The world awaits in keen anticipation to see how the several combinations of resistance will end the beastly apartheid-colonial system that Israel has chosen as their apparatus of misrule. Militant youth confronting the occupation are high on the agenda of resistance. This is assuming forms of courage rarely witnessed before. The holy rage that young Palestinians feel at the humiliation[Read More…]
I would like to announce the publication of a new nook, entitled “Trying To Predict the Future”. The book may be downloaded and circulated, free of charge, from the following link: https://eacpe.org/content/uploads/2022/12/Trying-to-Predict-the-Future-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf Below is some discussion of the content of the book: How can we try to predict the future? As the Danish humorist Storm Petersen once said, “It’s hard[Read More…]
Climate Disaster; as the mounting scientific evidence is pointing to a fast-approaching inevitable happening of ‘human extinction’, the attention of the world is turning towards the details of the potential manmade disaster. Crazy! You guys are bothered about your extinction. It seems absurd as you shout and debate in hundreds of seminars and COPs! How come you guys gain more[Read More…]
It is New Year’s Eve, 2022, by all accounts the year that has been the hardest for Palestinians living under the yolk of Apartheid Israel. At least 207 people killed, 47 of whom were children. That Israel is an Apartheid state is not just an off-the-cuff remark, or yet another adjective to throw at Israel, it is what Amnesty International[Read More…]
K P Sasi also bids adieu. On the Christmas of 2022, he breathed his last at 4 pm in a Private hospice in Thrissur. It was the last of an epoch historically significant and politically charged. All his works, his writings, cartoons, movies – brought into light a world once kept away from the discourses or even consideration of mainstream[Read More…]
If 2022 was witness to a worsening of the most high-risk problems facing our planet, can 2023 bring a true message of hope? The dawn of a new year is a time for hope, but to give more meaning to this hope, some important decisions should be announced by world leadership regarding peace and co-operation for a protective world. Clearly[Read More…]
NASA claims that 2022 was one of the hottest years ever recorded. Furthermore, according to CareOurEarth.com, this past year experienced: “Record-Breaking Heatwaves Around the World.” It was the year of fires (everywhere, big fires), scorching heat (globally) floods (Pakistan! Europe, China) loss of potable water (especially France and Italy) nearly impassable commercial waterways (Danube, Po, Rhine, Mississippi) sunbaked droughts (US[Read More…]
While the most visible devastation of the Ukraine war can be seen in the enormous sufferings of the people of Ukraine, the implications of this war turning sooner or later into a much wider war, perhaps even a nuclear war and the third world war, are simply too horrible to contemplate. Hence immediate peace is needed, creating conditions also for[Read More…]
Two years ago, Morocco and Israel signed the US-brokered “Joint Declaration”, thus officially recognizing Israel and instating diplomatic ties. Though other Arab countries had already done the same, the Moroccan official recognition of Apartheid Israel was particularly devastating for Palestinians. Years ago, a close Moroccan friend told me that the ‘first time’ he was arrested was during a solidarity protest[Read More…]
For seventeen days, Azerbaijani special forces and military personnel—masquerading as “environmentalists”—have blocked the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia. They have effectively severed the only lifeline the Artsakh Armenians have to the outside world—a lifeline guaranteed by the Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020. With 120,000 Artsakh Armenians now completely encircled and isolated, Azerbaijan is poised to rid itself of the entire[Read More…]
Mr. Narendra Modi The Prime Minister of India Dear Sir, Please accept my condolences for the passing away of your mother. I myself lost my father in 2017 and often feel sad about his death five years later. So I can relate with your pain. These must be difficult times for you, and I hope you recover soon. It was[Read More…]
These days Azamgarh is in the process of constructing an International airport at Manduri,with the Modi-Yogi government endorsing a dream project. For the last seventy-two days, 670 acres of land in eight villages of Khiria Bagh is in the process of being snatched by the government for the construction of an international airport. This has invited a strong resurgence from[Read More…]
Waiving off the subsidized price in no way covers even the cost of buying 5 kgs of ration from the open market The Right to Food Campaign condemns the sheer insensitivity of the Central Government’s policy decision which will result in reducing the ration entitlement of 81 crore people by 50%. Under the National Food Security Act, 2013, (NFSA), all[Read More…]
Today on December 30th we commemorate 100 years since the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR Was formed. Representatives of the Soviet governments of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasian Republic (encompassing Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), declared the formation of a new country: the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the first nation in the world based on Marxist socialism.[Read More…]
When in 2010 Qatar was awarded the right to host the 2022 World Cup tournament the Gulf kingdom became the focus of offensive and disparaging campaign. Qatar was accused of mistreating migrant workers engaged to build World Cup projects. The campaign against Qatar as host nation involved Britain, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Demonstrations took place outside[Read More…]
A 2014 report by the NGO Dasra titled Spot On! found that nearly 23 million girls drop out of school every year as they have to face lack of proper menstrual hygiene management facilities, which include availability of sanitary napkins and logical awareness of menstruation. “I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have[Read More…]
Respected Yogi Maharaj, We were to take out a padyatra during 24-27 December, 2022 from Varanasi to Manduri, Azamgarh in support of a farmers’ movement going on at Manduri since 13 October against a proposed international airport which would involve taking over of 670 acres of land belonging to 8 villages uprooting close to ten thousand people. This padyatra was[Read More…]
Luiz Inácio da Silva, the progressive politician popularly known as Lula, is poised to take office as the president of Brazil on January 1. His administration is set to embrace a return to environmental protection following the destructive policies of outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro. Key to these efforts is slowing the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest,more than half of which is[Read More…]
For the first time He was at my place coming straight from Kandhamal !! Do you know where Kandhamal is? He asked me. A man from Kerala is asking a man from Odisha- Do you know where Kandhamal is? I look at his bearded blank face We knew, Kandhamal begins where Gujarat ends The blood and the fire In Gujarat[Read More…]
Greetings from Anti- Jindal & Anti- POSCO Movement, Odisha, India! Before I share developments in our area, let me share our grief that the Anti POSCO & Anti JINDAL movement lost a dear and most valuable friend of the movement KP Sasi. The protesting villagers will never forget his contribution and support. We offer deep condolences to his family and[Read More…]
Here are a few cartoons of K.P.Sasi who passed away recently. They are not really unpublished. It only means that they are being published on the web for the first time.
Demonetisation is an example of a needless policy which failed because of lack of consultation and inadequate understanding of the issues. It led to a policy-induced crisis that deeply impacted the nation: all because democracy was not allowed its full play. In a vibrant democracy, critique of policy a) makes for a) better policies, and b) helps correct mistakes as[Read More…]
In a recent press release the director general of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) explained various issues relating to GM mustard approval. He also issued orders against presenting opinion or writing articles, different from the stated documentation and decisions made by the regulators, on the subject by serving or former officials. Since then several persons well-informed on this[Read More…]
“If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute’ runs a wry idiom in New England where the weather may change dramatically in minutes. However, these days blaming the weather for pretty much everything is fashionable– be it global warming or cooling, no rain, or too much rain, drought, floods or a snow blizzard in winter. Recently the news[Read More…]
Introduction Child abuse is harm to another person, whether an adult or a child, or neglect of a child. In all racial, national, and income groups, child violence exists. Abuse of children may be physical, mental – verbal, sexual or ignored. Abuse may cause the child to suffer serious injury and could even result[Read More…]
People’s Union for Democratic Rights welcomes the findings of the report submitted by the District and Sessions Judge, Faridabad into the illegal detention and brutal torture of labour rights activist, Shiv Kumar in January 2021 by the Haryana Police. Part of the findings ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the petition filed by Shiv Kumar’s father in[Read More…]
On July 30, 2013 communist revolutionary movement and revolutionary trade union movement had lost a valiant fighter and most creative activist. Paltu Sen, President of the National Committee of IFTU and a member of the Central Committee of CPI(ML)-New Democracy had breathed his last. For nearly half a century, Paltu Sen heart and soul waged a battle for New Democratic[Read More…]
A narrow room without a number, and a door without your name. Under a crimson blanket, your knees drawn up, mouth open And eyes shut, you have anonymously exited from the only game. * The much trampled road, all stops done, ends tamely at your bed. In wayside lodges where keys hang from nails, old debates on capital And labour[Read More…]
One thing the opposition may learn from the RSS/BJP combine is that the latter has always the big picture in mind in planning its course of action and making its tactical moves.Something the fragmented opposition fighting among themselves and used to moving down the beaten track have not been able to do. It knows that by renewing the furore about[Read More…]
The Zameen Prapt Sangharsh Committee on Friday on December 23rd, concluded its five day protest outside the district collectors office in Sangrur. For 5 continuous days the dalit agricultural labourers waged a relentless battle for their demands. Prominent leaders were Bikar Singh Hathua,Paramjit Longowal, and Gurvinder Shahdari who expressed that they would placed the demands before the DPO of Sangur[Read More…]
R.P. Amudhan captures the essence of K.P. Sasi in his short movie “Breath to Breath”. Sasi succinctly expresses his views on life, activism, creative work with his quirky humour and witticism. It is a glimpse of Sasi’s life in an unabashed manner. Watch it to relive the memories with Sasi
During recent months a determined struggle by villagers in Zira area of Ferozepur district, Punjab, has been demanding the removal of a highly polluting factory to save the soil and water of their region. As a result of this pollution water and soil have been badly damaged and groundwater was found to be very contaminated. The recent crackdown of[Read More…]
Tanaav, a series, that released on an online platform, last month, tells a tale of human conflict. It is the tale within the tale that is worrying. Last month India’s International Film Festival, held annually in Goa, brought together quality cinema, film-makers and audiences, to a celebration of how to speak truth to power, and say it well. The Golden[Read More…]
The Mac Mahon Line drawn by the British was never accepted by China, even in the pre-Communist era, even a century ago when it was drawn. It was a line “drawn on a map without surveys, was neither delineated nor demarcated,” commented AS Bhasin, the Director (Retd) of the History department of India’s Foreign Ministry. The Dec 9 clash[Read More…]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meets in Lodz, Poland, on December 1, 2022. Photo credit: OSCE On December 27 2022, both Russia and Ukraine issued calls for ending the war in Ukraine, but only on non-negotiable terms that they each know the other side will reject. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister[Read More…]
Planet on the Boil: Twinkle-Uncle Dialogue on Climate Stalemate Uncle: And how about the D’s, Twinkle? Twinkle: They are the Deniers, uncle. These conservative elements deny the very existence of the issue. For example, one Wag TV made a 90-minute documentary called ‘The Great Global Warming Swindle’ for Britain’s Channel 4. According to the channel, manmade climate change was “a[Read More…]
