These essays and stories about the bicycle have been written since 2017. There are ten essays and two short stories. The essays are divided in two groups – Shorter essays and longer ones. The shorter ones mainly promote the bicycle and praise them whereas the longer ones take up the politics involved in the bicycle debate. Among the short stories,[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…]
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…]
T Vijayendra has just published a new book of short stories with a title, ‘Credible Fantasies’. The blurb reads: ‘The central idea of the fantasies presented here is to imagine a future for my young friends with ‘Green Jobs’, that is, jobs that help in restoring ecology and creating equity among humans. It is a very difficult proposition under[Read More…]
A lot of ordinary people in India – both women and men have a lot of respect for the communists and communist movement. It is based on their direct knowledge from interactions with the communists in trade union movements and other social and political movements. They are also impressed by the personal integrity of most of the communists. They are[Read More…]
This is the complete text of the talk that was delivered under the auspices of the Vivekananda Chair, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, on 27th May, 2023. This talk is in three parts: Part I: Global Emergency and End of Modern Technology and Alternatives, Part II: Meaning and History of Transition and Part III: Transition in India. Part I[Read More…]
This is the complete text of the talk that was delivered under the auspices of the Vivekananda Chair, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, on 27th May, 2023. This talk is in three parts: Part I: Global Emergency and End of Modern Technology and Alternatives, Part II: Meaning and History of Transition and Part III: Transition in India. Part I[Read More…]
(MY MOTHER’S STORY) By Rupesh Anand Patkar 2010, Publication No. 42, Kolhapur, Comrade Govind Pansare Amrit Mahotsav Samiti, Pp. 137, Rs 65/- From the early seventies, in the wake of revolutionary movements that started in the late 60s the consciousness about the evils of development began to grow. One of the earliest was the Silent Valley Movement in the Palakkad[Read More…]
We have been seeing attacks on Christians and Muslims in India for the last few years. Several Indians are worried about it and fear for the future of democracy in India. People wonder what the logic of all these attack is. How can nearly 80% of ‘Hindus’ feel threatened by some 13% Muslims and some 2% Christians? Why are[Read More…]
——————————————————————————————————————————- FROM KERALA TO KESLA By Loriette Benjamin “Lorry” Qurate Books Pvt. Ltd, Panaji Goa. 2023, Pp 74, Rs. 300/- Contact: Lorry: 82807 95523 ——————————————————————————————————————————- Lorry (Loriette Benjamin) was born in Kozhikode (Calicut for old timers), Kerala in 1954. Her father was an Army officer and the family moved to Pune in 1958. This very short autobiography (only 74 pages)[Read More…]
Introduction The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the current programme of capitalism to restructure production, distribution and consumption in the face of the multiple crises it has been facing since 2008. While all major changes in history have multiple causes, some are more central to it than others; in the case of this restructuring, these central causes are 1) the shrinking[Read More…]
Introduction The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the current programme of capitalism to restructure production, distribution and consumption in the face of the multiple crises it has been facing since 2008. While all major changes in history have multiple causes, some are more central to it than others; in the case of this restructuring, these central causes are 1) the shrinking[Read More…]
Introduction The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the current programme of capitalism to restructure production, distribution and consumption in the face of the multiple crises it has been facing since 2008. While all major changes in history have multiple causes, some are more central to it than others; in the case of this restructuring, these central causes are 1) the shrinking[Read More…]
——————————————————————————————————————————- BAGAAWAT AUR WAFAADAARI: NAVJAGRAN KE IRD-GIRD (REBELLION AND FAITHFULNESS: IN THE VICINITY OF THE RENAISSANCE) By Vir Bharat Talwar 2023, New Delhi, Vani Prakashan, Pp. 152, Rs. 399/- ——————————————————————————————————————————- Dr. Vir Bharat Talwar is a scholar of renaissance in the Hindi and North West India region. He retired as head of the department, Hindi, JNU. He has written several[Read More…]
Bicycling and Feminism One hundred years ago, Alice Hawkins, a suffragette, cycled around Leicester (UK) promoting the women’s rights movement, causing outrage by being one of the first ladies to wear pantaloons in the city. During the fight to win the vote the bicycle became not only a tool but also a symbol for the emancipation of women. The American[Read More…]
Popular Discourse of Science in the Twentieth Century The discourse of science in the twentieth century was dominated by understanding the atom, relativity, quantum mechanics, communication theory, space science and breaking the genetic code. Unfortunately some of the application of this science has been disastrous. It led to the atomic bomb, missiles and huge consumerism and waste of resources. It[Read More…]
