration. Many would have little dispute that Donald Trump[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Pulling together to tide over the pandemic: Lessons from Bengaluru

Pulling together to tide over the pandemic: Lessons from Bengaluru

Madhu[1], 39, works as an electrician in a private firm in Bangalore. In July 2020, while the pandemic was still at its height, his wife, elderly mother and father and Madhu all tested positive for Covid 19. Madhu lives in a ward in Bangalore where the NGO Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) is actively working with communities in providing[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Kashmir: Romance And Rigours Of Snow

Kashmir: Romance And Rigours Of Snow

In the Himalayan valley of Kashmir, the year 2021 was greeted by one of the heaviest snowfalls in the last 10 years in terms of snow depth accumulated during January 3 and 6. The highest accumulation of 4.49 ft was recorded at Qazigund, a highway town, 73 km south of the capital city of Srinagar, followed by 3.13 ft at[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Uncategorized
 Freedom

 Freedom

Freedom —   All the while, they talk of freedom. What has freedom rendered them?   Has it given them the ability to soar? To fly? Has it given voice to their inner souls?   Has it helped them rise? Has it got rid of diseases? Has it got rid of prisons that bar the mind — of human constructs[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
Widespread Opposition of Arrest Warrant Against Eminent Journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

Widespread Opposition of Arrest Warrant Against Eminent Journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

On January 19, a court in Gujarat issued an arrest warrant against eminent journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta in a defamation suit filed by the Adani Group. Since then several leading media organizations and commentators have voiced strong opposition of this action against a senior journalist with many-sided achievements in print journalism,  TV and documentary films. Thakurta has also been working[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Common Myths About Human Progress

Common Myths About Human Progress

There are several widely held myths about human progress which have persisted widely for a long time and the wide persistence of these myths has itself become an obstacle in the path of progress. Perhaps the most common myth is of the inevitability of progress over a long period of time. It is taken for granted that if we compare[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Post-Trump World: Is Democracy Dying in America As Well?

Post-Trump World: Is Democracy Dying in America As Well?

We know it’s fashionable to hypothesize that democracy is “dying” in the post-Cold War world. It’s true not only for some of the postcolonial democracies in the Third World, and some “new democracies” Eastern Europe, but of late, seemingly, it’s also true about the United States. I refer to the cover story of Foreign Affairs, “Is Democracy Dying? A Global Report”[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 4 comments World
 Brainwashed To Violence

 Brainwashed To Violence

When brainwashed to commit violence, your conscience doesn’t prick when you kill. The barbaric actions at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 were taken by Americans convinced by Donald Trump and others that violence—even war—is essential to secure the nation, democracy, and freedom. Consequently, when rioters killed one police officer, savagely beat another, tried to gouge out the eye of[Read More…]

by 23/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Revisiting The Back-Stabbing Of Netaji By Hindutva Gang On His 125th Birth Anniversary

Revisiting The Back-Stabbing Of Netaji By Hindutva Gang On His 125th Birth Anniversary

The 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose falls on on January 23, 2021.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a senior RSS cadre who identifies himself as Hindu Nationalist will be in Kolkata to inaugurate the celebrations given the nomenclature, ‘Parakram Diwas’ [Valour Day]. According to the RSS-BJP government January 23rd will continue to be commemorated as ‘Parakram Diwas’ in future[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
400 + Days of Unjust Arrest: Free Akhil Gogoi

400 + Days of Unjust Arrest: Free Akhil Gogoi

National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) is deeply anguished at the continued incarceration of Akhil Gogoi, well-known peasant leader of Assam. The past two weeks have been particularly poignant, as one the one hand, it marked over 400 days of Akhil in jail, while on the other, his bail application, which came up for hearing after protracted delay was declined[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Complex Life Threatened

Complex Life Threatened

Throughout the world, scientists are speaking out like never before. They’re talking about an emergency situation of the health of the planet threatening “complex life,” including, by default, human life. It’s scary stuff. On this subject, America’s green NGOs prefer to address the danger by sticking to a middle ground, don’t scare people, too much doom and gloom backfires, turns[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 2 comments Climate Change
American trust in the mainstream media hits an all-time low

American trust in the mainstream media hits an all-time low

New data from Edelman shows that American trust in media is at all-time low. While 56% believe that journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead, 58% think news organizations are more interested in ideology than facts, and only 18% of Republicans trust the media versus 57% of Democrats. As a whole, 46% of Americans of all political stripes say they[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
40th Anniversary of Gang Of Four Trial In China

40th Anniversary of Gang Of Four Trial In China

On January 25th we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the historic show trial of Chiang Ching,Wang Hognwen,Chang Chun Chiao and Yoa Wen Yuan or the’ gang of four ‘ in China.    There could have been no better illustration of how after 1978 under Deng Xiaoping China turned into a Social fascist state .The verdict of the trial was the[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
How Aakar Patel Under-Read The Character Of Hindu Rashtra? A Review Article

How Aakar Patel Under-Read The Character Of Hindu Rashtra? A Review Article

  Aakar Patel starts his timely and well-researched book Our Hindu Rashtra: What It Is. How We Got Here with a sentence “Majoritarianism is primitive and easy to do”. He surmises that establishment of Hindu Rashtra, which has only one meaning, that a Kshatriya king should rule the Hindu Rashtra under the supervision of a Brahmin head priest. Such a Hindu[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
What is Progress?

What is Progress?

A lot of problems have been caused by the fact that there has not been  enough careful thinking on what constitutes human progress and it has been often just taken for granted that progress has been taking place over long periods of time, interrupted occasionally perhaps by some short-term disruptions. This leads to the curious  anomaly of periods of aggravation[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Immortal Wins: India Defeats Fortress Australia

Immortal Wins: India Defeats Fortress Australia

It was never meant to be like this.  After the Indian cricketing team met misery and disaster in the first test match at Adelaide, registering a paltry 36 in its second innings, little hope was had for the touring side.  Australia threatened rout and massacre.  The Border-Gavaskar trophy seemed within the home side’s grasp. And the home side had every[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Why politicization is not the bad thing it is made out to be, and the case for politicizing public grievances

Why politicization is not the bad thing it is made out to be, and the case for politicizing public grievances

These days it has become a common invective to denounce particular popular actions as ‘political’ or ‘politicized’ in order to delegitimize them. This is a tactic that has traditionally been employed by all ruling parties in India’s political history, but has become an especially handy tool for the Bharatiya Janta Party and its supporters within the media and public. The[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The Farm Laws will be back-breaking for the agricultural labourers too

The Farm Laws will be back-breaking for the agricultural labourers too

The Three Farm Laws passed by the Central Government will be burdensome for the agricultural labourers, city poor and other marginal sections of the society along with the farmers. Presently, Punjab Government under the Public Distribution System, distributes 420 million, 69 thousand and 500 quintals of wheat on 3.6 million and 57 thousand ration cards, and it covers nearly 14[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Bidarakere, near Pavagada

Karnataka High Court Directs Revenue Secretary To Demonstrate Compliance In ESG Lakes PIL

For almost two years now, Chief Justice Mr. Abhay Oka of the High Court of Karnataka has systematically developed jurisprudence to protect lakes as our commons, and for posterity. This is being achieved by his orders in a PIL filed by Citizens Action Group (CAG) PIL (WP 38401/2014). The jurisprudence reaffirms a schema for protecting and rehabilitating lakes based on[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The fatal consequences of high atmospheric methane levels

The fatal consequences of high atmospheric methane levels

It is hard to think of a more Orwellian expression than that describing the increase in toxic atmospheric methane gas as “gas-led recovery.” Several of the large mass extinctions of species in the geological past are attributed to an increase in atmospheric methane (CH₄), raising the temperature of the atmosphere and depriving the oceans from oxygen. Nowadays a serious danger to the[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 1 comment Climate Change
To Working Stiff Trump Supporters

To Working Stiff Trump Supporters

I too am a working stiff like you all. Unlike you I had no aspirations in regard to Donald Trump. I must say that I ditto that towards Joe Biden, yet I voted for him… biting my tongue. I would never have voted for Biden if not for who he was running against, a megalomaniac preaching this Proto Fascist agenda.[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
After earth, is human body a dumping ground to microplastics?

After earth, is human body a dumping ground to microplastics?

Researchers finding microplastic in the placenta of pregnant women buzzes precursor alarms to life on earth. Plastic has prevailed in every sphere of the planet earth, from deepest trenches in the ocean to the highest mountains; even the mother’s womb could not escape plastic. By 2040, scientists estimated that earth would be dumped with 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic, in[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Do You Remember Cuba’s Dedication to Angola?

Do You Remember Cuba’s Dedication to Angola?

Cuban blood left its stamp on the conscience of the world after the Angolan Wars of 1975-1988.  Corporate politicians are united in their desire for us to ignore this reality. *                                              *                                              * Fed up with foreign wars, Portuguese officers overthrew Prime Minister Marcello Caetano on April 25, 1974.  Many former colonies had the opportunity to define their own future.[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The Future of War, American-Style

The Future of War, American-Style

A Bidenesque Tour of America’s Regional and Global Military Adventures Hard as it is to believe in this time of record pandemic deaths, insurrection, and an unprecedented encore impeachment, Joe Biden is now officially at the helm of the U.S. war machine.  He is, in other words, the fourth president to oversee America’s unending and unsuccessful post-9/11 military campaigns.  In terms of active U.S.[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Hello Mumbai! Are you adhering to all Covid guidelines?

Hello Mumbai! Are you adhering to all Covid guidelines?

The film industry people gathered in Mumbai on January 21 for the muhurat (initiation ceremony) of a biopic titled ‘Bangabandhu’. It is a joint collaboration between Bangladesh and India. This photo was given with the press release. From the above picture one can see more than a dozen people are gathered together who are not wearing a mask and standing[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Reclaiming ‘Truth’ from ‘Lies’ and ‘Bullshit’ in the ‘Post Truth’ Society

Reclaiming ‘Truth’ from ‘Lies’ and ‘Bullshit’ in the ‘Post Truth’ Society

Truth as Interpretation There can be different versions of truth from what has been already accepted as truth. In 1951, renowned Japanese moviemaker Akira Kurosawa made one of the greatest movies in history, titled Rashomon. No other movie must have better investigated the philosophy of truth and justice than this movie. Rashomon establishes that it is possible for us to[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The Kisan Andolan and Union Government: Understanding the Impasse

The Kisan Andolan and Union Government: Understanding the Impasse

After several rounds of talks between the representatives of Kisan organisations and a group of ministers the deadlock continues. There is no further progress towards settling the issues/demands raised by the Kisan movement. This Impasse is causing a lot of hardship for the participants in the cold and harsh winter weather. It has already taken life of several farmers, more[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The Most Obvious and Important Role of Humanity  is Now the Most Neglected and Violated

The Most Obvious and Important Role of Humanity  is Now the Most Neglected and Violated

Ever since the dawn of human life, philosophers as well as common people have often pondered on the meaning and role , the goal and aims of human life. Many ideas have emerged, some interesting and valuable, others clumsy and risky. When humanity is examined not just in isolation but in integration with  nature and  environment, and all the millions[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Counter Solutions
COVID-19 Vaccine hesitancy: Understanding the challenges

COVID-19 Vaccine hesitancy: Understanding the challenges

Written by Dr. Sudhamshi Beeram, Dr. Arathi P Rao and Prof. K Rajasekharan Nayar   While the Government rolled out the much-awaited vaccination drive against the pandemic, the beneficiaries are hesitating to avail the vaccine due to mis-information and fear. The number of healthcare workers turning up for the vaccination have remained low in many states of India. The reasons[Read More…]

by 22/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Farmers’ Protests Reflect Existential Crisis of Indian Agriculture

Farmers’ Protests Reflect Existential Crisis of Indian Agriculture

With over 800 million people, rural India is arguably the most interesting and complex place on the planet but is plagued by farmer suicides, child malnourishment, growing unemployment, increased informalisation, indebtedness and an overall collapse of agriculture. Given that India is still an agrarian-based society, renowned journalist P Sainath says what is taking place can be described as a crisis of civilisation[Read More…]

by 21/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
As Trump Departs, America Is Anti-Supremacist At Home But Pro-Supremacist For Israel

As Trump Departs, America Is Anti-Supremacist At Home But Pro-Supremacist For Israel

In the wake of the January 6 insurrection, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would have us believe that the United States and Israel have a common enemy. Pelosi implies that the American insurrectionists whose ideologies are rooted in racism, xenophobia and supremacy represent a threat to both the US and Israel — i.e., she believes antisemitism threatens the well-being and sanctity of the[Read More…]

by 21/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Combining Constructive Work With Struggles—An Important Lesson of Freedom Movement

Combining Constructive Work With Struggles—An Important Lesson of Freedom Movement

One of the most inspiring aspects of the freedom movement in India was the combination of struggle and constructive work. While several great freedom fighters contributed to this idea, the most important contribution to this concept was made by Mahatma Gandhi. This has attracted worldwide attention and rightly so. Gandhiji understood very well that the freedom movement involves long-term commitment,[Read More…]

by 21/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
WhatsUp with WhatsApp?

