“But yet mathematical certainty is after all, something insufferable. Twice two makes four seems to me simply a piece of insolence. Twice two makes four is a pert coxcomb who stands with arms akimbo barring your path and spitting. I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice[Read More…]
In Bundelkhand region in many meetings on issues relating to justice and development, people wait eagerly to hear songs sung by Mata Dayal. It is quite possible that Mata Dayal may sing a song written and composed by himself. He shows me a diary on which he has written several of these songs, probably 50 or so. However he is[Read More…]
The first meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky was not good. The two leaders apparently got off on the wrong foot when they first met in the White House back in 2021, The Guardian reported on Wednesday, citing an upcoming book by journalist Franklin Foer. Citing ‘The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House[Read More…]
Despite their complicated and often uneasy relationship, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant agree on one thing: Iran is behind Israel’s security problem. The socio-economic polarization in Israel, the country’s political and judicial crises, the ongoing settlers’ pogroms in the West Bank, the repeated calls for religious war by Tel Aviv’s far-right ministers – all[Read More…]
In their continued efforts to end Google and Amazon Web Service $1.2 billion Israeli military contract Project Nimbus, workers from both companies along with members of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) and other activists demonstrated at San Francisco’s Moscone Center August 29 where the Google Cloud Next’23 conference was being held under the rubric of “Out with the[Read More…]
The 1987 13th Amendment, a conceived and delivered baby of India which is now a part of parcel of the constitution of Sri Lanka has been lying partially implemented with most of the important provisions partially implemented and almost ignored by the successive Sri Lanka’s governments. It is now resurrected and given new life and blood by Ranil Wickremesinge, an[Read More…]
Those who understand the terrible implications of the onslaught of the GM lobby (genetically modified food and crops lobby) on Indian farming and farmers and are devoted to protecting India’s farmers and farming from this onslaught had reason to be both happy and sad this week ( August-end) Happy because the Supreme Court acted with so much wisdom and firmness[Read More…]
This is the state of India where an entire state apparatus becomes Hindu for the Kanwariyas and any dereliction of duty by the police officials might cost them their job. Again, railway police constable kills four innocent persons including his boss and three Muslim passengers yet nothing much happens to him so far except the usual stories of ‘disturbed’ minds.[Read More…]
Image the situation in Kenya in the 1930s. The most powerful imperialist country in the world was in total control of land, life and future of the country. Not only in Kenya, not only in Africa but in a large part of the world. Every nationality in the country had opposed the invaders but none succeeded in stopping them. Thousands were[Read More…]
To Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Union Education Minister Dear Shri Pradhan, ISRO’s successful low-cost high-precision landing of its Chandrayaan 3 rover on the south pole of the lunar surface has brought global praise for India’s technological abilities. ISRO’s Chairman, Shri S. Somanath, his highly talented team and all those who have visualised and nurtured ISRO since its inception in 1962 deserve the nation’s accolades[Read More…]
The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 was unforeseen by the Biden administration as late as the beginning of that month, according to a new book by Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer. As of August 1, a month before completing the withdrawal, the Biden administration reportedly still believed that an orderly transition of power to a governing coalition[Read More…]
In the vast tapestry of the 21st century world, a multitude of tribal communities, numbering a staggering 370 million, dot various corners of the globe, with India alone harboring 104 million of them. However, a closer examination reveals that the hallmarks of their existence tend to be marked more by challenges than triumphs. Over the course of history’s sprawling development,[Read More…]
The Vietnam War tormented and tore the societies who saw fit to participate in it. It defined a generation culturally and politically in terms creative and fractious. And it showed up the rulers to be ignorant rather than bright; blundering fools rather than sages secure in their preaching. Five decades on, the political classes in the United States and Australia[Read More…]
In early August 2023, a succession of wildfires ignited within the state of Hawaii, primarily affecting the island of Maui. It is considered “one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaii’s history, and the nation’s deadliest wildfires since 1918.” Driven by powerful winds, these fires sparked urgent evacuations, inflicted extensive devastation, and tragically claimed the lives of at least 115 individuals—though the final confirmed[Read More…]
A new war, a new alibi. When we think about our latest war — the one that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, just six months after our Afghan War ended so catastrophically — there is a hidden benefit. As long as American minds are on Ukraine, we are not thinking about planetary climate disruption. This technique of distraction[Read More…]
When a poet passes on, the quiver, the flutter of the soul is felt across by those who have revelled in the words and expressions in the poetry, have been moved by the feelings threaded in verses or have communed with the partial or entire oeuvre of the poet. Jayanta Mahapatra’s demise is being bruited abroad with a mix of[Read More…]
In times of climate change and adverse weather conditions, rural livelihoods come under increasing strain and there is increasing need for efforts which can protect sustainable livelihoods, particularly in the context of small and marginal famers and other weaker sections. In Bundelkhand region of Central India the work of Arunodaya Sansthaan, a voluntary organization, has consistently lived up to this[Read More…]
A call to the people of India for solidarity with agitating Adivasis to halt repression by Police and Company Sponsored Goons in South Odisha *********** “Save Our Sacred Lands and Mountains!! Stop Their Destruction in the Name of Development!” In the wake of World Indigenous Day on 9th August, when local Adivasi and Dalit communities of the mountainous, bauxite-rich region of South Odisha, particularly, parts of undivided Koraput and[Read More…]
In the continuing assault on Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, on 28.08.23, Nitin, an activist of Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan has been arrested after being implicated in a false case. This is the latest in a series of attacks by the Madhya Pradesh government against Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan over the past few months. The Sangathan, in addition to campaigning for[Read More…]
While driving on Nagpur’s roads, I was in the driving seat of my car, engrossed in my thoughts, delving into the latest advancements in machine learning techniques—a subject which often is disliked in a common circle. I was on the roads from my office to my residence when I abruptly had to decelerate my car as I spotted a traffic[Read More…]
To Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha Union Steel Secretary Dear Shri Sinha, I thank you for responding so promptly to my letter of August 27 2023 (https://countercurrents.org/2023/08/has-secl-followed-the-auctioning-routthe report that the-to-appoint-the-adani-group-as-mdo-for-gare-palma-coal-block/) in which I had expressed my concern at RINL trying to lease out 1,000 acres of its land to Adani-owned Gangavaram Port Ltd. In my letter, I pointed out that RINL cannot[Read More…]
France will back any military action by the 11-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Niger to restore the rule of ousted leader Mohamed Bazoum, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. Macron made the comment in response to the Expulsion of French Ambassador Sylvain Itte from Niamey by the new military government that seized power in a coup last[Read More…]
Anti-racist Jewish Australian writer Antony Loewenstein’s latest book “The Palestine Laboratory” describes how genocidally racist Apartheid Israel mercilessly uses high technology weapons, fences, and comprehensive surveillance to comprehensively control the 5.5 million sorely oppressed Occupied Palestinians, and how it exports this obscene technology of neo-Nazi occupation to countries around the World, from the EU and Anglosphere democracies to brutal dictatorships.[Read More…]
We know what the regime is like. Starving a country, bombing its hospitals and strafing its schools has been minor fare for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The population of Yemen has found this out to their colossal cost. Add to this the killing of dissident journalists, the enthusiastic employment of capital punishment, and an assortment of other merry brutalities,[Read More…]
In a play on words the ‘ US’ in my title can mean the ‘ Us’ being we here in the USA. Get it? You see, what our nation has become is simply one big bordello! Wherever you look you see whores surrounding us working stiffs. I don’t mean the ‘ working girls’ who[Read More…]
The BJP spokespersons are lauding the newly dressed and christened penal code of the country as a refreshing native product,free from the traces of colonial origin.The authors of the code have claimed they have purified the IPC of its colonial character, and thoroughly ‘Indianized’ it.One would think they meant by it a code worthy of a free democratic country.But it[Read More…]
Golden Semee Of Ahad Zargar , Translator: Mushtaque Barq Poetry, at its core, serves as a conduit for the expression of one’s deepest emotions, a realm where sentiments are adorned with words, metaphors, and similes. Within this realm, Sufi or mystic poetry holds a unique position – simultaneously challenging and enchanting. Mystic poetry is a profound exercise, requiring a[Read More…]
Phoola Devi and Devidayal work hard on their small plot of less than two acres of farmland in Larvari village, in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh. Despite their best efforts, things had been becoming quite difficult, but then some important changes they initiated in recent times have given them new hope. Firstly, they have given up using chemical fertilizers and[Read More…]
Citing calculations based on 2022 OPEC oil exports and production data, the InfoTech news outlet reported on Thursday: The BRICS is going to change the power balance in the global energy market. The report said: Once the BRICS expands with six new member nations to its ranks, it will control nearly half of the world’s oil production and reserves. BRICS,[Read More…]
To Shri Vivek Bharadwaj Union Miines Secretary Dear Shri Bharadwaj, Erramatti Dibbalu (Red Ravines) are part of a unique stretch of red ravines adjacent to the Bay of Bengal coast close to Visakhapatnam city. Originally, it extended over thousands of acres but a portion of it has been taken over by the Indian Navy for locating their strategic establishment. What[Read More…]
Tribal Kangleipak to Hindu Manipur Meitei people treasure their past, and ‘Kangleipak’ is their name for their ancient civilization. The chronicle of the Ningthouja dynasty of Manipur [Ref.1] records the rule of 76 kings starting 33 CE. The Ningthouja people were one of several tribal clans of Tibetan-Burmese origin, which migrated into present Manipur region from the East. The rulers[Read More…]
by Riya Jain, Sagar Sengar and Sandeep Pandey A Gujarat government Indian Administrative Service officer Dhaval Patel after visiting six primary schools in Chhota Udepur district among the tribal area made the following observation: ‘These poor tribal children do not have any other source of education. It is my strong opinion that we are doing injustice to them by giving[Read More…]
If you meet Komal Prasad Aharwar in passing in his village ( Teraih, in Talbehat block of Lalitpur district, Uttar Pradesh), you may well ignore him as any other ordinary villager, but once you speak to him at length about his livelihood , you are likely to be highly impressed by the recent initiatives of this dalit farmer. Komal Prasad[Read More…]
Provocative incidents are being instigated with the help of local police so that the protesting villagers could be arrested. Even though Adivasi people of these areas do not want development, the so called ‘Vikas’ is knocking at their doorstep – to destroy their land, forests and hills, above all, their livelihood We, on behalf of ‘Ganatantrik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan, Odisha’ strongly condemn[Read More…]
To Shri Rajiv Gauba Cabinet Secretary Government of India Dear Shri Gauba, In my letter dated 6-4-023 (https://countercurrents.org/2023/04/most-mineral-block-allocations-violate-the-doctrine-of-public-trust/), I pointed out the lack of transparency in mineral block auctions in recent times, raising concerns of propriety. I have since come across yet another case of allotment of a mineral block, namely, the Gare Palma coal block in Tamnar Block of[Read More…]
Considering significance of the BRICS 15th Summit Declaration, Countercurrents is posting the Declaration’s complete version. XV BRICS Summit Johannesburg II Declaration BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism Sandton, Gauteng, South Africa Wednesday 23 August 2023 Preamble We, the Leaders of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India,[Read More…]
Controversial George Soros’ Open Society Foundations plan to significantly curtail their work in Europe and lay off much of their staff on the continent, the foundations’ leaders told staff in Berlin, according to an internal email and several current employees, who say the decision is painful and perplexing. An AP report said: The planned European cuts, as described in an[Read More…]