As 2022 draws to a close, the world bears the tragic burden of the war in Ukraine. The war began on the 24th of February of this year with the Russian invasion of its neighbour. It has been 10 months. There is nothing to indicate that it will end any time soon. Thousands have perished — soldiers on both sides[Read More…]
An organisation which claims to work for Hinduism, Hindu unity and consolidation needs to address the discriminatory practices in religion by rising above the caste-based identities. It needs to be more reformative in nature rather than revivalist and work towards annihilating caste rather than reinforcing caste based discriminatory practices. The book by Raghuram Meghawanshi ‘I could not be a Hindu:[Read More…]
Recently several cases are sensationalized by the media where in women in live-in relationships have been subjected to gruesome violence and are brutally murdered. The mainstream media and politics pushed a toxic communal narrative and blamed women for marrying by choice and having an inter-caste or inter-religious relationship while evoking the unreasonable patriarchal notions of `love jihad’ or `honor killings’.[Read More…]
Inaugurating the first Global Innovation Summit of the pharmaceuticals sector in November, 2021, Prime Minister Modi, in his characteristic triumphant style, said, “the global trust earned by the Indian healthcare sector (in recent times) has led to the nation being called the “pharmacy of the world” (https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/india-is-now-being-called- pharmacy-of-the-world-says-pm-modi-121111801288_1.html). It is true that the Indian pharmaceutical sector meets 50% of the[Read More…]
Only recently, the Chief Minister of Goa warned the people of the State in rough and ready terms: ‘I will not brook any criticism of the PM’. In the ever-widening threat of trampling public discourse and media freedom, I pondered as to how long more one would be able to read a valid newspaper, or tune into critical news coverage[Read More…]
Turn, turn any corner Hear, you must hear what the people say You know that somethin’ is goin’ on around here It surely, surely, surely won’t stand the light of day… no Speak out, you got to speak out against the madness You got to speak your mind, if you dare It’s been a long time comin’ It’s going to[Read More…]
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela). There are varied perspectives exist among the scholars with regard to the role of School as an agency of social change. For some, modern institutions like Schools and Colleges (by promoting secular and democratic thinking through critical pedagogy) could play progressive role in the[Read More…]
In 2023 the 50th anniversary of the famous Chipko Movement is being observed. This name (which translated from Hindi means hug the trees) and the movement it represents has caught popular imagination and become almost a household name in India. This refers loosely to a series of efforts, starting about 50 years back in India’s state of Uttarakhand, in West[Read More…]
With new FBI and Department of “Justice” (DOJ) attacks expected in early January, a defense, mobilization and information session attracted hundreds of allies of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP). On Friday, December 23 they zoomed into the “Emergency Mass Meeting: Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa!” The APSP told its supporters that it expects indictments in early January 2023[Read More…]
“This is quite shocking,” declared South Australia’s Attorney-General and Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Kyam Maher. “These caves are some of the earliest evidence of Aboriginal occupation of that part of the country.” That evidence was subtracted this month by acts of vandalism inflicted on artwork in Koonalda Cave on the Nullarbor Plain, claimed to be the world’s largest limestone karst landscape[Read More…]
Russia’s war upon Ukraine should remind us that violent international conflicts not only persist, but constitute a plague upon the world. Over thousands of years, wars have brought immense suffering to people around the globe. In addition to the widespread annihilation of human life, wars have produced vast material losses, including the destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, entire cities, the[Read More…]
A very unfortunate but at the same time undeniable fact of recent history has been that in the global order which emerged after the Second World War, the rivalry between the USA and the Soviet Union played out in the form of several very destructive proxy wars. The two main rivals were heavily armed with thousands of nuclear weapons capable[Read More…]
An annual tradition, since my childhood, has been to watch the 1951 film classic A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim. In the film Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Sim, is taken back by the Ghost of Christmas past to review events in his life. What always brings tears to this writer’s eyes is when Scrooge sees how his former employer[Read More…]
To Smt Droupadi Murmu President of India Rashtrapati Bhawan Respected Rashtrapati Ji, In June this year, while addressing a gathering in the UK, Justice Shri D Y Chandrachud, the present Chief Justice of India (CJI), was reported to have made the following observations. “the Constitution’s transformative dimension comes from its attempt to remedy discrimination. Flowing from it, working towards equality needs to consider[Read More…]
Today (25 December 2022) came to know about the sad demise of my dear and close friend K.P.Sasi. I came across this creative brilliant person when I was working for my book, ‘Communalism: Illustrated Primer’. I had long chats with him on the issue of communalism. He himself was very concerned about this issue and readily agreed to draw for[Read More…]
Our beloved K.P.Sasi is no more. Filmmaker, cartoonist, writer, mentor, friend and above all tireless activist championing the cause of every underdog, Sasi breathed his last, mid-afternoon this Christmas day – after battling a medical condition for months. I remember the last time I met him, almost exactly a month before he passed away, at the ayurvedic healing center in[Read More…]
Centre withheld over 7,500 cr funds, 2,744 cr due to NREGA workers Centre hasn’t sanctioned labour budget for 2022-23 Loss of around 4687-6842 crores of NREGA wages this FY due to stoppage of work Average days of work for the current year dropped to meagre 23 from 63.46 days (pre-covid) and 49.96 days (post-covid) Victimisation of workers: MGNREGA workers in[Read More…]
In all ages wicked men tried to plot Against God’s Way, but they never Succeeded and were covered with shame In ways unexpected. The righteous see good in God’s Word, and their goal is the Good Great teachers were sent to all nations, to warn against Evil And guide to the Right. The penalty for Evil comes in many unexpected[Read More…]
At least from the very academic viewpoint, war is a condition of armed conflict between at least two sides (but, in fact, states). There are, historically, several types of warfare as conventional warfare, civil war, lightning war (blitzkrieg in German), total war, hegemonic war, liberation war, war on terrorism, etc. However, according to the used warfare technique, there is, for[Read More…]
The fear of US aid to Ukraine being blocked has been averted with the roughly $1.65 trillion spending bill having been passed by the Senate and the House. The bill includes around $45 billion in aid to Ukraine’s war efforts and NATO allies. President Joe Biden was keen for its passage ahead of Christmas vacation while the Congress remains under[Read More…]
Just before Christmas and holidays the Veterans for Peace organization has issued a call for ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict and at least a holiday truce which deserves wide attention. This statement has been signed by about 38 members, former or present office-bearers as well as a leading advisory board member. Veterans for Peace (VFP) is also an important constituent[Read More…]
This is part-1 of a Review of the recent, India-China December 9 clash. Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement on the December 9 clash between Indian and Chinese troops at LAC Yangtse, Tawang sector, Arunachal Pradesh, is given below: The notable points of the statement are that it is an area of LAC with differing perceptions, wherein both sides[Read More…]
1 Ravela Somaiya, a senior socialist friend living in Hyderabad, had sent a video to me about two months back. I opened the video and found Ramchandra Guha’s speech in it, which was delivered at Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana. I closed the video without listening to that speech. This university came into limelight last year for abruptly terminating the services[Read More…]
Indians’ headlong zeal for digital payments is curious to me. I’m not reflexively anti-technology, but I do believe there are limits. And even on a short trip to India, with relatively few financial dealings, I’ve come to believe that carrying cash is still a good idea. And one that I will hold onto. In the Odyssey, the hero comes upon[Read More…]
Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) unequivocally condemns the blatantly misogynist decree of Taliban that for all practical purposes has effectively banned women’s education in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban have taken over in 2021, girls haven’t been able to access schools. Although they promised to open girls’ school from March 23rd; the same day they revoked the order. This December[Read More…]
Imagine being confined to a space the size of a car’s interior in the pitch blackness of outer space for three days. Your spacecraft is the Apollo 14 Command Module “Kitty Hawk,” returning from the moon. In order to maintain thermal balance, the module will rotate 360° every two minutes, as the sun, the moon and stars, 10xs brighter and[Read More…]
At a time of increasing threats to world peace, a need often felt has been re-emphasized with increased urgency—our deeply troubled world should have a much stronger, much more broad-based peace movement, which works with continuity, instead of merely responding to crisis situations. Christmas may be just the right time to plan for this. To make the peace movement much[Read More…]
The European people suffered a lot in the two world wars, and hence in the post-1945 period it was only to be expected that there would be yearning for avoiding conflict and war within Europe. To the extent that the unity of Europe in the form of the European Union (EU) is a manifestation of this yearning, this should be[Read More…]
The following quote is from the first paragraph of Lenin’s great work; The State and Revolution: The Marxist Theory of the State and the Tasks of the Proletariat in the Revolution (2017) underlining a cardinal truth; how rulers and their henchmen/women repress those ideologies and individuals who strive to emancipate masses from the exploitative rules. This chameleon like lot uses[Read More…]
A new, freely downloadable, book I would like to announce the publication of a new book, entitled “Lives of Some Great Classical Composers”. The pdf file of the book may be downloaded and circulated free of charge from the following link: https://eacpe.org/content/uploads/2022/12/Lives-of-Classical-Composers-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf It is part of my series of books on cultural history. Human history as cultural history We need[Read More…]
by Vijay Prashad and Zoe Alexandra In mid-December, the African National Congress (ANC) held its national conference where South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was reelected as leader of his party, which means that he will lead the ANC into the 2024 general elections. A few delegates at the Johannesburg Expo Center in Nasrec, Gauteng—where the party conference was held—shouted at Ramaphosa asking him[Read More…]
Since September, Kosovo’s fragile stability that has endured since 1999, following intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has grown progressively precarious. Clashes between ethnic Serbians and Kosovo security forces saw Serbia’s military placed on high alert in November. Several high-profile Serbian officials, including President Aleksandar Vučić, announced that the Serbian military could be deployed to northern Kosovo to protect the ethnic Serbs, who make up the[Read More…]
In fits of, what might well be termed, masochism, some of us now-and-then tune in to the legacy media. When doing so, one is likely to hear western-aligned politicians rhetorize ad nauseam about the linguistically vogue rules-based order. Now and then, the word “international” is also inserted: the rules-based international order. But what exactly is this rules-based order? The way[Read More…]
Just when Israel, and even some Palestinians, began talking about the Lions’ Den phenomenon in the past tense, a large number of fighters belonging to the newly-formed Palestinian group marched in the city of Nablus. Unlike the group’s first appearance on September 2, the number of fighters who took part in the rally in the Old City of Nablus on[Read More…]