WhatsUp with WhatsApp?

We are social beings and need company, affirmation, and friendship. Traditionally we sought that in face-to-face interactions, the most remote form of it was the penfriend. Someone we had never met but who we wrote letters to. We protected our identity and personal information and guarded it jealously and would go ballistic if even our parents, closest relatives or friends[Read More…]

by 21/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Propaganda Against Farmers’ Movement

Propaganda Against Farmers’ Movement

It is a very important part of the quest to create a better and safer world that just as we should know what to adopt, similarly we should know what to avoid. All ideologies based on a mix of inter-faith hostility ( called communalism in India), fundamentalism and sectarianism should be avoided like plague. Whether ideologies based on sectarianism, communalism,[Read More…]

by 21/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Hindutva way of normalising violence

Hindutva way of normalising violence

The pestilence of Coronavirus has given free hand to the Hindutva fascists in India to undermine all democratic norms and constitutionally established institutions. The caste, class and gender based structural violence is ubiquitous. Both the organised and fragmented nature of Hindutva violence is accelerated by the current political regime led by BJP government under the leadership of Mr Narendra Modi.[Read More…]

by 21/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Our Sister

Our Sister

Our sister has been taken Another sister taken Cruelly Violently She leaves behind Sadness Distress Anger She leaves behind Children Sisters, Brothers Friends All with work to do They will not let These feelings Take control and Overwhelm them They will harness them Employ them And with determined minds Continue her unfinished work In this way She will not be[Read More…]

by 21/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
When is usury usury? Turkish fatwa casts doubt on Erdogan’s religious soft power drive

When is usury usury? Turkish fatwa casts doubt on Erdogan’s religious soft power drive

Turkey’s state-controlled top religious authority has conditionally endorsed usury in a ruling that is likely to fuel debate about concepts of Islamic finance and could weaken President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to garner religious soft power by projecting Turkey as a leader defending Muslim causes. The ruling, issued by the Directorate of Religious Affairs or Diyanet that is part of[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Photo by Ratan Luwangcha

Camels, Angels and Needle head of Cinema

The quest for the new and the undiscovered has driven mankind all through its existential evidence on the planet. At some point the discoveries and the load of knowledge going with them were categorized into different faculties such as science, arts, history and many more. Even the broader faculties had to be further sub-categorized into finer branches for the sheer[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
Remembering Comrade Saketh Rajan

Remembering Comrade Saketh Rajan

6th February 2021 marks the 16th anniversary of Comrade Saketh Rajan’s Martyrdom. The name Saketh Rajan needs no introduction in the revolutionary communist circles of India. It is important to remember Comrade Saketh Rajan and the path he took in order to liberate the people of this country from the clutches of Imperialism, Comprador Big Bourgeoisie and Big Landlords. Comrade[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The Moral Strength Of Struggle And Service

The Moral Strength Of Struggle And Service

Written by Sandeep Pandey, Simran Kaur and Harleen Sandhu The Bhartiya Janata Party and its historical ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh have used religion in manipulating the sentiments of the masses to gain political mileage, strengthening its grassroots presence as well as skyrocketing its electoral mandate. A mosque was demolished a few decades ago to mobilize the Hindu votes in[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Farming: The Real Problem May Often Be Different From Its Outward Manifestation

Farming: The Real Problem May Often Be Different From Its Outward Manifestation

While trying to find sustainable, durable solutions to problems which have been building up over a long time, it is very helpful to keep in mind that the outward manifestation  is not necessarily the real problem or its core. This is very evident in the context of  farming where a number of serious problems have been building up over the[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The Neo-fascist Legacy of Donald Trump

The Neo-fascist Legacy of Donald Trump

After the US Capitol was attacked by his supporters, Donald Trump has become the first president of America to be impeached twice. Regardless of how he leaves the White House – the Senate won’t act on the impeachment before Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021 – the neo-fascist seeds he has sown won’t stop germinating. Even after the brazen attempt to overturn[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Tunnel

Tunnel

In this journey through the dark tunnel Many beautiful people travelled with me Some took different lanes and disappeared Some landed up again in the same tunnel This love for a walk in darkness Kept us moving in a constant high All I know is that there is a light behind And a light in a distant front I know[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
Support the Struggle of the Farmers: It Is Our Struggle Too

Support the Struggle of the Farmers: It Is Our Struggle Too

The farm laws will lead to the corporatisation of agriculture and its control by foreign agribusiness corporations. Our very food sovereignty and thus the sovereignty of the country itself is at stake. As we write this, lakhs of peasants – men, women, youth and children – are camping at entry points to the country’s capital, demanding the scrapping of the[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Biden on Biodiversity: The Silence and the Promise

Biden on Biodiversity: The Silence and the Promise

On January 6, 2021, as many of us in the United States were glued to TV watching the horrors of the insurrection against the U.S Capitol, the AFP News in France posted, on its Facebook page, an infographic built with data provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which “confirmed the extinction in 2020 of 36 plant[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Fearing the Palestinian Narrative: Why Israel Banned ‘Jenin Jenin’

Fearing the Palestinian Narrative: Why Israel Banned ‘Jenin Jenin’

On January 11, the Israeli Lod District Court ruled against a Palestinian film-maker, Mahmoud Bakri, ordering him to pay hefty compensation to an Israeli soldier who was accused, along with the Israeli military, of carrying out war crimes in April 2002, in the Palestinian Jenin refugee camp located in the northern occupied West Bank. The case, as presented by Israeli[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
About Suffering: A Massacre of the Innocents in Yemen

About Suffering: A Massacre of the Innocents in Yemen

In 1565, Pieter Bruegel the Elder created “The Massacre of the Innocents,” a provocative masterpiece of religious art. The painting reworks a biblical narrative about King Herod’s order to slaughter all newborn boys in Bethlehem for fear that a messiah had been born there. Bruegel’s painting situates the atrocity in a contemporary setting, a 16th Century Flemish village under attack[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Why Azerbaijan is Unfit to Rule over the Armenians of Artsakh

Why Azerbaijan is Unfit to Rule over the Armenians of Artsakh

Corrupt, sadistic, and run by a hereditary dictatorship, Azerbaijan is unfit to rule over others, least of all Armenian Christians. Yet that iniquity could materialize due to the recent 44-day war by Azerbaijan, Turkey, and terrorist jihadis against the Artsakh Republic (Nagorno-Karabagh) and Armenia. The November 9, 2020 armistice could force democratic, Armenian-governed Artsakh (pop. 150,000) into Azerbaijan’s (pop. 10[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 1 comment World
Antifa(scism) is the Antidote to Full-Throated American Fascism

Antifa(scism) is the Antidote to Full-Throated American Fascism

Under no circumstances will white supremacy, authoritarian fascism, and rollbacks of global human rights be tolerated “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” – Sinclair Lewis* “…another generation of American antifascists has been called to duty.” – Dr. Glen Barry * quote disputed yet salient The American Capitol defiled by traitorous[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 3 comments World
Democracy USA? NO!!!

Democracy USA? NO!!!

You look at what they call  ‘ The Industrialized world’ and you can get a feel for how they run their democracies. Canada, France, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea and Scotland, to name a few, all have at least FIVE  viable political parties. Germany and Italy have SIX. The UK has SEVEN. Japan and Sweden have EIGHT.  Norway has NINE. [Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The Rubble of Empire

The Rubble of Empire

How can you tell when your empire is crumbling? Some signs are actually visible from my own front window here in San Francisco. Directly across the street, I can see a collection of tarps and poles (along with one of my own garbage cans) that were used to construct a makeshift home on the sidewalk. Beside that edifice stands a[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
A Watershed Moment for Farm Policy—For World and For India

A Watershed Moment for Farm Policy—For World and For India

It is important to realize that the world is in the middle of a watershed moment for farm policy. So is India. Let us first consider the world situation. The most critical issue to consider here now and in coming years relates to climate change and related environmental  problems which constitute a survival crisis for the life-nurturing conditions of our[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Type, Stereo, Stereotype

Type, Stereo, Stereotype

Devraj Singh Kalsi gives a unique perspective on the Farmer’s Protest in India The nation knows them as truck-drivers, transporters, dhaba-owners (eatery-owners), soldiers, and farmers who made the nation green with revolution (and envy) half a century ago. They perform these jobs so well that nobody in India wants them to do anything else. It would be a waste of time and resources[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Budhan Theatre: Art As An Expression Against Oppression

Budhan Theatre: Art As An Expression Against Oppression

Founded in 1998 by Prof. Ganesh Devy, a well-known critic and linguist and Smt. Mahasweta Devi, a Magsaysay awardee and noted Bangla Author, Budhan Theatre is an Indian Theatre Group that is composed of members of the Chhara tribe. The name of the theatre is taken from Budhan Sabar, a tribal man who was labelled a criminal and murdered by[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
Life after 2020: Need for a new vision on health

Life after 2020: Need for a new vision on health

A futuristic vision was very much evident in India at different points of time starting with the Bhore committee report.  At the international context, a futuristic orientation in health and wellbeing was discernible from an official and institutional framework related to proclamation of goals, firstly the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), followed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Around the same[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Navalny in Moscow, and the Empire intones

Navalny in Moscow, and the Empire intones

The old tone is now set again. There’s Navalny, a Russian opposition politician the Empire finds useful, and there’s concern by Mr. Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor of US President-elect Joe Biden. Alexey Navalny was detained in a Moscow airport upon his return from Germany on January 17, 2021. Mr. Sullivan has demanded Russia immediately releases Navalny. It’s that[Read More…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Condemn Land Grab & State Excesses for ‘Green Energy’ Project in Assam: Release All Arrested Farmers of ‘Mikir Bamuni’

Condemn Land Grab & State Excesses for ‘Green Energy’ Project in Assam: Release All Arrested Farmers of ‘Mikir Bamuni’

NAPM condemns the police-state atrocities against Karbi and adivasi farmers of ‘Mikir Bamuni Grant’, protesting the ‘questionable purchase’ of their  cultivable land in the name of ‘Green Energy’. Stop arrests, police persecution and intimidation, violence against women & villagers: Release all arrested farmers immediately . Govt of Assam must recognize the tenancy rights of farmers under the Assam (Temporarily Settled[Read More…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Demolition of settlements in the Prime Minister’s own constituency, Varanasi is condemnable

Demolition of settlements in the Prime Minister’s own constituency, Varanasi is condemnable

 The Modi government has been selling the dream of a ‘Smart City’ to the citizens for years now and has spent thousands of crores on this scheme across the country. In the ranking released by the Government of India in September 2020, Varanasi held the ‘first place’ in the country. It is claimed that ‘world class’ facilities would be provided[Read More…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan: Muslims for Composite Indian Nationalism

Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan: Muslims for Composite Indian Nationalism

As per the recent communiqué from Chief Minister of Haryana M.L. Khattar’s, the Government of Haryana has decided to change the name of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Hospital in Faridabad to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hospital. So far we have witnessed the name changes by present ruling dispensation aplenty. Most of these changes involved the changing of names of roads/cities, which[Read More…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Communal Harmony
Politics of the Plate: An account of Adivasi Culinary Aesthetic in Rural Southwest Bengal

Politics of the Plate: An account of Adivasi Culinary Aesthetic in Rural Southwest Bengal

My encounter with tribal cuisine has been rather fresh. Till very recently, not only was I unaware of the enviable variety of the tribal palate, its nutritional value and ecological ethos too were beyond my comprehension. It should be made clear in the offing that my tryst with tribal gastronomy is limited to my area of field study in Southwest[Read More…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
74 Million White Supremacist, Authoritarian-Law & Order Americans Jilted

74 Million White Supremacist, Authoritarian-Law & Order Americans Jilted

With the Inauguration of Joseph Biden as the 46th President of the United States, ex-President Donald Trump will already have skulked out of Washington D.C. to his Mar-a-Largo golf club in Florida, all but tarred and feathered and run-out-on-a-rail, after having become the only American President in history to be impeached twice. Yet the reality of this scenario need never[Read More…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
COVID In the Stone Age

COVID In the Stone Age

A few months back, I tried to imagine what set us up for such a worldwide disaster as COVID 19?  I mean, if it started with fruit bats as most experts think, people have been hunting them for THOUSANDS of years! What has changed? Imagine, let’s say, in the year 1000 A.D., Hunter A goes hunting and sees bats eating[Read More…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Great Caution is Needed to Prevent Farming Getting Trapped in Unsustainable Systems

Great Caution is Needed to Prevent Farming Getting Trapped in Unsustainable Systems

Governments in many countries grapple with the challenge of retaining the support of farmers who are considered important in electoral politics. At the same time several of these governments work under the impact of powerful business interests. From the narrow point of view of these governments the skill is in somehow managing to keep both business interests and farmers happy.[Read More…]

by 19/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The Government that Honors Dr. Martin Luther King with a National Holiday Killed Him

The Government that Honors Dr. Martin Luther King with a National Holiday Killed Him

A Review of The Plot to Kill King by William Pepper Very few Americans are aware of the truth behind the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Few books have been written about it, unlike other significant assassinations, especially JFK’s. For almost fifty years there has been a media blackout supported by government deception to hide the truth.  And[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Let the farmers lead the movement