There has been an avalanche of western media reports within minutes or hours of the ghastly death on Wednesday of the head of the Wagner organisation of Russian military contractors, Yevgeny Prigozhin, which pointed the accusing finger at President Vladimir Putin as the perpetrator. It is almost as if a button was pressed at some unknown command centre to launch[Read More…]
Introduction It can be indicated from a historical viewpoint that the USA emerged on the stage of global (world) politics in 1867 (four years before Germany did the same in 1871 after the Franco−Prussian War of 1870−1871). Both these imperial states at the same time exerted extremely influential politics in the process of radical transformation of the modern world both[Read More…]
In the course of its eventful journey that started in 2001, Vidyadham Samiti (VDS), a voluntary organization of Bundelkhand region in central India, has acquired a well-established reputation as a true friend of weaker sections of society, standing by them in difficult conditions and in resisting injustice. Often facing several hurdles placed in its path by the rich and the[Read More…]
On August 24, 2023, in a private school in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, teacher Tripta Tyagi instructed students to take turns hitting a fellow student, who was of the Muslim faith and had apparently made multiplication errors. Tyagi referred derogatorily to “Mohammedan children,” insinuating that they get spoiled when their mothers don’t prioritize their studies. She urged a student to hit[Read More…]
Militarization of a nation embodies ruthless purging of its thinking hubs, hopes and moral and intellectual capacity to change and envision a sustainable future. Are the Pakistani Generals a replica of the historic European “Razor King”, compelled by the nature of self-interest and expanding one-track mental microscope to go on radiating violence and insane aggressive actions against legitimate political activism?[Read More…]
More than the story of a brave gutsy fourteen- year- old girl, I Kick and I Fly is a testament of conviction, for both the protagonist of the novel, Heera Kumari and its creator Ruchira Gupta. The story of Heera Kumari is the story of a girl belonging to the nomadic Nat community kicking her way through life from a[Read More…]
Would it be correct to say that confidence – rather overconfidence- marked Prime Minister Modi’s address from the Red Fort as he asserted that he would be there again a year later on the same date and highlight India’s achievements? Of course, as has been expressed by several observers, this clearly marked a part of his electoral campaign for coming[Read More…]
Charlotte Kates, international coordinator of Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, discussing the challenges facing Palestinian prisoners on the occasion of the Palestinian prisoners’ Day, April 17, 2020 There is history and there is a pattern to how Zionist and Jewish organizations coalesce to plot the erasure of Palestinians. Today, they are mobilizing to criminalize the activities of Samidoun, Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity[Read More…]
Times of crisis can be glorious for some. The Great Depression bred its share of wealthy profiteers. The First and Second World Wars fostered many a multimillionaire. Over the bodies of millions, the returns for armaments companies were unparalleled. And during the current “cost of living crisis,” as it is so often dubbed, there are companies beaming at their profit[Read More…]
Water pressures like droughts are intensifying due to global warming and population growth. Treating wastewater is a powerful solution, finally gaining more public support. Population growth and climate change are stretching America’s water supplies to the limit, and tapping new sources is becoming more difficult each year—in some cases, even impossible. New Mexico, California, Arizona, and Colorado are facing the[Read More…]
by Steve Taylor and Orin Langelle Brazil is set to unleash several varieties of genetically engineered eucalyptus, which will worsen a bad situation. Valued for its termite-resistant wood for building purposes, pulp to create products like writing and toilet paper, and its oil, which has numerous health and household benefits, the eucalyptus tree generates big business worldwide. Native to Australia[Read More…]
Interview with Teri Mattson by Rick Sterling. Teri Mattson is producer and host of the weekly podcast “WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean?” broadcast on spotify, apple podcast, codepink, as well as https://popularresistance.org/wtf-is-going-on-in-latin-america-the-caribbean/ Q: How did you wind up living in Mexico City? Teri: I went to Mexico City in September of 2020 in response to[Read More…]
The video of a Muslim boy being beaten up, slapped and humiliated in front of the entire class in a school in Uttar Pradesh, has only shown how much the hate propaganda against the Muslims in India has reached inside our hearts and minds. That a teacher in the primary school is sadistically enjoying when the poor boy is being[Read More…]
Bharti Aharwar, a dalit woman of Nadia village in Jatara block of Tikamgarh district, was finding it difficult to cope with increasing economic difficulties. Her husband had even gone to Delhi in search of better earning opportunities but no durable solution had emerged. So when she learnt from an activist of Srijan social organization visiting her village about their plan[Read More…]
There is currently an exhibition being held at Mumbai’s Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre entitled `Run As Slow As You Can.’ Designed by two eminent Italian artists, Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari, the exhibits lampoon the rat race in the consumerism-obsessed society today. The paradoxical title may be suggesting that in a demanding competitive world one should run as slowly [Read More…]
With adoption of the Johannesburg II Declaration, BRICS’ historic 15th summit has concluded in the South African city of Johannesburg. To wrap up the summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa presented a joint declaration in the final day of the summit. The BRICS, the collective of the world’s largest developing economies, members have committed to strengthening the framework of mutually[Read More…]
Across America, whispers softly speak about whether there’s an undeclared civil war. Well, maybe yes, maybe no, but what are the signals? What about January 6th hand-to-hand combat on the steps of the nation’s capitol with 136 (injured) police officers, was it civil unrest or incipient civil war? Those questions are answered by Barbara F. Walter, Professor of Political Science/University[Read More…]
To Smt Nirmala Sitharaman Union Finance Minister Dear Smt Sitharaman, ISRO’s successful high-precision soft landing of its Chandrayaan 3 rover on the south pole of the lunar surface has brought worldwide laurels for India. ISRO’s Chairman, Shri S. Somanath, his highly competent team and all those who have visualised and nurtured ISRO since its inception in 1962 deserve the nation’s accolades[Read More…]
“You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future. It took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen.[Read More…]
Henry Alfred Kissinger turned 100 on May 27th of this year. Once a teenage refugee from Nazi Germany, for many decades an adviser to presidents, and an avatar of American realpolitik, he’s managed to reach the century mark while still evidently retaining all his marbles. That those marbles remain hard and cold is no surprise. A couple of months after that[Read More…]
Universal constants are a set of mathematical values, fine-tuned to incredible precision to sustain the clockwork functioning of the universe. Life on Earth is a microcosm of those very forces, seamlessly blended to create relationships between nature and man, flora and fauna, wind, and waters, which culminate in a delicate ecosystem, a vibrant balance of life that is inviolable, that[Read More…]
In most discussions on ongoing conflicts and wars, generally more attention is given to military aspects and to examining which side is likely to be victorious. However from the point of view of reducing human distress what is most important is to resolve all conflicts and end or avoid all wars with a justice-based approach. Many conflicts involving enormous distress[Read More…]
ISRO is working on moon but it is time to look what is happening on the earth, the only planet so far where we can live and enjoy life so far. Important to protect it even if we find some chances or possibilities of living on other planet nothing will be better than earth. Let us seriously look at the[Read More…]
Recently, the Home Minister of India spoke about his government’s desire towards opening of Sharda Peeth cross LoC Corridor on similar lines of Kartarpur Corridor. Few times back, there were media reports that a proposal for opening of Sharda Peeth Corridor was also in consideration by the Govt. of Pakistan. These beginnings are not just important due to long pending[Read More…]
The aforementioned title sums up the impressions after watching live telecast of the ongoing court proceedings. A few observations are in order: Judges in the classical mould were expected not to let anyone guess which way their mind is swaying; the judges in the instant case are no respecter of this old tradition. There appears to be an attempt to[Read More…]
Campaign against state repression strongly condemns the brutal murder of Farmer Pritam Singh and repression against Kissan Union by police On August 21, 2023, elderly farmer Pritam Singh died amid a police lathi charge against protesting farmers who were marching to Chandigarh to raise their demands against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Pritam Singh was run over by a tractor[Read More…]
A press conference August 23 at the Cruise Autonomous Robotaxi headquarters calling for a halt in the operation of all autonomous vehicles (AVs) on city streets following a number of traffic incidents over the past two weeks implored the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to take immediate action and stop all robotaxis from operating in the city before anyone is[Read More…]
China’s President Xi Jinping has pledged to support Cuba’s defense of its national sovereignty, opposing foreign interference and a U.S. economic blockade, and will expand strategic coordination with Havana. Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign[Read More…]
Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has begun dumping wastewater from the nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, having diluted it with sea water. Japanese specialists started to release into the ocean the first batch of treated water that was used to cool down the crippled reactors of the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, according[Read More…]
To Shri Vivek Bharadwaj Union Mines Secretary Dear Shri Bharadwaj, I understand that China, which dominates the production of the two critical minerals, namely, Gallium (Ga) and Germanium (Ge), has imposed a ban on their export (https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-controls-take-effect-wait-gallium-germanium-export-permits-begins-2023-08-01/). Considering that both these metals are critical links in India’s important supply chains for electronics, renewable energy facilities and the defence sector, India should[Read More…]
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, a global cold war has also kicked in. As a strong ally of Washington and the home of a massive constituency of Russian, Ukrainian and East European Jews, it was only natural that Tel Aviv would be at the heart of the global conflict. When the war began, Israel was then ruled by[Read More…]
One hopes fervently that the honourable judges of the Supreme Court understand the final repercussions of the present government’s latest initiatives.It is nothing less than the abolition of constitutional democracy as we understand it.The draconian provisions of the revised penal code,the brutal elimination of existing safeguards for tribal rights,human sustenance and environmental sustainability from biodiversity laws,and the Chief Economic Adviser’s[Read More…]
Writers, scholars, artists have always worried the powers that be. There was a time when the Parisian police had been given the onerous task of keeping the greatest writers of late 18th Century who were living in Paris at that time under their watch. Poor fellows, one can imagine their difficulty in maintaining files on writers and artists and scholars[Read More…]
On 26 July 2023, the Loksabha passed the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, replacing the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. This at a time when there should have instead been widespread celebrations commemorating 51 years of Silent Valley Movement and 50 years of Chipko Andolan, the two biggest people’s movements on ecological conservation in the country, which proved critical in enacting[Read More…]
Ukraine is facing shortage of manpower for war, said Western media reports. An opinion piece in The Telegraph – Ukraine’s army is running out of men to recruit, and time to win (Robert Clark, August 22, 2023) – said: The war in Ukraine is now fought on terms that increasingly favour Moscow. A shortage of manpower – which Kiev is[Read More…]
Dr. Ambedkar is often recognized as the saviour of Dalits, while he fought for the rights of all downtrodden classes, Dalits and Backwards. But because of the varna system, the backward castes that are Shudras consider themselves higher on the social ladder than the untouchables (Dalits). According to one definition, backward castes are Shudras, and Dalit castes are extreme Shudras.[Read More…]
What happens when the looters are looted? Perhaps that strange sense of satisfaction called justice, an offence cancelled by another. One therefore greets the realisation that the British Museum has been suffering a number of such cases with some smugness. What makes them even more striking is the inability of staff to have picked up on the matter in the[Read More…]
“Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.”: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar India International Centre and Karwan- e–Mohhabat jointly organized a panel discussion on 17th August 2023 under the theme[Read More…]
Hundreds write open letter to Odisha CM: Call for revocation of arbitrary cases; Seek end to repression and corporate-loot 22nd Aug, 2023: Hundreds of well-known activists, citizens and people’s organizations from across the country expressed outrage at the imposition of UAPA cases against 9 adivasis and activists of the Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti (NSS), which spearheaded the historic struggle against[Read More…]
Australia’s funding priorities have been utterly muddled of late. At the Commonwealth level, there is cash to be found in every conceivable place to support every absurd military venture, as long as it targets those hideous authoritarians in Beijing. It seemed utterly absurd that, even as the Australian federal government announced its purchase of over 200 tomahawk cruise missiles –[Read More…]
12 August marks 5 years since Samir Amin passed away. As the headline says, he was not only a great researcher, but also a tirelessly active anti-imperialist. I want to remember him here by highlighting 10 points from his last article (co-written with Firoze Manji), which has been called his ‘will’. The article has been called so because it is[Read More…]
BRICS has started its summit – a meeting with serious promises to an expected new world order. Hopes centering the summit are high around the world. The 15th BRICS Summit is now taking place in Johannesburg’s financial district of Sandton. The summit in South Africa is going to deal with issues having serious implications on developments around the world. It will also[Read More…]
To Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha Union Steel Secretary Dear Shri Sinha, There have been disturbing news reports here (https://www.andhrajyothy.com/2023/andhra-pradesh/visakhapatnam/steel-lands-for-nmdc-1125817.html) that Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), forced to raise financial resources in the face of a deliberate attempt by your Ministry to weaken it in all respects, is in negotiation with the Adani Group to lease out 1000 acres of its land for[Read More…]
The recent coup in Niger threatens to unleash more private military and security companies on a continent where they have become steadily more powerful in recent decades. In the wake of the July 26 coup in Niger, the world’s spotlight has once again turned to the expansion of private military and security companies (PMSCs) across Africa. Following the removal of[Read More…]
In the 1970s, I met one of Hitler’s leading propagandists, Leni Riefenstahl, whose epic films glorified the Nazis. We happened to be staying at the same lodge in Kenya, where she was on a photography assignment, having escaped the fate of other friends of the Führer. She told me that the “patriotic messages” of her films were dependent not on[Read More…]
Those with holes instead of eyes do not see. They are blind. Those with holes instead of ears do not hear. They are deaf. Emotionally numb devoid of empathy they are sleepwalking. The walking dead. Remember Lahaina (island of Maui): hurricane winds Hawaiian drought climate- fire and the seaside town, now but ashes of memory. [Read More…]
Several eminent scholars have warned time and again that false misrepresentation of history in communal terms can be very harmful for national unity, and it is very sad that despite such warnings such damaging trends have intensified further in some contexts. Due to such repeated misrepresentation most of the battles fought during the years of the Mughal rule have become[Read More…]
Dr.Thankam Sharma whom we used to call as Amma (mother), had been really a mother to many youngsters other than her four children. Yes, it was her children especially Santhi and Anitha who were my friends. But the day I walked in with these two into their home, I realized I had become part of that family. Sharmaji, their father[Read More…]
The much anticipated 15th BRICS Summit gets underway tomorrow in Johannesburg. South Africa as the chairperson of the Summit decided to theme the Summit on how best the bloc can support the development of Africa so that it can be a self-reliant continent living in peace and with full ownership and control of its resources – so that it can[Read More…]
An article named: ‘There is a case ‘We the people ‘to embrace a new constitution’ written by Bibek Debroy, close aide and economic advisor to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi published by several national dailies in India. The author suggests that a new constitution should be drafted and implemented. One cannot expect more than this from a right-wing supporter who,[Read More…]
Ukraine is running out of options in its counteroffensive against Russian forces, as Kiev’s time-window to gain advances is closing, the Washington Post has reported. In an article on Sunday, the U.S. daily has claimed that Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which was launched in early June and was initially expected to see Kiev taking back significant territory, currently “shows signs of stalling.”[Read More…]
Racism goes beyond the use of certain words or the discriminatory practices of everyday life. It is also about political perceptions, intellectual depictions, and collective relationships. Consider the way that Africa is currently portrayed in the news. From a political viewpoint, Africa is seen as a totality, and not in a positive way, as in a united Africa. For example,[Read More…]
Climate change litigation is falling into pressing fashion. In Australia, the 2021 case of Sharma, despite eventually failing before three judges in the Federal Court in 2022, suggested that ministers had been put on notice regarding a potential duty of care regarding the consequences of approving fossil fuel projects. The lower court decision had shaken the fossil fuel industry with[Read More…]
This is a sermon I gave on Sunday Aug. 20 in Oslo, Norway at Kulturkirken Jakob (St. James Church of Culture). Actor and film director Liv Ullmann read the scripture passages. I dedicate this sermon to my mentor at Harvard Divinity School, Bishop Krister Stendhal. Prophets are notoriously difficult people. They are not saints. They are people of agony, as Rabbi[Read More…]
Sri Lanka continues to swing wildly between being a ‘Donor Darling’ flooded with foreign ‘aid’ and ‘advisors’ on the one hand, to a ‘bankrupt’ pariah or outcast on the other. Last year the strategic Indian Ocean island went from being South Asia’s wealthiest nation with the best social and human development indicators to a beggar–humiliated and shunned by the ‘international[Read More…]
Fifty years ago Marlon Brando refused to accept the Oscar protesting against the portrayal of native Americans in Hollywood. He sent a native American female actor Sacheen Littlefeather to make a speech on his behalf voicing the protest. She was booed by a section of the white supremacist audience, John Wayne, the so called star of many films portraying native[Read More…]
It is an undeniable fact of Indian history that all those leaders of the freedom movement who received the greatest support and affection of people were those who had very firm faith in communal harmony. For Jawaharlal Nehru inter-faith harmony was a matter of the deepest commitment and a firm base for the progress of the country. Badshah Khan[Read More…]
In these high-risk times the urgency of diplomacy for peace has been increasing steadily, as emphasized by several eminent experts, including those reputed to be among the most experienced in the skills and the art of diplomacy for peace. Unfortunately the most important decision makers, the ones who can most quickly and effectively de-escalate the dangers of moving towards catastrophic[Read More…]
A Politico report said: U.S. officials have told Politico that they may have “missed a window” to push for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. “We may have missed a window to push for earlier talks,” a U.S. official told Politico on Friday, adding that U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff “Milley had a point.” Speaking anonymously, the U.S. officials[Read More…]
Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a red herring much dragged about in the Indian political discourse from the dawn of the constitution. Even the constituent assembly couldn’t resolve this primordial force at its inception. Consequently, UCC was placed in Article 44, of part four of the constitution which forms the Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP). Through out the time[Read More…]
I know the answer to the question. I only want to offer reasons for my answer. Unacademy is an educational company that “provides online educational platform” and according to its website, its motto is: “Educate, Enable, Empower.” Sounds similar to something I heard before, “Educate, Agitate, Organize,” (Dr. B. R. Ambedkar) but I have no intention of dwelling on it.[Read More…]
Introduction India is a subcontinent with vast and tremendous diversity. It’s a hotspot for individuals from distinct cultures, castes, religions, tribes, and languages. However, this diversity has been seen as a cradle of unity in India, ‘unity in diversity’. Regardless of this, it has been also an ultimatum for the country since the advent of right-wing politics in India. Therefore,[Read More…]
“This is slavery, not to speak one’s thoughts.” – Euripides, The Phoenician Women Some time ago on a Sunday evening when my wife and I had just sat down to dinner, our phone rang. Since I didn’t recognize the phone number and it was dinnertime, I hesitated to answer it, but for some chance reason I did. The voice on the[Read More…]
The atomic bomb created the conditions of contingent catastrophe, forever placing the world on the precipice of existential doom. But in doing so, it created a philosophy of acceptable cruelty, worthy extinction, legitimate extermination. The scenarios for such programs of existential realisation proved endless. Entire departments, schools of thought, and think tanks were dedicated to the absurdly criminal notion that[Read More…]
No food should be worth the amount of suffering experienced by sentient animals trapped in our food system. The facts are clear and they are shocking: Factory farming is unhealthy for consumers, dangerous for workers, and devastating for the environment, and it is the largest cause of animal cruelty in the history of mankind. In the United States alone, nearly 10 billion land animals are raised[Read More…]
The “Black Continent” of Africa until the end of the eighth decade of the 19th century was not properly known territory, especially its central parts which have been unknown to the Europeans. The West European powers until the 1880s were acquainted mainly with the African littorals and their immediate hinterland. However, what was inside the continent was not exactly known[Read More…]
Having spent the first 40+ years of my life paying tribute to landlords, this writer knows the crime of it all. I am not referring to the system of ‘ One landlord/One Tenant’ that many of the neighborhoods in baby boomer Brooklyn consisted of. That was in the 50s and 60s of my youth. It made sense as the landlord[Read More…]
On 31 July, a small district of Haryana witnessed communal clashes between two Groups Which left 6 people dead. Bajrang Dal, a self proclaimed religious Group held religious procession in Nuh District of Haryana, which is a Muslim majority area. When the procession reached Nuh, two groups got engaged in violence which later spread to other districts such as Gurgaon,[Read More…]
The threat of war today looms larger today than it did even during the era of the Cold War [1]. However, the very forces that have brought the world to the brink of war have also, paradoxically, created the conditions for a greater movement of peace than ever existed before. This movement nevertheless needs organization, unity and ideological clarity. War[Read More…]
History tells us that, at crucial moments in the life of states, one person may determine the fate of an entire nation, and this is exactly what happened to India when the treacherous Nawab of Bengal Mir Jafar caused Britain to occupy his homeland for a period of up to 200 years, to fire the last bullet into the heart[Read More…]
I was born,brought up and got fermented as an apprentice rebel in the Roman Catholic Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala. Me and our village poet Josukuttan were ex communicated at the age of 20 along with a group of Islanders in Kadamakkudy for questioning certain theological distortions of the church. We used to bring out anti-Church leaflets periodically and also ensured[Read More…]
He was such a good scholar and more than that such a good fighter for social justice. Politicians in Maharashtra constantly invoke social reformers Mahatma Phule and Dr Ambedkar in their speeches while betraying their legacy through their corruption and opportunism. Hari Narke truly served the cause of Phule and Ambedkar. He was barely in his twenties when he confronted[Read More…]
To Chief Ministers Respected Chief Minister, The ECI Bill in its present form is going to run counter to the idea of an Election Commission that remains non-political in its functioning. It is inconsistent with the vision of the Constituent Assembly as evident from its debate on the subject. It also runs counter to the guidelines indicated by the apex[Read More…]
Fantasies are fantasies. But, Credible Fantasies aren’t fantasies. These move around and act within a reality. The characters in the Credible Fantasies by T Vijayendra are real, from reBal life. Its perspective and settings are real, a reality. The pushes and pulls pictured in the Credible Fantasies (Ecologise Hyderabad, 2023, t.vijayendra@gmail.com) are of existing reality. The 79-page book’s “central idea[Read More…]
A 17-year-old Dalit student Chinnadurai, and his 14-year-old sister were attacked with sickles, at 10:30 pm on August 9 at his house, by six minors in Nanguneri in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district. When his younger sister came to save him, she too was hacked. Both victims were undergoing treatment at the Nanguneri government hospital. When the neighbours gathered, the assailants[Read More…]