The bicycle, invented two hundred years ago in 1817, was called an iron horse because like a horse it is an individual transport. However on occasions it can carry two persons and sometimes two adults and two children too. And like a horse it can also carry loads up to 250 Kg. easily. And it is cheaper too both as[Read More…]
GANDHI AUR SARLA DEVI CHAUDHARANI: BARAHA ADHYAY (GANDHI AND SARLA DEVI CHAUDHARANI: TWELVE CHAPTERS) By Alka Saraogi 2023, New Delhi, Vani Prakashan, Pp. 216, Price Rs. 299/- Alka Saraogi (1960- ) is a well known modern Hindi author. She received the Sahitya Akademi award for her first novel, ‘Kalikatha via Bypass‘ in 2001. Since then it has been translated in[Read More…]
Generation Z Generation Z are those who were born between 1997 and 2012. As the world is going through a catastrophic change, it is they who are going to face the music/the hardships and miseries. On the other hand it is they alone who can save the world. Here we are mainly referring to youths from the developed countries –[Read More…]
If you feel pain then you are alive. If you feel the pain of others then you are human. Leo Tolstoy Similar profound statements about the nature of humans have been made in all cultures in all formats. It is there in folklore, songs and dances, fiction, arts and architecture, photographs and films. A[Read More…]
This is a small article addressed to beginners Sustainable Consumption Life on earth can be divided in two parts – plant life and animal life. The difference between the two is that plants produce their own food whereas animals, humans included, live directly or indirectly on food produced by plants. To sustain themselves, humans consume goods and services not only[Read More…]
This is a new book by Ted Trainer. You can download it for free (170 pp.) at: https://thesimplerway.info/CAPITALISMBOOK.pdf This book provides a fairly short but sufficiently detailed critical discussion of the nature of our basically capitalist economic system, its faults, why it is not just unsatisfactory but is leading to global breakdown, the alternative we must work for, and how[Read More…]
This is part II of an essay in two parts on modern technology and its demise. Part I deals with the history of modern technology starting from the Industrial Revolution (1760-1830) and ending in 2008 with the financial meltdown and the birth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In Part II we will show how this latest industrial revolution is bound[Read More…]
This is an essay in two parts on modern technology and its demise. Part I deals with the history of modern technology starting from the Industrial Revolution (1760-1830) and ending with the 2008 financial meltdown and the birth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In Part II we will show how this latest industrial revolution is bound to fail. Part I:[Read More…]
————————————————————————————————————————- NARMADA GHATI SE BAHUJAN GATHAYEN Editors: Ojas S. V., Madhuresh Kumar, Vijayan M. J. and, Joe Athiyali Translation: Chinmay Mishra New Delhi, April 2022, Navarun, Pp. 247, Price Rs. 350/- ————————————————————————————————————————– Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA, Save Narmada Movement) is one of the longest drawn (35 years) people’s movement against ‘development’ at the cost of people and nature in India.[Read More…]
India is going through a lot of communal tensions for the last few years. As a response to it some secular persons have been, among other things, organising ‘Inter – Faith Meetings’. Recently in Hyderabad we have been having such meetings. Many religious leaders came. I was asked to represent the Atheists. In the meeting I declared myself ‘atheist, irreligious[Read More…]
Recently Arun Kumar Sinha posted in Marx_Forum, Murray Bookchin’s pamphlet ‘Listen! Marxist!’ This was published in the ’50s in which he admonished and rebuked the ‘Marxists’ community. To Marx_Forum Dear Arun, You are opening a Pandora’s Box by introducing Murray Bookchin. You are introducing Anarchism! Maybe time has come to introduce Anarchism to Marx_Forum although Marxists (including Marx) have never looked[Read More…]
Morality in Political Discourse in India This is a three part article and each part is complete in itself. Therefore each part is being published with the same title. The Introduction will be repeated in each part for the sake of making it complete in itself. PART III KEBAB ‘We are, therefore, largely a drinking, smoking and meat-eating people’! Dr.[Read More…]
Morality in Political Discourse in India This is a three part article and each part is complete in itself. Therefore each part is being published with the same title. The Introduction will be repeated in each part for the sake of making it complete in itself. PART II SHABAB ‘We are, therefore, largely a drinking, smoking and meat-eating people’! Dr.[Read More…]
Morality in Political Discourse in India This is a three part article and each part is complete in itself. Therefore each part is being published with the same title. The Introduction will be repeated in each part for the sake of making it complete in itself. PART I SHARAB ‘We are, therefore, largely a drinking, smoking and meat-eating people’! Dr.[Read More…]