Let the farmers lead the movement

1 Each system has its own underlying dynamics which propel it forwards and also aid in its preservation and perpetuation. In India, the advancement of neo-liberalist/finance capitalist system through privatization/corporatization, which is being linked to the phenomenon of neo-imperialism, is also no exception. Since 1991, the neo-liberalist/finance capitalist system has been at the heart of the country’s policies in open[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Women Farmer Day at Protest Sites Celebrates Important Role and Deeply Emotional Support of Women

Women Farmer Day at Protest Sites Celebrates Important Role and Deeply Emotional Support of Women

Women Farmer Day is being celebrated at leading protest site Kundli as well as some other protest sites of the courageous farmers’ movement today on January 18. A large number of women arrived from several villages of Haryana and Punjab as well as other places on Sunday. They are taking over many duties today and will be participating even more[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Understanding Hindutva Neoliberalism in India

Understanding Hindutva Neoliberalism in India

Hindutva neoliberalism in India is a specific variant of capitalism that enforces economic and political oligarchy in the name of ethnic and majoritarian nationalism. It liberalises market for few to establish dominant corporate monopoly. It does not allow complete free market competition as a distributive mechanism. It allows few crony corporations to control the production processes, coordinate the distribution mechanisms,[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Bid you adieu ‘Sultan’: Remembering Sunil Kumar

Bid you adieu ‘Sultan’: Remembering Sunil Kumar

It was in 2007 that I first came across the name of Sunil Kumar while reading an undergraduate course on medieval India at Delhi University. His newly published book on The Emergence of the Delhi Sultanate, 1192-1286 (Permanent Black, 2007) had already become talk of the town by that time. In fact, he was among very few active scholars working[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Understanding the Chinese foreign policy

Understanding the Chinese foreign policy

China has been the hot topic of discussion in the foreign policy corridors of most of the countries. Some have termed its policies as expansionist some are critical of its trade policies and human rights. At the same time, to some, it is an all-weather ally. China recently thrashed nearly all countries that have criticized its handling of Covid19, sending[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 1 comment World
By ‘Force and Fraud’: Is This the End of the US Democracy Doctrine? 

By ‘Force and Fraud’: Is This the End of the US Democracy Doctrine? 

In an interview with the British newspaper, The Times, in 2015, former US Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, vehemently denied that exporting democracy to Iraq was the main motive behind the US invasion of that Arab country 12 years earlier. Rumsfeld further alleged that “the idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic.” But the US’[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Why Martin Luther King Day Should Matter

Why Martin Luther King Day Should Matter

2020 will go down as the deadliest year in American history, significantly due to the devastation delivered by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, count in nearly two trillion dollars in damage from climate events (many caused by, or heightened by, intensifying global warming), a surge of incidents of police violence inflicted on Black and Native peoples, and millions more Americans joining the ranks of the poor even as[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 1 comment World
In conversation with Devaki Jain

In conversation with Devaki Jain

‘Follow your dreams and don’t be frightened of orthodoxy’ A woman who at eighty-eight brought out her autobiography based on the urgings of among others, Alice Walker, author of  the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Colour Purple , and  Doris Lessing, the Nobel Laureate — only much later. Like Lessing’s The Golden Notebook, her biography is called The Brass Notebook. Does it talk anti-war or feminism or[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Farmers in protest: Learning from the past and creating history with a real definition of nationalism

Farmers in protest: Learning from the past and creating history with a real definition of nationalism

The following excerpt is taken from Bhagat Singh’s “Letter to Young Political Workers” (The Bhagat Singh Reader, pp. 224-245), written on February 2, 1931: The real revolutionary armies are in the villages and in factories, the peasantry and the labourers. But our bourgeois leaders do not and cannot dare to tackle them. The sleeping lion once awakened from its slumber[Read More…]

by 18/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Photo Win McNamee/Getty Images

Mobs carrying Trump “Law & Order” & Gadsen “Don’t Tread on Me’ Flags Breach Locked US Capitol Doors

Raskolnikov’s Dream Come True

“Something is happening here, But you don’t know what it is, Do you, Mr. Jones?” — Bob Dylan, Ballad of A Thin Man It’s hard. Life today seems like a dream, doesn’t it?  Surreal to the point where everything seems haunted and betwixt and between, or this against that, or that and this against us. Something. Or a Luis Buñuel film. [Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Mother of a Martyr

Mother of a Martyr

I had set off too early to catch her before the body of her slain son would reach the village. After killing young boys, the Indian security forces would return their bodies to their parents for burial. This favour had stopped now. They bury boys anywhere they think would not attract a sea of mourners. Her boy was killed in[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
In a secular democracy, media turns a zealous fundraiser for Ram Temple 

In a secular democracy, media turns a zealous fundraiser for Ram Temple 

  In a secular democracy, the mainstream media has become a zealous fundraiser for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. While it has often opposed the appearance of any religious symbol belonging to minority communities in the public sphere, it has never restrained itself from campaigning for the Hindutva forces. A recent example is the ongoing fundraising campaign[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Why India’s farm laws will never be rolled back

Why India’s farm laws will never be rolled back

In the murky netherworld of the mafia the Godfather is the one who speaks softly, but whose words carry the deadliest intent. On 15 January as yet another round of talks between agitating farmers and the Indian government failed the International Monetary Fund, an institution that heads the Mafiosi of global finance, put out a bland and very measured statement.[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
A Momentous Republic Day: Have farmers gained the initiative?

A Momentous Republic Day: Have farmers gained the initiative?

Stepping back to November 2020, farmers marched peacefully on Delhi on Constitution Day with the aim of reaching Ramlila Maidan to hold a rally objecting to the three new farm laws. Government flexed its muscle military-style to stop them, by digging up the national highway and installing heavy obstacles and razor-wire concertinas. When farmers breached the obstacles, police used tear-gas[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Too Much Democracy, Mr. Kant, Or Too Little ?

Too Much Democracy, Mr. Kant, Or Too Little ?

    So now we finally know why the Modi govt. has messed up the Farm Bills issue big time: it has advisors like Mr. Kant who no doubt firmly believe that a few more jackboots on peasant throats would have made them gladly swallow the legislation without any demur. And, for all we know, he’s the one who is[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 1 comment India
Why Albert Einstein Went to Meet Mahatma Gandhi in Heaven?

Why Albert Einstein Went to Meet Mahatma Gandhi in Heaven?

This is the third in a series of heaven-based stories, written as fantasy but very relevant to our times. The first story titled Mahatma Gandhi Returns to Earth was published in Countercurrents.org on December 11 2020 while the second story titled Mahatma Gandhi Meets Shahid Bhagat Singh was published in Countercurrents.org on January 16 2021. It was a nice relaxed[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
Pluralism Does Not Justify The Violation Of Human Rights – India Are You Listening?

Pluralism Does Not Justify The Violation Of Human Rights – India Are You Listening?

   On October 2019 Delivering a lecture on the “Indian Economy: Challenges and Prospects” at the Deepak and Neera  Raj Centre on Indian Economic Policies , Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman , Finance Minister of the Modi Government , on being asked of the revocation of Article 370 and its economic impact on the state[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Condemn the arrest and custodial sexual violence faced by Nodeep Kaur!

Condemn the arrest and custodial sexual violence faced by Nodeep Kaur!

Campaign Against State Repression demands the immediate release of Nodeep Kaur and strict action against the Haryana Police for targeting workers in the Kundli Industrial Area! On January 12th, the Haryana Police barged into the Majdoor Adhikar Sanghatan (MAS) tent erected in solidarity with the protesting farmers and peasants at the Singhu Border and arrested a 24-year-old dalit woman, a[Read More…]

King, “Americans Betrayed Their Country In Vietnam!” Now in Yemen, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan  

King, “Americans Betrayed Their Country In Vietnam!” Now in Yemen, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan  

During his 1967 New York sermon, which made bold headlines in newspapers across the world, Martin Luther King cried out”A time comes when silence is betrayal.” And that time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.” What would Rev. King say today about Americans bringing massive death and destruction to the innocent citizens and their children in Yemen, Syria,[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Illogical Thinking Leading to Illogical Actions

Illogical Thinking Leading to Illogical Actions

Preventing the assault on America’s capitol was not exclusively a policing failure; the twisted behavior culminated from inadequate response to Trump and his supporters’ unsubstantiated attacks on the validity of the 2020 election. A simple analysis could have uncovered the illogical thinking and convinced many that the charges of election fraud were fallacious. Media and public servants allowed deranged accusations[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Mr. MAGA Undone

Mr. MAGA Undone

The guys and gals at work always called him ‘ Mr. MAGA’ for several reasons. One, he always wore that red hat wherever he went. Two, he was ‘ In ‘ with Trump from 2015 when the guy first entered the presidential race. When he had a day off, or decided to take one, he always showed up at any[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Trigger Finger for Armageddon: Trump and the Thermonuclear Monarchy

Trigger Finger for Armageddon: Trump and the Thermonuclear Monarchy

It is the sort of breezy, skimpy and careless reasoning that is laying the ground for the Biden Republic.  A person, kicked off a social media babbling platform and having the means to incinerate the human race multiple times over, seen as corollaries of each other.  There should be an obvious difference, but Silicon Valley has managed to make public[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Trump may be on trial, but the system that produced him will be acquitted

Trump may be on trial, but the system that produced him will be acquitted

It is a fitting end to four years of Donald Trump in the White House. On one side, Trump’s endless stoking of political grievances – and claims that November’s presidential election was “stolen” from him – spilled over last week into a mob storming the US Capitol. They did so in the forlorn hope of disrupting the certification process of[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Linguistic Deception Used Against People and Environment

Linguistic Deception Used Against People and Environment

Linguistic deception has been increasingly used against the interests of common people and environment protection, and to advance the interests of big business, on a vast scale although in subtle and veiled ways. The most common example of this is the way in which the word ‘reform’ has been used, particular in economic discourse. The general meaning of ‘reform’ is[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Illustration by DOMINIC XAVIER, Courtesy : Rediff.com

Farm Acts emasculate protective laws

Parliament, despite its Constituent power under Article 368 to amend the Constitution, cannot legislate on state subjects, even if two-thirds of its members and half of states agree. Leaving agriculture to States is substantive part of federal character which is basic feature of the Constitution. The doctrine of basic structure laid down by Supreme Court in 1973 prevents Parliament to[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
South Asian activists burn copies of unjust Indian laws on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday

South Asian activists burn copies of unjust Indian laws on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday

On the night of Friday, January 15, the members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) came together to reject controversial Indian laws . To mark the 92nd birth anniversary of the towering US civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., they burnt copies of the contentious Indian farming law, besides Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the draconian Unlawful[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Violation of the human rights of an innocent family in Assam

Violation of the human rights of an innocent family in Assam

To Secretary National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) N.Delhi Sir, Kindly refer to my attached letter dated 4-1-2021 on arbitrary detention of Mohammad Nur Hussain, 34, a rickshaw puller in Guwahati who hails from Lawdong village in Assam’s Udalguri district, his wife Sahera Begum, 26, and their two minor children (Ages 7 & 5 years). In June, 2019, on a false charge[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Premature Death

Premature Death

Crossing the street A brush with death A thousand times Alive A door held A waiting elevator Stop Signs Back then front A stopped heart With sirens Beating again No papers exchanged Breath Deadly breath Turn away Thank you, Please, Sorry A set table Four chairs Three pieces The knife’s busy Romi Mahajan is an Author, Marketer, Investor, and Activist[Read More…]

by 17/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
Indian Farmers on the Frontline Against Global Capitalism

Indian Farmers on the Frontline Against Global Capitalism

In a short video on the empirediaries.com YouTube channel, a protesting farmer camped near Delhi says that during lockdown and times of crisis farmers are treated like “gods”, but when they ask for their rights, they are smeared and labelled as “terrorists”. He, along with thousands of other farmers, are mobilising against three important pieces of farm legislation that were[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
 The Captive Media in the USA

 The Captive Media in the USA

          “A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.” – Joseph Pulitzer A media system set up to serve the needs of the Financial Institutions will not serve the interests of the majority of the population. Media ownership, since the Bill Clinton deregulation, has been greatly concentrated and globalized.  1. Its[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The Light That Fell On The Finger

The Light That Fell On The Finger

India; It’s true.   I draw you with my toeless feet. My fingers fell out as I passed your skin. Drops of blood became your body. Parliament ; Taj Mahal; Charminar; Rashtrapati Bhavan Everything in your pride is my bloodstain. I cannot explain it without fingers. But a poem can do.     Dispassionately I closed my eyes. The divided[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
The pandemic: Global death toll tops 2M

The pandemic: Global death toll tops 2M

The global death toll from COVID-19, identified also as coronavirus, pandemic topped 2 million on January 15, 2021. The number of dead, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, U.S., is about equal to the population of Brussels, Mecca, Minsk or Vienna. It is roughly equivalent to the population of the Cleveland metropolitan area in the U.S., or the entire U.S. state[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Lessons from the Beer Belly Putsch