We all do it. Make little snap judgments about everyday strangers as we go about our lives. Without giving it a second’s thought, we sketch minibiographies of the people we pass on the sidewalk, the guy seated across from us on the train, or the woman in line in front of us at the grocery store. We wonder: Who are[Read More…]
When there seems to be a growing recognition of regional cine industries in recent years, the fanfare around Odia film DAMaN probably marks Ollywood’s resurgence with a strong populist overtone. Besides its off-centred storyline around public health, the film garnered a staggering response at the box office and beyond for its virtue signalling on ideal doctorhood and developmental statecraft in[Read More…]
The book ‘Fractured Freedom’ is an autobiography of Kobad Gandhi’s difficult journey so far. This is the story of his wife Anuradha and Kobad Gandhi’s life so far. Working for the underprivileged, marginalized. From the book, it is understood that the aim of his life is to promote more human values, social justice should reach the grassroots of the society.[Read More…]
A hunger strike has been launched by five landless dalit activists in the dharna of the Zameen Prapt Sangharsh Commitee, started on December 19th.Inspite of the bitter cold the protestors have intensified at the District collector office, the tempo of the agitation on the third day, at a boiling point. Two women participants fell ill due to the weather. It[Read More…]
Guantanamo, epitomizing torture, indefinite incarceration and gross human right violations, remains a sordid emblem of inhumanity The Presidential Military Order that enabled it was “to detain and try suspects for violation of the laws of war and other applicable laws”. The malicious dichotomy was that these individuals were detained at Guantanamo because no court had any jurisdiction there. This was[Read More…]
With wars raging in Ukraine, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere, Roe v. Wade overturned and our resources being wasted on militarism instead of addressing the climate crisis, it can be hard to remember the hard-won progress being made. As we end a difficult year, let’s pause to remind ourselves of some of the positive changes that happened in 2022 that should[Read More…]
An update on the hunger hot spots of the world issued by the FAO-World Food Program in September 2022 drew particular attention to the serious situation in Afghanistan. This review stated that loss of life due to hunger may be already occurring, the levels of food insecurity and ‘significant loss of life’ are likely to increase from November, as another[Read More…]
Africa has been a continent exploited since the European scramble carved it out in lines of a draughtsman’s crude design. Its resources have been pilfered; its peoples enslaved for reasons of trade and profit; its political conditions manipulated to favour predatory companies. A similar pattern is detectable in the digital world. The slavers have replaced their human product with data[Read More…]
Sachar Committee which was appointed by UPA I in 2005 released its report in 2006. It observed that the condition of Muslim community in all areas of social and political life has been sliding down. Faced with the insecurity due to violence against them, its representation in social-political life has been going down for a free fall. UPA in all[Read More…]
Maulana Bande Ali, in his poem on Miah Muslims of Assam, wrote: “Neither charuwa, nor pamua I am an Asomiya. Of Assam’s earth and air I am an equal claimant.” The sentiment conveyed in these lines is still representative of the ordeals faced by the Miah Muslims living in the char areas of Barpeta in Assam. Sharing a porous border[Read More…]
In September, the U.S. created a foundation that was supposed to unfreeze Afghanistan’s foreign assets. Yet, interviews with trustees reveal that, in three months, no funds have been disbursed—or concrete plans made—to help the Afghan people. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and, in response, Europe, the United Arab Emirates and the United States froze the Afghan central bank’s roughly[Read More…]
“You don’t need religion to have morals. If you can’t determine right from wrong, then you lack empathy, not religion.” Anonymous This anonymous quote that I received as a forward and in turn forwarded to my friends, though seemingly clear, rational and reasonable is however susceptible to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. On reading the quote, religionists’ first instinct is[Read More…]
During a visit to the FTII campus in Pune last week, I found that it looked more like an army camp. There were policemen in army-type uniforms all over. One was followed everywhere by a jawan. Even a visitor to Pakistan is treated with more discretion, I found that during a visit there to attend a peace conference 20 years[Read More…]
To The Secretary General United Nations CC: The Executive Secretary CBD Secretariat Your Excellency, Greetings. The adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework by the CBD COP15, early this week, raises issues of substance as well as serious procedural issues. The substantive issue, in short, is that while ritually repeating the triple objectives of the Convention, the GBF virtually unmakes[Read More…]
To Shri Rajesh Bhushan Union Health Secretary Dear Shri Rajesh Bhushan, I had earlier expressed my concerns about the implications of the death of 70 children in Gambia, allegedly the victims of substandard cough syrup manufactured by Maiden Pharma in Haryana. My letters 6-10-2022 and 12-10-2022 refer (https://countercurrents.org/2022/10/death-of-children-in-gambia-action-against-the-drug-regulators-called-for/?swcfpc=1). You may have seen the recent news reports on a Select[Read More…]
The recent clashes involving cruise tourists, tour operators and taxi-folk have lessons that the Goa Tourism ministry can apply. Tourism must, of necessity, bring gains to the hosts who are the local community. Tourism is, of essence, a socio-cultural transaction between the visitors and visited. The numerous clashes which occur in tourism are because of the commercial impulse big business[Read More…]
“The truth of the matter is that we are in a heavy militarized society driven by greed, lust for profit and wars are being created just to fuel that.” The above is a very distressing, very worrisome truth about the USA of recent times that very few are willing to speak in the world’s ‘leading democracy’. However one very noteworthy[Read More…]
Planet on the Boil: Twinkle-Uncle Dialogue on Climate Stalemate Uncle: There are varied and different opinions about the climate crisis. How do we understand these differences, Twinkle? I hear, the greenhouse effect was discussed by the French mathematician Joseph Fourier some two hundred years ago. Most recently the Nobel Prize for Physics for 2021 was awarded to climatologists Syukuro Manabe[Read More…]
Antonia Facciponte’s 2021 debut poetry collection is a tender dance for her Italian-Canadian heritage. Her poems sway through melodies of family memories and memorabilia – recipes, letters, cabinets of souvenirs – and delight readers with their playfulness regarding translation, deferring the usual poignancy for things-lost for the magic of awakening, recognition and listening. What is useful or inspiring to you[Read More…]
The Islamic Republic of Iran was the first UN member ever to be expelled from the prestigious Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), tasked with protecting women’s rights and promoting gender equality. In response to Iran’s crackdown on protests, following the death of a young woman in police custody, Tehran’s four-year term on the CSW came to an end[Read More…]
On December 11th the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine commemorated its 55th anniversary. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine celebrated the 55th anniversary of it’s founding with a large parade in the streets of the besieged Gaza Strip. The PFLP is a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist organization founded in 1967 by Dr. George Habash. Its creation is a[Read More…]
On Monday, at the UN’s COP15 biodiversity conference in Canada, more than 190 countries approved an agreement to declare 30% of the planet as a protected zone by 2030 and to raise $30 billion per year for conservation in the developing world. Debates over the agreement have been held for nearly two weeks in Montreal, where representatives of about 200 governments[Read More…]
The planet has entered the sixth mass extinction. Pollution, climate change and depleting resources could drive up to 27% of the world’s animal life to extinction, a new paper has claimed. The study used a supercomputer to map out how interdependent food chains could collapse in the coming decades. Published on Friday and authored by European Commission scientist Giovanni Strona[Read More…]
Members of the Zameen Prapati Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC) launched an indefinite protest outside Sangrur Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office yesterday as a result of abject failure of the authorities to fulfil promise to their long-pending demands. Around 400 persons participated, mainly women, with wrath written on their faces against the government apathy. Illustration of the bankruptcy of the Aam Admi party[Read More…]
Introduction In the 1950’s, Algerian freedom fighters rose up against the French occupation, leading the way for other freedom fighters across Africa to gain independence from France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Dutch, and Great Britain . One after another starting in 1954, countries won their independence against colonial rulers but later fell under the control of their own oppressive regimes. Today[Read More…]
On November 1, the deputy director of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation downplayed remarks made on October 30 by an agency official, who warned of Western weapons bound for Ukraine being smuggled into Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Nonetheless, the affair generated significant attention and reflected previous concerns expressed by European authorities over Ukraine’s vulnerability to organized crime and the repercussions for the[Read More…]
Two statements made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stolenberg on December 9 (quoted in The Telegraph, UK, next day), have attracted much attention. “I fear that the war in Ukraine will get out of control and spread into a major war between NATO and Russia.” “If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong.” Although the NATO chief also said[Read More…]
Most of the U.S. citizens are unhappy with the course of their country, their leaders, and the future, finds a new poll. A report by USA Today (Unhappy new year? Poll finds Americans wary of the nation’s course, its leaders and its future ahead of 2023, Dec 19, 2022, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/12/18/poll-inflation-future-leaders-americans/10903538002/) said: Americans are braced for an unhappy new year. Two-thirds[Read More…]
With the onset of FIFA World Cup, Kerala’s football fanatics have geared up the game ahead. The giant cut-out of Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo in the pullavoor river in Kozhikode is a paradigm of how Kerala’s passion for football pumps through the veins. As fans roots for football legends Messi ,Neymar and Ronaldo world cup fever is interestingly reaching heights[Read More…]
Every four years, the football world cup brings the world together. The euphoric bond transcends religious, ideological, political and time barriers. Messi, Mbappe, Neymar and Benzema, artists in motion, mesmerize and enthrall fans as did football greats like Pele and Maradona. At a mind-boggling 227.27 million viewers per day an estimated 5 billion people, nearly three fourth of humanity, viewed[Read More…]
Twitter headquarters was the scene of a demonstration by union and labor activists today under the theme of “Get Your Ticket to Mars, Musk Attacks for Crushing Workers” calling for Elon Musk to depart Earth via his company Space X for the Red Planet. The trope was inspired by Musk’s own words who on numerous occasions has stated that he[Read More…]
Arizona is ground zero for the wackiest theories and craziest political candidates. Exhibit A: Kari Lake, the Republican who ran for governor in the recent midterm elections. Though she lost in November, she’s still campaigning — on social media, in the courts, and in her own beclouded imagination. She refuses to accept that Katie Hobbs, her Democratic opponent, won by 0.6% of[Read More…]
One third of primary schools in Jharkhand have a single teacher. Pupil attendance is just 68% in primary schools and 58% in upper-primary. Right to Education Act grossly violated in all government schools A new survey report, Gloom in the Classroom, lays bare the dismal state of the schooling system in Jharkhand and the depth of the post-Covid crisis.[Read More…]