Tamil Nādu abolishes the competitive examinations for admissions to medical colleges Tamil Nadu Admission in Professional Educational Institutions Act (2007) abolished the Common Entrance Test (CET) and proposed the Pre University exam marks as the criterion for admission to professional courses. This applies for admission to medical colleges run by the state government. However, now the government of TN wants[Read More…]
Akira Kurosawa (1910 – 1998), was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed 30 films in a career spanning 57 years. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential film-makers in the history of cinema. Ikiru (‘To Live’) is a 1952 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a terminally ill Tokyo[Read More…]
Today December 5, is celebrated as the world soil day (WSD). The proposal for a global day to celebrate soil was first recommended in the year 2002 by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS). Under the framework of the Global Soil Partnership, and the leadership of the King of Thailand, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) lent[Read More…]
In the twentieth century nothing represented the working class culture more than the bicycle did. That is why the film ‘Bicycle Thief’ (1948, Italy, Director: Vittorio De Sica) remained the best film ever made for many years and still is one of the ten best films ever made. Jamshedpur with a population of 1.34 million is the largest and most[Read More…]
Indian society is deeply fissured. The fault lines lie along caste, sub caste, class, religion, region, language and several other overt and unstated domains. The linguistic division of states and thereby of Indian society has generated linguistic chauvinism. At the pan Indian level, we hear of Hindi chauvinism but there are regional chauvinisms originating from the four power centres of[Read More…]
Roadster Roadster is the standard or as in Bengal we call it the ‘Bangla’ cycle. Its design was perfected around 1890 and it has not changed significantly since then. Many people think it is old fashioned and they want to go for ‘fancy’ cycles. However the roadster has a great resilience and remains the choice for millions all over the[Read More…]
ABSTRACT This is a response to the two sets of articles written by Sajai Jose on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and on the world’s and India’s hunger crisis. It is in two parts. In the first part it lays the historical background of the response of capital in the face of periodic crises it faces and people’s response to it.[Read More…]
A memoir is a sort of autobiography. You record only those things that have affected you. You don’t do any research for it, except occasionally to check a date or fact. You write what you remember. Our Home I was born in Mysore in 1943 and we moved to Indore in 1945. I left Indore to study electronics at IIT[Read More…]
Today, September 28, is the 30th death anniversary of Comrade Shankar Guha Niyogi (February 14, 1943 – September 28, 1991). He was murdered by the agents of the capitalist class. He was just 48 years old! In spite of the efforts of good lawyers like Kannabiran, his murderers went unpunished because of the collusion between the state, bureaucracy and judiciary[Read More…]
Today, September 26, 2021, is World Rivers Day. World Rivers Day is a global celebration of the world’s waterways, observed every year on the last Sunday in September. Established in 2005, it highlights the many values of rivers and strives to increase public awareness while encouraging the improved stewardship of rivers around the world. Rivers in every country face an[Read More…]
Today, September 22 is the World Car Free Day. It is celebrated in many cities around the world to create awareness about how our locality will look and feel like without cars. It started on an ad hoc basis after the 1973 oil crisis. Only in 2000 it became a self-standing day held on September 22. On this day a[Read More…]
Many writings about Hindi are ‘breast beating’ in the style of Bharatendu Harishchandra’s ‘Bharat Durdasha’. This article has a positive attitude towards Hindi Literature. The history of literary Hindi is relatively brief, starting only around 1860. Modern literary Hindi has an even shorter history, beginning around 1936 with the death of Premchand. In this short period Hindi has covered some[Read More…]
In recent years there is demand for bicycle lanes by a section of the bicycle community in India. It comes mainly from Metro cities and people who demand are also younger people who use fancy/professional bicycles and are members of various bicycle clubs. Ordinary people who use the standard/roadster/Bangla cycles do not appear to be part of this group and[Read More…]
First of all, I want to salute the front line health workers who have done a heroic job and have risked their life. No words or compensation can ever adequately express our gratitude. In the last analysis the reward of having done a good job is to have done it! Capitalism and Corona We are not the first one to[Read More…]
Today, February 4, is the World Cancer Day. We wish all the cancer patients and caregivers – family members, friends and caregivers in the cancer hospitals from all levels – helpers, nurses and oncologists our best wishes, concern and empathy. All sciences have borders of unknown. In the case of cancer it is even more so. There are a lot[Read More…]
ABSTRACT Today no one is talking of controlling population any more. Fertility rates are falling all over the world and many governments are encouraging births; giving monetary support and withdrawing free contraceptives and free vasectomy operations. The new problem is that of ageing. No one is prepared to talk of decreasing the longevity. Increasing longevity has long been a marker[Read More…]