Lessons from the Beer Belly Putsch

In Europe we are not accustomed to seeing images on the television of thousands of Americans—right-wingers to boot—breaking the law, overrunning government buildings and violently attacking the police. By rushing the Capitol, the heart of American democracy, President Trump’s supporters demonstrated that they are ready for a fight. Many of these fanatics would love to use their weapons beyond the[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Admiral Ramdas Appeals The Government To Repeal The Farm Laws

Admiral Ramdas Appeals The Government To Repeal The Farm Laws

I am Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, former Chief of the Naval Staff . I served the country in Uniform for 45 years and came straight to this village from Delhi after retirement. First of all let me begin by offering shraddhanjali to all those who have paid with their lives during these two months of peaceful protests camping in the bitter[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
For Farmers’ Movement, This Time is Ripe for Consolidation, Not Confrontation

For Farmers’ Movement, This Time is Ripe for Consolidation, Not Confrontation

The ninth round of talks between the farmers’ movement and government representatives on January 15 again did not yield any breakthrough, but kept some hopes alive by scheduling a next round of discussions—the tenth one—for January 19. In the meanwhile the farmers’ unions and organizations will be deliberating on the course of actions during the next few days. As they[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Data Privacy And Tech Giants

Data Privacy And Tech Giants

Prerogative of your privacy with the tech giants like WHATSAPP, TWITTER, FACEBOOK,INSTAGRAM,and like many others is being largely brought into questions and judicial overview as to what it actually constitutes in the strictest sense and what modalities need to be adopted to design the much-needed safeguards and framework of its judicial redressal in cases of brazen and conflagrant infringement, violations[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Mahatma Gandhi Meets Shahid Bhagat Singh in Heaven 

Mahatma Gandhi Meets Shahid Bhagat Singh in Heaven 

This is one of a series of heaven-based stories, written as  fantasy yet very relevant to our times. The first part of the series appeared in  Countercurrents.org dated December 11, 2020 under the title ‘ Mahatma Gandhi Returns to Earth’. Gandhi had managed to get the clearance from heaven authorities for his one-day visit to Earth ,but after returning from[Read More…]

by 16/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
This undated file image was provided by attorneys for Lisa Montgomery – AP She was the first and only woman to be put to death by the federal government since 1953.

Death by lethal injection: An inhumane way to die

Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders – Albert Camus What could be worse than death? The answer perhaps would be to know exactly when one is going to die. Locked up in a condemned cell, time crawls like a snail for someone who is on death row. Every waking hour of the day and night, the thought of[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 2 comments Life/Philosophy
Encroaching Identity

Encroaching Identity

During the hearing of the farmer movement, the Supreme Court expressed concern towards the elderly and women and asked them to withdraw from the movement which is revealing the court patriarchal mentality towards women as well as the movement.  Supreme court is directly trying to disturbed unity and organization of the movement. Chief justice of India said That “We do not[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Patriarchy
Photo by George M. Groutas

Yearnings for Alternative Food and Farming Systems

           “Men who can graft the  trees and make the seed fertile and big can find no way to let the hungry people eat their produce . Men who have created new fruits in the world cannot create a system whereby their fruits may be eaten. And the failure hangs over the State like a great sorrow.” – John Steinbeck[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Counter Solutions
Preview signals Biden’s foreign policy shifts

Preview signals Biden’s foreign policy shifts

In his first media interview, the incoming US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has given a preview of Joe Biden administration’s foreign policy directions in regard of Russia, Iran and China. Major shifts can be expected in the policies toward both China and Iran while selective engagement of Russia is on cards. First, Russia. Sullivan noted that it was “most[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Encircling China and Praising India: The US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific

Encircling China and Praising India: The US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific

The feeling from Rory Medcalf of the Australian National University was one of breathless wonder.  “The US government,” he wrote in The Strategist, “has just classified one of its most secretive national security documents – its 2018 strategic framework for the Indo-Pacific, which was formally classified SECRET and not for release to foreign nationals.” Washington’s errand boys and girls in[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Photo Credit: thetruthseeker.co.uk Nuland and Pyatt planning regime change in Kiev 

Will the U.S. Senate Confirm Coup Plotter Nuland?  

Written by Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies and Marcy Winograd Who is Victoria Nuland? Most Americans have never heard of her because the U.S. corporate media’s foreign policy coverage is a wasteland. Most Americans have no idea that President-elect Biden’s pick for Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs is stuck in the quicksand of 1950s U.S.-Russia Cold War[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Two Principles of Racial Equity that Outrage US Liberals

Two Principles of Racial Equity that Outrage US Liberals

The May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked a civil rights explosion.  It ignited pushes to demilitarize the police, reallocate police over-funding to necessary social services, end economic and power divides, and replace symbols of oppression with recognition of those who have suffered and resisted. In University City, one of the oldest and more progressive suburbs of[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Hold On To That Fear

Hold On To That Fear

Dear Congresspersons and Senators, This letter is about that nauseating, trembling fear you felt when that hate exploded at you on January 6. Please don’t forget it. Journal about it before it fades. Tolerate the nightmares. Keep pen and paper on your nightstand to record what woke you from screaming fits. Don’t block it out. Don’t let it go. If[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Can the U.S. and China Cooperate on a Failing Planet?

Can the U.S. and China Cooperate on a Failing Planet?

  Soon-to-be President Joe Biden will instantly face a set of extraordinary domestic crises — a runaway pandemic, a stalled economy, and raw political wounds, especially from the recent Trumpian assault on the Capitol — but few challenges are likely to prove more severe than managing U.S. relations with China. While generally viewed as a distant foreign-policy concern, that relationship[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 3 comments World
In Conversation with Prof K S Chalam

In Conversation with Prof K S Chalam

Dr. K.S.Chalam, Ex-In charge Chairman, U.P.S.C a Constitutional position (equivalent to Supreme Court Judge) during 2005-2011, is a well-known Political Economist, Educationist and a Scholar of Dravidian Studies. Prof K.S.Chalam is known throughout the country as the facilitator of Academic Staff College concept and was likewise recognised for his Studies on Higher Education, Political Economy of Development. At UPSC, he[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
We Need Multi-Disciplinary Approach For Better Understanding of Crucial Issues

We Need Multi-Disciplinary Approach For Better Understanding of Crucial Issues

The importance of a multi-disciplinary approach for understanding crucial issues is well-established both at academic and policy levels. Nevertheless we need to ask, despite the need for this being well-established, whether this is being neglected frequently in public discourse, and perhaps to a lesser extent, even at policy and academic levels? One reason for this unintentional neglect is that public[Read More…]

by 15/01/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
International Support Continues for Protesting Farmers in India

International Support Continues for Protesting Farmers in India

On 5 January, British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi wrote a letter to Boris Johnson urging him to convey to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the “heartfelt anxieties” of MPs’ constituents (many emanating from Punjab) regarding the treatment of protesting farmers in India. The letter was signed by more than 100 MPs and Lords and had cross-party support. Dhesi stated that[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Abortion Rights and Abortion Laws In The Present Times

Abortion Rights and Abortion Laws In The Present Times

The term abortion has varied connotations and can lead to dissent many a times. It is a controversial issue which has been debated, protested and has political ramifications as well. The crucial decision of when to give birth touches chord with most of the women of 21st century as they have progressed much beyond their traditional assigned role to procreate[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 1 comment World
Photo Win McNamee/Getty Images

Mobs carrying Trump “Law & Order” & Gadsen “Don’t Tread on Me’ Flags Breach Locked US Capitol Doors

Impeaching Trump

Why it was so important to impeach President Trump this time than it was ever before. The American democracy is the result of years of struggle, resistance and sacrifice – a system for which people laid down their lives during the American War of Independence and again for preserving it during American  Civil War. Many countries around the world have[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 1 comment World
Protests as a marker of Social change

Protests as a marker of Social change

From time immemorial protests have been a very significant way to argue for one’s rights. In British India Mahatma Gandhi introduced the non-violent way of protesting publicly which is bhuk hartal or public gathering where people quietly protest by fasting and not drinking water. Shouting slogans is another way to show resistance and disagreement. Candle light vigil is also taken[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Today India Needs Both Gandhi and Bhagat Singh, and the Unity of Their Followers More Than Ever Before

Today India Needs Both Gandhi and Bhagat Singh, and the Unity of Their Followers More Than Ever Before

In recent times India has been passing through the most difficult period of its post-independence history. The most sacred constitutional precept of social  (including inter-faith) equality and harmony is badly threatened, while economic inequality and the grip of a few top billionaires on economy have been increasing like never before. Destruction of environment and bio-diversity are rampant, and the safeguards[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
United States of South Asia

United States of South Asia

In more ways than one, South Asia has been pushed back to the 1940’s. If we were to take stock of the situation in the entire subcontinent, we can easily find out that we have made little progress and have got stuck in the status-quo mud for the past three-quarters of a century. Besides providing a binding social order, the[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 1 comment South Asia
 MSM Re Trumpist Rioters & Israeli Elections,  Covid Vaccination, Child Abuse & Nuclear Terrorism – What About The Palestinians?

 MSM Re Trumpist Rioters & Israeli Elections,  Covid Vaccination, Child Abuse & Nuclear Terrorism – What About The Palestinians?

Mendacious, Zionist-subverted, Western Mainstream media (MSM)  have recently carried major stories about Trumpist rioters soiling US democracy, the roll-out of  Covid vaccines, new Apartheid Israeli elections,  extradition from Apartheid Israel to Australia of an alleged serial child abuser, and uranium enrichment by US-sanctioned Iran. Yet there is scant or zero mention by Mainstream presstitutes of the egregiously  impacted Palestinians in[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Two Streams of Freedom Movement Often Supported and Complemented Each Other

Two Streams of Freedom Movement Often Supported and Complemented Each Other

An aspect of freedom movement of India which deserves to be better known in India, particularly among youth, is that various streams of freedom movement in  India often supported and complemented each other. This is particularly true of the two most important streams, one identified mainly with Mahatma Gandhi and the other predominantly with  Shahid Bhagat Singh. In a very[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Looming Large: The Middle East Braces for Fallout of US–China Divide

Looming Large: The Middle East Braces for Fallout of US–China Divide

China would like the world to believe that the Middle East and North Africa region does not rank high on its totem pole despite its energy dependence, significant investment and strategic relationships with the region. In many ways, China is not being deceptive. With relations with the United States rapidly deteriorating, China’s primary focus is on what it views as[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
David Weiller: Meditating on the world’s rainforests

David Weiller: Meditating on the world’s rainforests

On January 1, 2021 Frenchman David Weiller found a unique way to greet people a happy new year – on his YouTube channel, he posted a six-and-a-half minute video of monarch butterflies fluttering by the thousands and landing on a tree. All the ambient sounds were captured too – the birds, crickets. There was no music on the video, no[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 Shaheed Fazil Rahu: A frontrunner of deprived Sindhi peasants

 Shaheed Fazil Rahu: A frontrunner of deprived Sindhi peasants

When President General Ayub Khan started allotting the lands of Golarchi tehsil in Sindh province to the retired employees of Punjab province as governmental gifts, he revolted against such a bigoted act of the then government. Shaheed Fazil Rahu’s deep affection and sympathy for Sindhi peasants against the invincible forces of their times have made him an immortal vision that[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Religion is not Rational

Religion is not Rational

 Religion is not rational, yet attempts are made all the time to prove it is.             One example is the Templeton Study. The Templeton Foundation arranged for Christians to pray for 1800 heart patients and tracked the results. It conducted a double-blind study to see if patients who were prayed for, did better. In actual fact, the group, which knew that it[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Dr. DS Kotnis as seen by Chinese Artists

Dr. DS Kotnis as seen by Chinese Artists

 Following is a photo-essay on Dr. Kotnis about whom a detailed article by me was published on January9, 2021, and may be read as Part-2 or as a companion-piece. Great Chinese paintings depicting his life and work are published here for the readers of CC. They show how he is venerated by China to this day though he died in[Read More…]

by 14/01/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Reason Wounded—Government and Judiciary Miss the Essence of Farmer Protests

Reason Wounded—Government and Judiciary Miss the Essence of Farmer Protests

The stalemate in resolving key issues relating to farmers’ movement continues, even though millions and millions of people in the country want the prolonged stalemate to end on a note of satisfaction for farmers. Although attempts are being made repeatedly to depict the farmers as being unreasonable and obstinate, in fact they have displayed remarkable maturity as well as foresight[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Agroecology and Post-COVID Plunder

Agroecology and Post-COVID Plunder

Contingent on World Bank aid to be given to poorer countries in the wake of coronavirus lockdowns, agrifood conglomerates will aim to further expand their influence. These firms have been integral to the consolidation of a global food regime that has emerged in recent decades based on chemical- and proprietary-input-dependent agriculture which incurs massive externalised social, environmental and health costs.[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Love Jihad, Conversions and Laws curbing Freedoms

Love Jihad, Conversions and Laws curbing Freedoms

Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020, passed by UP on 27th November 2020, has set the ball rolling at two levels. On one hand many other BJP ruled states like MP and Haryana are activating their machinery to bring in similar law in their states and on the other at social level many interfaith couples are[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Jats: A brief history