Professor Joma Sison expired in the night of December 16th. Joma died peacefully after a period of confinement in a hospital in Utrecht, The Netherlands last night at around 8:40 p.m. (Philippine time). He was 83.An irreparable loss of one of the great Marxist intellectuals and leaders of our times. Sison has departed but he has planted seeds for many[Read More…]
Global coal demand is set to increase only marginally in 2022 but enough to push it to an all-time high amid the energy crisis, according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) released on Friday. Global coal use is set to rise by 1.2% in 2022, surpassing 8 billion tonnes in a single year for the first time[Read More…]
There was never anything going for it, except political mileage and the desire for crude retribution. The putting to death of another human being by the legal sanction of a state has always been another way of justifying murder, effectively assassination by judicial fiat. Such policies remain terrifying features of a number of penal systems, designed to terrorise more than[Read More…]
![Thousands of Bangladesh Nationalist Party supporters rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec. 10, 2022, to demand the Hasina government resign and hold early elections. [AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu]](https://cdn.countercurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Bangladesh-Protest-200x150.webp "Mass protests in Bangladesh against brutal cost of living increases 229")
Tens of thousands of people protested in Dhaka on December 10 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led government and to call for new elections over rising inflation, fuel increases and violent police attacks. The next general election is not officially due until the end of 2023. The demonstrations—part of a national series of “restore democracy”[Read More…]
Assam is the dark side of the planet that is India.Rest of India neither knows nor cares what happens there.That has happened time and again.That is to say India does not seem to really know what is happening to it or it is impossible to retrieve the truth from the messy accumulation of lies and distortions.For example the truth about[Read More…]
Boycott ‘Pathaan’ trend has been doing rounds on social media in India ever since the movie’s song ‘Besharam Rang’ has been released recently. On several fronts, a few of the people with no job in their hand remain intact in searching the solid bases for boycotting the movie. This time, the boycott clique is coming forward with so many issues,[Read More…]
Muslims will suffer the most. This will lead further marginalization of Muslims in higher education. In India, the nightmare for Indian Muslims does not appear to be ending anytime soon. As if the daily physical and virtual assaults on Indian Muslims weren’t enough, the government of India has decided to further torment the Muslim community by scrapping the Maulana[Read More…]
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was a giant of world history, though one barely understood both at home or abroad. While I am no expert on his life or his legacy, suffice it to say the more I read and the more I discover about him, the more I am in awe at his contributions, especially in the light of terrible personal[Read More…]
Romi Meitei has made 40 feature films and short films. His well-known movie Eikhogi Yum( Our Home ) was screened in the international competition section of the 27th International Film Festival of Kerala. The film won Fipresci international award and a jury mention of NETPAC at IFFK 2022. Does the film “Our Home” depict the real-life situation of fishermen in[Read More…]
Global warming is taking a big bite out of the planet. Unprecedented severe droughts dry up major commercial waterways and extreme conditions have either diminished or partially decimated many crops in the US, Europe, China, Australia, the Indian subcontinent and throughout regions of Africa. This article explores the impact of “multiple breadbasket failures” as defined by UN research. As well[Read More…]
In Iran, the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, believed to be beaten following her arrest by the “Morality Police” on the grounds that her hair was visible, instigated the Iranian people to flood the streets, starting with women. The demonstrations, which began with demands against the Morality Police and the compulsory headscarf, have been going on continuously[Read More…]
Factory farms are harmful to animals, the environment, local communities, and public health. We need a more logical and just food system. It’s a common narrative that factory farming—despite animal cruelty, environmental destruction, and human health impacts—has net positives that make it an important part of society, especially in rural America. It provides affordable meat to our populations, creates jobs in small towns,[Read More…]
The pomp and ceremony of the recent visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia has drawn comparison with the banality and frigid atmosphere surrounding the U.S. President Joe Biden’s trip to the kingdom in July. However, the main difference is that the Saudis organized three separate regional summits for Xi—aside the bilateral summit, a second summit with 21[Read More…]
A world government is in the making, and we desperately need one. Why? The world today is in turmoil, and our current global governance infrastructure (the UN, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), etc.) has proven itself unable to rise to the challenge, despite its best efforts. The undemocratic and ineffective UN Security Council, where five permanent members wield a[Read More…]
After the Cold War 1.0 (1949−1989) emerged many new problems in the international arena of global politics as the circumstances concerning international relations drastically have been changed. One of the many problematic issues that have been facing both the USA and Europe (in fact, NATO and the EU) after 1989 was to find a new way of their relations with[Read More…]
It finally occurred. On December 7th 2022 Peru’s ruling parliamentary dictatorship managed to bring to fruition their top priority, to oust democratically elected president Pedro Castillo Terrones. Castillo, a rural primary teacher, elected to Peru’s highest office in July 2021, from day one faced the Peruvian oligarchy’s relentless hostility. Peru’s elite is strongly entrenched in Congress and controls all key state[Read More…]
India is the second largest food producing country in the world and we are number one in the production of milk, pulses, rice, fish, vegetables and wheat. Despite this, a large population of the country is a victim of malnutrition. According to the United Nations’ report ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022’, people’s struggle with[Read More…]
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) India’s official claim is to the entire region of the pre-Independence “Princely State of Kashmir & Jammu” – namely, Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh – as an integral part of India. This includes Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). Pakistan entered into a boundary Agreement with China in March 1963 to settle its border differences, and ceded the Shaksgam Valley of the Hunza region[Read More…]
The Prime Minister and others glorifying the speed culture on our highways should read this and ponder. Hundreds of vehicles ran over a man on the highway near Miraj in Maharashtra , parts of his body were scattered all over. No driver cared to stop. This is speed culture for you. The Nagpur-Shirdi stretch of the Samruddhi Mahamarg inaugurated by[Read More…]
Based on his twenty-one-year fieldwork, Jonathan P Parry authored ‘Classes of Labour: Work and Life in a Central Indian Steel Town’, in which he argued the weakening of the caste system as a principle of stratification. According to Parry, with a few exceptions, class system is key for social divisions and in determining social behaviour of individuals. Though his arguments[Read More…]
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview published on Thursday: Ukraine has no choice but to fight for the 1991 borders, because the world failed to guarantee its security and Ukraine alone is paying the price of the conflict. The Economist spoke with Zelensky on December 8, but published an edited transcript only a week later. Just two days prior to[Read More…]
More than 100,000 nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland walked off the job on Thursday in the largest strike in the 106-year history of their union, the Royal College of Nursing. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) launched the biggest strike, warning that an NHS staff exodus is “costing patients their lives.” Drivers showed support for thousands of striking[Read More…]
‘Politics in Command ‘by Joshua Moufawad Paul, in it’s own right is a classic, which breaks conventional norms to resurrect Marxism-Leninism. The book continues the flow of his earlier works like ’’Continuity and Rupture’, ‘Critique of Maoist Reason’, and ‘The Communist necessity.’ It poses challenge to dogmatic approach. The book investigates or probes into the very germinating of economism, deeply[Read More…]
In his book ‘Collapse’ (2011) Jared Diamond portrays the fate of societies which Choose to Fail or Succeed. On a larger scale the Fermi’s paradox suggests that advanced technological civilizations may constitute ephemeral entities in the galaxy, destined to collapse over short periods. Such an interpretation of Fermi’s paradox, corroborated by recent terrestrial history, implies that the apparent absence of[Read More…]
Karl Burkart is deputy director of the ENGO One Earth and a prolific writer on environmental issues. Recently he has published two opeds defending the energy transition (here and here). These opeds are well intentioned but still disinformation at a crucial time for climate mitigation. I have written a critique of Mr. Burkart’s perspective, tried to find an address for him but[Read More…]
Hey, cheer up because it truly is a beauty! I’m talking about this country’s latest “stealth bomber,” the B-21 Raider, just revealed by Northrop Grumman, the company that makes it, in all its glory. With its striking bat-winged shape and its ability to deliver a very big bang (as in nuclear weapons), it’s our very own “bomber of the future.” As Secretary of[Read More…]
One of the worst developments of 2022 was the electoral victory of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Gujarat state of India. The December 8 assembly polls gave a clear verdict in favour of the BJP, which won 156 out of 182 seats, forming government for seventh term in a row. Like it or not, the[Read More…]
Review of P. Sainath’s “The Last Heroes, Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom” One of the twentieth century’s signal moments happened in the summer of 1947. That summer, the population of the world’s second largest country gained Independence from British rule, after 190 years of plunder, murder, famine, and immiseration. A nation that in 1757 boasted 25% of the world’s economy[Read More…]
Imagine, if voting for the Himachal and Gujarat Assemblies was to take place on the same day, let’s say on 12 November or 1 December or 5 December – and not on these three separate days! Do you think the outcome of the voting would have been the same, as these have turned out to be? Or if not, then[Read More…]
In the recently held elections, MCD, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, BJP came with thumping majority in Gujarat, while losing badly in MCD to AAP and Himachal to Congress. In Himachal though the total votes polled by Congress and BJP are having a narrow margin, Congress won with a reasonable majority of 40. While BJP was loser in Delhi and Himachal,[Read More…]
Opening mining of atomic minerals to private parties detrimental to national interest To Shri Rajiv Gauba Union Cabinet Secretary Dear Shri Gauba, Please refer to my letter dated 7-10-2022 on the far reaching implications of allowing private companies to mine atomic minerals and the need for revoking recent amendments to the Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDRA) in furtherance[Read More…]
Qazi Ahmad Naeem Qureshi,was a manifestation of the spirit of the historic student movement, which started from the plate of the National Students Federation, a revolutionary organization of students confronting the 10-year military dictatorship of General Ayub Khan in Pakistan in 1968. He died on December 3, 2022 in the city of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It is a an irreparable loss[Read More…]
NOVATO, CA (12-14) – On the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, activist groups around the country honored the memory of the 20 first graders ages six and seven and six adult staff members who were murdered. Since then, 89 other students across the country have been killed in twenty-two school shootings. Those who were hopeful that[Read More…]
The European Union has returned to the ritual of sanctioning Iran to leverage its foreign and security policies. The highlight of the EU Foreign Affairs Council ministerial meeting in Brussels on Monday was the imposition of sanctions against Iran over a range of issues. The issues were “the unacceptable repression of the ongoing protests and the worsening human rights situation”[Read More…]