In his 2005 bestseller Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, geographer Jared Diamond focused on past civilizations that confronted severe climate shocks, either adapting and surviving or failing to adapt and disintegrating. Among those were the Puebloan culture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, the ancient Mayan civilization of Mesoamerica, and the Viking settlers of Greenland. Such societies, having achieved[Read More…]
Many people are already investing themselves in the local peace economy as they divest from the economy of war. War is not innate to humanity; it is learned culturally, and intentional systems of peace can prevent it from happening, according to anthropological research. We are living at a critical time in the history of humanity in which preventing and divesting from war are[Read More…]
Al Gore, former US VP, recently held a TED talk in anticipation of COP28, the upcoming Conference of the Parties, aka: UNFCCC or 2023 United Nations Climate Conference, November 30th – December 12th, 2023, to be held at Expo City, Dubai. It increasingly looks to be a freakish show of multi-dimensional illusions and fakery that the world of climate science[Read More…]
Australia is among world-leading climate criminal countries in many areas. Corporations, governments and Mainstream media conspire to fraudulently ignore Australia’s huge and inescapable Carbon Debt that totals about $5 trillion and is increasing at up to about $0.7 trillion each year. This is appalling intergenerational injustice because this ever-increasing and inescapable Carbon Debt will have to be paid by our children,[Read More…]
The development of the cryptocurrency market and its relative anonymity has come as a boon for many representatives of both the shady and completely legal business, providing them with the last opportunity to hide their assets from the state. This prompted the adoption of numerous laws on state control over cryptocurrencies. However, for the corrupt “servants of the people” the[Read More…]
The whole world knows that the center pin of Hindutva ideology is Brahminism. After a careful study of Indian Islamic history I came to a conclusion that the Hindutva’s strength comes from the anti-reformist Mullahism of Indian Islam. Mullahism, is as communal and conservative as Brahmanism is. Both Brahminism and Mullahism are also anti-production schools. Like Brahminism, Mullahism combined with[Read More…]
Campaign Against State Repression strongly Condemns Slapping of UAPA on Activists of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti to suppress People’s movement against corporate loot On 6th August 2023, the Odisha police lodged an FIR against nine people associated with the Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti (NSS) under charges of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and the Indian Penal Code. The charges came a day[Read More…]
The founder of Sulabh International Dr Bindeshwar Pathak passed away in a hospital in Delhi a few days back. Dr Pathak was 80 years of age and was known as the ‘toilet man’ of India. He brought ‘revolution’ in the toilet system in India and brought the ‘concept’ of ‘paid toilet’ system in India. Sulabh International which claimed to ‘eradicate’[Read More…]
![Homes consumed in recent wildfires are seen in Lahaina, Hawaii, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. [AP Photo/Jae C. Hong]](https://cdn.countercurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/maui-fire-200x150.webp "Over 1,000 people still missing as Maui fire death toll, and social anger, continue to rise 234")
As many as 1,300 people are still missing more than a week after an inferno, sparked by downed power lines and fueled by climate change, ripped through the Hawaiian island of Maui, killing at least 110 people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. Fires continue to burn on the island, threatening residents in the Upcountry town of Kula, located[Read More…]
Zionism The term Zionism is derived from the word Zion that in the Hebrew language and cultural-historical tradition of the Jews refers to the citadel (acropolis) of the city of Jerusalem as well as to the Kingdom of Heaven. From the matter of politics, Zionism refers to the political-national movement of the European Jews in the very late 19th century[Read More…]
In a stirring speech to his fellow lawyers on the occasion of Independence Day, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, underscored the importance of eliminating the barriers to accessing justice and said the history of the Indian judiciary has been the history of the daily struggles of the Indian people…He said the “law exudes human interest and responds positively to[Read More…]
The industrialized food system is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The impact of agriculture on climate change is significant. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agriculture sector is responsible for 10 percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, after transportation (29 percent), electricity production (25 percent), industry (23 percent), and commercial and residential usage (13 percent).[Read More…]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies President Biden wrote in the New York Times in June 2022 that the United States was arming Ukraine to “fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.” Ukraine’s fall 2022 counteroffensive left it in a stronger position, yet Biden and his NATO allies still chose[Read More…]
We are part of an India where some of the most tragic incidents are being taking place even right now in different parts of the country. But there are a very few who have always taken a firm stand and stood by the victims and fought against the prevailing injustice. Teesta Setalvad the most daring, fearless, dedicated Journalist and also[Read More…]
Rajaram Ka Purva is a most neglected rural hamlet inhabited by the poorest people of Kuchbandia community. This is located in such an isolated backyard of Mahuwa panchayat (Banda district of Uttar Pradesh) that a visitor to the panchayat may easily go away without noticing it. As we went around nearly 40 homes of this hamlet, almost every home gave[Read More…]
It is feasible for China to continue playing an important role in mediating Middle East conflicts. In fact, it already has. In the case of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, however, mediation is hardly the issue. Even before Beijing successfully managed to achieve reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran last April, Chinese diplomacy has shown exceptional maturity. For many years,[Read More…]
As Indian parliamentary elections approach, politicians’ promises resting on uplifting economic status of the poor will get more assertive and aggressive. As these promises become louder, headlines may be expected to display the same more prominently. The unwritten rule followed in general by most politicians is to try convincing voters that “magic wand” to achieve this rests only in his/her[Read More…]
On July 26, 2023, Niger’s presidential guard moved against the sitting president—Mohamed Bazoum—and conducted a coup d’état. A brief contest among the various armed forces in the country ended with all the branches agreeing to the removal of Bazoum and the creation of a military junta led by Presidential Guard Commander General Abdourahamane “Omar” Tchiani. This is the fourth country in the[Read More…]
![Wildfire wreckage is shown Friday, August 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. [AP Photo/Rick Bowmer]](https://cdn.countercurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Maui-wildfire-200x150.webp "Walking in an Oven World-One Step in the Right Direction 248")
Too hot.Too dry. Too many weapons. This world needs changing. But that’s too vague. After all, this world is already changing, just not in ways that are good for you and me. You know the facts. July 2023 was the hottest month on record — ever — since we humans started keeping track of the temperature. And it’s only getting hotter. As Petteri Taalas,[Read More…]
The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by the U.S. and its European allies in the early 2000s alarmed the clerics in Tehran that they may be next to lose power. Consequently, the clerics heavily invested in manufacturing conventional advanced weapons, which strengthened the country’s military. With the recent progress in the nuclear field, Iran now has a choice to build[Read More…]
I grew up in a country that thrived with diversity. I grew up in a country where we were taught to accept diversity of cultures, languages, religions as a normal way of life. The phrase used was ‘Unity in Diversity’. Of course, there were many issues in a country that was fairly young — bled anaemic by the greed of[Read More…]
16th Aug, 2023: National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) condemns the latest round of vicious allegations against NewsClick, an independent media organisation, whose primary focus since it was founded in 2009, has been to cover news on public interest and diverse, progressive, working-class movements within India and beyond. This comes as part of the larger attack of the current pro-corporate[Read More…]
A public hearing on 13 August in Atarra ( Banda district, Uttar Pradesh) provided revealing glimpses of extreme injustices suffered by people in more remote parts of the country and the obstacles placed in the path of getting justice for them by the rich and the powerful. This public hearing was organized by a voluntary organization Vidyadham Samiti (VS) which[Read More…]
by T Vijayendra, Usha Rao and Shreekumar We are facing a global emergency and collapse. The emergency is due to the twin crises of global warming and resource depletion. When there is a collapse there are two alternatives: chaos or a planned transition. By transition here we mean taking us from the present capitalist/industrial stage of society to an alternative[Read More…]
The General Elections in India are due after about ten months from now. The country is gradually witnessing the changing political process that will reach its logical end in May 2024. The opposition parties formed a strong coalition now known as I.N.D.I.A (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance). The Bengaluru conclave of this new formation was attended by 26 parties. The[Read More…]
At every stage of its proceedings against Julian Assange, the US Imperium has shown little by way of tempering its vengeful impulses. The WikiLeaks publisher, in uncovering the sordid, operational details of a global military power, would always have to pay. Given the 18 charges he faces, 17 fashioned from that most repressive of instruments, the US Espionage Act of[Read More…]
Respected Sir, Following the mass scale demolition of Muslim settlements in Nuh, Haryana two Hon’ble judges of your court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and stayed further demolitions. Since then the case is being tossed around from one bench to the other. Too hot to handle? Political pressure at play? Leaving Haryana administration to fudge records, plant backdated[Read More…]
The future is here. A study recently published by a team of British and Dutch scientists found that this summer’s horrific heat waves “would have been virtually impossible to occur in the US/Mexico region and Southern Europe if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels.” More and more, it seems that heat waves, more than storms, flooding,[Read More…]
The first third of August is observed worldwide as something of an awareness week against the global nuclear threat. During this ten-day period, in paying homage to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, peace gatherings calling for global nuclear disarmament and peace are held across the world. The world has since continued to read about or hear that the first atomic bomb, nicknamed[Read More…]
Some of the most eminent medical journals (including The Lancet, BMJ and JAMA) recently took an almost unprecedented initiative to together publish a joint editorial on August 1, 2023 asking for the elimination of nuclear weapons in view of their unacceptably high risks. What should be particularly welcomed is that they have taken the stand of elimination of nuclear weapons[Read More…]
Citing Kepios.com, which “makes sense of what people are really do online” and helps people “identify changes in digital behaviour”, Datareportal.com indicates that internet users in India remained unchanged between 2022 and 2023. For perspective, these user figures reveal that 730.0 million people in India did not use the internet at the start of 2023, suggesting that 51.3 per cent[Read More…]
It was perhaps mid sixties or early seventies when US had resorted to continuous bombing to break the morale of the Vietnamese people. When questioned by a reporter about this bombing in civilian areas a American General is reported to have said that we are destroying the village to save it. It is a different matter that within few years[Read More…]
On August 15, 2023, India will celebrate its 77th Independence Day. However, back in 1947, Tamil Nadu saw this day marked by black flags and black shirts. For Periyar, political independence meant a transfer of power from the “British to the Brahmins and Baniyas”. Instead of examining the entire Indian landscape from the perspective of rationalist-revolutionary politics, upper-caste ideologues limited the[Read More…]
The number of confirmed dead from the horrific wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui last Tuesday and Wednesday rose to 93 on Sunday. It is now the deadliest such fire in the US in more than 100 years. On Saturday, authorities said that the work of searching for and identifying the dead was still in the early stages and[Read More…]
Hate crimes continue to be a persistent and distressing issue in societies around the world. These malicious acts are fueled by prejudice, discrimination, and intolerance, often resulting in physical harm, emotional trauma, and societal divisions. As technology advances, there is a growing opportunity to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to combat hate crimes and promote social cohesion. Here in this article,[Read More…]