Jats: A brief history

The Jats have been at the forefront of the ongoing farmer’s protests against the Center imposed three agri bills. Jat Sikh (Jatt Sikh), is a sub-group of the Jat people, and the Sikh ethnoreligious group from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant community in the Punjab, India owing to their large land-holdings. They form an estimated 21%[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Capitol Hill Violence and Lessons for Indian Democracy

Capitol Hill Violence and Lessons for Indian Democracy

People all over the globe were shocked and shaken by the event that unfolded at the Capitol Hill in the United States of America in the morning of 7th January, 2021. Some of the politicians used this as an opportunity to hit at the US using this an opportunity to revel on the incidence. Russian lawmakers were quick to jump[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
An Exhausted Planet Limps Into 2021

An Exhausted Planet Limps Into 2021

Early this new year, the Alliance of World Scientists (13,700 strong) delivered a biting report, not mincing words: “Scientists now find that catastrophic climate change could render a significant portion of the Earth uninhabitable consequent to continued high emissions, self-reinforcing climate feedback loops and looming tipping points.” (Source: William J. Ripple, et al, The Climate Emergency: 2020 in Review, Scientific[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 1 comment Climate Change
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks and Australia’s Complicity

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks and Australia’s Complicity

Australia’s Foreign Minister, Marise Payne, said little in the statement from her department, which was a good thing, as it might have been dangerously useful.  The finding of a UK court on whether Julian Assange would be extradited to the United States was made “on the grounds of his mental health and consequent suicide risk.”  She does not care to[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Covid-19 under Apartheid: How Israel Manipulates Suffering of Palestinians

Covid-19 under Apartheid: How Israel Manipulates Suffering of Palestinians

  Israel’s decision to exclude Palestinians from its COVID-19 vaccination campaign may have surprised many. Even by Israel’s poor humanitarian standards, denying Palestinians access to life-saving medication seems extremely callous. Amnesty International, among many organizations, condemned the Israeli government’s decision to bar Palestinians from receiving the vaccine. The rights group described the Israeli action as evidence of the “institutionalized discrimination[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Photograph: Yander Zamora / EFE

 The Trump Administration’s Parting Outrage Against Cuba

Written by Medea Benjamin and Leonardo Flores On January 11, in his final days before leaving office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added one parting blow to the series of bludgeons his administration has inflicted on Cuba for four years: putting the island on the list of “state sponsors of terror” that includes only Iran, North Korea and Syria. The[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
POW Nation – When Will America Free Itself From War?

POW Nation – When Will America Free Itself From War?

“POWs Never Have A Nice Day.”  That sentiment was captured on a button a friend of mine wore for our fourth grade class photo in 1972.  That prisoners of war could never have such a day was reinforced by the sad face on that button.  Soon after, American POWs would indeed be released by their North Vietnamese captors as the American war[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Mistress of Melodies

Mistress of Melodies

Rakhi Dalal reviews translated short stories of Nabendu Ghosh, which not only bring to life history as cited in his Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Lifetime Achievement award but also highlights his ‘love for humanity‘ Title: Mistress of Melodies: Stories of Courtesans and Prostituted Women Author: Nabendu Ghosh Publisher: Speaking Tiger Books, 2020 Mistress of Melodies: Stories of Courtesans and Prostituted Women is acollection of six[Read More…]

by 13/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
No time to ‘celebrate’ on Supreme Court’s stay on three farm laws

No time to ‘celebrate’ on Supreme Court’s stay on three farm laws

The Supreme Court has been unusually aggressive with the government on the three farm bills. The Chief Justice of India made tough talking about this and said that he is going to form the ‘expert’ committee and will stay the implementation of the bill. And today, the court decided that a four member panel will speak to the farmers and[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Rehabilitate 700 Residents Of Dhobi Ghat, Jamia Nagar

Rehabilitate 700 Residents Of Dhobi Ghat, Jamia Nagar

NAPM condemns the denial of timely rehabilitation to 700 residents whose homes at Dhobi House, Jamia Nagar were forcibly demolished by the DDA almost 4 months back 12th Jan, 2021: National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) is outraged at the continued callousness of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to deny rehabilitation to more than 700 people whose homes at Dhobi Ghat,[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Violent Right Wing Forces Have Been Activated, It Requires Strategic Action To Stop Them

Violent Right Wing Forces Have Been Activated, It Requires Strategic Action To Stop Them

Since the assault on the US Capitol on January 6 by right-wing Trump supporters, the fallout has been rapid. The Democrats, both elected officials and voters, were quick to jump on the impeachment train. Some elected officials are calling for Members of Congress who supported the events to resign and to refuse to seat them in the new Congress. Employers[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 1 comment World
Twitter Nukes Trump

Twitter Nukes Trump

This was Twitter Safety’s January 8 post, full of noble concern: “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them – specifically how they are being received and interpreted off Twitter – we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” Is it ever wise for a social[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Twitter’s ban on Trump will deepen the US tribal divide

Twitter’s ban on Trump will deepen the US tribal divide

Anyone who believes locking President Donald Trump out of his social media accounts will serve as the first step on the path to healing the political divide in the United States is likely to be in for a bitter disappointment. The flaws in this reasoning need to be peeled away, like the layers of an onion. Twitter’s decision to permanently[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
‘ Trust Me… Obey Me!!

‘ Trust Me… Obey Me!!

Before I go on with my thoughts on the use of persuasion by demagogues like Donald Trump, we need to understand how powerful a system of obedience can be. There are two past studies that this writer recommends which get to the heart of the use of obedience to shape an individual’s behavior. The earliest one is the Milgram Experiment[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 1 comment World
Lame Duck – A Peril

Lame Duck – A Peril

The United States election process requires the congress to validate the election of the President. Congress is a bicameral legislature, the senate being the upper house and the House of Representatives the lower house. A raucous mob raided the capitol building displaying pro-Trump slogans and managed to enter the senate chamber at the time when the election results were being[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Photo Win McNamee/Getty Images

Mobs carrying Trump “Law & Order” & Gadsen “Don’t Tread on Me’ Flags Breach Locked US Capitol Doors

America and Turbulent Democracy Look for Change

The Unthinkable Insurrection on America Powerhouse America and its politics find itself at the tyranny of reason of which it appears to be unconscious either by design or by choice.  The living thought of American political harmony does not seem to exhibit an ideal scenario of democracy as acclaimed by its political proponents. The perplexities and despotic character are rooted[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Democracy is a Function of Capitalism

Democracy is a Function of Capitalism

An Overview of Systems of Government. H.L. Mencken said the typical American voter was a boob and the system was booboisie. In order to understand the submission “ Democracy is a Function of Capitalism” one has to delve deep into Social, economic, and political evolution of human race and subject it to critical analysis. Let us start with a few[Read More…]

by 12/01/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Amazon Rainforest Will Collapse by 2064, New Study Predicts

Amazon Rainforest Will Collapse by 2064, New Study Predicts

The future of the world’s largest rainforest looks bleak. A new report for Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development concluded that the Amazon rainforest will collapse and largely become a dry, shrubby plain by 2064. Development, deforestation and the climate crisis are to blame, study author and University of Florida geologist Robert Toovey Walker found, UPI reported. Walker reviewed recent research, offering that heavy development in Amazonian[Read More…]

Vigil for dead farmers held outside Indian Visa and Passport application center

Vigil for dead farmers held outside Indian Visa and Passport application center

South Asian activists came together on Sunday, January 10 in Surrey, to remember more than 60 farmers, who have laid down their lives during the ongoing agitation in India. Organized by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), the vigil was in protest against the recent deaths of farmers who have been holding a demonstration near New Delhi to press upon[Read More…]

by 11/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
A Non-Partisan View of Farmers’ Movement

A Non-Partisan View of Farmers’ Movement

The ongoing farmers’ movement in India has evoked strong feelings on both sides. This has been praised to an awesome extent; on the other hand very unfair criticism has been inflicted  on it repeatedly. It will be useful at this stage to attempt an unbiased appraisal of this movement. Strengths of Movement The most persistent demand of this movement for[Read More…]

by 11/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli (R) received the vice-minister of International Department of Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Guo Yezhou (L) at Kathmandu, Dec. 27, 2020

China’s mission to Nepal gains traction

The route India took has been bullying and it ultimately isolated India. By treating Nepali politicians as shabby buffoons to be pampered one day and collared another day, India badly exposed itself. A belief got entrenched in the Nepalese mind that we are a dangerous neighbour with evil intentions, undependable and far too self-centred and cynical. Tragically, this was despite[Read More…]

by 11/01/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Storms of Protest in Washington and Hong Kong

Storms of Protest in Washington and Hong Kong

The coverage of groups of people, described as mobs, rioters, or protestors depending on one’s prejudice or adherence to accurate reporting, who “stormed” the Capitol in Washington and the Legislative Council in Hong Kong is revealing for how media and politicians react. The American media ran headlines such as: “Trump supporters storm Capitol,” Washington Post “Inside the mob that swarmed[Read More…]

by 11/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
‘One State is a Game Changer’: A Conversation with Ilan Pappe and Awad Abdelfattah on the One Democratic State Campaign 

‘One State is a Game Changer’: A Conversation with Ilan Pappe and Awad Abdelfattah on the One Democratic State Campaign 

Written by  Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo As the US ruling elites have fully succumbed to Israel’s political discourse on Palestine, the Israeli government of right-wing Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, may feel that it, alone, is capable of determining the future of the Palestinian people. This conclusion is, perhaps, gleaned from Israel’s behavior in recent years and months. The expansion[Read More…]

by 11/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
War of the (Financial) Worlds Or Let the Markets Go Wild While the People Go Down

War of the (Financial) Worlds Or Let the Markets Go Wild While the People Go Down

  Sometimes things only make sense when seen through a magnifying lens. As it happens, I’m thinking about reality, the very American and global reality clearly repeating itself as 2021 begins. We all know, of course, that we’re living through a once-in-a-century-style pandemic; that millions of people have lost their jobs, a portion of which will never return; that the poorest among us,[Read More…]

by 11/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
 Recalling Gandhi: Resisting without violence

 Recalling Gandhi: Resisting without violence

Man over Machine: A Path towards Peace is the kind of book you might want to preserve and return to, every once in a while. Author Bharat Dogra has worked for long years as a freelance journalist – never taking on a full-time journalism job in order to be completely free, and writing a prodigious number of articles, many of[Read More…]

by 11/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Cultural Aspects Of The Jharkhand Movement

Cultural Aspects Of The Jharkhand Movement

Jharkhand Me Mere Samkaaleen by Vir Bhrat Talwar, 2019, 2020, Delhi, Anugya Books, pp 213, Rs. 250/- On the surface, this book is in the form of a memoir about five persons who played an important role in the cultural, literary and political trends in the Jharkhand movement in the period 1970-2010. But they do not remain mere personal memoirs;[Read More…]

by 11/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Winter in Kashmir: For local Kashmiris, it’s living a nightmare

Winter in Kashmir: For local Kashmiris, it’s living a nightmare

The line in the subtitle above underscores a reality that not many of those coming to visit the valley from outside Kashmir would concede as a fact of life. The fact is that whereas everything is done by their local hosts and the local administration to ensure that they have a comfortable stay in the valley, with access to all[Read More…]

by 10/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Delhi peasantry set to make history on Republic day

Delhi peasantry set to make history on Republic day

Tempo building up for spark to turn into a prairie fire on January 26th  tractors March in Delhi  to protest laws representing  neo-fascism of Narandra Modi led BJP A protracted war of resistance is being waged by the peasant organizations on the border of Delhi protesting the three agricultural laws. In the manner of preparing for a great war a[Read More…]

by 10/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Now is the Time to Press for Long-Needed Rural Changes Based on Justice and Protection of Environment

Now is the Time to Press for Long-Needed Rural Changes Based on Justice and Protection of Environment

The ongoing farmers’ movement has led to the coming together of many farmers’ organizations and this unity has been sustained despite several efforts to divide them. As many farmer representatives have stated repeatedly, the mobilization of farmers on Delhi borders would have seen even greater participation from various parts of the country but for the fact that travel conditions in[Read More…]

by 10/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
JatiIndia Flag of Atrocities Caste, Present and Future: Masrat Zahra

JatiIndia Flag of Atrocities Caste, Present and Future: Masrat Zahra

“Rescue us from the sub-jail – what you call the media ‘facilitation’ centre,” reads a sign held up by a pair of, what you, JatiIndia — my name for this country of jatis/castes — call “anti-national” hands. Who qualifies as a so-called anti-national? Anyone who resists and exposes JatiIndian supremacy within the boundaries of the country, and in occupied Kashmir.[Read More…]

by 10/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Bhutto and the Bomb-Fundamentalism in Pakistan

Bhutto and the Bomb-Fundamentalism in Pakistan

Bhutto fell victim to a delusion, common to all tin pot dictators; he started taking his own bombast seriously and made a critical mistake. He called a conference of all the nuclear physicists of the country and demanded that they produce a workable nuclear device in the next four to five years. The nuclear scientists in Pakistan were, one and[Read More…]

by 10/01/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Role of Editors in News Media