Jharkhand Me Mere Samkaaleen by Vir Bhrat Talwar, 2019, 2020, Delhi, Anugya Books, pp 213, Rs. 250/- On the surface, this book is in the form of a memoir about five persons who played an important role in the cultural, literary and political trends in the Jharkhand movement in the period 1970-2010. But they do not remain mere personal memoirs;[Read More…]
Today, September 30 is celebrated as World Translation Day. Translators can be called unsung heroes and heroines of communication. Even when people enjoy reading translations of great works in foreign languages, we rarely notice the translator’s name and even when we do it is rarer still we register them or know anything about them. So it is good to celebrate[Read More…]
Why do good people have to suffer? This is a question mankind has been facing for thousands of years. Our Hindu religion has the answer, ‘because of sins committed in the previous birth’. Obviously people like us can not accept this. While the news of Ilina’s death last night brought a host of memories and sadness in me, this question[Read More…]
When I heard that the Atlas Cycle Company was closed, I really felt sad. It is one of our very good companies and it had an international reputation. I hope its crisis is temporary and it will reopen soon. I think it should lead to introspection about our country, our government’s policies and the attitude of the Indian middle classes[Read More…]
The coronavirus pandemic has released an unprecedented level of actions and reactions that has shaken the world. In this article we will focus only on India and see what good can come out of this major shakeup. As you can see we are optimists! We will consider the following aspects: 1. The lock down 2. The sufferings of migrant labour[Read More…]
Understanding the ‘Hindu’ fear of Muslims and Christians We have been seeing attacks on Christians and Muslims in India for the last few years. Several Indians are worried about it and fear for the future of democracy in India. People wonder what the logic of all these attacks is. How can nearly 80% of ‘Hindus’ feel threatened by some 13%[Read More…]
Ashok Behera, the 36-year-old mason from Odisha cycled 1100 kilometres in seven days, all the way home to Ganjam district from Chennai, his wife Namita riding pillion. Once again the roadster, a cycle design perfected more than a 100 years ago proved to be reliable. During this lock out period this kind of performance was repeated by several workers all[Read More…]
This year Nature has given us a clear message. It sent us COVID 19 and halted capitalism for 4 months, made us stop burning fossil fuels and use just the bare essentials. And it has rewarded us with clean air, cleaned up our rivers and lakes, improved our human relations and restored wild life. There are dolphin in the Ganges[Read More…]
I have been fascinated by the word and concept of ‘the Passion’ for more than 50 years. I first came across it in the early sixties, in Beyond Desire (1956), a biographical novel of the German musician Mendelssohn by Pierre La Mure. The central theme of the novel is the discovery of the scores of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727)[Read More…]
ABSTRACT The novel corona virus or COVID 19 has finally triggered the collapse of the industrial/capitalist economy. In the first part of this article we outline this collapse and the solution that has been proposed for the last decade and a half by a variety of green initiatives all over the world. However the COVID 19 has also posed an[Read More…]
This is meant to be an article for activist education and therefore on the one hand it starts with explaining basic concepts; on the other hand it avoids academic references. The population problem is complex and has been debated since Marx’s time. In the past leftists maintained that it is not a real problem, but a creation of capitalism. However[Read More…]
Comrade A. K. Roy, the legendary trade union leader of coal miners in Dhanbad region died on July 21, 2019. With him an era of trade union movement has come to a close. He and later Comrade Shankar Guha Niyogi of Chhatisgarh were pioneers of a new trade movement that came into being in the early 70s and became vigorous[Read More…]
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The Muslims in A Pathetic Condition in India and The Way Forward Them 
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Of The Silent Shames of a Privileged Indian! 
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Addressing Malnutrition in Jharkhand: Progress, Challenges, and the Path Forward 
For modernization and mechanization of sanitation work, Sanitary Workers must exert pressure 
Satyagraha, Sarvodaya & Swachhagraha for Sustainable Living 
Why Our Popular Mass Movements Fail 
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Modi regime’s double standards 
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Review of Immanuel Ness’s Migration as Economic Imperialism 
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Ignorance and Egoistic Leaders Destroying Mankind and the Living Earth 
Rights of Older Persons must be fulfilled! 
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Book Review: Building A Just World Order 
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…]