The next Nakba Day will be officially commemorated by the United Nations General Assembly on May 15, 2023. The decision by the world’s largest democratic institution is significant, if not a game changer. For nearly 75 years, the Palestinian Nakba, the ‘Catastrophe’ wrought by the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist militias in 1947-48, has served as the epicenter of[Read More…]
Many eminent scientists who have examined the technology of genetically engineered (GE) or genetically modified (GM) crops have come to a clear conclusion that it is a highly hazardous and risky technology. To give just one example, eminent scientists from several countries who comprise the Independent Science Panel (ISP) have drawn this conclusion after studying various aspects of GM crops,[Read More…]
India has about 80.9 million sqkm of forest cover, which is 24.62 percent of the country’s geographical area. The total forest cover has been estimated to have increased by 2,261 sqkm in 2019. The location of dense and open forests is prominent in this forest cover. In recent years there has been an expansion of forest cover in different states[Read More…]
Ei Muhurte Kichhu Bhavna of West Bengal activists have been closely studying the movement of dalit agricultural workers f Punjab in relation to the agrarian revolutionary movement of Punjab and integration with movement of landed farmers. It just presented a report on its experiences and reflected their interpretation. The organisation in Punjab that is fighting for land for the landless,[Read More…]
People’s mobilizations in Peru continued Tuesday in many areas. The protesting people reiterated the demand for the closure of Congress, the release of former President Pedro Castillo, resignation of acting President Dina Boluarte and the holding of new elections. Citing community media, a teleSUR report said: Protests that have taken place in Peru included Plaza San Martin, downtown Lima (capital),[Read More…]
[1] Climate Change, or Climate Destruction? Uncle: Twinkle, what do you think about the whole climate crisis that we are facing now? Twinkle: What can I say, uncle? But I am glad you call it “climate crisis”. Some call it innocuously as “climate change”. Is it a slight CHANGE that we are encountering now? Uncle: No way, this is systematic[Read More…]
Palestine won too without even playing! Since the historical decision when Qatar was awarded the FIFA hosting rights in 2010, it has constructed seven gigantic stadiums and refurbished Stadium 974, named after the country’s international dialing code. This stadium has more than normal stadium value. It is a port-side structure with more than 40,000 seats built also from recycled shipping[Read More…]
by Vijay Prashad and José Carlos Llerena Robles On December 7, 2022, Pedro Castillo sat in his office on what would be the last day of his presidency of Peru. His lawyers went over spreadsheets that showed Castillo would triumph over a motion in Congress to remove him. This was going to be the third time that Castillo faced a challenge from[Read More…]
Given the level of attention to the recently imposed freight rail contract that provides no, zero, acute sick days for railroad workers earning an average wage of $64,210 (before the recent 24% increase spread out over 5 years), let’s remember their huge toll of Covid-19 cases as shown in this table of infected rail workers from the Federal Railroad Administration.[Read More…]
Mike Savala’s boots scuffed the edge of a singed patch of forest littered with skinny fingers of burnt ponderosa pine needles. Nearby, an oak seedling sizzled as a yellow-shirted firefighter hit it with a stream of water. Spurts of smoke rose from blackened ground the size of a hockey rink. A 100-foot Ponderosa pine towered overhead. “Third response today,” said[Read More…]
International trade has generally been examined in the context of impacts on two or more trading countries as well as the world trading system and its rules. Specific studies in terms of impacts on poor and vulnerable people have received lesser attention, even though very large numbers may be adversely affected in some contexts. Certain elites may benefit while the[Read More…]
When he was a child in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina, Lionel Messi was nicknamed “La Pulga” (the flea) because of his short stature. This didn’t stop him from starting to play soccer since he was five years old. In 2004, when Kobe Bryant, the famous basketball player visited his friend Ronaldinho, considered one of the best soccer players in the[Read More…]
In 1904, Jack London, the most celebrated American writer of the time, was sent as a reporter to cover the war between Russia and Japan. According to Daniel A. Métraux, editor of a collection of London’s writings on Asia (1): “London’s tenure as a journalist in Korea and Manchuria was a revelation to his worldview. As a white man he was[Read More…]
My Son’s Inheritance: A Secret History of Lynching and Blood Justice in India, Aparna Vaidik, Aleph Book Company, New Delhi, 2020. ISBN-13:978-8194233787, Pages 192, Rs 499. This short book of creative non-fiction by historian Aparna Vaidik collides forcefully and head-on with many of the convictions of the communally-charged political parties in India. Composed in a controlled way, My Son’s Inheritance,[Read More…]
Cruelty has its own beauty, and over the course of the last one month that sublime monster has danced on the deserts of Qatar like there is no tomorrow. Oh, what a dance it has been! No matter what monolithic wall of insulation you erect, no matter what estranged island of solitary confinement you choose, no matter what saintly, supercilious[Read More…]
I would like to announce the publication of a new nook, entitled “Iran, Past and Present”. The book may be downloaded and circulated, free of charge, from the following link: https://eacpe.org/content/uploads/2022/12/Iran-Past-and-Present-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf Below is some discussion of the content of the book: An ancient civilization Iran, or Persia, is one of the most ancient civilizations that we know of. There is[Read More…]
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[Read More…]
While need for wide-ranging reform of world farming and food system has been increasingly voiced, one relatively neglected aspect relates to improvement of animal welfare and in particular protecting animals from many-sided cruelties. While farm animals generally have better working and living conditions in family farms, as family farms are increasingly replaced by factory type of farms in the increasingly[Read More…]
A lot has been written on the split decision of the Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court upholding reservation for economically weaker sections, need not be repeated. Only one thing needs to be highlighted that there was no division in the constitution bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court regarding economic reservation. A five-judge bench agreed that reservation should be[Read More…]
According to Heraclitus, “the only constant in life is ‘change’.” Our world has been changing constantly. So have been our lives. Recently the pace of such changes has been faster, and the resultant chaos left many of us trapped and bewildered. The political economies of most countries in the world have changed as oligarchies have taken firm roots in such[Read More…]
Over 30 rights organisations assembled under the banner ‘Campaign against State Repression’ (CASR) in Harkishan Singh Surjeet Bhawan in Delhi on Monday, December 5, to demand unconditional acquittal for professor G.N. Saibaba and others, who have been languishing within prison walls for years for their alleged links with the outlawed Maoists. . Navneet gave the introductory note to the event[Read More…]
Ram Madhav, the RSS leader in his article “Know your History” (I.E. December 3, 2022) argues that Rahul Gandhi (RG) does not understand about Ambedkar and Savarkar. He was criticizing R G’s statement in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, birth place of Dr. Ambedkar. As per Madhav, contrary to RG’s saying that RSS is showing fake sympathy for Babasaheb Ambedkar and is[Read More…]
by Sachin P Sand & Nidhi Hanji[1] The term ‘piracy’ is often invoked when creative works are copied and distributed without permission of the rightful and original owner of the work. Global and Indian laws prevent such piracy. Similarly, the illegal accessing, appropriation and commodification of sovereign biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, as also genetic modification of bioresources in such[Read More…]
Violence against women and girls remains the most pervasive human rights violation around the world. It manifests itself in many forms: sexual violence, physical violence, emotional and psychological violence, harmful traditional practices, socio-economic violence, and other forms of gender-based violence. Explicit and implicit cultural legitimation for violence against women and girls has to end if we are to deliver on[Read More…]
The 22nd State Conference of Progressive Democratic Students Union was successfully staged at Nizamabad, Telangana on 1-3 December. Very positive to witness such a resurgence of democratic revolutionary spirit within the student community, when forces of reaction are operating at helm to patronise globalisation and Hindutva fascism. The legacy of the PDSU was continued which was born in the turbulent[Read More…]
Advertisements of the murderous Vedanta Sterlite Corporation have been appearing for the past few days in newspapers and television. “Strike is towards Destruction, Scholarships awarded to Tuticorin children, Green Tuticorin – 1.25 lakh trees planted” are advertised. Sterlite Vedanta Corporation has been involved in various crimes like operating without permission, direct burial of hazardous waste in the soil and not[Read More…]
Protesters in the Peruvian city of Andahuaylas have seized the airport and set fire to part of the terminals, the Peruvian Corporation of Commercial Airports and Aviation (CORPAC) said. Radio Programas del Peru (RAA) has reported that one protester died during clashes with police while ten other including police officers were injured. Protests are being carried out in Lima and[Read More…]
It is well-known that life-styles in developed and rich countries are much more burdensome for environment compared to normal life-patterns in developing countries. However due to more power and resources, the developed countries are in a position to shift the burden of this on developing countries in several ways. The World Resources Report has stated, “The OECD countries and their[Read More…]
The uprising that began on September 16 in reaction to the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody has been ongoing. The young generation of Iranians in schools and universities has joined the uprising to demand the end of clerical rule in Iran. The uprising has created the biggest challenge to the theocratic rule in Iran since[Read More…]
Stefania Maurizi is an investigative journalist working for the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano. She has worked on all WikiLeaks releases of secret documents and partnered with Glenn Greenwald to reveal the Snowden Files about Italy. In an interview with Eresh Omar Jamal of The Daily Star, she talks about her latest book, “Secret Power: WikiLeaks and Its Enemies,” and how WikiLeaks revolutionised[Read More…]
As a careful observer of the Ukrainian-Russian-US/Nato war I was happy to see Medea Benjamin and Nick Davis approaching that war in Dec.1’22 issue of Countercurrents. I noticed that the Codepink, the group led by Medea Benjamin was the first on the Left, which while acknowledging the responsibility of the US/NATO as many other leftist groups in the country for[Read More…]
73 year old Ranil Wickremasinghe after serving as a prime minister for five years achieved his ambition of becoming the President of Sri Lanka on 21 of July 2022 as an appointed member of parliament not elected by the people in an election but through the national list thanks to he people’s uprising and fleeing of Gotabayas;’family on 9th of[Read More…]
The U.S. government aims at global hegemony through military force https://popularresistance.org/john-pilger-the-us-is-escalating-war-tensions-with-china-in-desperate-bid-to-maintain-global-power/ https://www.transcend.org/tms/2022/11/see-867-us-military-bases-on-new-online-tool/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfowitz_Doctrine The military-industrial complex, against which President Dwight D. Eisenhiwer warned in his famous farewell address, has bipartisan support in the United States Congress and Senate. The amount of money involved is enormous. The world, as a whole, spends roughly two trillion dollars each year on armaments, and[Read More…]
Ravish Kumar in his book ‘The Free Voice: On Democracy Culture and Nation’ critically evaluates the role being played by the media in contemporary times. Journalism in contemporary times had turned out to be uncritical of the Government and become mere mouthpieces of the Government. In a culture of fear, what is required is breaking the silence by raising uncomfortable[Read More…]