Role of Editors in News Media

Bhaskar Parichha, a senior journalist, explores the role of editors in swaying public opinion. In recent years the increasing influence of the media has changed the shape of Politics all over the globe. Consequently, it has raised provocative questions about journalism’s role in the political process. There are questions about media’s effect on the political system and the subsystems– the[Read More…]

by 10/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Modi marks distance from Trump, finally

Modi marks distance from Trump, finally

No doubt, it was a Himalayan blunder to have staged the Howdy Modi (Houston) and Namaste Trump (Ahmedabad) spectacles… Therefore, it is just as well Modi decided to mark a certain distance from Trump’s agenda, even if belatedly. Apropos of the dramatic happenings in Washington, DC, — with President Donald Trump’s ardent supporters and acolytes ransacking the Capitol Hill on[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Dr. Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis  (1910-1942)

Remembering Dr. Kotnis, an eminent surgeon, outstanding internationalist fighter against fascism, and an enduring symbol of India- China friendship

  As people entered the new year with hopes of peace, and relief from disease (covid-19), we recall an event of December 30, 1942. Given here is a copy of an elegy hung in a memorial meeting hall in China on that day. It was held to pay tributes to Dr. Kotnis who had died on 9th December 1942.The banner[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 5 comments Life/Philosophy
The Debate Between Violence and Non-Violence in Social Movements

The Debate Between Violence and Non-Violence in Social Movements

In history there has been a long debate between violence and non-violence in the context of social movements. Some very great persons who brought very beneficial and durable change chose the path of non-violence and peace. Some very courageous and capable leaders and their followers, on the other hand, had no hesitation in using violent methods and they too achieved[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Trump, Insurrections and the 25th Amendment

Trump, Insurrections and the 25th Amendment

How strange it must have seemed for US lawmakers to be suddenly facing what was described as a “mob”, not so much storming as striding into the Capitol with angry purpose.  A terrified security force proved understaffed and overwhelmed.  Members of Congress hid.  Five people lost their lives. With the US imperium responsible for fostering numerous revolutions and coups across[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The Faltering Judiciary in South Asia

The Faltering Judiciary in South Asia

In the 18th century, American legal scholar and politician Alexander Hamilton had famously said that the judiciary is the “least dangerous” branch, having “no influence over either the sword or the purse,”. What he meant was that the judiciary, in those days, was least capable of defending itself against intrusion by other dominant organs of the state. Judicial independence, i.e., the[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
How Social Movements Can Make Durable, Wider and Definite Contribution to Creating a Better World

How Social Movements Can Make Durable, Wider and Definite Contribution to Creating a Better World

Social movements have a very important role in society, a role that has to assume  even more significance if our deeply troubled world has to find a way out of the survival crisis in which it is entangled very badly at the moment. Of course we are  here talking of only sincere movements, and not of those movements which are[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Justice Rakesh Kumar

Dire need to protect majesty of justice

An affidavit full of contradictions, a strategy to humiliate a retiring judge, transfer of Chief Justices of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with shamelessly parti(y)-san division of media, show the dire need to protect the majesty of judicial system. The tendency of using the Constitutional courts for political reasons and threatening the Justices if favourable orders are not given, is increasing.[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Genetic Engineering, Agriculture and Brexit: Treachery in Our Midst

Genetic Engineering, Agriculture and Brexit: Treachery in Our Midst

The UK government has launched its public consultation on the deregulation of gene editing in England. To kick things off, somewhat predictably Environment Secretary George Eustice recently spun a staunch pro-industry line at the Oxford Farming Conference by stating: “Gene editing has the ability to harness the genetic resources that Mother Nature has provided in order to tackle the challenges[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Adivasis under Kaimur Mukti Morcha protesting-Image for Representation Purpose

Kaimur’s Struggle For Jal Jangal And Zameen

Famous for its vast forest cover and mineral rich hills, Kaimur lies at the tri-junction of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Part of the Kaimur plateau and surrounded by the Bhagelkhand Mountains and Chotanagpur Plateau, this westernmost district of Bihar has a population of around 1.6 million who are placed under 11 community development blocks. Of these, the block Adhoura,[Read More…]

by 09/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Normalisation of “Hindutva Shock Therapy” for the Consolidation of Capitalism in India

Normalisation of “Hindutva Shock Therapy” for the Consolidation of Capitalism in India

The rise of neoliberal marginalisation combined with social and economic marginalisation under a Brahminical structure and its caste based hierarchical social order has laid the foundation for ‘Hindutva’ political, social, cultural and economic projects. The resurgence of neoliberalism from 1980s led to the acceleration of further marginalisation of the masses and consolidation of capitalist class’s grip over Indian economy and[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
 Women protesting against the Farm Bills (Image for representative purpose)

Refusal of the Government to Repeal Farm Laws is Proving Very Costly

Disappointing the very large number of people who had high hopes that the stand-off with farmers’ organizations will be resolved soon, the government has not accepted this main demand after even 44 days of peaceful and disciplined protests by farmers at five places on Delhi border. The talks today on January 8 were particularly dismal as the farmer representatives, judging[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Vandalizing democracy, the American way

Vandalizing democracy, the American way

A popular joke among leftists in the eighties was to ask why there had never been a military coup in Washington D.C. The answer: Because it doesn’t have a US embassy. This was an allusion to the nefarious US role in toppling legitimate governments around the globe, many of them violently. The storming of the US Capitol Hill on 6[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Covid-19 lockdown: Confronted with hardships, 15-year-old Sania chose to rap

Covid-19 lockdown: Confronted with hardships, 15-year-old Sania chose to rap

Written by Arun Kumar & Jonita Colaco   ‘Will there be singing in the times of darkness Yes there will be singing about the darkness’                                            — Bertolt Brecht   Par kabhi socha hai Jo Govandi mein rehete hain Unka kya hota hai Vote dene wala Har ghareeb rota hai, kyun? This is an excerpt from 15-year-old Sania Mistree’s rap[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
The Case of the Khache: Connected Histories, Diaspora Ambivalence and the Sense of Ambiguity

The Case of the Khache: Connected Histories, Diaspora Ambivalence and the Sense of Ambiguity

Engagement with South Asian history often occurs either through the Eurocentric divisions of core and periphery or through the irredentist nation-states’ paradigm. However, South Asian history is a complex one, beyond the linearities of colonial narratives and territorial borders.  For example, recent scholarship on Tibet has underscored some complexities of South Asian history. It has been marked with the question[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Immediate Demands of Farmers’ Movement are Important, but so is a Longer-Term Agenda

Immediate Demands of Farmers’ Movement are Important, but so is a Longer-Term Agenda

Almost all social movements set a lot of emphasis on their immediate demands. These are obviously very important and often the success or otherwise of a movement is almost entirely judged in terms of the realization of these demands. Such a view, although very common, is not entirely correct. The achievements of social movements can also be very important, sometimes[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Photo Win McNamee/Getty Images

Mobs carrying Trump “Law & Order” & Gadsen “Don’t Tread on Me’ Flags Breach Locked US Capitol Doors

It was a Disgraceful, Horrific, Yet Fitting Close to the Trump Era

January 5th, 2021, was another Day of Infamy in US History that bookmarked an unsavory, unseemly, disgraceful, yet fitting close to the ruthlessness of the Trump Era in American and World politics. It seemingly couldn’t have happened any other way, given the kind of self-centered myopic government that Trump, as a man, as a white supremacist and as a president,[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
 The US and UK may not will Assange’s death, but everything they are doing makes it more likely

 The US and UK may not will Assange’s death, but everything they are doing makes it more likely

There was a hope in some quarters after Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled on Monday against an application to extradite Julian Assange to the US, where he faced being locked away for the rest of his life, that she might finally be changing tack. Washington has wanted Assange permanently silenced and made an example of – by demonstrating to other journalists[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 1 comment Human Rights
The Fault Dear Brutus Part 2

The Fault Dear Brutus Part 2

Lovers of real American history should recall the words uttered by the late, great newsman and newscaster Edward R. Murrow about Senator Joe McCarthy. During the height of the political witch hunts orchestrated and influenced by the late Senator (AKA McCarthyism) Murrow took on McCarthy with his show ‘ See It Now’. At the end of one discourse by Murrow,[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The 20th Anniversary of the War on Terror Arrives

The 20th Anniversary of the War on Terror Arrives

“This is a different kind of war, which we will wage aggressively and methodically to disrupt and destroy terrorist activity,” President George W. Bush announced a little more than two weeks after the 9/11 attacks.  “Some victories will be won outside of public view, in tragedies avoided and threats eliminated. Other victories will be clear to all.” This year will mark the[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy: The Exigency to Revive the Revolutionary Legacy of South Asia’s Socrates

Periyar E. V. Ramasamy: The Exigency to Revive the Revolutionary Legacy of South Asia’s Socrates

“If a larger country oppresses a smaller country, I’ll stand with the smaller country. If the smaller country has majoritarian religion that oppresses minority religions, I’ll stand with minority religions. If the minority religion has caste and one caste oppresses another caste, I’ll stand with the caste being oppressed. In the oppressed caste, if an employer oppresses his employee, I’ll[Read More…]

by 08/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
It’s regime change within the Empire: Utterances in the US capitol

It’s regime change within the Empire: Utterances in the US capitol

Hundreds of protesters breached the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lockdowns as the US Congress was convening a joint session to count the certified 2020 Electoral College votes. The entire episode, although with a few gaps, was in the mainstream media. Death number, arrests, etc. accompanied. There’re some more things. What came out was an exhibition of bourgeois politics. A[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Proxy Jailor: Denying Assange Bail

Proxy Jailor: Denying Assange Bail

History, while not always a telling guide, can be useful.  But in moments of flushed confidence, it is not consulted and Cleo is forgotten.  A crisp new dawn can negate a glance to the past.  Having received the unexpected news that Julian Assange’s extradition to the United States for charges of breaching the Espionage Act of 1917 and computer intrusion[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 1 comment Human Rights
Crossing Borders Into Parallel Worlds

Crossing Borders Into Parallel Worlds

     A Review of by Gaither Stewart’s Short Story Collection, “Signs of the Times”    Gaither Stewart is an expatriate American writer who lives in Rome and knows Europe well. Mr. Stewart’s agile intellect and life-tuned, refined aesthetic sensibilities will most interest those who refuse to be confined in a single identity, preferring rather to cross at will between the[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Give Praise Whenever You Can

Give Praise Whenever You Can

“A constant sacrament of praise….”             –Wallace Stevens Give praise whenever you can! Praise: Sunrise on snow-capped mountains; Sunsets on marigold fields; Every act of kindness and solicitude; Children smiling in beneficence. Praise: The hard-earned wisdom of the old; Every great artist who ever lived; The almost-great who failed to fulfill their dreams The color green; amber; bees making honey;[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
Elusive Unity And Eroding Expectations Of Tamils In Sri Lanka

Elusive Unity And Eroding Expectations Of Tamils In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s Tamils, victims of genocide perpetrated by the majority Sinhala Governments since independence in 1948, appear to be poised to continue to live with miseries also partly contributed by the rivalries and inactions of the leaders of the Tamils who are busy engaged in election and parliamentary politics disregarding the political mess and lingering problems of the Tamils. 17 Tamil[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled South Asia
Growing Distance and Conflict Between Real Needs and Actual Policy in Food and Farming Systems

Growing Distance and Conflict Between Real Needs and Actual Policy in Food and Farming Systems

It is easy to have  very wide agreement on the obvious fact that food and farming sector is one of the most important sectors, perhaps the most important  sector, of human efforts and needs. But while the realization of this importance should lead to very caring and careful attitudes, the realization of the importance is actually being interpreted by very[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Falling Off the Cliff

Falling Off the Cliff

It gives me no pleasure to quote Cromwell, but so apposite was his dismissal of the Rump Parliament in 1653 as it relates to Trump and his cronies today- You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately … Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go! The[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Increasing Need for Unity of Social Movements

Increasing Need for Unity of Social Movements

While the need for unity of various social movements has always existed, in more recent times this has become much more compelling. This increasing need has coincided with and is related to the accentuation of some very serious problems to the extent that these have now taken the form of a survival crisis, the very serious endangering of basic life-nurturing[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
2021: Palestine’s Chance of Fighting Back

2021: Palestine’s Chance of Fighting Back

2020 will go down in history as the year that terminated the American-sponsored ‘peace process’. While 2021 will not reverse the monumental change in the US attitude and objectives in Palestine, Israel and the Middle East, the new year presents Palestinians with the opportunity to think outside the American box. The previous year began with an unmistakable American push to[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Start terming Reservation as Representation

Start terming Reservation as Representation

Nomenclatures can be misguiding and result in a new line of thought being sown in the masses. One such term which is frequently used and misunderstood the most is ‘Reservation’ Every Indian has encountered reservations, some have benefitted while some have been left out of the system. It depends on the system and which caste you belong, that determines your[Read More…]

by 07/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Vaccine can’t be made a propaganda war to whip up narrow nationalist sentiments