As we celebrate yet another Independence day I am enveloped in a feeling of dread, a fear that my life is a precarious one. I may not be economically in a state of precarity, but I live in fear of being mob lynched, of being hunted down as the Other, of my state turning into a vengeful entity bent upon[Read More…]
This article was written in 1997 by Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd on the work and contribution of Gaddar, who died on 6 August 2023 in Hyderabad. Gaddar was shot by the state agencies at his home on 6 April, 1997 when Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) was ruling the united Andhra Pradesh. He survived 6 bullets shot from point blank, after five of[Read More…]
Rational foreign policy for any country can be defined as policy based on advancing the short-term as well as the long-term interests of that country and reconciling this with the most essential concerns of the world for peace and protecting the life-nurturing conditions of planet. There can be wide consensus on such a non-controversial presentation of rational foreign policy. The[Read More…]
Project for a New American Century The Project for a New American Century was a Washington-based “think tank” founded in 1997 by William Kristal and Robert Kagen. The basic idea behind the organization was the since the United States had emerged as the world’s sole surviving superpower, the country the country should increase its military spending and use its military[Read More…]
The Nation Lost its Credibility and Strategic Direction Pakistan’s Neo-colonial elite continued to ruthlessly purge any public dissent against the most hated and most feared ones. The British Raj debacles are hidden in the new freedom of the few against many. Reflecting on the current political fault lines originating from Pakistan, one could pinpoint the unrestrained egoistic political drive to[Read More…]
PETA—People for Ethical Treatment of Animals are active in India. They want to interfere in Indian cow politics. They are against the idea of non-vegetarianism. They are against people eating chicken, mutton, pork, and beef. While making their presence felt, they go on nude protests, wherein women disrobed in public raise the banner of PETA. They are a bunch of[Read More…]
Shamefully much of the writing on the film Oppenheimer fails to grasp the film’s blatant failure to show the suffering of the people in Japan or of those living on the site of the tests in the U.S. Clearly, the Japanese are deeply hurt and the film has not been released there yet ..The Los Angeles Times makes it clear.[Read More…]
12th August, 2023 witnessed a horrific and shameful attack on the ideas and values of Gandhi, Vinoba and Jayprakash Narayan by this fascist regime. Sarva Seva Samiti, situated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, which has been active in the last 6 decades, fostering democratic ideals was brutally bulldozed by the BJP Govt. The Samiti campus consisting of more than 10 thousand[Read More…]
The debate about the climate crisis should have been settled in the early 1990s. And yet, three decades later, the extent, imminence and even existence of a looming catastrophe are still hotly disputed. That is not by accident. David Attenborough is on social media pleading, once more, for mankind to do something before tipping points are surpassed that cannot be reversed and temperatures[Read More…]
Some of the most significant voices of peace in the west have emerged from former diplomats who were earlier engaged in the pursuit of western aims in more enlightened ways in keeping with the concerns of world peace and stability. While these voices are very important these have not had the expected influence on policy makers. The eastward expansion of[Read More…]
After Prime Minister Modi’s much-celebrated visit to the United States, there was a growing debate as to the level of success compared to the previous visits by Modi himself or the former Indian prime Ministers. In an Economic Times report, various industrialists in India called it trend a setting or landmark[Read More…]
While not denying the value of opposition dramatics at Parliament,one might yet worry that activities at the ground level are at a low ebb.Particularly because the saffron camp is in a furious but orchestrated drive to unsettle minds and in the chaos start divisive fires all over the country.Right from riots to vicious communal campaigns to camouflaged religious armed drills.Thus[Read More…]
![A man walks through wildfire wreckage Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that wiped out a historic town. [AP Photo/ Rick Bowmer]](https://cdn.countercurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Maui-wildfire-disaster-200x150.webp "Maui disaster sirens never sounded as deadly fire engulfed hundreds of homes 303")
As the official death toll from the Maui wildfires reached 67 on Friday, questions are being raised about why Hawaii’s disaster warning system was never activated when the climate change-fueled inferno was spreading rapidly across the island. According to a PBS report on Thursday, Hawaii emergency management records “show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their[Read More…]
We, the undersigned, condemn the targeting of yet another Gandhian Institution by the Modi-Yogi Double Engine Sarkar. The BJP-RSS regime continues to attack Mahatma Gandhi, his ideology, his life, all the values and principles that he stood for, his unparalleled contribution to our freedom struggle and the fact that it laid the foundations of the modern Indian republic. Today, yet[Read More…]
Of the prevalent languages of the subcontinent, Urdu is leading in articles available on Wikipedia. This study Nullifies the concept that it is dying. In 1977, a well-known journalist and writer late, Kushwant Singh, called Urdu a dying language. A few months ago, while hearing the case of the Shiv Sena split, a clip related to Urdu became quite viral[Read More…]
On 31 July, Class XI student Shreya Tiwari at Children’s Girls College in Azamgarh allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the 3rd floor of the school building. The college principal, Sonam Mishra, and the class-teacher, Abhishek Rai, have been arrested. The private schools across Uttar Pradesh observed a day long strike by keeping the schools closed and a local parents’[Read More…]
SUB: Withdrawal of UAPA cases against leaders, activists and supporters of the movement led by Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti and unconditional release of Krushna Sikaka. On 5th August, 2023 two youth activists, namely, Krushna Sikaka (village Patangpadar) and Bari Sikaka (village Lakhpadar) of Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti (NSS) had been to Lanjigarh haat of Kalahandi district. Their purpose was to meet villagers[Read More…]
Much to the aggravation of concerned environmental activists, the Japanese government has approved the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) plan to begin releasing the “treated” radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean that is stored at the Fukushima nuclear power plant beginning later this month. The water used to cool the radioactive fuel rods from the plant that was damaged in[Read More…]
Most everyone is aware of the ongoing climate related events: melting of the polar ice, entire Alaskan communities that are sinking into the ocean, catastrophic storms, massive forest fires, and, of course, the worldwide heatwaves. If one follows the science, one knows of the overwhelming evidence of the connection between climate and burning fossil fuels. Despite all these climate-related occurrences,[Read More…]
The Far-Right takeover of the Republican Party has readied a battle plan for 2025 that will crucify commitments to fight global heat, namely: Project 2025 / Presidential Transition Project, a 920-page formal proposal to take over and reconstruct government via abandonment and/or defunding of federal agencies that protect the nation’s health and environment. Project 2025’s call to arms: “The long[Read More…]
Because there is so much personal anguish, unhappiness, and human mental and physical suffering in the world, many people often wonder how they might personally change to find happiness, contentment, or some elusive something. Or even how to change other people, as if that arrogant illusion could ever work. This question of significant personal change is usually couched within the[Read More…]
Frequent concern has been expressed by health experts in the USA that life-expectancy in this country has been reducing steadily in comparison to levels attained in several other rich countries. This has led some researchers to explore the number of excess deaths in the USA (or number of ‘missing Americans’) which they define as the deaths which are in excess[Read More…]
Dr Nishan De Mel, is the Executive Director of the Verite Research think tank based in Colombo. Dr Nishan, an economist with extensive academic, policy and private sector experience. Nishan taught and researched economics at Oxford and Harvard Universities. In the 1990s, he sat on multiple Presidential Task Forces in Sri Lanka, playing an instrumental role in designing national policies[Read More…]
The editorial titled ‘ Draw the Line’ in ‘Indian Express’ (August 2, 2023), the first one to be written in the context of communal violence in Haryana’s Nuh town and killings in the passenger compartment of Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express, is noteworthy. The title of the editorial ‘Draw the Line’ reads like a directive and warning. The sub-headline of the[Read More…]
The issue of unemployment has become a regular talking-point for the political opposition in India and one of the many grounds on which it alleges that the ruling BJP has failed the country, especially its youth. However, the issue of dignified and fair conditions of employment is rarely brought up. It seems that the people of the country should not[Read More…]
The US has said it backs efforts to restore Niger’s “constitutional order” in the wake of a military uprising last month, after countries in the region said they would activate troops for a possible armed intervention. In a statement published on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington stands with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in calling on[Read More…]
A Ukrainian soldier who lost his leg in battle told The Washington Post that he would not volunteer to fight for his country again — expressing a rare but growing pessimism around the war. Ruslan Proektor, 52, told the U.S. newspaper in a report published Thursday that he lost his leg this summer after stepping on a Russian mine. The soldier who[Read More…]
Every year, on August 12th, the world comes together to celebrate International Youth Day, a day dedicated to recognizing and promoting the importance of young people in society. Thus developing and securing the youth community and making people aware of the same who come from different walks of life. This global observance provides an opportunity to highlight the contributions, challenges,[Read More…]
Neither the corporate media nor our politicians who are beholden to corporate lobbyists honestly address the common root causes of (and solutions to) worker exploitation and climate change. As temperatures soar in the United States this summer, some among us are lucky enough to be able to remain in air-conditioned interior spaces, ordering food, groceries, clothing, and other products to[Read More…]
In spite of the huge protests and resistance from the public, California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted 4-1 in favor of the proposal to allow driverless Robo-Taxis in San Francisco. Protesters from a broad range of activists along with supporters demonstrated outside of the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) over their anger for support regarding the commission’s pending vote to[Read More…]
Interview with author Tom Swanky Colonialism has as its aim gaining ownership/control of the land and its resources regardless of whether or not the land was already populated by an Indigenous people. Morality aside, colonialism has been very successful in the context of Turtle Island. This is also true in northwestern Turtle Island, where the colonies designated “Vancouver Island” and[Read More…]
The twentieth century witnessed two world wars (WWs) and the third such war if takes place cannot probably be numbered as there shall be left no reckoner to assess if it happens and write the history of it a posteriori. With this, the diabolical nature of modern warfare can perhaps be desynchronized least to synchronize. The ongoing conflict between Russia[Read More…]
Wars change the course of human history – not only the present and the future, but also the past. The consequences of the two major world wars of the twentieth century are not unknown to us. One of the most infamous instances of the destruction and degradation of humanity took place, ironically, with what essentially brought an end to the[Read More…]
Marxists have come to power not always by the bullet; given the historical, political and social circumstances that they had to contend with, Lenin, Mao, Ho or Fidel had no choice but to pick up the gun in their quest for a new order. But the ballot has also come to the rescue of the occasional Marxist struggling for change.[Read More…]
Recent floods have caused very heavy damage to roads and highways in Himachal Pradesh. After a rapid assessment a fund of Rs. 400 crore was announced on August 1 by the Central government for repair of roads and highways in this state. While rains and floods were severe in several places, there is also a lot of concern regarding the[Read More…]
Nandita Haksar is a human rights lawyer, teacher, campaigner and writer. Her engagement with the people of Northeast India began while studying in Jawaharlal Nehru University in the 1970s. She has represented the victims of army atrocities in the Supreme Court and the High Court and campaigned nationally and internationally against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. In her[Read More…]