Every academic year comes to an end with the graduation of students who are ostensibly ready to take up a new set of challenges and goals. Many of them have dreams both big and small, however, it is merely survival that matters the most as many of them consider their dreams to be silly. Pash, a Punjabi poet says, “The most[Read More…]
The woman who viewed my life on-screen, said, she cried in class retelling it. She asked me, have I at any time smiled thereafter ! She is from India. On the final evening of my life, I walked away from home in the direction of Syria. I coaxed my legs, assuring it of meeting a father somewhere. I walked towards[Read More…]
Today we celebrate the birth centenary of late thespian Dilip Kumar. Not only was he arguably Hindi cinema’s finest actor ever but as an artist he was an epitome of Progressive values. Penetrating depth, intensity and sensitivity in realms rarely transcended he projected the theme of a character confronting the evils of social injustice. Dilip Kumar literally defined a new[Read More…]
Saturday, December 10 saw activists come together in Surrey to release a calendar featuring a towering leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Desmond Tutu passed away on the eve of 2022, at the age of 90, leaving behind a rich legacy of struggles for social justice. Close to his first death anniversary, Radical Desi, an online magazine in[Read More…]
To Smt Nirmala Sitharaman Union Finance Minister Dear Smt Sitharaman, The Vizhinjam Port project being set up in Kerala as a “Landlord PPP” project involves partial financial support from the Centre towards “Viability GAP Funding”, in accordance with the PPP format developed by the erstwhile Planning Commission. The Kerala State Govt, after inviting bids from prospective promoters for the PPP[Read More…]
Endless speculations are being voiced following the Assembly election results of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. There is nothing astonishing about this. However, it is a little difficult to accept hype being raised about Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s victory against dismal performance of Congress and of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat. BJP was expected to win. Given the nature of[Read More…]
The BJP can tom-tom as much as it wants its landslide victory in Gujarat Assembly elections 2022 as ‘Modi Magic’, but the fact is the party is well past its electoral heyday under Modi. The three elections that took place in recent weeks started with the following equation: BJP + 3. BJP held the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), as[Read More…]
Relations of dominance among human beings have caused enormous distress. When the same attitude of dominance was directed towards nature, this resulted in large-scale ecological ruin. The tendency of looking upon nature as something to be dominated and conquered has been extremely counter-productive: it has inflicted huge destruction on environment and has greatly diminished the possibilities of humanity to benefit[Read More…]
#Partition #MoinAkhtar #MarinaKhan#KingKhan #FawadKhan #OyeeAyesha #etc! #IndiaPakistan Once upon a time,….. No this is not a story with a beginning, middle and an end; rather this is a sago khichdi, the sure fire trick to get your hands dirty. Partition is a Classical story, that doesn’t want to end, despite our desperate trying pleading beseeching and despite its being seventy[Read More…]
The problem with most Western media’s political analyses is that they generally tend to be short-sighted and focused mostly on variables that are of direct interest to Western governments. These types of analyses are now being applied to understanding official Arab attitudes towards Russia, China, global politics and conflicts. As Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to lead a large delegation to meet[Read More…]
June 6, 2021, was a day which shocked many in Peru’s oligarchy. Pedro Castillo Terrones, a rural schoolteacher who had never before been elected to office, won the second round of the presidential election with just over 50.13% of the vote. More than 8.8 million people voted for Castillo’s program of profound social reforms and the promise of a new[Read More…]
Will America’s Forever Prison Finally Close on Biden’s Watch? As of December 8, 2022, Guantánamo Bay detention facility — a prison offshore of American justice and built for those detained in this country’s never-ending Global War on Terror — has been open for nearly 21 years (or, to be precise, 7,627 days). Thirteen years ago, I published a book, The Least[Read More…]
A peaceful dissolution of the USSR according to the agreement between Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan in 1988 in Reykjavik brought a new dimension of global geopolitics in which up to 2008 Russia, as a legal successor state of the USSR, was playing an inferior role in global politics when an American Neocon concept of Pax Americana became the fundamental[Read More…]
Human beings are the most capable among the millions of life-forms on earth, but unfortunately their numerous capabilities cannot contribute adequately to reducing distress because of some highly undesirable traits among human beings afflicting them to a lesser or greater extent in the course of their known history. When persons of great spiritual strength and deep social concerns emerged to[Read More…]
Death Sits at the dinner table with me He has Impeccable manners Never touches anything Never talks out of turn Truly A somewhat amiable chap Except He has the nasty habit Of compulsively looking At his watch And then grinning at me His knife and his fork Mesmerizingly glistening In his bony white fingery traps While kicking me under the[Read More…]
Disaster capitalism and crisis narratives are currently being used to manipulate popular sentiment and push through a set of unpalatable policies that would otherwise lack sufficient political support. These policies are being promoted by wealthy interests that stand to make billions of dollars from what is being proposed. They seek to gain full control of food and how it[Read More…]
In the viral video of a court session from Nov 23, 2022, Justice Sandeep Kumar of Patna High Court is heard asking a suspended Land Acquisition Officer of the Bihar government whether he got the job through reservation, which triggered laughter from lawyers in the courtroom. “Bharti ji reservation per aaye the naukari me kya? (Bharti ji, did you get[Read More…]
The result of Gujarat election was a foregone conclusion with pundits contesting on the sweeping margins of BJP’s win. Unlike last time, Congress was missing from the field, giving space for AAP to make inroads and BJP to split the disgruntled voters. With more than 50 percentage of votes, BJP has secured seventh straight streak of victory. The unexpected debacle[Read More…]
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo has been ousted and arrested. Following the earlier police statement, the U.S. State Department issued a notice acknowledging that “Castillo is now a former president.” State representative of Peru’s Justice Ministry Daniel Soria has filed charges of a coup attempt and abuse of power against impeached President Pedro Castillo with the Prosecutor General’s Office, the ministry[Read More…]
The growing disillusionment with the existing pace as well as the direction of the efforts for checking climate change is leading many people to explore the need for an alternative framework which can be more successful in checking climate change while at the same contributing much more to adaption aspects, and which is better integrated with important justice, equality and[Read More…]
“The World’s Richest Person” bad boy Elon Musk just can’t seem to stay out of the news or trouble. Instead of cleaning up Twitter as he promised, all he has managed to do is create one mess after another. After firing around half the former work force of 7,500 people at the social media company and opening the tap to[Read More…]
The ongoing unrest in Iran since mid-September following the death of a Kurdish woman in police custody shows no signs of abating as of now. The unrest has drawn support from all social strata and assumed anti-government overtones. The efficacy of suppressing the unrest is doubtful. Iran is entering a period of turmoil. Indeed, the government faces no imminent threat[Read More…]
Rishi Sunak’s electoral victory within the Conservative Party and his entry into the 10 Downing Street as the PM of United Kingdom is celebrated across the political and ideological isles as a case for post racial Britain. It is a historic moment in the political and national life of Britain. The politically correct under-carpet racists celebrated it as a sign of diversity[Read More…]
by Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler and Ariel Gold We don’t know what dishes were served at the dinner Trump hosted last month for Ye (aka Kanye West) and Nick Fuentes, but the meal has given much of the country indigestion. Real or feigned, following Trump’s dining with Fuentes, who describes himself as being “just like Hitler” and diminishes Jim Crow,[Read More…]
“Pity the nation whose people are sheep And whose shepherds mislead them Pity the nation whose leaders are liars Whose sages are silenced And whose bigots haunt the airwaves Pity the nation that raises not its voice Except to praise conquerors And acclaim the bully as hero And aims to rule the world By force and by torture… Pity the[Read More…]
We were mistaken to think that Palestine represents the central issue for all Arabs. Such language suggests that Palestine is an external subject, to be compared to other collective struggles that consume most Arabs, everywhere. The ongoing celebration of Palestine and the Palestinian flag at the Qatar World Cup 2022 by millions of Arab fans compels us to rethink our[Read More…]
It is surprising that Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis embarked on the speed misadventure on the Samruddhi Mahamarg highway on December 4, so soon after the death in a road crash of Cyrus Mistry, former chairperson of Tata group. Mr Fadnavis himself was at the wheel driving at a speed of some 120 km[Read More…]
Ukraine-crisis may be viewed as another example of the degree to which United States can push diplomatic ethics to side-lines against priorities which define its own interests. Of the others, Washington’s approach towards Afghanistan is a fairly recent example and the most striking is probably the hype raised about democratic revolution in the name of “Arab Spring” which reduced to[Read More…]
The 8,000 million people in the world today are acutely and existentially threatened by nuclear weapons, deadly poverty and ever worsening man-made climate change. Yet as set out below, nuclear terrorist, genocidally racist, climate criminal and racist Zionist Apartheid Israel, ruled by a mere 6.8 million racist Zionists, is hugely and disproportionately involved in these 3 key existential threats to[Read More…]
by Laura Lee Cascada, Nital Jethalal & Anita Krajnc We’re facing an unprecedented “code red for humanity,” in the words of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres—yet global action has stagnated. The world’s eyes are upon the international body now that the curtains have closed on COP27, its annual climate change convention, held in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, in November, and open at the Convention on[Read More…]
WASHINGTON (12-06) – Feeling pressure from a massive public outcry over the use of remote-controlled lethally armed police robots, the Board of Supervisors today voted 8-3 not to move forward at this time in approving a proposal for their deployment. The board instead voted to send the proposal back to the rules committee for further study meaning that conceivably[Read More…]
At the 53rd International film festival of India in Goa, in the concluding remarks made by Nadav Lapid, the Israeli filmmaker came down heavily upon The Kashmir Files. He called the film propaganda and vulgar movie which was inappropriate for an artistic competitive film section of such a prestigious Film Festival. Soon after, Israel’s ambassador to India criticised the filmmaker[Read More…]
When I heard about Ravish Kumar resigning from NDTV’s news channel, everything went dark for me though it was a bright and sunny afternoon. I have come to accept this darkness in the media world as I do the evening of my life. There is no future to think about but the present and its reigning darkness. With Ravish Kumar,[Read More…]
Statement to Bharat Jodo Yatra on the need for innovative, fundamental alternatives to currently dominant economic and political system We appreciate the attempt by participants of the Bharat Jodo Yatra to create a platform for people’s voices to be heard, and especially for healing rifts created by communal politics and the increasingly fascist-like situation in India. In many ways this[Read More…]
A few weeks ahead of the Christmas Celebrations, hundreds of people gathered at the community centre of New Delhi’s Sacred Heart Cathedral. The occasion was the book release function of Aadhunik Bharat Nirman mein Esaiayat ka Yogdan (The Contribution of Christianity to the Making of Modern India). Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto released the book on Monday. The book is the fruit[Read More…]
Nature has been desperately trying to tell us something very important. When even desperate calls go unheeded, what does the caller do? It is likely that the caller will yell even more loudly, jump and throw around limbs and legs, and when all this fails, will even turn violent. This is exactly what nature has been doing recently—in the form[Read More…]
Bharat Raul’s family lived a happy life in a nice single storey settlement , Wadi, amidst coconut trees in a prime area in Mahim in Mumbai in the 1960s. Then the municipal corporation displaced it along with others for civic works and relocated them to five storey buidings near Mahim east station. . This is fine area with trees, wide[Read More…]
Some time back a friend of Teesta Setalvad,one of the most courageous and outstanding Human Rights workers in the country,asked me to write a brief piece on what the Constitution of India mean to me.At that time,what with my involvement in various protest movements and my writing engagements,I could not find time to comply.Then it also occurred to me that[Read More…]
Western economic punishments on Russia continue to severely limit its economic prospects. But they also risk hastening the development of sanctions evasion techniques and rival economic mechanisms outside the control of Brussels and Washington. Immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S., the UK, and the EU placed major sanctions on Russia to constrict its economy and restrain[Read More…]
Let’s put Covid aside and address the 2nd most heinous ( yes, I use that term) and deadly epidemic facing us all. This disease had always, it seems, been around our nation, let alone most of Europe. Unlike Covid or the flu, this epidemic has a few different names: Fascism, Neo Fascism, Neo Nazism, and now MAGA. During the 1950s[Read More…]
On November 30, the French baguette was formally added to the United Nations’ Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The bureaucrats had finally gotten hold of a glorified bread stick, adding it to their spreadsheet list of cultural items worthy of preservation. A delighted French President took the moment to gloat at the French Embassy in Washington. “In these few centimetres passed[Read More…]
The reality of San Francisco police making use of remote-controlled lethally armed robots as part of their arsenal is no longer the stuff of science fiction. An amendment to the Administrative Code in deploying such a force received an earlier 8-3 vote in its favor after a first reading resulting in a swift backlash by concerned citizens. The issue of[Read More…]
The Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi airports have recently begun the ‘DigiYatra’ service. It is a facial recognition technology (FRT)-based passenger boarding system verified by Aadhar details. Recent news also says that the Western Railways’ use of its FRT-based surveillance system has reduced crime on its routes and stations. Earlier this week, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Mumbai[Read More…]
Several distressing reports of justice being denied to displaced and evicted people have been received from time to time. Sometimes those who have been promised satisfactory compensation and rehabilitation have to wait endlessly for years for this. In this context the strong action taken recently by a District Court for providing speedy justice has proved very effective in Himachal Pradesh[Read More…]
Contractual electricity workers in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia have launched a strike from December 2 near the office of the Executive Engineer (Electrical Testing Division), demanding fair wages, ESI and against privatization. On Saturday, the district administration mercilessly attacked the protesting workers and displaced them from the protest site. Not only this, the administration demolished their tents as well. Such an[Read More…]
The just concluded United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was still held down by performative diplomacy, substance-free rhetoric, and routine promises of commitment by world-leaders. Fortunately, there were also indications that there is a growing discontent with the rough-shod manner in which imperialist governments have been conducting international relations. For sure there was renewed narrative about finding constructive solutions to the[Read More…]
Introduction While these line are being written, in continuation of the BJP-CPI (M) joint meeting in solidarity with Adani, the CPI (M) led Kerala government has given its green signal before the High Court of Kerala for the deployment of Central Forces at Vizhinjam to safeguard the corporate interests of Adani, biggest Indian corporate and world’s third richest according to[Read More…]
Almost anyone would agree that war is horrifying and peaceful countries should do their best to help its victims. The widespread eagerness to welcome fleeing Ukrainians after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded their country last February is a heartening example of such aid. But behind that altruism lies an ugly truth: most of the countries embracing Ukrainians are simultaneously persecuting[Read More…]
Although all wars are not imperialist wars, it is remarkable how many imperial conquests have occurred over past centuries. Mobilizing their military forces, powerful states and, later, nations carved out vast empires at the expense of weaker or less warlike societies. Some of the largest and best-known empires to emerge over the millennia were the Persian, the Chinese, the Mongol,[Read More…]
Once upon a time, the question, why is there no socialism in America? bugged a young German economist. And so, in 1906, Werner Sombart published his book called Why is there no Socialism in the United States? Yet, ever since, people have been trying to answer this question. One way of answering this – surprise, surprise – comes from Europe. By 2022, many Americans still[Read More…]
The four ruptures in the Nord Stream Pipelines in the Baltic Sea on September 26-27 constitute an act of sabotage that has led to the biggest-ever single point leak of methane. Let us first examine the various aspects relating to this issue on which already there is widespread agreement. Firstly, it is already widely agreed that this is the single[Read More…]
All democrats should vociferously condemn in no uncertain terms the brutal murder of poet and activist Ericson Acosta., a prominent member of The National Democratic Front. Ericson was assassinated with a peasant companion in Kabankalan, Negros. Ericson was captured alive but later executed. Actually no firefight was exchanged. The manner of the killing follows the trend of a series of[Read More…]
Smt Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Minister, Government of India Dear Madam, Social Security Pensions and Maternity Entitlements This is a follow-up to our letters of 20 December 2017 and 21 December 2018 (addressed to your predecessor, Shri Arun Jaitley), where we tried to flag two priorities for the next Union Budget: an increase in social security pensions, and adequate provision[Read More…]
There is increasing realization that prolonging or escalation of Ukraine conflict can bring very high risks for the entire world. Elsewhere in the world, many less talked about conflicts in the Horn of Africa, in Nigeria and elsewhere are aggravating very serious situations of starvation and starvation deaths, making it impossible for relief workers to reach those in dire need[Read More…]
Zoya Kosomdemyanskaya –birth centenary year On November 29th, in 1941, Soviet partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was mercilessly hanged at the age of 18 by German fascist soldiers during World War II. Next year, we commemorate her birth centenary, on September 13th. Zoya symbolised how Marxism-Leninism or a Socialist Society paved way for a ‘new woman’ to bloom, who played a vanguard[Read More…]
Shri G C Murmu Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) Dear Shri Murmu, I write this in continuation of my letter dated 23-11-2022 (http://eassarma.in/sites/default/files/public/Vedanta-Foxconn-Letter-to-CAG.pdf), in which I had expressed my concerns at the excessively large capital subsidies provided to profit earning private corporate groups in the guise of the stated objective, “building Indian capabilities in semiconductor manufacturing is an imperative for[Read More…]
The Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka has suspended an assistant professor after a video showing a Muslim student powerfully criticizing him for calling him by a terrorist’s name went viral on social media. Reacting to the teacher labelling him as “Kasab” after the 26/11 gunman Ajmal Kasab, the student says, “Being a Muslim in this country and facing all[Read More…]
by Cheng Enfu & Lu Baolin Building on Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century Neoimperialism is the specific contemporary phase of historical development that features the economic globalization and financialization of monopoly capitalism. The characteristics of neoimperialism can be summed up on the basis of the following five key features. First is the new monopoly of production and[Read More…]
I am Eilert Rostrup, an ordained pastor of the Church of Norway, and for many years, since 1991, a warm friend and supporter of the Palestinian struggle for liberation and justice. I’ve been able to serve as a solidarity comrade through my work as International Director for the Norwegian YWCA and YMCA, and for the last 16 years as Director[Read More…]
The US military industrial complex has made news with another eye-wateringly expensive product, a near totemic tribute to waste in a time of crisis. The $700 million B-21 Raider stealth bomber was unveiled by Northrop Grumman Corp. and the United States Air Force on December 2 at Airforce Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. There was much slush and fudge about[Read More…]
Originally, the Bush Doctrine was a political phrase with the aim to describe the US foreign policy goals during the 43rd US President George W. Bush (Bush Junior), 2001−2009. The doctrine had four basic standpoints. All of them were centered around American military superiority after the Cold War 1.0 as the US being the only global hyperpower in international relations.[Read More…]
The extremely serious issue of the threat of genetic contamination caused by genetically modified or engineered (GM or GE) crops finally reached the Supreme Court of India on November 30 in the context of on-going cases relating to the introduction of GM Mustard in India. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, after pointing out the serious implications of this risk in a country[Read More…]
I searched long for You In the infinite fields Of Being I followed the myth Of your laughter I composed What I thought Was the heart Of Your Song I kept my ear Close To the coming Of any wind That might reveal The stealth Of your sudden approach But as I wandered A life spent In the concept Of[Read More…]
To Ms Leena Nandan Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Ms Nandan, I understand that your Ministry has taken action to introduce a Bill to amend the Forest (Conservation) Rules in the Parliament during the ensuing winter session. The Bill has far reaching implications for the lives of the adivasis across the country[Read More…]
Eric Hobsbawm (1917-2012) was one of the world’s most famous and perceptive communist historians. He pioneered a distinctive shape to method of historical research. exploring areas untouched. Around two months ago we commemorated his 10th death anniversary. Hobsbawm contributed major concepts, from the general crisis of the 17th century to the Dual Revolution, and terms like “the invention of tradition”[Read More…]
Rahul Gandhi’s in one of his recent statements about Adivasis said “The people of BJP don’t call you Adivasi. What do they call you? Vanvasi. They don’t tell you that you are the first owners of Hindostan. They tell you live in jungles…” The word used for these aborigines is Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution. It is interesting to recall[Read More…]
The recent controversy that erupted in the aftermath of the sexist statements by Imam Bukhari of the Jama Masjid in Delhi, has yet again brought the national spotlight to the issue of Muslim women being denied their Constitutional right to pray in the Masjid. The patriarchal & religious conservative male dominated leadership of the Muslim community swears by the secular[Read More…]
“The persons with disability do not need sympathy they need the dignity and honour that they deserve” It is the 3rd of December, and the day is observed as the ” International Day of Persons with Disabilities” . The purpose for the observance of this day is to widen our outlook and promote the understanding of the concept of disability[Read More…]
“He will be good for nothing without his arms. It is better that he dies otherwise who will take care of him?” was the reaction of Shreenarayan’s father when the doctors told him that his son’s arms will have to be amputated if he is to survive. Shreenarayan Yadav was just ten years old when he suffered an electric shock[Read More…]