Vaccine can’t be made a propaganda war to whip up narrow nationalist sentiments

After the Indian government approved two vaccines : Astra Zeneca launched by Seram Institute, Pune and Bharat Biotech which developed it with the help of ICMR and has the government of India backing it up fully, the dalal media has gone overboard to launch the maximum propaganda work for the government after it was found that Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Our Suicidal War Against Nature

Our Suicidal War Against Nature

Ceasefire in our suicidal war against nature Here are some quotations from a December 2, 2020 article by Justin Rowlatt entitled “Humans waging suicidal war on nature – UN chief Antonio Guterres”: “Humanity is waging what he describes as a suicidal war on the natural world. “Nature always strikes back, and is doing so with gathering force and fury, he[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
Towards Greener and Cleaner Cities, With Special Care For The Poor

Towards Greener and Cleaner Cities, With Special Care For The Poor

Sanitation has been perhaps the weakest link in the urban development effort of India. The path towards better cities involves above all a big breakthrough in decentralized sanitation solutions and linking these with increasing greenery. First and perhaps foremost, there should be waste segregation at source level, whether home or workplace, so that we have at least four categories –[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
How and Why Farmers Lose Their Land

How and Why Farmers Lose Their Land

In many countries with varying levels of development, a large number of farmers have been losing their land , sometimes to the extent of even losing their status as independent landowning farmers. Various economic, technological, social, political, legal and other factors are involved, and one is hesitant to generalize or oversimplify a complex situation. Nevertheless this much can be stated[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 1 comment India
Scrap the “Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance” Immediately

Scrap the “Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance” Immediately

At the age of 18, we can vote for our councilors, MLAs, MPs. At 18, we decide who will make and implement policies that affect us, our loved ones, our community, our country. At 18, we are supposed to be mature enough to responsibly exercise our voting rights. However, whether at the age of 18 or at the age of[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Portraits of Power

Portraits of Power

Autobiographies by bureaucrats every so often raise curiosity for the reason that they hide more than they reveal, even as the sequestered information and the behind the scene camaraderie in day to day governmental functioning is a lot sensational. In recent years, India’s top civil servants have been writing their memoirs. But they have only been penned only after being[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
In Diversity We Trust: Joe Biden’s Cabinet Choices

In Diversity We Trust: Joe Biden’s Cabinet Choices

Perfumed and tailored for a certain brand of folksy, identity politics, Pete Buttigieg hoped to blast his way to the White House having run a community of 102,000 constituents in South Bend, Indiana.  Mayor Pete was hoping for the best, though his effort did not so much stall as fall over early on before the somnambulist who eventually won both[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
State And Annihilation Of Caste

State And Annihilation Of Caste

    Indian state is part of Indian society and Indian society is built on caste based social order. That way state or the government can do very little to destroy the caste system because as the state is built on the caste and the caste society is controlled by the top castes – the state cannot go against the system[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Annihilate Caste
Take Ecologically Protective Methods to Farmers in Ways Which Benefit Them

Take Ecologically Protective Methods to Farmers in Ways Which Benefit Them

Recently Sant Seechewal, saint and award winning eco-activist of Punjab, visited protesting farmers at Delhi border with the  precious gift of a truckload of healthy food. However the message he brought him was even more precious—he called upon them to shift to natural farming and mutually  cooperative farming in order to find more reliable and sustainable solutions to their problems.[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Amerikan Republic: Without the Banana!

Amerikan Republic: Without the Banana!

You tune into the great BOOB and channel surf the ( so called ) News and News Talk shows, and you hear this over and over: We are a DEMOCRACY. The Democratic Party leaning stations love to ram this continually down our throats. The right wing outlets seem to be SO far gone that they don’t even attempt to sell[Read More…]

by 06/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Saying Goodbye to the Con-Man-in-Chief

Saying Goodbye to the Con-Man-in-Chief

2021 has indeed begun and god knows what it has in store for us.  But unless, somehow, we’re surprised beyond imagining, The Donald is indeed going to leave the White House soon and, much as I hate to admit it, in some strange fashion we’re going to miss him.  Of course, it will be beyond a great relief to see[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Bursting the Myth That Farmer Numbers Must Inevitably Decline in Course of Progress

Bursting the Myth That Farmer Numbers Must Inevitably Decline in Course of Progress

One of the most widely prevalent beliefs of development discourse is that the number and share of farmers and farmer households in total population must inevitably decline in the course of progress. This is based on historical experience as also the fact that technological change and rising productivity make it possible to produce necessary food and raw materials by a[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
To What Extent is the Farmer’s Protest Representative of the Demands of Landless Farmers?

To What Extent is the Farmer’s Protest Representative of the Demands of Landless Farmers?

The category of ‘farmers’ is a hasty one, an entity perceived as homogenous by consumers in urban settings. This erases class, caste, gender and geopolitical differences which exist within the category of ‘farmer’, varying from large scale landholders, moneylenders and middlemen, to small or landless farmers and farm labourers. This is discounting agrarian producers not themselves involved in farming, but[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Patriotism, Religion and RSS Ideology

Patriotism, Religion and RSS Ideology

Word ‘anti-National’ has been more in vogue form last few years. Simply put all those who are criticizing the RSS and its progeny are labeled as anti-National. As fountainhead of Hindu Nationalism RSS is becoming stronger, it has been trying to link patriotism and religion. While hailing Hindus for their loyalty to this nation, the subtle hints are being circulated[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
“It’s not as bad as Iwo Jima, I suppose”: The Julian Assange Extradition Verdict

“It’s not as bad as Iwo Jima, I suppose”: The Julian Assange Extradition Verdict

The barrister-brewed humour of Edward Fitzgerald QC, one of the solid and stout figures defending a certain Julian Assange of WikiLeaks at the Old Bailey in London, was understandable.  Time had worn and wearied the parties, none more so than his client.  Fitzgerald had asked for water, but then mused that its absence could hardly have been as bad as[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
The Struggle To Free Julian Assange Is Not Finished

The Struggle To Free Julian Assange Is Not Finished

On January 4, 2021, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser gave a ruling wherein she blocked Julian Assange’s extradition to the US under Section 91 of UK’s Extradition Act (EA) 2003, citing health reasons.  The US government has decided to appeal this decision. Section 91 of EA 2003 prohibits extradition if “the physical or mental condition of the person is such that it would be unjust[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
 American Holocaust: 2 Million Americans Died Preventably In Trump’s Last Year As President

 American Holocaust: 2 Million Americans Died Preventably In Trump’s Last Year As President

The world is utterly shocked by the 362,000 certified Covid-19 deaths so far in Trump-ruled America. However US Covid-19 pandemic-related deaths, all preventable, now total 0.5 million.  Further, non-Covid-19-related preventable American deaths from life-style choice and political choice reasons presently total 1.5 million  annually. Softened by self-assertedly  patriotic US Mainstream media, a total of 2 million Americans have died preventably[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Government Should Appreciate the Rationality of the Stand Taken by Farmers on Three Farm Laws

Government Should Appreciate the Rationality of the Stand Taken by Farmers on Three Farm Laws

High hopes reposed in the talks between the representatives of farmers’  organizations and the government on January 4 were not fulfilled and the entire issue got postponed to the next round of talks scheduled for January 8. This is very disappointing. Why is the stalemate persisting? The statements made by both sides after this round may help us to understand[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Myth That Progress Necessarily Involves Shift of People From Village To City Should Be Challenged

Myth That Progress Necessarily Involves Shift of People From Village To City Should Be Challenged

One of the most persistent beliefs in development discourse has been that progress inevitably involves shift from rural to urban areas. This is largely rooted in the historical industrial path of progress. But there are a number of important reasons led by environmental ones why the past models of development which have brought us to the brink of a survival[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Amnesty International: Modi gets stinker from three UN Special Rapporteurs

Amnesty International: Modi gets stinker from three UN Special Rapporteurs

UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan, and Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2020 expressing grave concern over[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
 The Mexican Wall

 The Mexican Wall

The breaking news of the day was that Carlos Lopez, the notorious Mexican drug dealer, was under United States Border Patrol custody. Carlos was reportedly picked up from an orange orchard near the Rio Grande, which serves as a section of the Mexican-American border. They come across extremely hazardous conditions by swimming by swimming across. Many families, including children are[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
The Brass Notebook

The Brass Notebook

A recently penned autobiography by eminent economist Devaki Jain, written based on a suggestion made by Doris Lessings in 1958, with a forward by Amartya Sen and reviewed by Bhaskar Parichha. This is an unusual memoir. Unusual because it isn’t archetypal, not old-fashioned nor even written in a sequential order. The autobiography is set apart into personal and professional years,[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Fundamentalists -Their Thought Process, Attitude towards others specially Women-Role of Nationalism

Fundamentalists -Their Thought Process, Attitude towards others specially Women-Role of Nationalism

Religious revival and highly charged conflicts in a shrinking world make it difficult for people of competing faiths to live together. Fundamentalists of all creeds exhibit a striking commonality; an inability to think rationally. Menachem Begin bombed the King Edward Hotel in Jerusalem 1945, communal riots in Jabalpur, in India in 1961, religious riots in Beirut in 1983, Babri mosque[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Grandmother, Religion And The Law

Grandmother, Religion And The Law

When my grandmother was in her late eighties, she was in a nursing home in which she had lived for around four years. When I was there to visit her, she asked me to kill her. She was serious in the request because her quality of life had significantly deteriorated and she knew that her state of being was going[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
American Democracy on Trial: Trump vs. Biden

American Democracy on Trial: Trump vs. Biden

President Trump’s Fault lines and Delusional Concept of Power America is entrenched in deep political crises of multiple dimensions. The working of political institutions, politicians, human character, morals and responsibility signal rituals of evil eye paradigms and a future of miseries of innumerable multitudes. The snapshot of American democracy and a rethinking moment in time appears shrouded by unknown purpose[Read More…]

by 05/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The Necessary, Endless Fight for Free Speech

The Necessary, Endless Fight for Free Speech

     In August 2018, a series of internet giants including Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify banned content belonging to Alex Jones and his website Infowars. Infowars gets millions of visits a month, Donald Trump himself appeared on an Infowars broadcast during his 2016 election campaign, and Jones’ YouTube channel had over 2 million subscribers. It would be a grand understatement[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
 Assange wins. The cost: The crushing of press freedom, and the labelling of dissent as mental illness

 Assange wins. The cost: The crushing of press freedom, and the labelling of dissent as mental illness

The unexpected decision by Judge Vanessa Baraitser to deny a US demand to extradite Julian Assange, foiling efforts to send him to a US super-max jail for the rest of his life, is a welcome legal victory, but one swamped by larger lessons that should disturb us deeply. Those who campaigned so vigorously to keep Assange’s case in the spotlight,[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
British Judge Rejects US Attempt to Extradite Julian Assange

British Judge Rejects US Attempt to Extradite Julian Assange

A British judge on Monday rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying he was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected allegations that Assange is being prosecuted for political reasons or would not receive a fair trial in the United States. But[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Violation of the human rights of an innocent family in Assam

Violation of the human rights of an innocent family in Assam

   To Secretary National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) N.Delhi Sir, I refer to the distressing news report (https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/assam/assam-nrc-detention-centre-7128303/) on how four members of a rickshaw puller’s family in Assam, unable to secure ready legal assistance, suffered gross violation of their basic human rights, when they were erroneously called “foreigners” in Assam under the Foreigners Tribunal Act, 1941, Foreigners Tribunal Order, 1964 and[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Farmers of Intensive Green Revolution Areas Should Also Look Beyond the Current Paradigm of Development

Farmers of Intensive Green Revolution Areas Should Also Look Beyond the Current Paradigm of Development

There are several areas of India which follow intensive green revolution path of farming , based generally  on very heavy use of agro-chemicals, high levels of mechanization and overexploitation of water. Among these areas perhaps the belt of a major part of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh is perhaps the best known. This belt accounts for a very significant[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 1 comment India
Attack on the idea of University: Pollutants within the Wall

Attack on the idea of University: Pollutants within the Wall

When Delhi was chilling on 5th January 2020, JNU was shivering and suffocating with hate speeches and toxified with the never-ending propaganda. One year has passed but still no FIR registered and none investigated against the goon’s violence subjugating the idea of justice, liberty and fraternity. The level of hatred expanded gradually and affected everyone, sparing few ‘nationalists’ who dare[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Know how media discredits farmer protests to serve big business interests

Know how media discredits farmer protests to serve big business interests

  The last week too, the mainstream media published a large number of articles and opinion pieces, dismissing the farmers’ protests (2020-21). While arguments have been offered in support of the farm laws, the opposition parties have been slammed for indulging in petty politics. From attacking subsidies on agriculture and MSP (Minimum Support Price) to praising the technology, completion and[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
In Democracy Respect For Government Increases If Unpopular Laws Are Taken Back

In Democracy Respect For Government Increases If Unpopular Laws Are Taken Back

As India debates the repeal of three controversial farm laws and critical negotiations for this are scheduled to take place today on January 4, it  needs to be asserted that in democracy when a government take a decision to repeal unpopular laws, its true respect and honor  among people are likely to increase, not decrease. However this is true only[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Indian Agriculture problems are much deeper