After unsuccessful negotiations with Moscow in the spring of 2022, and after launching a counteroffensive that allowed Ukrainian forces to take back several districts of the Kharkiv region, in September of that same year, the Kyiv authorities started telling their allies that a Ukrainian victory was now a done deal. At the same time, in media all over the world[Read More…]
It was clear that Narendra Modi wont reply to the question which are being asked but he has brought Airforce into his politics is utterly shameful and distortion of facts. There are many stories of the past about usage of armed forces in civilian matters at many places in the formative years and India was still suffering from various issues.[Read More…]
On July 24th, the Israeli Knesset passed a measure forbidding the country’s High Court of Justice from in any way checking the power of the government, whether in making cabinet decisions or appointments, based on what’s known as the “reasonability” standard. In the Israeli context, this was an extreme act, since right-wing parliamentarians were defying massive crowds that had, for months on[Read More…]
The following piece is a personal reflection on the death of a first year student of the Bengali department of Jadavpur University, Swapnadeep Kundu, who commited suicide to escape a harrowing incident of ragging on just the second day of his campus life as a student. This is a feminist critique of the larger culture of toxic masculinity hugely prevalent[Read More…]
Preface It is important to have a short look at the history of this battle for more women’s rights. That is why I will shortly explain the ideology and social movement of Feminism, the factor which has driven women in their battle for equal chances and respect. Finally, I will come to my main topic which is the specific problems[Read More…]
Ain Al-Hilweh is known as the “Capital of Palestinian Shatat.” The term might not stir many emotions among those who do not fully understand, let alone experience the harrowing existence of ethnic cleansing and perpetual exile – and the tremendous violence which followed. ‘Shatat’ is roughly translated into “exile” or “Diaspora”. However, the meaning is much more complex. It can[Read More…]
CNN, in an analysis (Why a stalled Ukrainian offensive could represent a huge political problem for Zelensky in the U.S., August 9, 2023) by Stephen Collinson, said: One of Ukraine’s greatest tragedies as it pursues a critical offensive that has, so far, failed to meet its own and Western expectations is that it cannot, by itself, decide its destiny. The CNN analysis said: President[Read More…]
“Rethinking our World. An invitation to rescue our future” by political economist Dr Maja Göpel is a well-written, powerful, cogently argued and very useful book that everyone should read. However as Europe and North America swelter and burn in a new normal, as a new El Nino foreshadows further extremes, and as scientists continue to offer despairing warnings, this book[Read More…]
The situation in Niger is still in flux. On 26 July 2023 a military coup took place in that West African state that led to the ouster of its elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, by Brigadier General Abdourahmane Tchiani. The Brigadier General has proclaimed that he is the new president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP).[Read More…]
There has been widespread recognition of the ongoing Ukraine war as a proxy war. It is a proxy war involving very high costs in terms of the loss, already, of several hundred thousand human lives as well as other extreme distress. Four dimensions of the high costs and losses suffered in the course of the nearly one and a half[Read More…]
Book Review- Nicaragua: A History of US Intervention and Resistance by Daniel Kovalik Published by Clarity Press, Atlanta GA, USA Many nations in the Americas have suffered from US promoted coups, dictatorships, sanctions and outright invasions. Nicaragua may take the cake for being the most victimized. Dan Kovalik has written a book which reviews the history of intervention and resistance[Read More…]
“April is the cruellest month,” so begins one of the most admired literary pieces of modernity, The Waste Land by T S Eliot (1888-1965). Published in 1923, this masterpiece was taken to be a watershed in the genre of modern poetry. It is penned during a troubled time in Eliot’s life. His marriage was in disarray, he had a personality disorder, and[Read More…]
Ram Puniyani is President of Center for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai. Is associated with various secular initiatives and has been part of various investigation reports on violation of human rights of minorities. He has been conducting workshops and delivering lectures in different parts of the country on the themes related to threats to democracy; the agenda of communal[Read More…]
Demand for Cancellation of Turga-Bandu Pump Storage Project and Condemning the Undemocratic-Dictatorial Behaviour of the District Administration On 13.6.2017 the then Purulia District Magistrate released a letter stating that the inhabitants to be affected by the Turga Pump Storage Project had no opposition to land being acquired for the same. He referred to written resolutions of Bagmundy and Ajodhaya Gram[Read More…]
Introduction A team of Janhastakshep toured areas of Palwal, Sohna and Gurugram, as also spoke with other people from Nuh district on 3rd August 2023 to do a fact finding regarding the incidents of communal violence that hit Nuh town and subsequently areas of adjoining Palwal and Gurugram districts. The impact of this violence however was not limited to just[Read More…]
Acting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has traveled to Niger, and met with the new military government. Widely regarded as a foreign policy hawk, Nuland spoke to her hosts of the risks of foreign interference, although she played an instrumental role in the Western-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014. Speaking to reporters during a special briefing on Monday,[Read More…]
Oceans are experiencing rapid and dramatic changes as a result of human activity. Data indicate that during the last twenty to twenty-five years, concerns have been raised regarding uncontrolled collection and exploitation of genetic resources from the deep seabed. Today, many nations across the world are in a race to mine the deep sea bed for valuable minerals. WHAT IS[Read More…]
Abstract: This article examines the question of federalism and nationalism and its implications for development in the context of the regional economy of Punjab, which has its own unique characteristics, culturally and economically. The continuing debate about centre-state relations in India is due to the fact that Indian federalism, unlike the American federal structure, is a Union of States and[Read More…]
The last few years have seen yatras being organized by ‘Hindutva’ groups on various religious occasions. Yatras are part and parcel of religious activities of Hindu devotees from times immemorial. Some of the famous yatras such as Amarnath yatra, Vaishnodevi yatra, Puri rath yatra, Sabarimala yatra etc. attract large number of devotees. They form part of the larger religious faith[Read More…]
On the eve of 81st commemoration of the glorious Quit India Movement [QIM] we must evaluate the role of the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha led by Hindutva ideologues, VD Savarkar and Syama Prasad Mookerjee who lived through it. QIM also known as ‘August Kranti’ (August Revolution) was a nation-wide Civil Disobedience Movement for which a call was given on August[Read More…]
The recent visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Sri Lanka is the first-ever visit by a French president to the island nation. However, the historical relations between the two countries can reach up to the early 18th century signifying the French routs in Sri Lanka. Undoubtedly, France arose as one of the first nation-states in Europe in the 18th[Read More…]
It is well known that RSS has always been calling Adivasis as Vanvasis (forest dwellers) instead of Adivasis. There is a great trick behind this which needs to be understood. Who are the Tribals? It is known to all that there are different communities living in our country who have their own religions and different identities. Adivasis, who are called[Read More…]
The country is witnessing horrific violence in different regions. The Manipur violence, going on for over three months as it has shamed the nation for the treatment meted out to the three young girls, it has led to the death of over one hundred innocent lives, (more Kuki) and also displacement of close to a lakh of people, more from[Read More…]
In a recent primetime broadcast, News18 India anchor Aman Chopra deployed a chilling Hindi phrase – “permanent ilaj” – while discussing stone pelters in the context of communal violence in Nuh, Haryana. Senior journalist Rahul Dev highlighted on social media that this term directly translates to the English phrase “Final Solution” – an explicit reference to the Nazi plan for[Read More…]
“Quit India ke Din pe, Gandhiji ka Par-Pota Jail mai!!” *Freedom Fighter Dr. G G Parikh prevented from reaching the August Kranti Maidan, Tushar Gandhi, taken to Santacruz police station, Teesta Setalvad was stopped from leaving her residence!* Today, on the 81st Anniversary of the historic QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT led by Mahatma Gandhi, we have witnessed a draconian crackdown by[Read More…]
In his message to the troops prior to the July 4th weekend, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin offered high praise indeed. “We have the greatest fighting force in human history,” he tweeted, connecting that claim to the U.S. having patriots of all colors, creeds, and backgrounds “who bravely volunteer to defend our country and our values.” As a retired Air[Read More…]
The New World Mathaba was born out of the original World Mathaba founded by the revolutionary leader and martyred Pan Africanist, Muammar Qaddafi. We are committed to the original mission of the World Mathaba as stated by Qaddafi: “to organize and coordinate resistance to imperialism and neo-colonialism, and to fight all forms of imperial economic, political, cultural and military domination,[Read More…]
Stay granted by Supreme Court in conviction of Rahul Gandhi in defamation case filed against him certainly spells as much political relief for Congress as it probably sounds troubling for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP would have apparently preferred stay of Rahul outside the Parliament and also his not being permitted to contest 2024 parliamentary elections. Of course, it[Read More…]
Recently some highly responsible, timely and credible reporting by several newspapers has played an important role in stopping demolitions in Nuh district of Haryana beyond the fourth day. These efforts of journalists should be widely appreciated as this will further encourage similar journalism of great social responsibility. On August 8 a report in The Times of India titled ‘Ethnic cleansing[Read More…]
When we all were suffering from the fatigue of inactions in the court rooms and Manipur is not really being discussed in Parliament, orders of Country’s top court on Manipur followed by two recent orders of the High Court in Haryana on the Nuh demolition drive need to be understood, explained and celebrated. Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has risen[Read More…]
The French government announced on Sunday that it is halting financial assistance to Burkina Faso over the West African nation’s stance on the coup in Niger. “France suspends, until further notice, all its development aid and budget support actions in Burkina Faso,” the ministry said in a statement, without elaborating. The decision comes just days after the ruling juntas in[Read More…]
Before 2014 general election the issue of black money and corruption peaked and, the country also saw two major anti-corruption and black money movements in the form of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev. The BJP also made corruption and black money a major election issue. All the speeches given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before 2014 were propagated in full[Read More…]
“X” marks the spot. For the modern advertiser, this is problematic. It breathes pornographic escape, self-denial, elusive treasure, irresistible capture, compelling lasciviousness. And now Elon Musk has decided to impose himself upon a brand he loved as a plaything of juvenile ecstasy. Farewell the bird of Twitter; welcome the X of Musk. The company rebrand is certainly all Muskian in[Read More…]
Once upon a time, the term ‘globalisation’ dominated public discourse, presenting itself as the sole available alternative and panacea to all the world’s predicaments. It was viewed as a policy paradigm promising peace, prosperity, economic growth, and human development. However, in recent times, globalisation seems to have vanished from public discussions, with policymakers acting as if it has never existed[Read More…]
The new blockbuster film on Oppenheimer has brought back the memories of the first nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It has raised complex questions on the nature of the society that permitted such bombs to be developed and used and the stockpiling of nuclear arsenals that can destroy the world many times over. Did the infamous McCarthy era and hunting[Read More…]
The United States has had its claws in Haiti for a century and isn’t about to let go. Foreign domination has destroyed this Caribbean country, the first Black republic in the Western Hemisphere, established by a slave uprising in 1804. Today, a deeply broken Haiti is at the top of the list for reinvasion and reoccupation by a new U.S.[Read More…]
Migrants were denied the right to seek asylum in the U.S. during the pandemic. Many hoped conditions would improve when Title 42, the act that barred them, lapsed in May. Instead, President Biden, who campaigned on the promise to end the “cruelty at the border,” enacted stricter regulations. Those seeking safety and a chance at a better future grew more[Read More…]
Culture is defined in being behavior peculiar to humans, together with the material objects used as an integral part of this behavior. Culture includes languages, ideas, beliefs, customs, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, and rituals and ceremonies among other elements.(1) It is in fact the development of culture which brought about advanced societies that consequentially resulted in the[Read More…]
Ranil Wickremesinghe who was elected by a majority members of parliament on 18 July 2022 has been dishing out various promises to suit the occasion and the audiences. A meeting was held on 09 May 2023 with Tamil MPs in the parliament where the 75 years long heartbreaking issues of land appropriations in the North and East by the occupying[Read More…]
The recent communal violence in Nuh district of Haryana and neighboring areas has evoked widespread concern. In an interview published in the Indian Express (August 7), Dushyant Chautala, Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, stated that this is a matter of serious concern and the state government has taken several important steps to stop this. However on the same day the[Read More…]
Since 31st July 2023, violence by Hindutva forces has escalated into a large-scale pogrom against Muslims in Haryana and adjacent areas, starting from the town of Nuh, Haryana. It began with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s “Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra” where known cow vigilantes and murderers such as Monu Manesar and Bittu Bajrangi announced their presence and participation. This yatra swiftly[Read More…]
![US Marines with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin and Australian Army soldiers training together. [Photo: United States Marine Corps ]](https://cdn.countercurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/US-Troops-Marines-in-Australia-200x150.webp "US to establish military command centre in northern Australia 432")
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) revealed on Friday that the American military has advanced plans to establish a command centre in the northern Australian city of Darwin. The information, though scanty, indicates that the facility will function as a hub for aggressive military operations throughout the region, directed against China, with a central focus on the deployment of the most[Read More…]
Baba Mayaram is a freelance Hindi journalist from Madhya Pradesh. He grew up in a village in Hoshangabad District and has worked as a journalist in Indore and Raipur. He mainly covers anti development struggles, indigenous people’s lives and struggles, environment and nature watch. He is also a poet of Satpura range of mountains. Dr. Lokesh Tamgire has worked in[Read More…]
The situation in Niger is still tense. The military government now running Niger has refused to relinquish power, as an ultimatum set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) expired on Sunday. The coup leaders have vowed to rid Niger of colonial influence. The U.S. and EU have imposed sanctions on Niger following the coup, and France has[Read More…]
The cultivators of 80 bighas have been completely devastated by the submergence of land in the Jamaluddin Kanhar dam in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. When the project started in 1976, their ancestors were given meagre compensation. Later the governments did not build the dam and they remained settled there with their families. When the construction work of the dam[Read More…]
Dear Venkataramani, Recall that 40 years back in 1983-84 we – including you and me – were all active members of Jhuggi Jhopri Nivasi Adhikar Samiti (JJNAS). Many of the members of JJNAS contribute articles for Countercurrents.org e.g. Walter Fernandes, Prof. Shamsul Islam, Dr. Aurobindo Ghosh, Tapan Bose, Sumanta Banerjee, PUCL, PUDR and Ankur to name a few. CC is[Read More…]
The period from 1462 to 1815 is of special importance for the history of Russia and the Russian people as well as for the history of Eurasia for at least five good reasons: 1) Russia became modernized according to the European pattern; 2) Russia became liberated from the foreign occupants; 3) The Russian people became territorially united into a single[Read More…]
The grainy video plays on loop across TV channels and social media – a crazed mob dragging a helpless Muslim man across the street, mercilessly beating him as he cries for mercy. But the mob kept beating him until he died or survived on the verge of death. Haven’t we seen this play out too many times before? The grainy[Read More…]
by Bharat Dogra and Madhu Dogra This year (2023) is the birth anniversary of two stalwarts of Hindi cinema who made a very enduring contribution even though they died at a young age. The contribution of both of them was somewhat unique as they had a place in the film world that was entirely their own. What is more, some[Read More…]
A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has recommended making Sahitya Akademi award winners sign an undertaking that they would not return their awards at any stage to protest any political incident. It believes that political issues are outside the ambit of cultural realms and returning an award is disgraceful for the country. There was a voice of[Read More…]
There are very few in public life who get the love, affection and respect of huge number of people such as Gummadi Vittal Rao who was popularly known as Gaddar in the entire country but particularly in Telangana region. His poetry, lyrics and the style all became iconic as youths, women and men in the Andhra Telangana region would not[Read More…]
Hyderabad based intellectual and analyst Parakala Prabhakar has given a gift to Indians and India watchers in his new book, The Crooked Timber of New India. It is a gift for many reasons – honesty, lucidity, and non-didactic exposition. Many previous reviewers have sung praises- and I am no different; here, I’ll add to the fandom but will also point[Read More…]
In 1980, when I asked the press office at the U.S. Department of Energy to send me a listing of nuclear bomb test explosions, the agency mailed me an official booklet with the title “Announced United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 Through December 1979.” As you’d expect, the Trinity test in New Mexico was at the top of the list.[Read More…]
The Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was nearly knocked down on the road by motor cyclists while he was on a morning walk in Patna recently. Fortunately, he sensed the danger, the culprits had dented his security, he quickly jumped on the footpath and he was saved. That shows how poor urban mobility is in the whole country in fact[Read More…]
It has been overlooked that, under current policies, global warming would render aboriginal lands in central and northern Australia unliveable. In his classic book The Fate of the Earth speaking for humanity Jonathan Schell describes the horror of a full-scale nuclear holocaust where human beings and animals would die if twenty thousand megatons of bombs, more than a million times[Read More…]
Water. Data centres. The continuous, pressing need to cool the latter, which houses servers to store and process data, with the former, which is becoming ever more precious in the climate crisis. Hardly a good comingling of factors. Like planting cotton in drought-stricken areas, decisions to place data hubs in various locations across the globe are becoming increasingly contentious from[Read More…]
Aristotle famously starts his Metaphysics with the claim that “all men by nature desire to know.”[1] For Dubois, if there are a people in the U.S. who have immaculately embodied this statement, it is black folk. In Black Reconstruction, for instance, Du Bois says that “the eagerness to learn among American Negroes was exceptional in the case of a poor and recently emancipated folk.”[2] In The[Read More…]
Well, this writer may have failed 40 years ago at a standup career. Now I plan to use this new piece as fodder for another attempt to be in front of an audience. Perhaps just in front of a radio audience will suffice. The bottom line is, like the Howard Beale character in Sidney Lumet’s fine film Network, this Senior[Read More…]
Arrest of Imran Khan Signals Corrupt Authoritarian Order The illegitimate Sharif government makes a final stab into the body politics of Pakistan. Vengefully indoctrinated and politically paranoid and fearful thugs and indicted criminals trying to ditch Imran Khan into the unknown. Once again, his arrest was made like a military action against a former PM. They allege he bought foreign[Read More…]
The Supreme Court must stop this bulldozer justice which has mostly used against the Muslims by the BJP ruled states. The narrative that BJP and its darbaris in the media are peddling every day need to be understood carefully. Their politics is clear. They have made the word Muslim sound like criminals. The goons along with police then become ‘deshbhakts’[Read More…]
The urgency of improving school education, particularly in the government-run schools of more remote rural areas, has persisted for a long time. Following the prolonged closure of schools during the pandemic, this urgency has increased all the more as the learning of students was adversely affected during the time of school closure. A recent survey conducted early this year in[Read More…]
People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) welcomes the Supreme Court order granting bail on merits and release of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, two of the accused in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In a significant judgement, on 28 July 2023, the top court granted bail for two primary reasons: the fact that[Read More…]
Let’s make the world’s so-called largest democracy accountable for incarcerating a disabled scholar. A wheelchair-bound former Delhi University Professor, who is struggling with multiple ailments, is serving a life sentence under trumped up charges, for merely questioning the power and standing up for the poor and marginalized, as well as for the religious minorities who are being persecuted in India.[Read More…]
Achyut Yagnik breathed his last on August 4, Friday. He was one of the most versatile among that rather select number of people who are able to combine a lifetime of writing and activism. However even this introduction would fall short of a very important part of his contributions which relate to the numerous ways in which he helped other[Read More…]
How India is Slowly Emerging as a ‘World Teacher’ albeit of a different kind France has moved towards normalcy some time back. The anger and anguish of the still marginalised in the society, which spilled over into the streets, over the killing of a 17 year old Nahel – son of an Algerian single woman of Muslim origin – by[Read More…]
The news cycle this week has been taken up with the rapidly escalating violence in Haryana’s Gurugram, Mewat, and Nuh. This is occurring against the backdrop of months of violence in the state of Manipur, where the hill-dwelling Christian Kuki tribals are facing an onslaught by the dominant Hindu Meitei community of the plains. Ever since the BJP assumed power[Read More…]
In recent times, we have witnessed a significant rise in religious, ethnic, and political tensions that have led to divisions and conflicts within our communities. We have seen how Manipur witnessed violence and still not out of its ambit and then the recent communal clashes in Nuh, Haryana and in Gurugram. With time, divisions among society seem to increase. Our[Read More…]
To Ms Leena Nandan Secretary Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Dr A K Mohanty Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy (DAE) Govt of India Dear Ms Nandan and Dr Mohanty, I refer to my earlier letter dated 1-8-2023 (https://countercurrents.org/2023/08/westinghouses-vogtle-nuclear-power-reactors-huge-time-cost-overruns-likely-implications-for-proposed-kovvada-nuclear-power-project-in-ap/) on delays that can be expected on the part of Westinghouse company (USA) in supplying its six[Read More…]
The AUSMIN 2023 talks held between the US Secretaries of State and Defense and their Australian counterparts, confirmed the increasing, unaccountable militarisation of the Australian north and its preparation for a future conflict with Beijing. Details were skimpy, the rhetoric aspirational. But the Australian performance from Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, was crawling, lamentable, even outrageous. [Read More…]
The ousted Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum has asked for U.S. help to defeat the military junta that seized power last week. The Washington Post on Thursday evening published an op-ed purportedly written by Mohamed Bazoum in which the ousted President made the call for U.S. intervention. “I write this as a hostage. Niger is under attack from a military junta that[Read More…]
Former president Trump’s arraignment yesterday at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, DC on conspiracy charges for his failed attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election was a day of bitter irony and a sad day in American history. All day outside the courthouse on the crowded sidewalks, media from around the world were reporting and[Read More…]
“Looking at water, I am seeing a crisis!” A mate shared while we were discussing the effects of climate change in Meghalaya. That scared me. Meghalaya is famous for its breathtaking landscapes, lush green tropical wet forest, rich tribal culture, and proudly tag-lined “the wettest land on the earth” surprisingly facing a paradoxical natural resource crisis. The climate conditions of[Read More…]
The 94-year-old Ayinoor Vasu, a veteran communist, trade union leader and human rights activist has been arrested and sent to jail on July 29, 2023 in connection with a protest against the extrajudicial killings of two Maoists activists in Kerala seven years ago. The jailing of the nonagenarian activist better known as Vasu Ettan (Vasu the elder) in a seven-year-old[Read More…]
The great tradition of education in Maharashtra has been destroyed by politicians, shikshan samrats running institutions like overlords. They were exposed in a highly forthright manner by Sharad Jawadekar, a senior educationist from Pune. He walks with a serious limp and a walking stick but he speaks with such clarity and force, he ought to be heard often and be[Read More…]
Dr. Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar was not only a great jurist, eminent sociologist and economist, but he was also the saviour of the downtrodden as well as the working class. Babasaheb himself was also a labour leader. For many years he lived in the workers’ colony. That is why he had full knowledge of the problems of the workers. At[Read More…]
To exist as a nation, to prosper as a state, to live as a people, we must have trees.” – Theodore Roosevelt In the times, when trees are being cut down in the name of development, production for firewood or just occupying land, Abdul Ahad Khan, a 38-year-old labourer from Nagri in Kupwara, for the past 15 years, has been[Read More…]
Come the 1st Sunday of August, we have a friendship day. Friendship is a beautiful and cherished bond that knows no boundaries. It is a relationship that brings joy, support, and comfort to our lives. Friends are the ones who stand by us through thick and thin, celebrating our triumphs and offering a shoulder to lean on during challenging times.[Read More…]
The horrifying video clips showing Manipuri women being stripped and raped, followed by reports of some six thousand FIRs having been lodged over several similar incidents, have quite understandably shocked civil society which is demanding punishment for the culprits. The government’s pussy-footing [Read More…]
You may remember the 2004 disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow, in which large parts of Europe and the American East Coast suddenly freeze up? The plot device is that the Great Conveyor Belt—also known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)—which brings heat from the south Pacific around the southern tip of Africa and up the east coast of the Americas[Read More…]
Hey, who knows? It could be the Gulf Stream collapsing or the planet eternally breaking heat records. But whatever the specifics, we’re living it right now, not in the next century, the next decade, or even next year. You couldn’t miss it — at least so you might think — if you were living in the sweltering Southwest; especially in broiling, record-setting Phoenix with 30 straight[Read More…]
It has been almost three months since the State of Manipur in India has been in flames. The latest news reports speak about 140 or more people killed, 50,000 or more people made destitute and homeless, many hiding in forests, 317 churches burned, and 6137 homes set ablaze. It is indeed a colossal human tragedy[Read More…]
In recent years the number of gig workers has increased rapidly in most countries. While the need has been for ensuring better social security and welfare benefits to more workers, the trend has been in the opposite direction due to gig workers accounting for a major share of the increase in new workforce. In India the gig workers already number[Read More…]
“The first several weeks of Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive have not been kind to the Ukrainian troops who were trained and armed by the United States and its allies,” said a report by the New York Times. Other reports by the U.S. media concur the same. The New York Times report (Ukrainian Troops Trained by the West Stumble in Battle, August[Read More…]
In the recent announcement of BJP’s new National executive, its President J.P.Nadda, included a prominent Pasmanda Muslim name, Tariq Mansoor, ex Vice-Chancellor of AMU, as one of the thirteen Vice Presidents of the National Executive. Another Muslim face from Kerala BJP, P Abdulkutty retained his place in the executive. The current focus on BJP at national level is to give[Read More…]
The violence in Mewat region and subsequently in Gurugram has shocked the people but perhaps was not surprising as 2024 is nearing and efforts will be made to create such scenario to polraise public opinion. We all know, who have benefitted from such polarisation. So Bajrang Dal and other Hindutva organisations become hyper active. They have not done any other[Read More…]
Defining Zionism as an Irredentist movement and subjugation of the Palestinians as a result of irredentism is not mere polemics; it is the most essential feature in understanding the past, present, and future of the crises that Zionism has caused. Elements of Settler Colonialism appear in the Middle East crisis and these elements have been fitted together to obtain the[Read More…]
Between 1991 and 2016, the population of Delhi and its suburbs increased from 9.4 million to 25 million. In 2023, the World Population Review website estimates Delhi’s population to be 32.9 million. In the December 2016 paper Future urban land expansion and implications for global croplands, it was projected that by 2030, globally, urban areas will have tripled in size,[Read More…]
Due to historical circumstances some countries and regions are caught in situations of serious conflict and the potential of even higher conflict. Unfortunately these get transferred from one generation to another in a needlessly prolonged way. The result is that a generation that has nothing to do with the origin of these conflicts sees its present and future life darkened[Read More…]
The late Israeli commentator, Uri Avnery, wrote, “I am increasingly worried that the Israeli-Palestinian struggle … is assuming a more and more religious character.” At first glance, the statement may seem baffling. If Israel is a ‘Jewish State’ that serves as a ‘homeland’ for all Jewish people, everywhere, does it not follow that the ‘struggle’, at least from an Israeli[Read More…]
The Data Protection Bill, which is to be tabled in the current monsoon session of Parliament, has received applause for using the term ‘she or her’ to refer to all genders in an attempt at “women’s empowerment.” Much has been debated about the exemptions granted to government agencies and the question of age and consent, but a gendered review of[Read More…]
When “communal frenzy” appears to gain momentum ahead of elections, parliamentary or state, it is difficult not to view it as desperate politicking- barely linked with religious beliefs of people at grassroots. There is no denying “attempts” are made to label this as “religious” and create images of communities being at war because of religious reasons. Perhaps, more attention needs[Read More…]
Mr Sharad Pawar will share the dais with Bhalchndra Nemade, Jnanpith award winner novelist and Ashok Vajpayee one of our few bureaucrats who has an understanding of culture and he is a poet as well. That will be on August 5 to mark the 125th anniversary of Mumbai Marathi Granth Sangrahalaya library in Dadar. Sounds so much better than Mr[Read More…]
The excellent official Brereton Report found evidence of 39 unlawful killings of Afghans by Australian soldiers. However utterly ignored by successive Australian Governments over many decades have been millions of Indigenous avoidable deaths from deprivation in Australia-occupied countries (6 million in Occupied Afghanistan, 2001-2021), evidence of horrendous violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention by politicians of Australia and the US[Read More…]
On Tuesday, Fitch Ratings, one of the leading three US credit rating agencies, announced: US’ long-term foreign-currency issuer defaulting rating would be downgraded. Among other factors pushing this downgrading, Fitch cited issues with governance, rising deficits and a looming recession. Fitch, on an earlier occasion, put the US on watch for a potential downgrade. At that time, it warned: The[Read More…]
Read here personal experiences of the humanitarian crisis in #Manipur. Also in this edition some photos from the many protests and marches that have happened across India, in solidarity with the people of #Manipur.
Two days back news about the Bajrang Dal holding an arms training camp at the playground of a school in the district town Mangaldoi here in Assam created sensation and heated controversy. Firearms were used in the training,and such use of firearms,except by organizations under license,is against the law.The District head of the polce(SP) has said in response to questions[Read More…]
If a date might be found when Australian sovereignty was extinguished by the emissaries of the US imperium, July 29, 2023 will be as good as any. Not that they aren’t other candidates, foremost among them being the announcement of the AUKUS agreement between Australia, UK and the US in September 2021. They all point to a surrender, a handing[Read More…]
by Vijay Prashad and Kambale Musavuli At 3 a.m. on July 26, 2023, the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum in Niamey, the capital of Niger. Troops, led by Brigadier General Abdourahmane Tchiani closed the country’s borders and declared a curfew. The coup d’état was immediately condemned by the Economic Community of West African States, by the African Union, and by the European Union. Both[Read More…]
Understanding the actions and justifications behind territorial colonial behavior by the UN Security Council since 1945. One of the underlying principles of the UN Charter is the protection of the sovereign rights of states. Yet since 1945, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Soviet Union/Russia, France, UK, U.S., and China) have consistently used military force to undermine[Read More…]
There can be little question that the grim prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, which still shows no sign of closing anytime soon, is a key legacy — in the worst sense imaginable — of America’s post-9/11 forever wars. I’ve been covering the subject for decades now and that shameful legacy has never diminished. Last month, in response to a column I[Read More…]
What happens when suddenly huge amounts of mud and debris start falling on people sleeping peacefully in a remote village, burying some of them entirely, while others watch helplessly as their near and dear ones are buried? This is a tragedy that has befallen hundreds of people in recent landslides. The recent landslide in Irshalwadi village of Raigad district, about[Read More…]
The ongoing violence in Nuh and Gurugram, Haryana which reportedly led to the killing of five people at the time this article was written, including a masjid Imam, as well as the destruction of a mosque and shops is only the latest in a long list of similar “communal incidents” and lynchings across India. In another simultaneous act of gut-wrenching[Read More…]
To Dr A K Mohanty Chairman Dept of Atomic Energy (DAE) Govt of India Dear Dr Mohanty, I refer to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL)’s proposed (6 X 1100 MWe) LWR nuclear power project at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh (AP). The US company, Westinghouse is expected to manufacture and supply its VVER units for the project. In this connection,[Read More…]
The hate mongers are succeeding. India’s #manustream media can be redefined now as #hatemedia or simply #nafartimedia has been impactful in creating divisions and hatred in people’s mind. The incident in the Mumbai-Jaipur train where a constable of RPF Chetan Kumar Chaudhry fired at his senior ASI Tika Ram Meena and then killed three other passengers in the different coaches[Read More…]
In the spirit of “every coup deserves a blog post”, here are some basics about the coup in Niger. Caveats to start: I know a lot about coups, but I do not know a lot about Niger. What follows are from some readings I’ve been looking at, the most valuable being Rahmane Idrissa’s Historical Dictionary of Niger. There are three threads[Read More…]
Commemoration of Swaminathan Calls for a Revisit of Green Revolution 
Antarctica Hits Records as Global Heat Looms Large for 2024 
Book Review: Building A Just World Order 
Canada Needs Urgent Reforms to Bring Long-Delayed Justice to its Indigenous People 
Ukraine: Peace Comes through Mutual Respect 
Canada’s Proclivity To White Wash Its Nazi Citizenry & Nazi Affiliation Past 
Clamour for Teachers Grows in Jharkhand – Parents Write to CM 
Rifts in INDIA Alliance 
At the Brink? Contemplating the Unimaginable Costs of a Nuclear War 
Cruel Prerogatives: Braverman on Refugees at the AEI 
The Perilous Path From Western Domination to De-Dollarization 
From the Contemporary History of the Balkans: Greece and Slavo-Macedonians (1913-1993) 
The Ethnic Violence in Manipur, India, Explained 
New Report Exposes Grave Injustice to Villagers in the Name of Expanding Tourism and Parks in Tanzania 
Ending Opioid Addiction and Deaths through Creative Strategies 
Solitude: A Source of Empowerment 
Dr.K.S.Sharma Turns 90 
The Unholy Origins of Castes in India 
Union Health Ministry placing a cap on new medical colleges in States on the basis of the population criterion violates federalism 
Reflections on the Revolutionary Legacy of Makhan Singh in Kenya 
Armenian civilians flee Nagorno-Karabakh after new offensive by Azerbaijan 
Manipur: a statement of concern and suggestions for peaceful resolution 
Global Leaders Plead for Peace in Ukraine at UN 
Ghosts of the Past: For Israel, War on UNESCO is an Existential Battle 
Keeping Cattle on Public Land Is Bad for People, Cows, Wildlife, and the Planet 
The United States in the World: Making Sense of the Past Forty Years (1981-2023) 
Canadian Youth At Risk and the Discrimination of Marginalized Demographics 
While Searching Worldwide for Terrorists, Uncle Sam Should Also Look in a Mirror 
American Abrams tanks roll into Ukraine 
An open letter to JNU VC – Your association with RSS defies humanism, anti-colonial struggle Indian democracy! 
From Education to Incarceration 
Tunakataa! Saying ‘No’ to Capitalism and Imperialism in Kenya 
Rising Islamophobia and Communal Discord: An Alarming Trend in BJP-Ruled States 
Speak Truth to Power and Pay the Price! 
USA’s Wars Took 12 Million Lives in The Last 25 Years US to send long-range ATACMS missile to Ukraine 
In Jawan, Shah Rukh Khan makes us an offer we can refuse 
Nijjar affair poses an existential dilemma 
On the Brink of Famine 
Appeal to withdraw the notification for the public hearing for the proposed Sijimali Bauxite Mining Project 
My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