Headlines describing the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties (COP) of UNFCCC more commonly referred to as COP27 at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt sent troubling messages: “The Greenwashing Scam Behind COP27’s Flop” (In These Times) “COP27 Climate Summit Missed Chance for Ambition on Fossil Fuels” (Reuters) “COP27 Is Full of Politicians and Policymakers” (The Guardian). None of[Read More…]
If you feel pain then you are alive. If you feel the pain of others then you are human. Leo Tolstoy Similar profound statements about the nature of humans have been made in all cultures in all formats. It is there in folklore, songs and dances, fiction, arts and architecture, photographs and films. A[Read More…]
The pruning up of fingertips when we bathe or swim is a phenomenon of the human body that is so common and yet little understood. Despite many decades of scientific inquiry, until recently, the reasoning remained elusive. A common belief was that the wrinkling of wet skin was caused by osmosis. But a definitive study in 2011 turned the enigma of “wet-induced wrinkles”[Read More…]
On November 27 morning, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, walked into a voting station in the Playa neighborhood to vote in Cuba’s municipal elections. He had landed in Havana an hour earlier from an intense tour of Algeria, Russia, Turkey, and China. The tour, which started on November 16, was both a journey into the past of the nonaligned world that Cuba played an integral role in building and[Read More…]
More than 1,700 people have been killed in floods that continue to submerge parts of Pakistan. Amid this crisis, activists are demanding debt cancellation and climate reparations. Even as the floodwaters have receded, the people of Pakistan are still trying to grapple with the death and devastation the floods have left in their wake. The floods that swept across the[Read More…]
He stands on the Rock the beautiful rock beside the flourishing Tree of Life. He stands on the Rock on the beautiful rock beside the flowing river of light. He raises his arms like wings of lightning two beacon-flames of luminous fire. His voice goes out with the strength of a ringing bell with softness of a[Read More…]
One of the encouraging things this long-time labor activist has been watching over the past several years is the emerging development of unions across the world and in the United States. We’re hearing about new organizing efforts in Argentina, China, Iran, Mexico, South Africa, Vietnam, and other places, including the United States. And while I’m aware of the global context,[Read More…]
In addition to the many shock results of several matches at the World Cup, perhaps the biggest upsets have fallen on Israeli fans and the Israeli media. Little did Israel expect that fans from literally all over the world would manifestly display their support for Palestine. Israeli fans have found no choice but to be subdued. Israeli media began with[Read More…]
Respected Sir, We as concerned citizens, social activists, political and human rights activists, environmentalists and journalists and the leaders of twelve mass organizations on behalf of Bisthapan Birodhi Jana Andolon Mancha, Odisha appeal for the protection of natural resources and an immediate end to the continuous forceful displacement of people from their lands and dwelling places. We express our protest[Read More…]
State governments are perplexed by the long delay in convening the quarterly Goods and Services Tax council meeting. The council has not met over the last four-and-a-half months whereas the Procedure and Conduct of Business Regulations of the GST Council stipulates that it has to meet once every quarter of a financial year. The West Bengal government shot off a[Read More…]
In last five years Rs. 10,09,510 crores taken as loans by various companies from banks in India has been declared as Non Performing Assets, an euphemism for writing them off. Out of this State Bank of India alone wrote off Rs. 2,04,486 crores. Only about 13% of the total written off amount was recovered. Identity of the defaulting borrowers, most[Read More…]
To Shri Rajiv Kumar Chief Election Commissioner Shri A C Pandey Election Commissioner Shri A Goel Election Commissioner Dear S/Shri Rajiv Kumar/ Pandey and Goel, I refer to my two letters of November 26 & 28, 2022 (http://eassarma.in/sites/default/files/public/MCC-Gujarat-Letter-dated_26-11-2022-to-CEC.pdf & http://eassarma.in/sites/default/files/public/Letter-to-ECI_28-11-2022.pdf) on possible violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in Gujarat by Shri Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, in[Read More…]
Many scientists lobbying for the deregulation of agricultural biotechnology ‘new genomic techniques’ (NGTs) in the European Union have either direct or indirect interests in commercialising and marketing new genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They have patents or patent applications or other connections to the seed industry. That is the conclusion of a September 2022 investigatory report commissioned by the Greens/EFA in[Read More…]
On December 1, in the on-going case relating to objections raised against the introduction of the first GM (genetically modified) food crop in the form of GM Mustard in India, the Supreme Court raised some important questions. As reported in The Times of India (December 2, 2022), “A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and BV Nagarathna told Attorney General R.Venkataramani,[Read More…]
The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini poignantly writes the story of brave and courageous Afghan women who have lived under the debilitating shadows of patriarchal oppression, endless violence and war. As the extremist Taliban regime in Kabul enforces its full obscurantist and repressive rule on Afghan society, the brave Afghan women are again facing the brunt of[Read More…]
by Stan Cox & Priti Gulati Cox On October 29th, 75-year-old Saifullah Paracha, Guantánamo Bay’s oldest detainee, was finally released by U.S. authorities and flown home to his family in Karachi, Pakistan. He had been incarcerated for nearly two decades without either charges or a trial. His plane touched down in a land still reeling from this year’s cataclysmic monsoon floods that,[Read More…]
India-China war of 1962 ended in late November 1962, 60 years ago, by an unilateral ceasefire declared by China despite having an upper hand in the battle field. China had made a peace offer, both before and after the war, but was not reciprocated. Zhou Enlai had announced: “ Beginning from 21 November 1962, the Chinese frontier guards will cease[Read More…]
India has great diversity. It is geo-climatically diverse, with the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan mountains, the Indo-Gangetic plains, deserts, the peninsular plateau with mountain ranges, and riverine and coastal plains. People who live in different geo-climatic regions have different ways of living. They speak, eat, dress differently, and have different customs and cultures, sometimes even among co-religionists. Even within these geo-climatic[Read More…]
German police has a long history that reaches even into the Ukraine. Ever since Browning’s work on the Reserve Police Battalion 101, we have known that there were – unsurprisingly – plenty of police officers supporting the Nazis’ killing machine. These policemen were, more often than not, rather ordinary men. Yet, their past is catching up with them, even in[Read More…]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies As the war in Ukraine has dragged on for nine months and a cold winter is setting in, people all over the world are calling for a Christmas truce, harkening back to the inspirational Christmas Truce of 1914. In the midst of World War I, warring soldiers put down their guns and[Read More…]
The unflinching US effort to extradite and prosecute Julian Assange for 18 charges, 17 of which are chillingly based upon the Espionage Act of 1917, has not always stirred much interest in the publisher’s home country. Previous governments have been lukewarm at best, preferring to mention little in terms of what was being done to convince Washington to change course[Read More…]
As western countries are floating the theory that Russia could escalate its conflict with Ukraine to a nuclear war, many western governments continue to turn a blind eye to Israel’s own nuclear weapons capabilities. Luckily, many countries around the world do not subscribe to this endemic western hypocrisy. ‘The Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of[Read More…]
There are less than 1% of Americans who earn over $5 Million per year. They are taxed at the same top rate ( 37%) as those earning approximately $ 600k a year. Sixty years ago the top rate was never under 70%, ditto for the 1970s. Reagan came in and had it lowered to 50% for a few years of[Read More…]
A recent blast hit the center of Istanbul resulting in several casualties. The Turkish authorities were very quick to announce the identity of the suicide person: A Kurdish woman in close relation with the Kurdistan Workers Party. Nevertheless, this terror act in Istanbul, followed by a new Turkish military intervention (aggression) in North Syria, once again opened the “Kurdish Question”[Read More…]
Starting from 1989 and continuing for at least 15 years, perhaps much more, millions of tonnes of toxic wastes were dumped in the long-stretched coastal areas of Somalia, as confirmed in several reports of United Nations agencies, leading NGOs and independent investigators. While attention is currently focused understandably on the devastating impact of drought, hunger and malnutrition in endangering the[Read More…]
A 10000 strong contingent of dalit agricultural workers under the leadership of the common front of rural and farm labour organizations or Sanjha Morcha Sangrur, thronged near the chief minsters residence in Sangrur-Patiala highway. As soon as the contingent of thousands of labourers under the leadership of the united front of rural and farm workers’ organisations, proceeded towards Kothi to[Read More…]
Meta and Privacy: The Economy of Data Transgressions 
A Response to The New York Times’ Ritualistic Denunciation of Mao’s Cultural Revolution… 
GM Crops Likely to Worsen Climate Change Related Problems for Farmers 
Symbolism of Sengol 
Forget GDP growth, it’s sustainable wellbeing we need to aim for 
Supremes Declare War on Wetlands 
Kings Coronation, Victory Day Parade and Perverse Values 
A critical approach to the exploration of Identity & Violence: An attempt by the young researchers of EDRU 
Delay in Census enumeration, unreliable death registration and fake Aadhaar cards adversely impact integrity of elections, leads to misuse of public funds 
Special Significance of the Next Decade in Human History, and a Campaign Linked to This 
Prophets of Doom: Kissinger and the ‘Intellectual’ Decline of the West 
“Free Trade” as Revealed in the China-United States Paradigm 
Memorialize USA Lies About Each Mistaken Undeclared War Americans Remembered Today Gave Their Lives 
Tipu Sultan: Fallacies and Facts around the Historical Figure in India 
The intertwined history of caste and census in India 
A Tale of Two Indias 
Dismantle the structures of sexual violence, NOT the protesters’ tent! 
CDRO condemns the manhandling of the protesting wrestlers 
From Deathly Silence to Violence: The journey of Wrestlers struggling for Justice 
Workers Protests break out in China 
Now I Am Ravana’s Head 
Noam Chomsky on Why This Is the Most Dangerous Point in Human History 
HAK Birthdays: Henry Kissinger Turns 100 
Brotherhood and Friendship in a time of War- Reflections on The Mercenary, by Jeffrey E. Stern 
Weaknesses of the National Security Strategy 2022 – Part 8: The NSS falsely claims that Russia and Putin have malicious goals and spurn negotiation 
What role did trade unions play in the struggle for independence in Kenya? 
A Timely Warning on Avoiding the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that Deserves Wide Attention 
Tinsel Gods 
Kirti Kisan Union conducts massive rally in Moga on issue of Canal Water 
The Importance of Convenient Payment Options in Enhancing Travel Experiences 
Book Review – A Reader on Financial Inclusion 
Nuclear Turns Fashionable 
Taiwan’s Quest to Upgrade Its Battle Readiness Continues to Evolve 
Trade Unions in Kenya and Britain in a Changing World 
Why Phalke Award Has Eluded Classic Hindi Cinema Heroines 
Modi in Australia: Down Under Bliss for Hindutva 
Both Blocs Behind Iron Curtain? 
Demand for scrapping of iron fortified rice distribution in India’s public food schemes intensifies 
Government destroying public spaces rather than protecting them 
Dalit agricultural labour organisations stage protests in Punjab 
Our beloved K.P.Sasi is no more. Filmmaker, cartoonist, writer, mentor, friend and above all tireless activist championing the cause of every underdog, Sasi breathed his last, mid-afternoon this Christmas day – after battling a medical condition for months. I remember the last time I met him, almost exactly a month before he passed away, at the ayurvedic healing center in[Read More…]