Indian Agriculture problems are much deeper

With fresh bouts of farmer protest gaining momentum, currently the Modi government is riding the high Horse of arrogance and the farmers are equally determined to conduct the ‘Ashwameda,’ the Vedic Yag of horse sacrifice. The current farmers protest is much deeper than the repealing of the three farm laws and fixing MSP prices. The bottom line is that the[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Clever play of the narrative: Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Of Religion Ordinance 2020

Clever play of the narrative: Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Of Religion Ordinance 2020

Written by Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey, Kushagra Kumar The Uttar Pradesh government has brought in the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Of Religion Ordinance 2020 which is being described as a law to curb ‘love-jihad,’ to check Muslim men marrying Hindu women with the intent to convert them. The law is also supposed to check mass religious conversions. According to[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Uttar Pradesh conversion law not only anti-minority but extremely anti-Dalit also

Uttar Pradesh conversion law not only anti-minority but extremely anti-Dalit also

The Uttar Pradesh Religious Conversion Prohibition Act 2020 passed last year by the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh is not only anti – minority but also extremely anti-Dalit. This law is not only unconstitutional but also infringes on the fundamental rights of citizens. Although it is designed in the name of stopping the so-called love-jihad, its biggest targets will be[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Impact of Religion-Colonialism on Mental Health

Impact of Religion-Colonialism on Mental Health

 In the 17th century AD, a wave of depression struck Europe. It seemed to affect especially men of genius-John Bunyan, Thomas Gray, John Donne, and Samuel Johnson in England, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Charles Baudelaire in France, Leo Tolstoy in Russia, Max Weber in Germany and in America William James. One Dr George Cheyne lamented in 1733, “Frequency and wanton…self-murders…by this distemper” and[Read More…]

by 04/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
High Hopes From New Year Farmer Talks  Should Be Fulfilled With A 7-Point Agreement

High Hopes From New Year Farmer Talks  Should Be Fulfilled With A 7-Point Agreement

The last round of talks between farmer and government representatives had ended on a note of partial optimism, with some negotiators from farmers side saying that they expected a  clincher agreement in the next round of talks in the new year on January 4 Monday. Even ministers on the government side voiced expressed high hopes of final agreement, one Minister[Read More…]

by 03/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Sincere Spirituality For A Better World

Sincere Spirituality For A Better World

Spirituality has always been a very important part of human progress, but these days when we talk about spirituality we feel the need to prefix ‘sincere’, an indicator of how much hypocrisy has been practiced in the name of spirituality in recent times. Hence it is better to state  at the outset that here  we are discussing sincere spirituality only.[Read More…]

by 03/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Eight Essentials of Human Progress, Always Crucial But Often Neglected

Eight Essentials of Human Progress, Always Crucial But Often Neglected

While there are so many factors which are important for true progress of humanity, some of these can be identified as the most crucial and essential. Firstly, there should be a widespread sincere belief in and commitment to equality and justice. There should be absolutely no room for  any discrimination, any deprivation or any denial based  on race, religion, color,[Read More…]

by 03/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The Good

The Good

You always hear that ‘ Everyone has a little good in them’. Well, take Hitler. It is known that he really enjoyed little children and dogs. The truth is that they had to be German Shepherd dogs and the children couldn’t be Jewish. So much for that. The point is that yes, perhaps everyone does have a bit of good[Read More…]

by 03/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Development in the Indian Context

Development in the Indian Context

India is the world’s largest democracy and there is no denying the fact that India occupies an important place in the world economy. India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and this is no mean distinction. But the question that remains unanswered is, ‘What is India’s development status?’ Is it that, which gets portrayed in the India shining[Read More…]

by 03/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Celebrate the revolutionary life of Savitri Mai Phule

Celebrate the revolutionary life of Savitri Mai Phule

Greetings to all on revolutionary Savitri Mai Phule Jayanti. Her life is a reminder to all of us to rededicate ourselves the cause of the people on the margin through radical changes particularly through education. That social taboos, gender prejudices are still prevalent even among those who are victims of the brahmanical hierarchical system. It is therefore essential for us[Read More…]

by 03/01/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
A revolutionary Sindhi peasant leader: Comrade Hyder Bux Jatoi 

A revolutionary Sindhi peasant leader: Comrade Hyder Bux Jatoi 

The British colonization didn’t only produce the feudal class but also provided them with immense political power in the subcontinent. In 1793, according to Permanent Resettlement Act the lands were declared as the personal property of feudal lords. The British authorities distributed lands among their obedient and loyal ones as gifts. In Sindh, whoever took their side rather than revolting[Read More…]

by 03/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Increasing Importance and Relevance of the Left in India

Increasing Importance and Relevance of the Left in India

India is passing through very difficult times in terms of economic and livelihood crisis, threats to plurality and ‘unity in diversity’, as well as erosion of democratic rights and norms. Tens of millions of working class people are deeply worried about threats to their livelihood and loss of income. Even millions in the more secure middle class are worried about[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
2020 Witnessed the Deliberate Destruction of Democratic Rights Organizations in India

2020 Witnessed the Deliberate Destruction of Democratic Rights Organizations in India

The large scale destruction of lives and livelihoods in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in India and its inept handling by the government has been accompanied by another sort of destruction, much more deliberate and calculated. It is the destruction of the democratic rights organizations (DROs) of India, as part of a vicious plan of the BJP government to[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Honor Killing – An Overview

Honor Killing – An Overview

Of all the evils spawned by the tribal/feudal society, honor killing is arguably the most heinous. Apologists try to equate it with “crime of passion” but crimes of passion are abrupt, unmediated, and impulsive acts of violence committed by persons who, in their own lights, have come face to face with an incident wholly repulsive and unacceptable, and who technically[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Patriarchy
 Will the government hold Big Polluters liable for air pollution, preventable diseases, and untimely deaths?

 Will the government hold Big Polluters liable for air pollution, preventable diseases, and untimely deaths?

Written by Sandeep Pandey, Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant 16.7 lakh people died in India in 2019 because of air pollution accounting for 17·8% of the total deaths in the country (source: The Lancet Planetary Health). Air pollution was the 4th leading risk factor for premature death globally, accounting for nearly 12% of all deaths, with more than 6.67 million in[Read More…]

Contribution of Farming to Checking Climate Change Can be Immense, and Traditional Wisdom Can Contribute Much

Contribution of Farming to Checking Climate Change Can be Immense, and Traditional Wisdom Can Contribute Much

Keeping in view the importance of checking climate change , all sectors must contribute to he reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In this context the extremely important contribution which the food and agriculture  sector can make was underestimated initially but more and more research is now indicating that the contribution of this sector can extremely important. In fact if all[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 1 comment Counter Solutions
Lords of MMRDA bureaucracy and Reliance in Bandra Kurla corporate complex

Lords of MMRDA bureaucracy and Reliance in Bandra Kurla corporate complex

One possible reason common people’s basic problems remain unsolved is that our politicians and bureaucrats live in such absolute comfort, unmindful of people’s misery. Take the example of MMRDA, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. It has a plush, shining modern office in the Bandra Kurla complex, the corporate district of Mumbai. Its top officials live just one building away on[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
How to Face Climate Change Challenge While Enhancing Welfare of Farmers At The Same Time

How to Face Climate Change Challenge While Enhancing Welfare of Farmers At The Same Time

Climate change has emerged as one of the most critical problems of our times. Its disrupting impacts on farming and related activities is already being felt by farmers, pastorals and others in the form of highly erratic weather, extremes of weather and rise in the intensity and frequency of various disasters. Hence two big questions arise—How can farmers make an[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
Tinkering with National Anthems: Australia’s Patriotic Song for Children

Tinkering with National Anthems: Australia’s Patriotic Song for Children

It was a New Year gimmick that would have warmed advertising executives across the country.  For the first time since it was proclaimed as Australia’s national anthem on April 19, 1984, Advance Australia Fair has been tinkered with.  The jarring words from the second line, “For we are young and free” have been amended to “For we are one and[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Wider Social Benefits Apart, Ecologically Protective Farming Can Also Be Economically Attractive

Wider Social Benefits Apart, Ecologically Protective Farming Can Also Be Economically Attractive

While the social benefits of ecologically protective, organic and/or natural farming are so obvious, it is sometimes said that in economic terms this may not be so beneficial for farmers and this thinking becomes a big hurdle in the spread of ecologically protective farming. However the advocates of ecologically protective farming and low external input farming give several important reasons[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
“It Was a Stupid War Anyone Who Went Was a Sucker” A US President Reportedly Enlightened Americans 

“It Was a Stupid War Anyone Who Went Was a Sucker” A US President Reportedly Enlightened Americans 

Apparently, the highest official of the US government owned by wealthy investors in war inadvertently let himself be overheard making an off-hand truthful remark that contradicts what the CIA overseen criminal media tells the world in excusing America’s genocidal crimes against humanity in Vietnam. Important is how criminal media seeks to ridicule someone saying something truthful about the the war it lied[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Imperialism
Israel Admits its Guilt (and other arguments)

Israel Admits its Guilt (and other arguments)

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance has actively supported and succeeded with implementing its definition of anti-semitism in various countries, regions, and cities around the world. The definition itself is open enough that it can be and has been used to block all criticism of Israeli actions against the people of Palestine. “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
C.R. Park, Delhi: Winter

C.R. Park, Delhi: Winter

A girl walks on her house terrace In the transient sunlight in winter Talking to a bird. On the border, an old peasant in the make-shift camp Shivers in the wind’s chill. A cloud climbs down to cover him with a white blanket.   The light green of the new-born leaves of a lemon tree Asks the breeze to whistle[Read More…]

by 02/01/2021 1 comment Arts/Literature
Gaza Bombing On Christmas

Gaza Bombing On Christmas

On 25 December, 2020, Israel bombed Gaza for six continuous hours as much of the world celebrated Christmas. A children’s hospital, a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, a mosque, as well as private residences, were damaged. A six-year-old girl and a young man were injured, and much of the targeted region lost water and electricity. A fire broke out at the location of the[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Education for a Better World Needs New Thinking, Not a Polishing of Old Systems

Education for a Better World Needs New Thinking, Not a Polishing of Old Systems

The disruption of education in Covid times has caused serious concern, and there are well-justified calls for  urgent corrective action. Along with this, however, there is compelling reason to give much more thought to where exactly business-as-usual education systems are taking us and to what extent, if at all, these are capable of contributing to the creation of a better, [Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
The Protest Year – 2020

The Protest Year – 2020

The year 2020 was iconic in many respects. With the start of a new decade the world was greeted by coronavirus, which in no time became a global pandemic. Along with it came lockdowns and public restrictions accompanied by fear. Encompassing fear, it looked to be the flavor of the year. But the resilience of human kind was soon visible.[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
The Promise and the Limitations of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

The Promise and the Limitations of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

It is certainly good news that the United Nations has declared 2021-30 to be the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration. At the outset as a justification for this it can be stated without risk of contradiction that the need for ecosystem restoration was never greater than in present times. There has been so much devastation, and taken together this has[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Patterns of Occupied Palestine: Goodbye Trump, Hello Status Quo

Patterns of Occupied Palestine: Goodbye Trump, Hello Status Quo

Politically, there is a clear difference between Biden and Trump, but for the Palestinians, they both favor Israel over us — Palestinian taxi driver Ahmed Zayed, former member of Fatah, The Christian Science Monitor, December 2 Two days after that article was published in the Christian Science Monitor, Israeli Occupation Forces killed a teenage Palestinian boy named Ali Ayman Saleh[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Haiti Independence Day

Haiti Independence Day

January 1st is the day Haiti proclaimed herself to be a free, independent nation. She became the first free black republic in the world. Her great battle for freedom, the Haitian Revolution, is the only successful slave revolt in the history of humanity that led to the creation of a nation. The silencing of Haitian revolution is only a chapter[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Can 2021  Bring Hope With An Increasing Role of Social Movements in India

Can 2021  Bring Hope With An Increasing Role of Social Movements in India

The last five weeks of 2020 were dominated by a re-assertion of social movements in India. Can the country build further on this strength in the new year 2021? To answer this question we must look first at the overall situation in the country. The foremost concerns of people appear to be economic ones. A very large number of people[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Appropriating Tagore as a Hindu Nationalist: Chancellor Modi’s Pre-Election Address to Visva-Bharati

Appropriating Tagore as a Hindu Nationalist: Chancellor Modi’s Pre-Election Address to Visva-Bharati

Visva – Bharati University founded in 1921 just completed a hundred years. Located at the Abode of Peace, Shantiniketan, it has however seen much disturbance and violence between the civil society and the Varsity authorities over the past centenary year. With the West Bengal elections slated four months hence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the University Chancellor had quite a[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Ram Aur Shyam

Ram Aur Shyam

Farmers on tractors and battalions behind barbed wire shoot “nayi saal mubarak ho” at the stroke of midnight while nursing their injuries and preparing for the first battle of 2021.   Langars are aflame with the heat of the protests as women cook with men for the foot soldiers of rebellion. Makki ki roti and sarson ka saag heal tired[Read More…]

by 01/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature