As a consequence of my fledgling activism in my student life to my dedicated commitment towards socialism till now, I found umpteen occasions to meet and interact with many people active in this stream. I constantly learned and picked up something from verily everyone during my work and interactions with them. Of them some became the source of intellectual inspiration,[Read More…]
Aijaz Ahmad (1941-2022) who passed away on March 9 at Irvine, California earlier this year, was a truly original Marxist thinker, who applied Marxist concepts to interpret various events of the contemporary world. He underlined the importance of those concepts while rejecting all attempts to weaken or replace them through eclectic combinations formed by introducing post-modernist concepts into Marxism. He[Read More…]
She may have left us 16 years ago, but on her birth anniversary November 25, Surinder Kaur is being remembered very fondly by her countless admirers in India, Pakistan, Canada, UK, USA and several other countries as well. The contributions of the ‘Nightingale of Punjab’ to music can never be forgotten, all the more so in present times of degradation[Read More…]
Professor Jose Marie Sison ranks amongst the most accomplished Marxist leaders, and writers, to have landed their feet into the Communist movement. Few leaders have contributed so much to shape a nations’ path breaking achievements in revolutionary movement or defend citadel of Marxism –Leninism. Sison knitted the scattered seeds to sow the nucleus of the Communist Party and Philllipines and[Read More…]
Duncan Stone’s new book Different Class: The Untold Story of English Cricket has important lessons for Indian cricket and sports. It does not merely challenge the orthodoxy of English cricket, it demonstrates how the values and belief systems at its heart were developed in order to divide, rather than unite, the English at every level of the game. It was[Read More…]
[I must begin with a “thank you” to the Indian Diaspora of Washington DC* and to Razi Saheb for letting me say a few words here. It is an honour for me to share the dais, even if virtually, with Gauhar Raza and Pervez Hoodbhoy. I was stressed about Razi Saheb being a stern time-keeper. So, I decided to jot[Read More…]
My dear friend Staughton Lynd died Thursday five days before what would have been his 93rd birthday. It is no overstatement to say that Staughton inspired millions of people around the world and I will always cherish a glorious weekend I spent with him and his lovely wife Alice at their home in Ohio in 2010. In honor of a[Read More…]
If you mention the name of Macliing Dulag to a Cordilleran, you are going to arouse three possible responses. One, the person has no idea who Dulag was. Two, the person has heard of the man but can’t accurately place where Dulag stands in Cordillera history. Millions of people knew the name of Che Guevara but hardly aware of his[Read More…]
The much contested debate pertaining to the relationship between Literature and History dates back to the classical times. Beginning with Aristotle, there have been constant efforts to identify the links and natures of these two domains of knowledge. In the traditional scholarship, History was often regarded as an art of particulars, while on the contrast, Literature was identified with universals.[Read More…]
November 16 marks the 107th martyrdom day of a towering revolutionary of the Indian freedom struggle. Kartar Singh Sarabha was executed in 1915 in British India for waging a war against the Empire while he was only 18-and-a-half years old. He was a part of the Ghadar movement that was started to liberate India from foreign occupation through armed rebellion.[Read More…]
If 1 out of 2 high school girls feel persistently sad or hopeless and one out of six students plan suicide in a year, isn’t it time for a society so affected to look inwards at what has gone wrong, so that at least, and as a first step, the causes of such a dismal state of affairs can be[Read More…]
Increased consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) was associated with more than 10% of all-cause premature, preventable deaths in Brazil in 2019. That is the finding of a new peer-reviewed study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The findings are significant not only for Brazil but also for high income countries such as the U S, Canada, the UK, and Australia, where UPFs[Read More…]
There are few writers who have displayed such consistency and continuity in their writings on justice and concerns of the unprivileged as Jeremy Seabrook. His writings on these and other issues of high social relevance are marked by deep sympathy for those who deserve and need this the most. Readers are frequently awed by the sheer brilliance of his deep[Read More…]
We live in a fast-moving, technology-dominated era. Happiness is fleeting, and everything is replaceable or disposable. It is understandable that people are drawn to a utopian vision. Many find refuge in the concept of a “return” to an idealized past—one in which humans were not so numerous, and animals abounded; when the Earth was still clean and pure, and when[Read More…]
Paying homage to stalwart and martyr of Civil Liberties Movement, Japa Lakshma Reddy, a public meeting under the supervision of Civil Rights Association Joint Karimnagar District Committee, was held on Monday, 7th November, 2022, at Sneha Sahiti Library, Godavarikhani from 4:30 pm to 8:15 pm. Civil rights society and people’s association leaders obeyed two minutes of silence to Japa Lakshma[Read More…]
November 9, 2022, was the 145th birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal – a globally renowned South Asian Muslim poet, and philosopher. The contemporary period of renewed cultural atavisms has reduced him to an ideologically zealous proponent of Pan-Islamism, leading to a crude anti-Westernism that rejects the universal values of freedom and equality to justify internal hierarchies within the Muslim[Read More…]
On November 9th yesterday, we commemorated the 38th death anniversary of Chandra Pulla Reddy, one of the most dedicated Communist revolutionaries of India. Confronting the darkest waters he combated revisionism with the tenacity of a boulder and shimmered light of Mao thought. No doubt he made serious errors of left and right variety but strived to practice mass line to[Read More…]
by Bharat Dogra and Madhu Dogra A true mark of greatness is that the message conveyed by a person by work as well words, conduct as well as character, brings solace to people and reduces distress of people in contemporary times, but at the same time is also found to be of enduring importance to people when they cope with[Read More…]
Shyam Benegal ranks amongst the most defining architects of the art movement in Hindi cinema. Few directors transcended such layers in manifesting feudal or social oppression or displayed mastery at such a scale in exploring characters. Even when projecting social reality his plots were ever buoyant. Social reality was concurrent theme in movies of Benegal,who was a creature of the[Read More…]
If very high and increasing mental health problems are reported from any society, then the most obvious response is to increase the availability of mental health services. However, if despite this, the trend of high incidence of such problems persists, then isn’t it time to inquire at a wider level regarding what problems of society are causing this and then[Read More…]
Today on November 3rd, we commemorate the 40th death anniversary of E.H.Carr who made an outstanding contribution as a liberal historian and gave a new dimension to method of historical research. Carr was an epitome of historical accuracy, being more illustrative than any historian on Soviet Russia. Even though a liberal democrat he applied the Marxist historical materialist method. Carr[Read More…]
Herman Daly passed away on 28th October. He was an ecological economist who championed steady state economics. In 1996, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for “defining a path of ecological economics that integrates the key elements of ethics, quality of life, environment and community.” Daly’s death is a great loss to humanity and ecological economics. Countercurrents.org has published a[Read More…]
On October 30th we commemorate the 17th death anniversary of late Shamsher Singh Sheri. Shamser Singh Sheri is arguably the most defining figure of the Communist Revolutionary of Naxalite movement in Punjab, torch-bearer of the Communist Revolutionary camp or mascot against revisionism. His name is still inscribed in letters of gold by revolutionary ranks. I hold Sheri in great esteem[Read More…]
Late Hrishikesh Mukherjee more popularly known as ‘Hrishi Da’ just celebrated his birth centenary last month. Hrishi Da ranks amongst India’s most progressive and innovative film makers, exhibiting mastery in craft of making socially relevant themes. Mukherjee knitted plots together with great visualisation, and sensitivity, be it in comedy, pathos, anger or romance, weaving every ingredient in proper proportion. Melodrama[Read More…]
History is small fry to seasoned craftsmen like the RSS who can come up with dummies that look more authentic than the real. There is no better testimony to this statement than the mangled legacy of the greatest of all Mughals, Emperor Akbar, who is deservedly called Akbar the Great. A malicious campaign against the peerless monarch has been going[Read More…]
Saw Aaditya Thackeray, the young, embattled Shiv Sena leader at a public event last week. He was cheerful, showed no sign of stress. Seems to have taken the recent political setback in his stride. Things are clearly looking up for Shiv Sena and the Congress. He inaugurated a play area for physically and mentally challenged children in Joggers Park in[Read More…]
There is not much that I can do for Laura except to extend myself in a loving way to her. I learned of her through a mutual friend and decided that I wanted to do something supportive of her since she has suffered a great deal. Therein I want to soften her suffering and try to be a little bit[Read More…]
Zero Waste Solution, Wareham, MA PHOTO: DAVID RATCLIFFE “I cling like a miser to the freedom that disappears as soon as there is an excess of things.” – Albert Camus, Lyrical and Critical Essays. Let me tell you a story about a haunted house and all the thoughts it evoked in me. Do we believe we can save ourselves by saving things? Or[Read More…]
(1) The so-called ‘Western powers’ in a rash bid to turn the Ukraine offensive into a nightmare for Russia and shell-shock the comity of nations that desperately yearn for peace has prodded Ukraine to launch more and more provocative attacks on Russia. Naturally it has entrapped Russia into more and more ruthless reprisals,which might well escalate to a nuclear strike.Whereas[Read More…]
21st October marked the 38th death anniversary of Satyanarayan Singh (SNS). He was one of the pioneering leaders of the revolutionary party CPI (M-L), which was formed demarcating from the neo-revisionist CPI (M) after the historic Naxalbari uprising. SNS was Central Committee and Politbureau member of that party. Faced with grave losses and damages in CPI (ML) under the leadership[Read More…]
Occupational diseases constitute a much more serious risk to the health and welfare of workers than is normally realized. The International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization got together jointly to estimate the number of deaths caused by occupational diseases and injuries at world level for 2016. The two international agencies found that as many as 1.90 million ([Read More…]
It has been three years since Sayed Abdul Rahman Geelani known as SAR among his friends, at the age of 50, suddenly and much too soon, left us, on 24 October 2019. The shock of his untimely demise is a void very hard to fill. He played the role as a teacher, an educator and a tireless defender of human[Read More…]
The suffering of US women under the iron heel of abortion is intensifying, especially for women of color. This makes it imperative to closely examine possible paths forward. As a teenager during the 1960s I witnessed two political paths that remain imprinted on my mind. LBJ and 14 (b) Even before classes began in 1963, I had organized the first[Read More…]
There has been growing concern in recent years regarding the extent to which workers and employees are stressed in their work and have strong feelings of alienation. In this context the findings of one of the most extensive surveys on this subject are significant. These can be seen in Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report 2022. This is based[Read More…]
Jean Luc Goddard who left us at age of 91 on 13th September, ranks amongst the greatest film makers ever .Godard, was a filmmaker, critic, essayist, polemicist, philosopher, scientist, a preacher, educator, journalist, and artist rolled into one. The motion-picture medium was elevated to a new dimension by him, penetrating barriers untranscended in terms of creativity. Its hard to think[Read More…]
Accidents are a leading cause of human distress. However most discussion has been concentrated on road accidents while occupational accidents which affect mostly the working class have received comparatively much lesser attention. This should not lead to neglect of the very heavy price that workers have to pay in terms of serious injuries or even loss of life caused[Read More…]
When we talk about any museum, the first thing that comes to our mind is something that is, perhaps, old, past, historical, etc. But besides this, there are a few other prime things to which we won’t relate, and even can’t imagine that something important and meaningful like “research” and “education” can be associated with museums either. Museums’ jobs are[Read More…]
On the morning of October 12, 2022 veteran communist revolutionary leader from Punjab, Tara Singh Chalaki passed away at his home in Mohali. For a considerable period he was ailing, suffering from bad health. His death is a grave loss to the communist revolutionary camp of India to which he from his early days he played a monumental role in[Read More…]
Nikolai Alexandrovich Semashko was an outstanding scientist and was major architect in Soviet health care, the first People’s Commissar of Health of the RSFSR, Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences and the RSFSR Academy of Sciences, Honoured Scientist of the RSFSR, Professor. Semashko’s entire life was a concrete example of selfless service to the service of humanity, with[Read More…]
Socialist thinker Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, whose death anniversary is today, often used to say that the life force of true democracy lies in the reversal of governments. He did not make any effort till his last breath for this reversal, which was considered ‘impossible’ in those days of Congress domination. His uneasiness towards these efforts was such that even[Read More…]
Kumar Shiralkar, activist, served the adivasis and other oppressed people for decades with great devotion and selflessness.. He in turn was so much loved by the adivasis that after his passing way on October 2 they buried his body. Kumar was born in a Brahmin family but he had completely given up his caste and class affiliation, totally identified with[Read More…]
We commemorate the 13th death anniversary of K. Balagopal (1952-2009). Earlier this year we celebrated his 70th birthday. A mathematician, civil rights activist rolled into one and one of post-independent India’s most creative thinkers, who gave revolutionary humanism a new perspective. One of the great stalwarts of the civil Rights Movement, and till his death, one of the best sons[Read More…]
When India closed its alcohol outlets during the recent pandemic-driven lockdown, many western countries such as Canada did not take a similar step on liquor sales. Alcohol was easily available in these countries just like any other grocery item in the market. Why did India’s state governments decide to stop the sale of liquor while it continued selling all other[Read More…]
Annabhau Sathe, was an immensely admired dalit communist writer, performer who galvanised people’s struggles in Mumbai in the 1940s and 1950s. Seeing a revival of his play on Mumbai’s working people’s struggles against capitalist domination, written in the 1950s, makes one realise that he in way preceded eminent urban radical thinkers like David Harvey and Henri Lefebvre who have emphasised[Read More…]
Obscenely high prices for prescription medicine create billions of dollars of profit for giant pharmaceutical companies to the financial detriment for those whose health depend on their products. Reforming that system in lowering prescription drug prices has become an ongoing contest of money and influence prevailing over the lives and health of those who simply cannot afford the high costs.[Read More…]
Civic participation in issues of public importance has been at the heart of many debates in our world history. Philosophers and theorists have attempted to determine how the ordinary citizen can grasp the external world with all its nuances and subtleties. Professor John Dewey believed in strengthening our citizenry through various means such as promoting logic & reason, scientific temperament,[Read More…]
Every year in India we celebrate 5th September as the National Teachers’ Day and just a month later the world observes 5th October as ‘World Teachers’ Day’. The theme this year is: “Teachers at the heart of education recovery”. It was UNESCO that established this day in 1994 to celebrate and recognize the immense contribute of all those in the[Read More…]
Jahanara–The First Lady of a Great Empire Who Devoted Herself to Reducing Suffering and Distress In times when royalty was characterized by the craze for luxury and constant intrigues for power, Princess Jahanara (1614-81) is almost a unique character in the Mughal Dynasty who devoted most of her time, efforts and wealth to reducing the distress and suffering of others.[Read More…]
A Muslim youth was beaten recently when he tried to witness the famous Garbha performance during the Hindu religious 9 days festival of Navratri in Gujarat. There was a time when Muslims could easily participate in Garbha events in an atmosphere of cordiality. Bilkis Bano was gang raped in 2002 Gujarat communal violence, her 3 years old daughter, the child[Read More…]
We are celebrating yet another Gandhi Jayanti. Given the significance that Mahatma Gandhi holds not only for Indians but globally, some introspection about the current state of affairs in India and Gandhi’s philosophy as a possible antidote to rapidly increasing hatred and violence is urgently required. Let me begin by using Dharma as an example. The contemporary fallacy of collapsing dharma into[Read More…]
An unsung hero Hassan Nasir is known to none in this present generation! A heroic people’s leader was sent to oblivion. Though Hassan Nasir is our Hyderabadi (Deccan), a great working class organizer, sacrificed his life in Pakistan, for the Communist Party . He was born on August 2nd, 1928 in Bank Street near Koti, Hyderabad and hacked down on[Read More…]
On October 2 an increasingly divided and troubled world observes the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (MG). This is a good time to reflect on the essence of some of his enduring messages. Firstly, he said that economics should never be separated from ethics. In particular he gave a call for placing the poorer and weaker sections at the center[Read More…]
Are you sad because a bout of Covid-19 disrupted your life with illness, bills, or even the death of a friend or family member? Are you anxious because your benefits have ceased and you can’t find a new job? Are you worried because the brain fog after Covid has persisted so long? Are you angry because you are being evicted[Read More…]
Without doubt Bhagat Singh was one of the greatest revolutionaries, who chalked out a genuine revolutionary anti-colonial programme and not the Indian National Congress. He pioneered the formation of an organisation charting out a programme opposing landlordism, capitalism and imperialism. Initially he supported the path of individual terrorism and was influenced by the Irish revolutionaries but later after studying Marx[Read More…]
I am tempted to write this after seeing a report in a vernacular newspaper today. It was about someone named V Bright Saigal who died recently in a rented room in Delhi as a lonely man with no significant social contacts. It was his landlord who brought him dead to Delhi’s Safdar Jung Hospital. Saigal originally belonged to Kakkanadu in[Read More…]
Maharashtra’s progressive record has taken a beating in the last few years. But occasionally there are signs of hope. One of the best reprsentatives of the progressive tradition was Narhar Kurundkar. He was a real public intellectual, atheist, rationalist, outspoken critic whoquestioned almost ridiculed false,established notions. The orthodox told him he would go to hell but they could do not[Read More…]
Today on September 28 many, many people in Chattisgarh and other parts of India will be remembering Shankar Guha Niyogi on his death anniversary. It was on this day that he was assassinated at the peak of his efforts to mobilize workers for a big struggle. Niyogi, a labor leader who became a legend in his lifetime, led a very[Read More…]
Today September 28 is the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh, the revolutionary freedom fighter from India who could dare to think at a very young age of fighting imperialism all over the world! Although he was hanged by colonial rulers at the age of only 23 in 1931, he is still not only remembered with great affection and respect by[Read More…]
India is quite young. Its population of 1.3 billion has an average age of 29 years. Much of the country’s focus, therefore, has been on its “youth bulge” and the “demographic dividend” this should potentially yield since the working age population is greater than the segment of dependents. While the country will be able to hold on to this advantage[Read More…]
In a popular quote from his speech “The Ballot or The Bullet” , American activist Malcolm X says “…you don’t have a revolution in which you are begging the system of exploitation to integrate you into it. Revolutions overturn systems. Revolutions destroy systems.” In abstraction, this quote only half describes what a revolution is because indeed , revolutions do destroy[Read More…]
A worrying aspect of Russia-EU relations is that certain creepiness has got the better of people’s senses. Things have gone so far that Europeans are proscribing even the ownership of Russian pets. Clearly, the western media seems to have gone overboard in demonizing ordinary Russian People. An attempt has been made here to bring flavour of Russia and its people,[Read More…]
Darshan Singh Canadian was martyred today 26 years ago on September 25th, at the hands of the Khalistani terrorists. His entire life was manifestation of relentless spirit to serve the downtrodden. Darshan Singh was a very warm personality, extremely well read, a versatile conservationist and resonating with wit and humour. In Canada In 1937, at the age of 19, Darshan[Read More…]
Someone I know very well has just completed his engineering course and joined an IT company. He was selected by the company after a rigorous online selection test. Many of his friends have also taken the selection test in other renowned companies. I have seen him taking online selection tests on behalf of his friends and all of his friends[Read More…]
On September 25th today ,we celebrate the 100 th birth anniversary of justice O.Chinnappa Reddy.His life is an illustration of relentless service to the cause of social justice. He is most relevant today when our judicial system has been completely defaced or fabric torn apart with the penetration of Hindutva fascism . At every juncture of his life he braved[Read More…]
The departure of Ross Longhurst (aka Harry Powell), on 28th September 2020.was an inconsolable loss to the Communist Movement. Ross till his last breath unfurled the flag of Communism and proletarian internationalism when many others rejected it it in favour of tailing nationalism of all kinds. One of the finest students of Marxism-Leninism in Imperialist countries, who in many junctures resisted[Read More…]
My father died in Delhi when I was barely 18. My mother was returning to Kerala. I told her that I would look after myself and there was no need for her to worry about me. The only skill I had was a bit of knowledge in typing. I got a job as a typist at the CPI Parliamentary office.[Read More…]
Introduction In almost all myths, the low-born non-Aryan characters, from Bali to Barbareek to Eklavya to Karna, are presented as generous to the extent that none of them cry foul at being robbed of their life. In fact they willingly give it away. What does their lack of protest say? What kind of consciousness does it reflect? The essence of[Read More…]
Barbara Ehrenreich died at the age of 81 on September 1. The American author had reached a worldwide readership with her over 20 books which are best known for their strong voice of justice and dignity for the weakest sections as well as for opposing hypocrisy and social deceit at several levels. Her brilliant reportage, social commentary and book reviews[Read More…]
Communal propagandists who want to disrupt inter-faith harmony often distort and misrepresent history to peddle their lies. While this can be shown in the context of many instances, the times of Dara Shikoh are particularly relevant in this context. As is well known , Dara Shikoh (1615-59) was the favorite son of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the buider of[Read More…]
by Bharat Dogra, Anupam Bhandari & Tristan Partridge Perhaps the most widespread and persistent cause of human distress has been relationships based on dominance, whether across differences in class, gender, caste, race, or other imposed social categories. These tendencies are clear and undeniable, yet very difficult to change at a fundamental or societal level – as reflected in the ongoing[Read More…]
Where do we stand in 2022? A lot could be found on the web, when someone searches for ‘Suicide Statistics’ or a similar keyword. There have been detailed reports published by various departments and NGOs on the figures (numbers) and the stated reasons behind a person dying by suicide. I pick a few from those, as I move towards my[Read More…]
1. We lost Gauri Lankesh, journalist, activist and very passionate human being, exactly five years back It is now history how she was assasinated by rightwing Hindutva fanatics outside her home in Rajarajeshwari Nagar on 5 September 2017. A killing which shocked not only the people of Karnataka but everyone who believed in a just and equitable society elsewhere.[Read More…]
Today the world commemorates the 25th death anniversary of Mother Teresa. Whatever her gross flaws, she rendered service to humanity in regions almost untranscended, resembling the relentless spirit of the waves of an Ocean. Irrespective of community or religion. she offered her service. Even those not drawn by sainthood revere the role of Mother Teresa. For 68 years, she had[Read More…]
This is the birth centenary year of renowned playwright, director, actor Habib Tanvir. He was born on 1 September 1923 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Habib Tanvir’s father Hafiz Ahmed Khan was a resident of Peshawar (Pakistan). Habib Tanveer completed his schooling in Raipur. After this he graduated from Nagpur University in 1944 and MA from Aligarh Muslim University. After that he[Read More…]
Gorbachev’s was a betrayer’s life. He has physically left this earth, hours back; but has kept kilometer posts of betrayal on a land years ago identified as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He’s the person who led a band of betrayers to dismantle the USSR – Soviet Union. The biggest country in the world stretching from the Pacific[Read More…]
Last Saturday on 27 August we commemorated 21 years since the martyrdom of Abu Ali Mustafa, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, targeted for an Israeli assassination raid with a U.S-made and -provided missile in occupied Al-Bireh, Palestine, in 2001.Till this day his memories shimmer like an inextinguishable light. Abu Ali Mustafa’s was[Read More…]
George Berkeley is one of the greatest and most influential philosophers of the early modern period. In defending the immaterialism for which he is most famous, he redirected modern thinking about the nature of objectivity and the mind’s capacity to come to terms with it. Along the way, he made striking and influential proposals concerning the psychology of the senses,[Read More…]
Economist Abhijit Sen passed away on the night of 29 August, 2022. He was 72. For a long time he has been regarded as one of India’s leading agricultural economists who made a very important contribution to government policy, particularly in the context of public distribution system. India’s structure of food security has been created to a considerable extent on[Read More…]
A statue of Alluri Srirama Raju, ( July 4, 2022 – May 7th 1924) with bow and arrows; this model is the standard depiction seen in most places, across the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State. He is mostly presented in saffron robes of a Sanyasi. A centenary of the popular armed struggle, Rampa Adivasi Revolt, led by[Read More…]
Dr. Iravati Karve [15 December 1905 —-11 August 1970 ] is India’s first pioneer, leading anthropological researcher and world-renowned researcher in sociology. Anthropologist, social scientist, atheist, rationalist and literati, the great writer and orator known to Maharashtra in various capacities. A progressive thinker who has become an example of women’s freedom is Dr. Iravati Karve. A very highly educated, cultured[Read More…]
Despite the extremely disheartening developments across the spectrum of worldly life, despair and defeat are –while understandable–not inevitable. That is the good news. We are never obliged to surrender the best of our humanity, even as things around us devolve. But in order to find our footing, it is important to begin by seeing the current reality without fear[Read More…]
Vimal Bhai breathed his last on 15 August at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. He was 60. He will be remembered for a long time for his contributions to many ecological and social movements, but perhaps most prominently for the movements against the excess of several ill-planned hydro-electricity projects in Uttarakhand. He was involved in this[Read More…]
“I want to turn the clock back to when people lived in small villages and took care of each other.” — Intro, Village of Madison NY, Facebook Page In May of 2016, I gave a talk as part of Madison, NY’s Bicentennial celebration, a talk to honor Madison’s foremothers. I began by speaking about my own Madison foremother, Caroline[Read More…]
Stigmatising the women’s life after 30 is not a new strategy in the market, especially when it comes to the cosmeceutical industries which have been selling some anti-aging promises since ages. Marketing the fear of ageing is the by-product of the constant social pressure of being young, the desired age characterized by beauty, energy, and strength. The advertising industry is[Read More…]
Souren Bose left us on the early morning of 17 August, exactly 25 years ago. One of the most dedicated torch bearers of the Indian Communist movement. His sudden death was an irreparable loss to the Indian Communist movement. His interview with Premier Zhou En lai in China in 1970 is an invaluable lesson for all Marxist cadre in grasping[Read More…]
Debiprosad Ghosh, the distinguished but undeservedly neglected Calcutta film scholar and historian, has painstakingly researched the life, times and achievements of an important but forgotten Bengali actress. The beautiful and gifted Begum Anwara Nahar had to take on the name of ‘Bonani Chaudhuri’ for the same reason that one Yousuf Khan of Peshawar had to transform himself into ‘Dilip Kumar’,[Read More…]
I am deeply shocked to know about such a brutal attack on the globally renowned writer Salman Rushdie in New York by forces that have been planning to kill him for a long time. As a writer and columnist myself I cannot sit silent without condemning such a brutal attack on fellow writers. He was an Indian born writer with[Read More…]
Today, on 10th of August, we are celebrating the 59th Birth anniversary of Phoolan Devi, who was a former member of parliament and fearless leader of marginalized. She was born on 10th August 1963 at Ghura ka Purwa village of Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh in a mallah caste which is considered as extremely backward caste and scheduled caste in[Read More…]
It has been Forty years since Revolutionary poet Cherabanda Raju left us. Thinking of him is reminiscent of a lotus blooming in full. Chera was an epitome of creativity of revolutionary poetry, transcending realms few revolutionary poets did in his era. The VIRASAM staged a meeting in his memory on July 3rd, this year in Hyderabad in Sundaraya Vigyan hall,[Read More…]
Statement issued by HIV activists and civil society organisations Civil Society organisations and activists working on the HIV response in India are putting out this statement in utter distress and in strong solidarity with people living with and affected by HIV whose simple and basic demand for uninterrupted flow of life saving anti-retroviral drugs is being ignored by the Government[Read More…]
Scientific advances are not always linear; they zigzag in unexpected ways. This is particularly true of genetics, which has a dark history of being coopted into eugenics and race science. In July, the world celebrated 200 years since the birth of Gregor Mendel, who is widely accepted as the “father of modern genetics” for his discovery of the laws of inheritance.[Read More…]
In various streams of the freedom movement, we meet Yogendra Shukla ( 1896-1960) in different roles: what is common to all these roles is that he always worked with the highest commitment. If at an early stage of his life we find him living as an inmate of Sabarmati Ashram attracting the admiration of none other than Mahatma Gandhi, at[Read More…]
Tragedy of Hundreds of Children Dying in Pond and Well Accidents Can Be Avoided In a very tragic accident in Una ( Himachal Pradesh) on August 1, 7 teenagers and youths from Punjab drowned in Govindsagar lake. 4 of them were from a single family. In a joyful mood they had gone for a routine bath in the lake but[Read More…]
Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastri (Raavi Sastri) (30 July 1922 – 10 November 1993), India’s Gorky, was a great Telugu writer whose birth centenary celebrations are presently going on in Telugu states. Reviewing the works of Ravishasri is like doing a social audit, said one judge. “Raa Vi Sastry gave a powerful narrative on India’s bureaucracy, police, legislature, parliament, apart from[Read More…]
“The Earth does not rest on the forehead of Sheshanaga. It is safe in the hands of the Dalits, the farmers and the workers.” (Annabhau Sathe) As we celebrate the birth centenary of Tukaram (Annabhau Sathe) we not only see the relevance of his writings at that time but even today. Here is a man who belonging to Maanag (Matang)[Read More…]
One of my closest comrades Steve Otto, expired 4 days ago, while sitting on the porch of his house. Some months ago, he lost his wife Cammy.He ran blogs ‘Ottos War Room’ and ‘Idiot Factor.’ I may not have personally met him but I don’t have words to express my sense of loss at his demise and my gratitude for[Read More…]
Vijay Singh Pathik (1882-1954) was an eminent freedom fighter, peasant leader, journalist, poet, author, educationist and historian who worked tirelessly all his life to fight both imperialism and feudalism at several levels. At one level he was active in the Indian National Congress, fulfilling important responsibilities in Rajasthan in particular but also in other areas. However he had started life[Read More…]
Some Gandhians are feeling indignant about the special issue of ‘Antim Jan’ on Sarvakar. It is a monthly magazine published by a government organization, ‘Gandhi Darshan and Smriti’. Some journalists, intellectuals and party spokespersons/leaders too have expressed their unhappiness over the special issue. Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi’s statement also has come against the same. ‘Gandhi Darshan and Smriti’ is an[Read More…]
A memorial meeting, remembering Com DV and TN was held in Khammam town of Telangana State on July27, 2022. Hundreds of people who are fighting for and supporting agrarian revolution attended, including a big number of adivasi and poor peasants, and large number of women. The meeting held in the peak of rainy season went on from10.30 am to[Read More…]
On 28th July we commemorate the 50th death anniversary of Charu Mazumdar,who was tortured to death in police custody. It ranks amongst the worst abuse of human rights of a political prisoner or leader in India or the world. Today history is repeating itself in with Custodial deaths being a routine occurrence in prisons.Charu’s assassination illustrated the neo-fascist nature of[Read More…]
One: Earth is in danger. We are the source of Earth’s endangerment. Troubles are real. Consequences are rapidly becoming global reality. Two: Each person living on this Living Earth must take a clear, unwavering stand, standing in responsibility and raising an alerting voice. Three: Individual voices need to become a global chorus—the chorus of human choices. Four: Often people will[Read More…]
All of us who yearn to see a mass movement of workers united across national, racial and gender lines against capitalism and imperialism should remember and learn from the life of Walter Rodney. A Guyanese historian and activist who was murdered by his own ruling class in 1980 at the age of 38, Rodney understood the pitfalls of pseudo-socialism and[Read More…]
First Movement: Round Table and the Peers When Arthur realized he was to become king, and not just any king, but the illustrious Once and Future King, he went apart in solitude, looked out over the rolling land and for a long time contemplated the condition of the realm he was destined to guide, guard, and govern. Visibly on[Read More…]
An avoidable controversy has arisen recently due to the unfortunate comments of a politician of Punjab who called Shahid Bhagat Singh a terrorist. That this politician is linked closely to the Khalistani ideology explains his narrow worldview, and his comments regarding Bhagat Singh were quickly dismissed by most people. However to counter false propaganda based on such comments, it will[Read More…]
Despite the promise by all countries to end TB by 2030 (and India to end TB by 2025), decline in TB rates, deaths, and number of new infections, is not steep enough to meet the target. Lot more action (and investment) needs to urgently happen if we are to #endTB in next 101 months globally (and next 41 months in[Read More…]
by Sahba Husain & Meera Velayudhan Dakshayani Velayudhan was born on this day in 1912 at Bolghatty, a small island off the coast of the then princely state of Cochin, in an agrestic slave caste, Pulaya. She was the child of social change, for the early 1900s saw some of the earliest struggles for equality and recognition across Kerala. At[Read More…]
by Sahba Husain & Meera Velayudhan Dakshayani Velayudhan was born on this day in 1912 at Bolghatty, a small island off the coast of the then princely state of Cochin, in an agrestic slave caste, Pulaya. She was the child of social change, for the early 1900s saw some of the earliest struggles for equality and recognition across Kerala. At[Read More…]
On Sanjoy Ghose’s 25th death anniversary, Ashutosh Tosaria tells us through a microstory how collectives are transforming lives of young girls and women across the country – an idea in which Sanjoy believed strongly. Two hours from Kolkata, a group of thirty young girls and women, all in the age group 16-22, had gathered in a village in Baruipur. They[Read More…]
A year ago, on 5 July 2021, when Father Stan Swamy left us, the world mourned the death of a great human being who epitomised compassion, courage, collaboration and commitment! ‘Stan’, as he was lovingly called by those close to him, died whilst he was still incarcerated. From the time he was illegally arrested on 8 October 2020, he languished[Read More…]
How labour and God shaped the world As I went late to school in life, perhaps after eight years I was born, in mid 1960 (my school record birth day is 5 October, 1952), for quite some time I was with cattle and agrarian operations in my early juvenile days even after going to school in my village. Throughout the[Read More…]
My name is Ilaiah–O, you are from a wretched caste I added Shepherd to it–O, you have become a Christian I read and write–O, you have violated the Dharma I read and write in English–Then, you want to break India I travel abroad– O, Christians fund your travel I believe in one God–Then, you are in touch with Jesus My[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…]
As an Indian who sometimes finds himself abroad, I get puzzled often by notions of ‘Indian food’. I have three reasons. For one, Indian food is a misnomer. There’s nothing like it – because different regions and subregions, religious and caste groups, and tribes in India have different cuisines. They use different spices in different combinations, not to mention different[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…]
The wise men of the establishment are again telling us that hopes for lasting peace are a delusion. They declare that human nature makes it impossible, that war is built into our genes. They point to research by evolutionary biologists that indicates our closest genetic relatives, the chimpanzees, make war. Therefore war must be part of our heredity. “We’ve always[Read More…]
In 1972 a British doctor stumbled to refugee camps in Bangladesh, making sincere but rather clumsy efforts to make a contribution amidst an ocean of unmet medical needs. Five decades later, this uncertain initial effort has grown enough to reach out to over 500,000 of the poorest patients, many of them with serious conditions who would not have been able[Read More…]
Kartik Pannalal was simply an ornament in his own right to the democratic Rights, Student and Communist revolutionary movement whose memories will shimmer forever.Kartik may be gone but his souls still sparkles in the hearts of many a well-wisher like an inextinguishable star. Today night on June 4th we commemorate his 25th death anniversary when he perished in a road[Read More…]
Few men can give us a better understanding of the saffronisation of archaeology and the temple mosque controversy than Ashish Avikunthak. He has spent 20 years researching Indian archaeology, he is a sensitive film maker, social activist, a multi faceted figure.He has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Stanford university, he teaches archaeology and film studies in Rhodes Island university[Read More…]
May 28 is the 92nd death anniversary of Bhagwati Charan Vohra who sacrificed his life in 1930 at the age of only 25 while making preparations for rescuing Bhagat Singh from jail. As he was preparing for his own martyrdom in jail, Bhagat Singh paid very rich tributes to the great sacrifices of Bhagwati Charan Vohra in the course[Read More…]
It is a true mark of greatness if what a leader struggles to achieve in his lifetime is widely realized to be even more valuable in the years or decades after he has left the world. This is exactly how Jawaharlal Nehru is being remembered by more and more people of his country, despite a persistent tendency on the part[Read More…]
South Asian activists came together to mark the 100th birthday of a towering human rights defender of Punjab, at Strawberry Hill Library in Surrey on Sunday, May 22. The late Ajit Singh Bains passed away on February 11, leaving a rich legacy of tireless work for social justice. He would have turned 100 on May 14. Bains, a retired judge,[Read More…]
On his 150th birth anniversary on May 18th we must salute late Bertrand Russell .He ranked amongst the greatest intellectuals of the last millennium who gave philosophy a new dimension. Even Although a committed atheist he exuded spiritual overtones. Russell challenged dogma and tradition in the very thick of it’s skin and opened up the mind of his generation to[Read More…]
In an incident that raised eyebrows recently, budget airline IndiGo denied boarding to a specially-abled child on a Hyderabad-bound flight at the Ranchi airport. The wheelchair confined boy in his teens apparently posed a safety hazard for the flight because he was in a state of panic. There were doctors on board the flight who felt otherwise and suggested that[Read More…]
Inge Deutschkron, Holocaust survivor, author, and lecturer, was a force of nature. She died at the age of 99 on March 9, 2022, and was buried on April 8 in her hometown of Berlin, where she fought for justice against right-wing extremists. She was honored by officials and political leaders from Berlin, few of whom knew her personally, at the[Read More…]
This year’s Mother’s Day must have been the hardest for 92-year-old Anusaya Teltumbde. She has not recovered from the recent loss of her insurgent son, while the other one is locked up in jail for the past two years. Milind Teltumbde, a Maoist leader, was gunned down by the police in November 2021, while Anand, his elder brother, a well[Read More…]
They are often victims of neglect and even cruelty, while the wild ass is badly endangered People who are sincere and hard-working, simple and quiet should be highly valued for these virtues, yet their simplicity and sincerity are often misused by others. This can also be said about donkeys, who have much the same virtues and have suffered much the[Read More…]
Freedom fighters often face immense difficulties, all the more so if they are challenging the biggest imperial power in the world. This is precisely what Sufi Amba Prasad (1858-1917) did ever since his young days. In fact he took up this challenge not in one but in two countries—India and Iran—and finally died fighting for this cause in Shiraj ([Read More…]
He is not from the troubled, picturesque, paradise Valley. He is from Jammu. And soon, sooner than India or the world can imagine, Umran Malik, 22, the newest fast-bowling sensation, will play for India in the world stage. According to another opening batting legend, who has faced the best of fast bowlers during his hey-days, on fast-tracks, in foreign lands,[Read More…]
Exactly 40 years ago on May 3rd Rajni Patel left us. Whatever his flaws his human touch to offer selfless service and ability to galvanise or influence human beings from all walks of life, was remarkable. Few people would ever go out of the way to help someone or serve as selflessly without aim of personal gain.Rajni championed Nehruvian secular[Read More…]
A freedom fighter who was killed at the age of 45 in prison in the most cruel way, Sagarmal Gopa was one of those who dared to challenge the might of the cruel royal kingdoms which often operated in even more arbitrary ways than the main colonial government and provided hardly any avenues for dissent. Gopa stood up against such[Read More…]
by Thomas Klikauer and Meg Young Many people would quite correctly argue that the conceptual pair of “communication and capitalism” are more about capitalism than communication and the media. While the imperatives of capitalism carry on, the requirements of corporate media become ever more determining. More and more, the media – print, TV, online, etc. – define our lives from[Read More…]
Pawan Guru, Paani Pita, Mata Dharat Mahatt (Air is the guide, Water is the father, the earth is a mother)”. That’s the message of Guru Nanak, the founder of one of the most progressive and modern religions of the world. While everyone across the globe celebrated Earth Day recently, the idea of respecting nature was never alien to the followers[Read More…]
Marx regarded peasants as incapable of revolution, and it was the industrial proletariat that Marxists reposed their faith to defeat the Capitalist class in Europe. However, it was a different case in China because China was a semi-feudal, semi-colonial society during Mao’s time. China was an agrarian society. So, Mao took advantage of the large population of peasants and aroused[Read More…]
Dear Stan, It is your earthly birthday! You would have certainly felt embarrassed and even winced at the thought of anyone wishing you, leave alone celebrating your birthday today! In a style which has characterised you all your life here on earth – you would have shunned and even run away from the very idea of anyone attempting to organise[Read More…]
Fascist groupings and their associated policies of religio-fanaticism are in the ascendant throughout the world. While some are emerging from the political peripheries – slowly but steadily gaining traction on the terrain of ideological hegemony – some have already taken the reins of state power. India is no exception to this global trend. In this political context, April 22, 2022[Read More…]
(This tribute to Justice Rajinder Sachar had been written on his second death anniversary, 20 April 2020, and was published in several magazines/portals. The same has been reissued on the occasion of his fourth death anniversary, 20 April 2022.) The second death anniversary of Justice Rajinder Sachar falls on 20 April 2020. On this solemn occasion as we remember him[Read More…]
Prologue Some years back, I was visiting government schools in an eastern state of India, when the government official accompanying me said, “Let me take you to a SMART school, which is doing exceptionally well”. With much anticipation and apprehension (because I’ve already had experienced some SMART schools in other states), I agreed, and within half an hour’s drive we[Read More…]
Apathy!! Add that one to the list of: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. Sadly, the dumb down nature of our country lends for the nurturing of apathy. Travel through the supermarkets, Main Streets, malls and just about anywhere that Americans congregate and you can almost smell the foul odor of apathy. It seems that, with some exceptions,[Read More…]
The school in which I study has been harshly trumpeting the need to unthinkingly follow strict rules regarding hair. While boys have been ordered to keep their hair short, girls have been asked to plait their hair. These practices – prevalent in almost all schools in India – are highly problematic. First, the association of short hair with boys perpetuates[Read More…]
Long, long ago — a very clichéd way to start a narrative — but none the less, long ago, I remember there was a time when my grandfather would graft roses in his garden in Delhi. White and red were his favourite combination. Eventually, the roses would blend together to become a pink. Some would retain their shades distinctly, but[Read More…]
On 14th April we commemorate the 50th death anniversary of Student martyr, George Reddy who was slain by ABVP goondas.George virtually carved out a new epoch in the student movement. Today we need a George Reddy to be reborn to challenge our slavish educational system when Hindu Communal fascism, Brahmanical casteism consumerism and imperialism. We need to introspect the spiritual[Read More…]
A rapid increase in mental health problems has been reported by several studies among children and adolescents (roughly the age-group 7-17) in several rich countries, particularly during the last decade or so. Such a trend is visible even in studies that end in early or mid-2019, or before this, and hence entirely exclude any COVID impacts. At the same time,[Read More…]
A historic speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered even 55 years later as one of the most courageous speeches ever made. This speech stated those truths which no other leading political leader or even leading activist was willing to state in such a clear and sharp way. The reference here is of course to the speech delivered[Read More…]
For more terrestrially grounded people, writing about cricket can be seen as an exercise in distant planetary speculation. The Nobel laureate Harold Pinter did not think so, calling this old English game “the greatest thing that God ever created on earth.” Others might disagree with mild disgust, finding it archaic, jargon heavy and slow. In the early 1990s, one figure[Read More…]
Review of “Essay Competition” Sponsored by ‘Anti-Dowry Movement” BACKGROUND OF THE ESSAY COMPETITION This year An Inter collegiate Essay competition for College students across Maharashtra State was sponsored on 1st January 2022, by ‘Anti Dowry Movement’. It involved students from all Sr. Colleges (All Faculties) affiliated to most of the Universities in Maharashtra. Holding such competitions annually are regular[Read More…]
Reports of women joining far-right movements have vexed many feminist scholars across the world. Their presence in neo-fascist neo-Nazi movements raised many questions insofar as such movements tend to denigrate their basic rights. However, scholars agree that these are not new issues. There are studies that shed insights into how Italian women were cooped in the fascist programmes and how[Read More…]
On March 25 is observed the death anniversary of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, a great editor, a highly dedicated freedom fighter and a lifelong crusader for justice and freedom who sacrificed his life at a young age of 41 in 1931 while trying to stop communal violence and rescue trapped people. His death in Kanpur, the central place of his work[Read More…]
Mallu Swarajyam, a fighter of Telangana pesant armed struggle (1946-51 ) lived up to 91 years and breathed her last in Hyderabad on March 19, 2022. *** Her father wanted to name her Samrajyam in praise of British empire. Her mother Chokkamma thought in her own away, and gave an independent name, ‘Swarajyam,‘ (the self-rule). Those were the days[Read More…]
by Bharat Dogra, Jagmohan Singh and Madhu Dogra It is often said that those who excel brilliantly at a very young age or else make big sacrifices at such an age are inspired by close family members or relatives. This can be very clearly seen in the inspirational impact of several members of the extended family or joint family[Read More…]
I have just completed 50 years as an independent writer. This is no news for a world busy with big things, but democracy needs truly independent, unbiased journalists and in this context my experiences of five decades have some relevance. At the more obvious level, I could contribute about ten thousand articles/reports, and four hundred books and booklets in Hindi[Read More…]
This article owes nothing to philosopher Nietzsche except a faint echo of the title of his celebrated work,TWILIGHT OF THE GODS,suggesting a similar crisis and detour of European spiritual culture as its icons were getting brittle after reigning supreme for a century. Nietzsche promises to go to them with a hammer.I have no such pretensions.I am only referring to the[Read More…]
The Barefoot College, which has emerged as one of the most creative institutions in the field of rural development, discussed and admired at world level as a symbol of the often hidden but great abilities of ordinary people, particularly women and weaker sections, is completing 50 years of its eventful journey this year. Its experiences are important in the context[Read More…]
Is history being converted into a bomb factory? How does it promote the culture of hate? Does it fall us apart to embroil in violent communal skirmishes, riots and bloodshed? How can we differentiate between genuine and false histories? The answer to these questions is furnished by the following discourse. The truthful historical knowledge has become too scarce to be[Read More…]
The results of Term 1 exam of class X have been declared. As a student myself, I can intensely feel how the educational atmosphere is laden with the brute bulkiness of marks-mania. Toppers have got 100% marks, and this has naturally created an ugly scenario where each student’s worth is measured vis-à-vis this standard. While schools are garlanding the toppers[Read More…]
Ambedkar is a man of our times. From RSS to communists all are busy including Ambedkar in their programs. It is a fact that Ambedkar is more popular among Indian people now, than during his life times. Starting from Indian ruling class at the top to the working masses below, attention has been drawn towards Ambedkar. This is an anachronism.[Read More…]
‘Society does not consist of individuals, but express the sum of interrelations, the relationships within which this individual stand’- Karl Marx. The interrelation of individuals and the production process was defined by Karl Marx in his analysis of Superstructure. The industrial revolution and the state of the global economy during the 17th century incited Marx to give the analysis of[Read More…]
The place where I live in is predominantly a Bengali refugee area. It would be no exaggeration if one calls it a Bangal Para. Bengalis[Read More…]
“Everyone’s entitled to live their life as they want to”, there can be no truer words. These are the words of Margaret Gallagher, a woman who has lived all her life without the basic amenities of modern daily living, out of choice not necessity. Born on 26th January, 1942, Margaret is eighty years old, never married and lives in[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…]
Several students of mine on Saturday came to meet me. Since I stay near JNU, we decided to go to the campus. For those who may not know, I am teaching a paper on political science at Moti Lal Nehru College, University of Delhi. Please do not think that I am a permanent teacher. Nor am I an ad-hoc teacher.[Read More…]
Today ( Feb. 27 ) is 91st death anniversary of Azad While travelling in Uttar Pradesh I have often been struck by the extent to which people still become inspired and excited by the sheer mention of the name of a freedom fighter, legends of whose courage are spread[Read More…]
There were many women who sacrificed their lives in the freedom struggle. One of them is ‘Matangini Hazra’. She was born on 19th October 1870 in the village of Hogla in Midnapore district of East Bengal to a peasant family. Due to extreme poverty at home, she married Trilochan Hajra, Aged 62, when she was barely 12 years old. From[Read More…]
That academia which preaches justice is itself an unjust environment has been pointed out by some of the academia themselves (Kumar 2016, Guru 2002). The major complaint is that the marginalised do not get due recognition. I published a book in 2011 out of my PhD (Khora 2011). However, it has not been referred in academic writings in India in[Read More…]
The demise of two outstanding , organic intellectuals who served the cause of annihilation of caste and the destruction of capitalist system and highlighted a number of burning social problems in Tamil Nadu and the rest of the world passed largely unnoticed or ignored by the mainstream media , while activists in Dalit , Periyarist and Communist movements could pay[Read More…]
Yesterday, 22 February, was Kasturba Gandhi’s 78th death anniversary. Kasturba died in 1944 and at the time she was in prison, arrested on 9 August 1942, the first day of the “Quit India Movement”. Gandhiji had already been arrested the previous evening, and both of them along with some of their closest colleagues were imprisoned at the Agha Khan Palace[Read More…]
If you regularly drink water from plastic bottles, you’re likely ingesting even more plastic than the average consumer. We are no better protected from plasticized air outdoors than we are indoors. Minuscule plastic fibers, fragments, foam, and films are shed from plastic stuff and are perpetually floating into and free-falling down on us from the atmosphere. Rain flushes micro- and[Read More…]
With the re-opening of schools, there is a need for pedagogic support for students belonging to the marginalized sections to help them acquire linguistic, numerical, and cognitive competencies. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the contradiction between instrumentalism and morality as educational aims has reached the state of a full-blown crisis. This has percolated in the educational institutions as they[Read More…]
Well irrigated paddy fields and rich economy, as shown in Telugu cinemas come to one’s mind whenever there is any reference to East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh (AP) in India which are part of central coastal region of the state where canal irrigation and capitalism arrived earliest, thanks to a record 3.5 km long Dowlaiswaram[Read More…]
Debating on religion, culture, and nationalism is a challenging task in contemporary times. Given the multifarious dimensions of issues related to religion and nationalism, this has become extremely complex today, more than ever before in the history of philosophy. This is the theme of a special lecture by Italian philosopher Dr Sabrina Lei, Director, Tawasul International Centre for Publishing, Research[Read More…]
Veer Narayan Singh (1795-1857) is remembered today as a great freedom fighter of Chattisgarh and India who sacrificed his life fighting colonial rulers. A huge cricket stadium has been named after him in Chattisgarh, and this provides a convenient identity point with him to the youth. However there is more to his valiant life that we need to know and[Read More…]
by Prof Raashid Nehal & Zain Mohammad Sulaiman What do we understand about digital ethnography? Digital or Virtual Ethnography is using online digital resources and data for reporting and documentation often used by media professionals. Media professionals access different dimensions of online data done on different digital platforms such as making videos for YouTube or sharing photos on Internet services[Read More…]
A legacy of the freedom movement of India which remains extremely important not just for India but for all of South Asia relates to the enduring great importance of inter-faith harmony which is extremely important for peace, stability and prosperity of this region. A very important achievement of the freedom movement was that some of the greatest leaders, each of[Read More…]
by Thomas Klikauer and Meg Young In January 2022, the East-Germany city of Leipzig started to host an exhibition about the siblings of one of Germany’s greatest anti-war activists, working class speaker, theoretician of mass strike, and a struggling working class: Rosa Luxemburg. Yet, unlike her well-known political activist side, this new exhibition focuses on the much less known years of Luxemburg’s so-called “Polish life”. Almost to this[Read More…]
We need to be practical when it comes to politics, to work for policies that we can enact today, inadequate though they may be to answer calls for social justice and ecological sustainability. We also need to maintain a relentlessly radical analysis, to highlight the failures of systems and structures of power, aware that policies we might enact today won’t[Read More…]
Despite its pedigree as a fundamental element in civilization’s greatest stories, nostalgia has come to be associated with treacly sentimentality, defeatism, and spurious spiritual inclinations. Homer, Vergil, Dante, the Biblical writers, and their ilk would demur, of course, but they have been dead for a few years, so progress’s mantra urges us to get on with it. This is now.[Read More…]
On all counts 4 February 2019 was a memorable day for the world! On that day, Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayyib, met in Abu Dhabi, and together signed the historic and pathbreaking document entitled ‘Human fraternity for world peace and living together’. The document is one of the most comprehensive ones written in recent times.[Read More…]
I do not find Vijay Parshad’s idea of the place of the individual in socialism very convincing.Though I salute the strength and courage of his conviction in the world-wide fight against imperialism it does not seem he has spared much thought for this crucial question.This hesitancy and silence marked all previous revolutionary leaders with possible exception in Che Guevara.All of[Read More…]
Rich tributes paid to Mahatma Gandhi on his 74th death anniversary (January 30, 2022) are hardly suggestive of similar importance accorded to Gandhism. Undeniably, Gandhi is still remembered “ritualistically”, but little importance is accorded to Gandhism, particularly democratic values promoted by Mahatma in India as well as other democratic countries. Not surprisingly, key power holders are being literally lashed at[Read More…]
“Ahh, you know Aai what happened today”? I entered Home with excitement, threw my college bag and entered the kitchen. Mother was preparing Dinner. “Don’t you dare to come into the kitchen with shoes you idiot, go remove them”. Aai shouted at me. “Ooops, sorry, sorry”. I was really guilty as shoes were dirty due to rain and mud, moreover[Read More…]
Interviewing Vijay Prashad about the question of “What Should the Left do About China?” Transcript of the Anti-Empire Project’s Anti-Empire Radio Episode 101, recorded January 13, 2022. Justin Podur: Well, Vijay Prashad, welcome. Here we are. Vijay Prashad: Thanks. Great to be with you, Justin. Justin Podur: For the listeners who don’t know, Vijay is the director of the Tri[Read More…]
Prof Randhir Singh was a Marxist scholar, political theorist and teacher from India. He was one of the founders of the student movement in India in the 1930s and a freedom fighter who remained in jail during India’s freedom struggles in the 1940s. He was put in the same barrack in Lahore Central Jail where India’s foremost revolutionary Bhagat Singh[Read More…]
On January 11th we celebrated the birth centenary of the Marxist intellectual Randhir Singh. who perished on January 31st in2016.For 4 decades he served as a Lecturer of political science in Delhi University. Randhir Singh was an embodiment of Marxist scholasticism .With utmost consistency he exposed the autocratic nature of the Indian parliamentary democracy, the fatal consequences of globalisation from[Read More…]
On 22 January, 2022 a 106 years old Bandru Narsimhulu died in Hyderabad with a heart attack. Otherwise he was still active. When he was much active he entered into an agreement with Mahabub Nagar district Government hospital, to give his body for research use. On the very day of his death after his friends, political supporters and relatives saw[Read More…]
During 1917-1947 for three decades tens of millions of people in India, including a large number of women, were drawn towards a path of freedom struggle whose most non-negotiable precept was that of non-violence. This remains perhaps the biggest non-violent mobilization of people against injustice, which also had reasonable continuity over the longest period. This struggle against what was then[Read More…]
In the land of the ignorant. The dictionary defines ignorant as ‘ Lacking knowledge, information or awareness of a particular thing’ . It seems, regardless of the level of education obtained by many of my fellow citizens, we have always been a nation of ignorance. How far do you wish to go back? Let’s just go back to what myself and other baby boomers can perhaps recall, and[Read More…]
Solidarity reporting calls on journalists to push beyond reporting the easy soundbite from an official press release in order to do the work of representing people experiencing injustice. Imagine that a reporter is writing a story about your house, which has become practically unlivable. The reporter wants to understand the issues in the house, how it affects people who are[Read More…]
Is history an ocean of knowledge without shores? Is it a seamless fusion of interdisciplinary knowledge? How does it reach us and help us develop our perspectives of lived and living lifestyles? Why does it motivate us to integrate for common good? These are some important questions whose answers we shall try to seek through the following discussion. History is[Read More…]
Writing about sex in the year 2022 is not at all, like writing about sex in the late 1960s – the time of student revolution, and 1970s – the time of the sexual revolution. At that time, the air was charged with sexual curiosity. Women’s lives were changing at a fabulous rate and many engaged in the exploration of women’s[Read More…]
Some time ago, I met the daughter of a friend who has by now finished 2 years of college life without setting foot in the college campus. All this time the classes have been held online and just as she was looking forward to getting ready for offline college and making some friends, Omicron surfaced and things were back to[Read More…]
Co-authors: D Hanumanta Rao & MA Krishna Prof M. Radhakrishna, aged 80, passed away around 8.30 pm, January 21, 2022, at Hyderabad, in his residence. He had lung infections towards the end. The Eminent Computer Scientist-Teacher was fondly known as ‘RK Sir ’ by his students and colleagues. The above photo was taken when he was around 75. He was[Read More…]
These days there is a lot of enthusiasm in progressive liberal circles about the powerful presence of dissent in Indian traditional thought.Accompanied by head-shaking about the pernicious effect of Anglophilia and dominance of the Engish language in academic circles. Inordinately nettled at the saffron camp’s repression of liberal thinking in the name of pristine Indian tradition and at its hostile[Read More…]
In the death of Mr N.D. Patil on January 17 we have lost a dedicated, honest leader of the Peasants and Workers Party. His wife Saroj is the sister of Mr Sharad Pawar and the two leaders represent two contrasting approaches to politics. Mr Pawar, the leader of the Congress and then the National Congress party, in fact comes from[Read More…]
Long before intersectionality became a prevailing concept which helped delineate the relationship between various marginalized and oppressed groups, late South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu said it all in a few words and in a most inimitable style. “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together,” he said. Like other freedom and justice icons, Tutu[Read More…]
MLK day was observed on January 17 yesterday in the USA and many parts of world. Actually there was some confusion regarding the exact day as last year MLK day was observed on January 18 which is the date today. This confusion can be cleared by remembering that the MLK day is actually observed on the third Monday of January,[Read More…]
As Muslims are facing increased threat in several countries, like the unending public lynching and the recent open call for genocide by the Hindutwa militia in India, some sections of them are shrinking into their shells. Hijab or veil is one expression of this shrinking phenomena. This uniform, often black, lose covering over one’s dress, known as purdah in south[Read More…]
On this, as we approach the 77th Anniversary of the Defeat of Fascism, a small commemoration of my Father’s contribution as a Radio Operator in the Indian 8th Army in North Africa during 1944. The above picture is of my Father, who was a Radio Operator in the Indian 8th Army; slugging it out for the British Imperialists in a[Read More…]
Hrishikesh Mukherjee (1922-2006) is very widely, and fondly, remembered as one of the greatest directors, editors and story-tellers of Hindi cinema who also contributed in a smaller way to cinema of other languages. Leaving his career of teaching Maths to train under an editor of Bangla films predictably called Kenchi Da, he shifted to Hindi to learn from great masters[Read More…]
In early 2020, we saw the beginning of the COVID-19 ‘pandemic’. The world went into lockdown and even after lockdowns in various countries had been lifted, restrictions continued. Data now shows that lockdowns seemingly had limited if any positive impacts on the trajectory of COVID-19 and in 2022 the world – especially the poor – is paying an immense price[Read More…]
As we celebrate the birth anniversary (12th January) of the saffron robed monk who projected spirituality of Hinduism, the diversity and syncretic nature of India, it is very reassuring. His teachings are in total contrast to the present scenario, where many saffron robed are promoting hate and inciting violence in the name of same religion. Swami Vivekananda, the legend who[Read More…]
Quite recently, I have observed and spoken to dozens of people about the impact brought in by ongoing waves of recent pandemics in the name of Covid, Delta and Omicron. One must understand that the history of science demonstrates many more pandemics that took the toll of millions of people worldwide and in India. COVID-19 was a once-in-a-lifetime event that[Read More…]
Capitalistic Chasms and the Disenchanting Age A grotesque imagination of pluralism beholds a complex aura of experiencing diverse cultures, faiths, traditions, belief systems, existential principles, undercurrents of ideologies and imaginations. Excavating oneself through the convoluted layers of social relationships, interactions, organisations and realities can prove liberating as well as enslaving in manifold senses. Such concoctions of manoeuvred sociality and dogmatic[Read More…]
Was Mahatma Gandhi a Coward, Who Preached Non-violent Struggle Against the British Due to His Cowardice? India was attacked by Mahmud of Gazani in the 11th century. He attacked 17 times. The last time was in 1025. He robbed Somnath Mandir and carried its wealth to his own country. But none of the Hindu rulers could stop him. Later, Gori[Read More…]
“History begins in a barbarism of sense and ends in a barbarism of reflection,” says Italian Philosopher Giambattista Vico. Vico claimed that men ‘make’ their own history, and his claim had a different view of what ‘making’ means. When Dr. Abdel Latif Chalikandi—a Rome-based scholar, who serves as the Cultural Advisor, Tawasul Europe Centre for Research and Dialogue—was speaking on British Raj:[Read More…]
I have a confession to make. That I have been converted many times. From one faith to another to yet another, endlessly. And I simply love it. Sometimes I got converted through the power of a compelling idea, just by reading a wonderful book. Or watching a well-made movie or listening to a song (especially sung by Mohammad Rafi saheb).[Read More…]
Some peoples possess shamans to explain how the world works. We have charlatan economists and politicians posing as intellectuals who claim to be able to reveal the mystery of running society. The ideas of Marx did not arise out of thin air but were grew from the works of many others before him. But the purpose of this short essay is not to explore[Read More…]
When the British ordered the exclusive use of the Nagari script in school in 1880 to meet a Hindu demand in the state of Bihar, the Muslims howled. The Hindi-Urdu duel in the end exploded into Hindu-Muslim war. In free India, Hindi gained the national stature as a symbol of Hindu pride and spread nationwide like wildfire, partly thanks to[Read More…]
It has taken my slow brain a long time to figure it out but finally, as 2021 comes to an end, I have found a sure shot way of bringing about a social and political revolution in India. A transformation that will sweep away Indian society’s deep caste and class inequalities, deepen democracy and end the venal politics of hatred[Read More…]
Golden names like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu invariably surface on the mental canopy of world public when topics as human rights, liberation struggle, human freedom and the like, especially when those of the oppressed, suppressed, persecuted and downtrodden among coloured and black peoples go afloat. The last of the above noble souls left the[Read More…]
Photo Credit—Jan Swasthya Sahyog Recently when top Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan withdrew from surrogate advertising of smokeless tobacco (SLT), it was welcomed but with a caveat- some other popular film actors still continue to contribute to booming sales of a product that is the number one cause of a very serious oral cancer crisis in S.Asia. The Cigarettes and Other[Read More…]
This may sound either arrogant or forgetful, but I could not possibly remember the number of times I was in the same room or at the same protest as Desmond Tutu. And the main reason I know he was there is because I was there listening to him speak, often from a distance of not more than two meters or[Read More…]
“Oddly enough, it (potato) was introduced to the Himalayas by two Irishmen, captain Young of Dehra and Mussoorie and captain Kennedy of Simla, in the 1820s. The slopes of Young’s house, ‘Mullinger’, were known as his Potato Farm. Looking up old books, I was surprised to learn that the potato wasn’t known in India before the nineteenth century, and now[Read More…]
An era has ended with the passing away of an anti-apartheid hero on Sunday, December 26. Archbishop Desmond Tutu left us at the age of ninety. He was in the forefront of the struggle against brutal white minority rule in South Africa. A Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Tutu was famously known for his quotation; “If you are neutral in situations[Read More…]
By Shobha Shukla & Bobby Ramakant Covid pandemic is a grim reminder of what can go wrong when we do not work with an integrated “One Health” approach to human health, animal health, food system and climate. The critical link between these sectors, has only deepened over the years. But will our public health approach pass the litmus test of[Read More…]
It is a paradox—and a very worrying one too- that in the middle of overall high levels of prosperity the burden of mental health problems is very high in several rich countries and appears to be increasing in some important contexts. In the USA 1 in 4 adults suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year, according to[Read More…]
Comrade Raj Kishore left us at 2 in the morning on December 22nd in his village Champaran., battling illness since 2014.At time of death he was 89 years.He devoted his entire energy when alive into the liberation of the masses. Even a non Maoist or non Marxist liberal may admire his contribution towards serving the people. Tears literally flow in[Read More…]
” HAPPINESS AND WELLBEING INDICES There is an ever-growing number of research reports from global economists that go far beyond the limited metric of GDP to gauge nations’ overall happiness and wellbeing. These studies use somewhat different measurements (whether the strength of social connections or obesity rates), so rankings can vary—but this research is giving us a clearer, more meaningful[Read More…]
By Shobha Shukla & Bobby Ramakant Despite over 350 million people living with hepatitis B and C virus globally, and 3 persons dying every minute, much-needed efforts are yet to be on-track to end viral hepatitis in next 108 months (by 2030) as promised by heads of all countries in UN General Assembly (by adopting the Sustainable Development Goals). More[Read More…]
The current age is an age of absurdity. In the thesaurus, absurd is defined as “utterly or obviously senseless, illogical, or untrue; contrary to all reason or common sense; laughably foolish or false” (“absurd”). Unfortunately, one need not rely on a dictionary to point out the tension between the way one desires the world to appear and the harsh[Read More…]
Being neither a believer in gods or against believers, the existence of supernatural, gods and supernatural ultimately running the human affairs do not form part of my consciousness. Belief in supernatural also brings with it the division of this world and the other world. This world which is the human world is considered a ‘maya’ ‘an illusion’. Ultimate merging with[Read More…]
How did Islam reach the Subcontinent: through Socialization or Coercion; Trade or Invasion? It is a very important question which has a direct bearing on the social ecology in which people live their lives nowadays. It requires a fair and satisfactory answer to clear the doubts that have crept into the minds of many people owing to their not so[Read More…]
by Md Tabrez Alam & Md Afroz “Elders are not liabilities, they are asset. A Banyan tree not only survives but shelters many under it shadow to grow harmoniously” Introduction Ageing is a natural course of development and increasing longevity has wonderful human achievement. An active secure and healthy ageing population can present enormous contribution to the society. This demographic[Read More…]
Hi! I’m Aniketh Brian Madhok, an 18-year-old boy with a smiley face, little mischevious, fun loving and always polite with others. Living in the metropolitan city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. I am currently studying in 12th Standard and am about to take my Term-1 ISC exams. It has been a year since I have not paid any heed[Read More…]
by Thomas Klikauer & Meg Young Under the motto, “a different world is possible, a different economy is needed” – a German language magazine called Lunapark was born in 2008. It is dedicated to providing a much needed critique of the global economy. Perhaps as a pre-reflection of Glasgow’s 2021 Blah-Blah-Blah-COP26 PR-pageant, Germany’s failed environmental record is on stage, Lunapark started with the political economy on global warming.[Read More…]
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day is 12 December Stopping antimicrobial resistance by promoting infection prevention, responsible and appropriate use of antimicrobial medicines in human health, livestock and food systems, is the bedrock for promoting universal health coverage. Failing this, the absence of efficacious antimicrobials will effectively return the world to the pre-antibiotic era before the 1920s when lives were lost[Read More…]
by Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant #EndTobacco is an essential part of the bedrock for Universal Health Coverage Can we deliver on the promise of health for all unless we fix the gaping and widening punctures that are causing epidemic-proportion of preventable diseases and untimely deaths? No one needs to suffer from preventable illnesses or die from curable diseases. Tobacco[Read More…]
I was in PM Modi’s constituency witnessing some changes and listening to demands for changes- all for the better. I got a chance to attend a public dialogue on Front-of-Pack Labelling (FOPL). FOPL is similar to the warning labels in tobacco products informing the consumers what they are about to intake. Sub-optimal or poor nutrition is escalating diet related non[Read More…]
India’s responses to HIV/AIDS through the national AIDS Programme have been widely acclaimed as the most successful public health intervention in its history since the Independence. From 1992 onwards we have witnessed a concerted effort in all fronts to tackle the AIDS crisis in a radical manner by a participatory framing of health discourse and practice. An effective and active[Read More…]
When we know how to prevent HIV transmission, and how to keep every person living with HIV healthy, then how can one fathom deaths of at least 680,000 people due to AIDS-related illnesses in 2020 worldwide? And how can one explain, at least 1.5 million new HIV infections occurring globally in 2020? “Every new HIV infection is a reality check[Read More…]
The caste system in India has long been considered as “the most resilient and adaptive system of inequality and oppression ever invented, the most inhuman too, even excluding sections of people from the very domain of the human, of the moral and the spiritual, of sociality, fraternity, etc.” Joseph Tharamangalam, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Mount St. Vincent University[Read More…]
Poor diet is responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other risk factor, and is a leading cause of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Global estimates suggest that almost 2.3 billion children and adults are overweight. The growing availability of ultra-processed foods, which contain high levels of sugars, sodium, saturated fats and refined carbohydrates, is a key contributor[Read More…]
Hasan Azizul Huq (1939-2021), one of the leading Bangladeshi writers, passed away on 15 November 2021, leaving behind him an exceptional body of works. He was mainly a short story writer, but he also wrote three novels and many essays. His first book, Samudrer Swapna, Shiter Aranya, a collection of short stories, was published in 1964. Each volume he published[Read More…]
The 97th death anniversary of Abadi Banu Begum passed subduedly and unobtrusively, much like every other year in the past. Bi-Amma, which was the popular sobriquet bestowed upon her by comrades, was a stand out marvel of astonishing courage and patriotism in India’s independence saga. She broke the religious taboo for feminist activism to inspire thousands of Muslim women to take to[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey, Seema Muniz and Gopal Krishna Verma Some people are disheartened with the disruption in children’s education due to the menace of Covid and the successive lockdowns. While a number of children are getting used to attending online classes, their counterparts from the weaker socio-economic backgrounds continue to struggle either because of unfamiliarity with technology or because of [Read More…]
by Shobha Shukla, Bobby Ramakant When medicines become resistant, even curable diseases are at risk of becoming incurable Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to medicines. This makes common infections harder to treat and increases the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. That is why India and other[Read More…]
The following article on the life of President John F. Kennedy, and his assassination on this date, November 22, 1963, is the lead piece in the eighth issue of Garrison: The Journal of History and Deep Politics that has just been published: “The Political Assassinations of the 1960s.” From JFK, RFK, MLK, and Malcolm X, to Hammarskjold and Lumumba, the 1960s were[Read More…]
The Corona crisis was becoming more dangerous with every passing day. At that time, I was living in my dormitory in Moscow. I was planning to come to India in March 2020 to attend Holi. By the time I started to look for flights, the crisis had already changed travel policies. Two weeks quarantine upon arrival with very less clarity[Read More…]
It was Sunday, November 13 in 2016. We had gathered at Holland Park in Surrey to protest against the growing attacks on religious minorities and political dissidents in India under the current right wing Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi. The keynote speaker at the event held by Radical Desi was the visiting[Read More…]
by Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant Medicines which aim to relieve pain and suffering, may cure us of diseases and avert untimely deaths, are at increasing risk of becoming ineffective against disease-causing microbes. Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to medicines. This makes common infections harder to treat, more expensive to[Read More…]
November 19, Friday is Guru Nanak Jayanti. The great saints of Bhakti movement combined in their personality and work very precious aspects of social reform and deep spirituality. Their message of social reform was often much ahead of their times and the strength of deep spirituality was needed to take this forward. When confronting tyrants and oppressors Guru Nanak and[Read More…]
A two-day seminar cum webinar convened by the World Buddhist Culture Trust brought together a select group of academics and researchers as well as concerned citizens to discuss what is “human mind”, its descriptions as portrayed in various spiritual texts, its functions in tandem with other faculties and problems facing humanity. The elusive “mind”, it was noted, has been sought[Read More…]
The corona crisis has shown us a stark reality that was otherwise ignored for a long time. Our health systems and healthcare facilities are inadequate, overly expensive, and largely out of reach. When someone in our families falls sick then we get bothered about familial health. Running between doctors, pharmacies and pathologies our budgets get imbalanced, yet we do not[Read More…]
“The President’s been shot!” he shouted, clamoring his way down the stairs in the dorm. The upper-classman! I was making my way to the third floor, and he was rushing down, letting our small world know—startled, young faces peeping from behind closed doors, aghast and in wonder. I got to my room, and my 2 freshman roommates were staring[Read More…]
Mannu Bhandari, the eminent and popular Hindi writer is no more. She passed away on Monday November 15 at Gurugram, near Delhi, at the age of 90. Apart from her countless readers, she will be missed by many teachers and students, particularly those at Miranda House, Delhi University where she taught Hindi literature for a long time. She won early[Read More…]
As the pandemic has demonstrated, global supply chains with multiple dependencies are extremely fragile and collapse easily. This has been particularly the case for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), that has seen the prices of medicine skyrocketing. The need of the hour is not only to build alternative and localized supply chains which are also environmentally sustainable, but also to draw[Read More…]
Rarely is the pragmatist admired. Be it in policy or politics, such a figure induces suspicion, a concern that principles will have to be subordinated to broader goals. True dreamers and visionaries, for all their glaring faults, can take the accolades; the pragmatists can be given lower pegging. These differences have proven stark with the late FW de Klerk, South[Read More…]
When Surya Sen sacrificed his life at the age of only 40 for the freedom of India in 1934, he had already succeeded in inspiring a very large number of youth to devote their life to the freedom movement. Although he had been subjected to extremely painful torture before being hanged on 12 January, he was completely unwavering in his[Read More…]
Born 1949 June 1 – Died on 2021 Sep 29 Com.P.Suryanarayana, President, Organisation for Protection of Democratic Rights-OPDR, Andhra Pradesh (AP). Nearly 25 leaders of Girijan, rural poor, teachers, and other organisations paid rich and revolutionary tributes to Com.PSN in an inspiring meeting to pay homage to him held on 10th October 2021 in Srikakulam and that indicates[Read More…]
For most of civilization physical labor, that labor which creates a tangible object, has been seen as an unfortunate task done merely for the sake of acquiring the necessaries of life. The Greeks and Romans in large part relegated this sort of work to slaves. The Middle Ages tell stories of kings, philosophers, theologians, and priests, but not of workers.[Read More…]
S N Subbarao is no more, born in Karnataka, he breathed his last in Jaipur (Rajasthan), Jaura (Madhya Pradesh) became the spectator of his last rites and then his ashes were flown into the river at Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh). The passing away of this soldier of peace and goodwill, popularly known as Bhaiji, at the age of 92, was like[Read More…]
Is it not a paradox if a preventable, diagnosable, treatable, and curable disease becomes a top killer? Till Covid-19 struck our world, Tuberculosis (TB) – a disease that can be prevented, diagnosed and treated – was the most deadly infectious disease worldwide. Covid-19 pandemic has also adversely impacted the fight against TB, as well as other diseases. Not surprisingly, the[Read More…]
Eminent Gandhian S.N.Subba Rao is no more. He breathed his last at the age of 92 in Jaipur on October 27. He will be remembered by countless people for spreading the message of justice, peace and non-violence for over seven decades, but above all he will be remembered by those who had the cherished the experience of attending his youth[Read More…]
“General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that education is the foundation of a century-old plan. It is hoped that the People’s Education Press will focus on the fundamental task of fostering morality, adhere to the correct political direction, carry forward the fine traditions, promote reforms and innovations, and create excellent teaching materials with Bacon casting soul, enlightening wisdom, and making new[Read More…]
The global (and largest) lung health conference opened with not one but at least three major scientific announcements. The 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health was marked with the announcement of three major scientific developments that can potentially impact the global response to tuberculosis (TB), the world’s second deadliest infectious disease after Covid-19. Researchers from the University of Cape[Read More…]
“Vexilla regis prodeunt Inferni” – Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy: The Inferno Try to look ahead and see if you can see what’s been coming for decades. Try to climb higher and see the beautiful things that Heaven bears, where we came forth, and once more see the stars and raise a banner of resistance to the King of Hell and[Read More…]
With the advent of the Black Lives Matter movement, together with the emergence of Critical Race Theory, the spotlight has once again been shone on the heinous institution that was slavery and its aftermath, racial discrimination. Could anything be worse than a system in which a human being becomes the property of another, to do with as the slave owner[Read More…]
On 27th September we commemorated the 10th death anniversary of the late playwright Gursharan Singh.Punjab has never witnessed a revolutionary theatre activist who has penetrated the soul of the Punjabi masses in such depth Be it in the era of the Naxalbari uprising, the Emergency, the Khalistani movement or period of Globalization, he kept the flag of revolutionary resistance afloat[Read More…]
Terror, terrorism, terrorists Terror is the emotion of “extreme fear” caused by the threat or use of violence. Terror is also an instrument to cause fear, “a weapon of the impotent, the disenfranchised and the unorganized in the face of profound grievance“. Causing extreme fear using the instrument of terror are both age-old. However, only in recent times has terrorism[Read More…]
On September 26th, we commemorated the 35th martyrdom anniversary of Comrade Baldev Singh Mann, who succumbed after waging a valiant battle against the Khalistani terrorism. On the night of 26th September he fell to the bullets of the Khalistani Commando force. He was the Amritsar district secretary of the C.P.I. (M.L) Chandra Pulla Reddy group. and editor of party magazine[Read More…]
All parts and aspects of life have been occupied by capitals. This is the broader picture. This is one of the facts from reality that composes context of life of people in almost all lands. This is one of the brutal facts that dominate people in exploitative societies. The dominance is so much powerful and so much shrewd that the[Read More…]
A cultural transmission or meme is an element of culture (e.g., a perception, value or belief) that is copied and spread virally from one individual to another among people who find favor in their contents. Cultures generate memes. Thanks to science, a culture presents us with many memes that are reality oriented or based upon objective, compelling evidence. But other memes that are deluded are also promulgated. From a[Read More…]
A picture containing text, person, person, suit Description automatically generatedOne year and 10 months ago when first case of corona virus was reported in Wuhan, China, entire world was terrified because no one knew if we have any medicine that will work against it. Possibly our worst fears came true and we witnessed the horrendous impact of the pandemic. One[Read More…]
“True religion is a revolutionary force: it is an inveterate enemy of oppression, privilege, and injustice.” Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (Justice, Diversity, Enemy) Many philosophers, writers, thinkers and critics have, over the centuries, handed down a wealth of writings and speeches on life and its existence. From Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, etc., to modern thinkers like Marx, Engels, Lenin, Rosa Luxembourg, Mao, everyone[Read More…]
Pankaj Pushkar in conversation with Pramod Ranjan Pankaj Pushar: What has been your relationship with languages during your educational journey? How do you relate to different languages? Which language(s) do you use in your different activities? Pramod Ranjan: I was born into a family which spoke the Magahi language. I spent my childhood at my maternal grandparents’ place. My Nana’s[Read More…]
Together the two, on both sides of the Himalayas, is a vast mass of land with almost half of the world population, huge resources, wide varieties of ecologies, agro-ecological and climate zones, and rich with by-gone civilizations fossilized in history. Mountain ranges stand high between them. But the uniformity that once put them on the same plane is exploitative systems[Read More…]
When I was young, Helen was supposed to be a sex bomb in Hindi films. She played the role of vamp. But then, there were also others for the vamp roles. So, she stuck to her dancing roles. She was a good dancer. I still cannot understand why she was considered as a sex bomb. Perhaps, for the mainstream audience,[Read More…]
It is indeed a breakthrough scientific achievement that we Diagram Description automatically generated with medium confidencenow have the first-ever and only malaria vaccine to prevent malaria in children. This is an important (and long-awaited) addition to existing range of scientifically proven effective methods to prevent malaria. While we celebrate this moment of yet another milestone scientific feat we must remind[Read More…]
There was a time when time was time and space and speed had some human meaning, for people lived within the limits of the natural world of which they were a part. As Albert Camus said, “In our madness, we push back the eternal limits, and at once dark Furies swoop down upon us to destroy.” The destruction is now[Read More…]
To celebrate 152 Jayanti of Mahatma Gandhi, most of the political parties from the Left to Right (barring a section of Ambedkarites) including secular parties are busy in celebrating Gandhi’s Jayanti with much compassion and commitment. In this respect, civil society and public intellectuals have written several articles in the newspapers and posted messages on social media to express their[Read More…]
A whiff of fresh air caresses my cheekbones as I see the leaves sway periodically from right to left. My eyes search in both the direction of the road to look at the cycles pass by whilst absorbing the warmth of the sun for the first time in days. The scent of wildflowers fills the air as I walk my[Read More…]
73 years after his death, Mahatma Gandhi and his messages continue to be remembered in the context of many possible solutions for problems of a deeply troubled world. His birthday October 2 is a time for events in his memory in many parts of world, a time also for re-emphasizing his key precept of non-violence as a way of life.[Read More…]
On the occasion of 152nd Gandhi Jayanti, 2nd October 2021, in tandem with Azadi ka Amrut Maha Utsav launched on the 75th Independence Day what thoughts flood our hearts as we survey happenings and events in the country and the plight of humanity. On the one hand is the “India of My Dreams” that Mahatma Gandhi had expressed and[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…]
Economic ideas of Mahatma Gandhi are most remembered for his emphasis on village self-reliance, a far cry from globalization. Despite this, as his birth anniversary is observed on October 2, a world troubled by many discontents of globalization may find it useful to consult Gandhian ideas for reducing them and getting some clues to important reforms as well. Mahatma Gandhi[Read More…]
While the European Union votes to phase out animal research, the United States wants more. In the last two years, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has invested nearly $29 million to breed more monkeys for biomedical research, with an additional $7.5 million to be spent by October. The investments, which include infrastructure improvements at the U.S. National Primate Research[Read More…]
On 22 September 2020, André Vltchek, quietly passed away – on a night-ride from the Black Sea in Turkey to Istanbul, accompanied by his wife, Rossie. He just fell asleep in the back seat of a chauffeur-driven car and didn’t wake up. His legacy is diverse, heavy in substance and revealing – revealing about the world, about the dark forces[Read More…]
At world level an increasing number of eminent doctors have been expressing anguish since the advent of COVID-19 that that they are under increasing pressure to work only in the narrow confines of what is imposed from above, and when they they try to act on the basis of the best of their judgment then they face undue opposition and[Read More…]
In an increasingly convoluted world of religions and cultures, it is imperative to develop and foster social harmony so as to meet the challenges posed by diversity. Recognizing religious diversity and differences is quite important today, and it is quite significant that all religions sustain and reinforce mutual understanding and empathy through dialogue. They also have an obligation to uphold[Read More…]
Diminishing return as a concept- Unmixed blessing is a rarity. It is difficult to find in social science a concept that takes care of everything. The notion of intersectionality is one such case. It is supposed to be an advancement over social stratification categories like race, caste, class, gender. However, if we look closely, we can see that it has[Read More…]
September 28 is the 113th birth anniversary of the most loved and remembered freedom fighter of India Shahid Bhagat Singh. It is also the 30th death anniversary of Shahid Shankar Guha Niyogi. Subhash Chandra Bose while broadcasting his message to people of India from his Azad Hind Fauz camps had referred to Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of Nation ([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…]
October 2, this year,is not only observed as the birthday of Gandhi, it is also a World Ostomy Day. Ostomy is an artificial opening during operation in the organ of the body such as a colostomy, ileostomy or gastrostomy , a stoma. Ostomy surgery is a life saving procedure that allows bodily waste pass through a surgically created stoma on[Read More…]
Kamla Bhasin, who passed away in wee hours of Saturday, was a social scientist, development professional, poet, author and a stalwart of women’s movement in India and South Asia who advocated gender equality in every walk of life. Throughout her life she has been[Read More…]
Kamla Bhasin passed away in the early hours today ( September 25 2021) at the age of 75. She will be remembered by many people and several organizations in South Asia (and elsewhere) to whom she reached out at several levels with many-sided contributions. She made valuable and original contributions to feminist thinking and theory, particularly in the context of[Read More…]
By October 5, 2021 English language life in India is 204 years. For the last few years the celebration of Indian English Day on that day is catching up. Ever since the first English medium school started in the then Calcutta in 1817 on October 5, India never allowed that language to die. It has been growing and growing not[Read More…]
On September 9th the world commemorated the 45th death anniversary of Chairman Mao Tse Tung. His spirit virtually engulfed the entire globe penetrating the hearts of the opressed masses in depth unparalleled by any political leader. His path breaking experiments defined a new epoch in mankind. The era is still that of Lenin’s or that of Imperialism but is Mao[Read More…]
Many parts of the world observed today, September 22, as the international car-free day, a day for freedom and safety for pedestrians. The United Nations has supported priority for pedestrians. But the Indian government is busy encouraging cars, it has just announced a productivity linked incentive (PLI) scheme to subsidise the industry to the tune of thousands of crores of[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…]
Comrade Gananath Patro contributed more to sowing the seeds of the mass revolutionary movement in Orissa, than any comrade. He sacrificed many a lucrative career to serve the people. Few comrades were ever as down to earth or simple, or as astute in how to tackle specific situations. Till his last breath he strived to sharpen the sword of mass[Read More…]
A report released recently by NCD Alliance during the Annual Global Week for Action on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), calls for integration of NCDs prevention and care into global health initiatives and universal health coverage. Jointly produced by the George Institute for Global Health and NCD Alliance, the report makes a call for breaking down the existing silos in global health,[Read More…]
India has suffered for a long time from significant levels of malnutrition and hunger. It is very important to give high priority to rducing this. Unfortunately, some fiercely propagated solutions such as mandatory fortification of staple food products and promotion of GM crops are motivated more by promotion of big business interests than by actual reduction of malnutrition. In fact[Read More…]
The Covid pandemic has hard drilled the lesson why health and social security of each one of us is inter-dependent on health and social security of one another. But do we see more equity (or inequity) in the Covid response, such as the rollout of the vaccination worldwide? Inequitable distribution of vaccine, diagnostics, oxygen, personnel protective equipment, and other necessary[Read More…]
On July 6th this year, we commemorated the 45th death anniversary of Marshall Chu Teh.,Few Comrades ever so creatively applied the military line of chairman Mao or illustrated the spiritual metamorphosis within a revolutionary as Chu.. His name will be permanently enshrined amongst the heroes of the Chinese Revolution. and great military or Communists in world history. Today his spirit[Read More…]
Earlier this year on 13th March, we commemorated the 50th death anniversary of Comrade Sushital Roy Chowdhury,,who died in mysterious circumstances in 1971. Formally he is declared to have died out of heart attack. Few comrades as valiantly waged a crusade to confront left adventurism fostered by the C.P.I.(ML)led by Charu Mazumdar and establish the massline.Sadly even today sections of[Read More…]
Chairman Gonzalo or Abimael Guzman is no more. His was not a natural death but an assassination by the Peruvian state. Exactly 29 years ago on September 12th he was captured by the Peruvian police and placed in the Callao prison.Inspite of a sustained worldwide campaign to demand his release, the Peruvian state kept him entrenched within the jail walls.[Read More…]
On 13th September we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Lin Biao,due to a plane crash in 1971 , when allegedly attempting to flee to the Soviet Union. Lin is one of the most controversial or complex and impactful characters of the Communist Movement. Few leaders more befitted the role of a Dr Jekyll and a Mr Hyde.[Read More…]
The death of dreams was considered the most dangerous. Avtar Singh Sandhu ‘Pash’ was a supporter of expressed socio-political freedom. Pash is known as the poet who composed his revolutionary poems and questioned the system. Pash started writing poetry at an early age. By the time the Khalistani movement in Punjab reached its peak, he was opposed to the movement[Read More…]
Keshav Desiraju, India’s former health secretary who made a lasting contribution to public health in India, breathed his last on September 5. He died from ‘acute coronary syndrome’. He inherited the scholarly legacy of his grandfather, India’s much-admired second President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and contributed at least two very important books which reflected the diversity of his interests. He will be[Read More…]
Gail Omvedt was a towering figure in the social sciences in India for decades. Author of over 25 books and a series of well-received columns for the Hindu of yesteryears, she was also an incisive and insightful analyst of Indian society, and a grounded grassroots activist as well. Despite being born and educated in the US, she made India her[Read More…]
Tricontinental published their “One Hundred Years of the Communist Movement in India” on September 1, 2020 [1]. We are dealing with it only snappily. From here one can learn what may be called a ‘left’ way to rewrite history of the ‘communist’ movement; a ‘left way’, that is certainly different rom a ‘communist’ way – where the ‘left’ stands for decent[Read More…]
Around a month on August 5th, ago we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Saroj Dutta,which was landmark or black day in the history of the Indian Communist movement. Whatever his gross errors as a Marxist revolutionary, his spirit will shimmer for ever like a lotus in full bloom, in the annals of the Indian Communist Movement. Without[Read More…]
Com. Ramnath left us a few days ago at the age of 83. He suffered a heart attack and passed away in his sleep early in the morning of August 31st. He was unwell for the last several years but his health had deteriorated severely recently. Without doubt he played an integral role in the history of the Indian Communist[Read More…]
Kerala has given birth to many women achievers in the last century. This is a quick analysis based on case studies of three women achievers, from the areas of science, politics, and law. Though these three achievers are selected purposively and there could be some possibility of a selection bias, this analysis offers some key insights. ANNA MANI (23 August[Read More…]
On April 12th earlier this year the Communist revolutionary movement commemorated the 12th death anniversary of veteran Comrade Gundahar Murmu. He passed away leaving his wife, four daughters, son, relatives and comrades but his memories will be embedded forever in the revolutionary movement like an inextinguishable red light shimmering. Few comrades ever from West Bengal staged such an invaluable crusade[Read More…]
Recently, I was involved in a discussion about the things we do and do not teach our children. I’ve already said quite a bit on this subject. But after talking with a few other people about education, and especially secondary education, I realized I approached the subject from the assumption that the purpose of school is to train the mind in skills[Read More…]
On December 6th, 1988, Comrade Purushottam Pali left us. Without doubt he was one of the most defining and inspiring comrades in the work of the Indian Communist movement in the tribal regions. Few comrades in the forests India illuminated the spark of liberation or shimmered the spark of Marxism-Leninism Mao thought, at the scale of Comrade Pali. Throughout his[Read More…]
Amid chaotic politics and anti-immigrant and refugee sentiments, Stadio Olimpico in Rome seemed like an oasis of social and cultural harmony. AS Roma and Raja Casablanca fans gathered in their thousands on a hot Saturday evening to cheer for their teams in a friendly match, the first in the Olimpico for nearly a year and a half. The guest team is a[Read More…]
Earlier this year on 10th February the civil liberties movement or democratic rights movement commemorated the birth centenary of Comrade KVSN Prasad Rao,,who at the time of his death was the president of the Organization for Protection for Democratic Rights(OPDR).He perished due to accidental injuries on 10th October ,1986.His contribution will shimmer forever in the annals of the civil liberties[Read More…]
It was in 2009 I got a chance to meet this veteran artist and visionary who spend his life to fulfilment till the end, Dr.Vayala Vasudevan Pillai. One evening Jean was asked to do a video shoot of Thayambaka of Mattannur Sankarankutty at the Vighneswara temple in Vazhuthacaud and since he wanted assistance, he asked me to join him. We[Read More…]
On 23rd August, we commemorated the 34th death anniversary of Samar Sen, one of the most creative and dynamic persons in Indian history. His writings and poems had the subtle touch which geniuses possess traversing almost surreal regions. What was most pertinent is how he formulated the path he wished to take and how in each juncture, he confronted the[Read More…]
Rational thinking and scientific truths will have disastrous consequences sometimes where authoritarian state and irrational society turn into serious enemies. The All India Peoples Science Network, a network of over 40 Peoples Science Movements, has declared August 20 as the National Scientific Temper Day. The reason is lack of reasoned thinking. Greek philosopher Socrates was given death sentence, which he[Read More…]
Tripta Lahiri’s book “ Maid in India” on what it means to be a domestic help in an average middle or upper class Indian households is a surprisingly accurate one. It does not paint a binary black and white picture – maids good and noble and employers all evil and cruel. It presents a balanced picture of the benevolent and[Read More…]
Dr.Gail Omvedt, (81) one of the greatest scholars on caste studies passed away on 24 August 2021 evening in her village Kesegaon Maharashtra. She has pioneered caste studies having come as a student from America and settled down in India in the 1970s. She later married Bharat Patankar a Marxists scholar, activist; both of them lived in his village all[Read More…]
Gail Omvedt is no more. She passed away today i.e. 25th August, 2021 in Kasegaon. On August 18th, I went to see her along with my dear friend Rahul Nirmal. Her condition was deteriorating and her partner Mr Bharat Patankar was doing everything to serve her at their ancestral house in Kasegaon, Maharasthra where Gail and Bharat decided to live[Read More…]
The killing of Socrates left a stain on the fabric of Athenian society, a stain it nearly expanded 80 years later with similar threats of impiety towards an Aristotle determined not to let Athens “sin twice against philosophy.”[i] This original sin against philosophy has been immortalized in philosophy classrooms for millenniums to come – turning for philosophy[Read More…]
In 1988 on August 22nd, I became the 16th Indian to swim the English Channel and in this work I am summing up the challenge involved and how its experience or training for it has so many similarities with that of a the life of a Marxist or social revolutionary. Few challenges are as daunting as swimming the English Channel.[Read More…]
Religious revival and highly charged conflicts in a shrinking world make it difficult for people of competing faiths to live together. Fundamentalists of all creeds exhibit a striking commonality; an inability to think rationally. Menachem Begin bombed the King Edward Hotel in Jerusalem 1945, communal riots in Jabalpur India in 1961, religious riots in Beirut in 1983, Babri[Read More…]
Vidya Bhushan Rawat speaks to Mr Raj Mohan, lyricist, singer and musician in Sarnami Bhojpuri Rootlessness is a serious crisis of the current generation as most enjoy the gated life styles surrounded by ‘gazettes and ‘connectivity’ where any guest is unwelcome and you are lost in the virtual world without ever caring or even thinking of your neighbours or near[Read More…]
“A house constitutes a body of images that give mankind proofs or illusions of stability.” – Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space There is a vast and growing gulf between the world’s rich and poor. An obscene gulf. If we can read houses, they will confirm this. They offer a visible lesson in social class. Houses stand before us like books[Read More…]
It was a Marathi Book- (Einsteinche Manovishv) – by Dr. Mo. Ra. Gunye, Research Scientist from Bhaba Atomic Research Centre in his Book (513 pages, studded with 18 Chapters a masterpiece of Literature as well), appropriately summarizes Value of Albert Einstein’s contributions in his Book, (Psychological Universe of Einstein- 1997) which prompted me to write Einstein’s Life Journey, though I[Read More…]
Trepan Singh Chauhan, a great activist-author of Uttarakhand, left us last year (2020) on August 13, leaving behind a rich legacy of activism and writings that will serve as a source of inspiration for a long time. He died when he was only 48, and during his potentially most productive years he suffered from serious health problems and from the[Read More…]
The Statesman, May 2 1908: “The Railway station was crowded to see the boy. A mere boy of 18 or 19 years old, who looked quite determined. He came out of a first class compartment and walked all the way to phaeton, kept for him outside, like a cheerful boy who knows no anxiety… on taking his seat the boy[Read More…]
On behalf of myself and of Federation of Independent Trade Unions-FITU, I wish to place on record our whole-hearted and deep condolences at the demise of Com. Vilas Sonawane, a dedicated and respected leader and activist of several people’s movements in India, particularly in the state of Maharashtra. Com.Vilas was of 69 years age, was suffering from parkinsonism and some[Read More…]
Recently I watched a film with the title “ Project Marathwada”. The story is about an old farmer from Nandurbar , a small town in Maharashtra. He wants to meet the Chief Minister. His son has recently committed suicide due to mounting debt and so have so many other farmers in the area. He is unable to meet the Chief[Read More…]
A Short Profile of A Muslim Freedom Fighter — Maqbool Ahmed Jamaie India attained its independence on 15th of August, 1947 from British colonialism due to the combined and united efforts of all the communities of Indian sub-continent irrespective of their numbers – bigger or smaller — Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others. The known Muslim Poet-philosopher of the sub-continent,[Read More…]
Art- loving people of Bangladesh, and many other parts of the world, will recall the memory of the famous artist Sheikh Mohammad Sultan, popularly known at SM Sultan marking his 97th anniversary of birth. Narail district administration and SM Sultan Foundation have jointly taken programmes to mark the day. The programmes include Quaran Khani, placing floral wreaths at the grave[Read More…]
Some of the most hearwarming memories of the recent Olympic Games for India will remain of sportspersons from humble backgrounds overcoming very heavy odds to perform very well at the biggest international sports event. Whether their hard work and perseverence resulted in medals or not, the great effort they put in won widespread admiration. The most obvious example is that[Read More…]
Recent scientific advancements have brought to the fore the promise of more effective and long-term solutions to help people living with HIV to thrive and not just survive. Today we have a buffet of HIV prevention options (such as, oral daily PrEP, once-a-month vaginal dapivirine ring for women, 2-monthly long-acting injectable) along with a bouquet of improved treatment modalities (monthly[Read More…]
Padma Sachdev, a great writer and upholder of human values, breathed her last at Mumbai on August 4 at the age of 81. She leaves behind her husband, Surinder Singh, a great singer of the famous Singh Bandhu duo, and daughter Meeta Sachdev. Several eminent persons including Karan Singh and Lata Mangeshkar, with whom she shared a very afffectionate and[Read More…]
Poems for Lenin. That was the title of a collection of poems written by Satish Kalsekar, noted Marathi poet, in 1977. His passing way on July 24 is a great loss for the Left movement and literature at the national level because he built bridges with writers from other languages. His death was widely mourned with tributes flowing in from[Read More…]
Canons of Character from Shambhu Chandra Vidyaratna’s Vidyasagar Jeevan-Charit O Bhramaniras (This is part II of a 2-part article on one of the leading figures of the 19th-century Bengal renaissance- the scholar, educationist, humanitarian and social reformer, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. (Read Part I ) The translations presented here, and possible future installments are episodic excerpts extracted from the biographical text[Read More…]
I would like to be seen as someone who is down to earth, caring and kind. Just one among the people who values humans in their struggles through life and stands for justice. Hence the ideas of success which try to show lives of successful people cut off from the rest of society makes little meaning for me. Living a[Read More…]
Premier Zhou En Lai was one of the greatest revolutionary leaders and Marxists of all time. A month ago we commemorated his 45th death anniversary. It is hard to envisage how a person so embedded in mandarin background could pull out of its clutches to tread the life of a proletarian revolutionary. No Comrade so firmly stood by Chairman Mao[Read More…]
The passing away of Comrade Vilas Sonawane today is a huge loss to Dalit- OBC-Pasmanda movement all over the country. He was one of the very few who were extremely articulate and well read on the issue. Apart from that, his own experience of working with Communist Party of India (Marxist) gave him enough understanding of what ails our socio-political[Read More…]
Vasantada Ramalingachari,was one of the major leaders of the Srikakulam Girijan Movement. and a central Commitee member of the Communist Party Re-Organization Centre of India(Marxist-Leninist) Although martyred 16 years ago in 2003 on November 24th his memories are still embedded in many a comrade’s mind ,like a red light shimmering within it. .In-spite of belonging to such a humble background[Read More…]
A few days ago, I happened to visit an ATM to withdraw some cash. The ATM was located in a busy marketplace and in a narrow space between two shops. The machine had to be reached by climbing a short flight of steps. At the glass fronted entrance there was a notice which referred to a Reserve Bank circular advising[Read More…]
Unpacking Social Disruption Social disruption is a radical change, and it will result in a breakdown of social life. Often it happens suddenly. An example of a change that is not social disruption is the transition of ‘family’ from ‘joint family system’ to ‘nuclear family system’. Since it is a gradual change, people get sufficient time to adapt and continue their lives[Read More…]
August 1, 2021, was the 13th death anniversary of comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet. Born into a Bassi Jat family in the Punjabi village of Bundala on March 23, 1916, Surjeet began his revolutionary career influenced by the socialist revolutionary Bhagat Singh. In 1930 – at the age of 15 – he joined Bhagat’s Naujawan Bharat Sabha. On the first anniversary[Read More…]
World Pest Day is also known as World Pest Awareness Day, is celebrated on June 6 every year. The day is dedicated to spreading awareness of pest management among people around the world. The first World Pest Day was celebrated on June 6, 2017, at Beijing Hotel, China. The explorer of this day was the Chinese Pest Control Association. It[Read More…]
Capitalism is deeply unjust. It is a system under which labour power has itself become a commodity and is bought and sold on the market like any other object of exchange. A condition of neo-slavery like this has been historically presupposed by the concentration of ownership of means of production in the hands of a minority class and the consequent[Read More…]
It was 40 years ago when the first case of HIV infection was diagnosed. Since then, 77.5 million people have been infected with the virus and 34 million people have died from AIDS-related causes. While a lot has been achieved in terms of providing lifesaving antiretroviral treatment to save lives, we still lost 690,000 people living with HIV to AIDS-related[Read More…]
Cricket writer and former cricket correspondent of ‘The Times’ John Woodcock left us a few days ago, just on the verge of turning 95 in August. It is hard to describe the magnitude of affection cricketers, writers and enthusiasts of the game expressed for him. The game truly lost an ornament. In his schooldays he revealed adept skill in games[Read More…]
Today the cricket world celebrates the 85th birthday of arguably the greatest cricketer ever, Sir Garfield Aubrun Sobers. His arrival on the cricket field was the equivalent of a prophet arriving, as though God had sent him to play cricket. None took all-round cricketing genius to such superlative heights. Sobers simply transcended or explored realms noone ever touched in the[Read More…]
Both Comrades died in July, and widely remembered on the occasion. This article is published to mark the occasion of com TN’s death on July 28, 1976. DV Rao died in 1984 July. DV Rao wrote several memorial articles on TN, bringing out some aspects of his life and work. Both TN and DV Rao were renowned communist revolutionary leaders[Read More…]
Great strides have been made in HIV prevention, treatment and care, since the first case of the viral infection was reported 40 years ago. Thanks to the untiring efforts of the HIV community, activists, and medical fraternity, 74% (27.5 million) of the 37.7 million people living with HIV are able to access the lifesaving antiretroviral therapy today. But the governments’[Read More…]
This is another conversation with Thiru K Veermani which was recorded at Periyar Thidal, Chennai at the headquarters of Dravidar Kajhgam on November 1st, 2019. K Veeramani : Interview Part II Watch Part I of the Interview Thiru K Veeramani is the ideological disciple of EVR Periyar and one of the senior most leaders of the Dravidian movement at the[Read More…]
Recently I had the opportunity to watch the Hindi film adaptation of Jaywant Dalvi’s famous Marathi play “ Sandhya Chhaya”. Set in the Mumbai (then Bombay) of the 1970s, it deals with the challenges of empty nesters. The play has just two characters – an elderly couple ( endearingly called “nana” and “nani”) who live in a large but empty[Read More…]
On July 24th, 2008 Comrade Arvind left us, after a sudden illness. Today we commemorate Arvind’s 13th death anniversary. It is a travesty that the movement was robbed of one of it’s most creative exponents. His life was reminiscent of Lotus blooming in full, radiating the spirit of revolution. .Although he left us so early the revered comrade crystallised the[Read More…]
A recent peer reviewed study by the Environmental Working Group (USA) has made an important addition to the growing number of warnings by experts regarding the high possibility of risks from radiofrequency radiation emitted by wireless devices including cell-phones and tablets. This study, published in Environmental Health journal, has made an important plea for revising the highly outdated health[Read More…]
Today the cricket world celebrates the 40th anniversary of arguably the best ever spell by a fast bowler in the 4th innings of a test match. Late Bob Willis took spirit of resilience or combative spirit, to regions rarely traversed in sport. In the 4th test at Leeds versus Australia. Willis’s spell of 8-43 in the 2nd innings at Leeds[Read More…]
Today is the 42nd martyrdom day of Student leader Prithipal Singh Randhawa .No Student leader in the history of India ever galvanized forces or crystallised or set guidelines of the mass line practice in student movement, in the magnitude of Prithipal.Exactly 42 years ago he was murdered by goons of the Akali Dal party. Few mass leaders ever better grasped[Read More…]
Social Movements are long lasting and more effective way to bring changes in society : K Veeramani Mr K. Veeramani, is perhaps the senior most of the leaders of revolutionary Periyar E.V.Ramasamy’s Dravidian movement. He was groomed by Periyar since childhood. Born on December 2nd, 1933, he was inducted in the Dravidian movement under the leadership of EVR Periyar since[Read More…]
Three Worlds Theory, Mao, Deng, and DV Rao’s views Mao and Deng. Theirs was an association of 50 years, Deng being the General Secretary of CCP most of the time. Two-line struggle was part of CCP’s legacy. They never differed on TWT. This is part-2 of an article published on the occasion of death anniversary of com DV Rao. Part-1[Read More…]
Today we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the greatest test match ever in the history of Cricket, which had one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of sport. The 3rd test at Leeds from July 17-22 in 1981, between England and Australia was the equivalent of a Hollywood classic or epic novel. There could be rarely instances in the[Read More…]
Dear Authors and Readers of Countercurrents, You may all know Sheshu Babu an author for CC for long time. Most of our old authors may have received at least one thoughtful comment from him. In the early days, he used to read all CC articles and post a thoughtful comment for each article. Then one day, another CC author Emily[Read More…]
Canons of Character from Shambhu Chandra Vidyaratna’s Vidyasagar Jeevan-Charit O Bhramaniras Part I [Translator’s commentary: There were two central pillars at the front end of the nineteenth century Bengal Renaissance and the social reformation movement, a cultural re-awakening considered a direct consequence of the English colonial establishment then on the rise in Bengal and gradually elsewhere in India. On the[Read More…]
Humans started building cities four thousand years ago, in Mesopotamia, then in Egypt, China, India. 1. Complexities of life arose, Myth of Cain, Ziggurat, Tower of Bavel. Human empowerment led to diminution of gods, Other gods emerged, Marduk, Chinese Pangu, Vedic gods, Adonis of Greece. 2. Axial age was the beginning of organized religions-Confucian, Tao, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mid-Eastern Monotheism,[Read More…]
S. N. Nagarajan passed away in Chennai on 24 May morning. He was ninety-five years old, but intellectually active right to the end. Popularly known as SN (Sathyamangalam Nagarajan) his circle of friends was vast and varied. His role in popularising Marxist philosophy and political ideology among the people is widely recognised in Thamizhakam. He was a prolific writer in[Read More…]
Tragically former test cricketer Yashpal Sharma expired on Tuesday morning, suffering from a cardiac arrest. The cricket world mourns the death of this great servant to Indian cricket. He emboldened the spirit of the game at it’s utmost depth, with great reserves of courage and concentration. He may not have been the most talented, but was an epitome of determination,[Read More…]
by Paritosh Singh, Akash Singh & Ashish Kumar Singh Abstract Vehicle parking is a major problem in urban areas in both developed and developing countries. Following the rapid increase of car ownership, many cities are suffering from lacking of car parking areas with imbalance between parking supply and demand which can be considered the initial reason for metropolis parking problems.[Read More…]
It’s been raining incessantly for three days. It is a cool early morning in the beginning of July and I have just made a cup of coffee. Now an electrical power outage has occurred and so I am sitting in a rocking chair in the semi-darkness savoring my coffee and feeling thankful that I made it in time. I have[Read More…]
More than 70 people died from lightning strikes on a single day July 12 2021 in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. This is not an isolated case but reflects an overall rising trend in lightning incidents and mortality. On June 7 in West Bengal 27 lightning deaths were reported. Last year (2020) between June 25 and[Read More…]
Comrade DV Rao, key leader of Telangana People’s Armed Struggle(1946-51). He is remembered on his death anniversary today. *** Even as the China Communist Party (CCP or CPC) celebrated its centenary (1921-2021 July 1), there is a shrill campaign against it in the global media, and even by some Leftist parties and their media. Many attribute it to post-Mao developments[Read More…]
The never ending queues outside the clinics, jam packed hospitals, and the backlogs of the surgeries, this is the typical scene outside any hospital in India. In order for a nation to conquer any health emergency and to avoid such situations to crop up in future, the first and foremost heed should be paid to the healthcare personnel. India’s frail[Read More…]
Today we commemorate the 37th death anniversary of legendary Comrade Devulapalli Venkatestwara Rao or DV. Arguably DV was the greatest Indian Communist leader ever. No Comrade on theoretical plane contributed as much to stitch the thread or pave the path of mass line, integrating Mao Tse Tung thought with the peculiarities of the Indian conditions. In the manner of a[Read More…]
Dear Darapuriji, Thank you for forwarding to me the charming piece of Dr. Bhagwan Das about his initial encounters with Dr. Ambedkar. The account has such endearing aura about both the persons. As I read it, memories welled up and I recalled the first opportunity I had of seeing Dr. Ambedkar at close quarters and even putting a question or[Read More…]
Many accounts of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 have concentrated more on the later glorious phase when victory of the Bangladesh liberation fighters and the Indian forces fighting in close cooperation with each other was achieved, or was close to being achieved. This glorious and well-deserved victory should not , however, lead us to neglecting the fact that victory[Read More…]
The British materialist philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is one of the fathers of social contract theory and modern political philosophy. His magnus opus – Leviathan[i] – is a text which á la Plato’s Republic covers a wide breadth of subjects from epistemology, science, religion, and moral and political philosophy. However, his text is most widely remembered for its monarchism-endorsing political[Read More…]
July 6, 2021, was the 114th birth anniversary of Frida Kahlo – a revolutionary painter and socialist. Today, she has been fetishized, commodified and sanitized: her self-portraits and photographs stare out from T-shirts, calendars, fashion magazines and jewelry; her unique personality is used to sell everything – from Barbie dolls to cosmetics box sets. Kahlo’s present-day status as a global[Read More…]
It’s a workplace truism employers don’t want to hear, especially today when trying to make up lost production time from pandemic lockdowns by raising shifts to 10 to 16 hours. Yet employee fatigue has always been known to be counterproductive, expensive, and can either result in lifetime job-related injuries or death. The worst of such long-hour, fatigue-related global accidents to[Read More…]
“On the morning of September 11, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld ran to the fire at the Pentagon to assist the wounded and ensure the safety of survivors,” expressed a mournful George W. Bush in a statement. “For the next five years, he was in steady service as a wartime secretary of defense – a duty he carried out with strength, skill,[Read More…]
On June 28, the Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that only those who have received two doses of vaccines will be permitted entry into theatres, multiplexes, coaching centres, and colleges. A few days before, on June 24, the Gujarat High Court granted temporary relief to an IAF officer who received a show-cause notice from Indian Air Force over[Read More…]
Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark- Rabindranath Tagore Whenever the thought of Kabiguru crosses my mind, a shade of white illuminates my thoughts, a white which is as pure as the pearl lying in its shell waiting to be uncovered in an unknown sea. It is a well-known fact that white is[Read More…]
Ambedkar found a peculiar charm and magnetism in the appellation Bharat. He had named one of his weeklies Bahishkrit Bharat. The name of his printing press was Bharat Bhushan Printing Press. His fight for temple entry and his battle for codifying the Hindu laws speak volumes for his inner struggle. You might believe the conversion of Lord Halifax, but not[Read More…]
South Asians have a long and honorable history of migration. They took to the high seas for adventure or to escape political persecution for daring to challenge foreign rule. A substantial number left their homes to seek a better future, as the countries of their birth had suffered from plunder at the hands of colonists. Colonial rulers transported a great[Read More…]
Courage is not having the strength to go on-it is going on when you do not have strength. —Napoleon Bonaparte Drug addiction among youth is alarmingly rampant these days. This drug addiction is destroying not only their physical health but also the vitals of psychological health. The reasons why people get addicted to drugs are countless. But the most explicit[Read More…]
June 24 marks the birth anniversary of a revolutionary poet and saint whose rebellious rhymes will always remain relevant. Kabir was born to a Muslim family of weavers in Varanasi, India in 1398. He denounced orthodoxy of both Islam and Hinduism, and was highly critical of blind faith and the brutal caste system within Hindu society. He grew up as[Read More…]
Today we commemorate the 25th death anniversary of Comrade Nimmala Krishna Murthy who till his last breath was a crusader for the massline and liberation of the Adivasis..Inspite of baring all the adversities or twists and turns with the courage of a soldier and skill of an architect he carved out his course of struggle. At the time of his[Read More…]
Veteran Hindi author and editor Ramesh Upadhyaya passed away recently at the age of 79 in Delhi. His contributions to Hindi literature and journalism as well as education spread over more than five decades were invaluable. He received several awards including the prestigious Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Award. His perspective was that of a left-oriented thinker with deep commitments to social[Read More…]
By Ch SN Murthy and Dr S. Jatin Kumar We are grieved to learn and inform the sad news that Com. PS Hochimin ( 51) died June 17 morning in Thrissur, Kerala. He fell sick some weeks ago, his friend reported, subsequently tested Covid positive, developed complications, hospitalized, and died. His last rites were conducted as per Covid protocol. We[Read More…]
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration ignored the advice of its own expert advisory committee and approved the first new treatment for Alzheimer’s in 18 years. Called Aduhelm, it carries a substantial risk of painful brain swelling and bleeding, requires monthly infusions, and comes with an eye-popping list price of $56,000 per year. These caveats might be fine if[Read More…]
Ajmer Singh Aulakh was one of the most creative and impactful writers and playwrights in the history of the revolutionary movement on Punjab or India, whose mark will live forever. Sadly 4 years ago .on June 15th he left us, after suffering from a prolonged period with Cancer. His name will permanently illuminate in the annals of revolutionary artists, like[Read More…]
PBL: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach him how to catch a fish and he will never go hungry”. This simple quote emphasizes the key tenet of education – providing people with the means to succeed in their future endeavours. But does our education system fulfil the basic needs of the people? The[Read More…]
Karl Marx’s 1859 preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy[i] represents one of the clearest reflections of the development of his and Engels’ thought. In what amounts to a short four and a half pages, Marx concisely exhibits the resulting conclusions of more than two decades worth of studies – from his first encounter with the economic[Read More…]
Today is the 12th death anniversary of legendary Comrade Harbhajan Singh Sohi.Comrade Harbhajan Sohi or HBS was one of the greatest comrades to have ever dipped his feet in the history of the Indian Communist Movement. No comrade was a greater protagonist of the mass line in the last 4 decades after the death of T.Nagi Reddy.He had mastery over[Read More…]
“To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge” (Nicolaus Copernicus). Socratic knowledge in its true essence is neither any teaching in the conventional sense of world nor about filling the empty minds of largely passive students with facts and figures acquired through mugging[Read More…]
Today on June 14th we celebrate the 93rd birthday of the legendary Che Guevera.He carves a permanent niche amongst the great revolutionaries and crusaders for the liberation of man. Che may be no longer with us but his spirit is not dead and buried and still sparkles in a most subtle manner. In many areas of the world today Che’s[Read More…]
The global scene is deeply disturbing. The wealth of billionaires is increasing even as the starvation-scarred world cries for help; astronomical surges in inequality are pushing an ever greater number of people into a state of pure deprivation; the repressive powers of capitalist states all over the world are being steadily strengthened to silence the growing disquiet in streets and[Read More…]
Adjectives such as intolerant, rigid, and incompatible are often associated with Islam. It has been part of usual propaganda carried without context, with vested political motives, and half-baked assertions. It is more viewed in the west and an increasing number of other places as a religion more inclined towards violence and critical of modern civilization. Many authors have argued in[Read More…]
Earlier this year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the entry of Greg Chappell into the arena of International cricket which was against England at Perth in February in 1971. Ironically he scored a century in his debut after coming in with his side in a precarious position of 107 for the loss of five wickets. From the very word[Read More…]
Very sadly our beloved comrade Vira Sathidar left us recently at the age of 61 on April 13th due to covid illness.Ironically he expired on the very date of the historic Jallianawalla Bagh massacre. I can’t express how bereaved it made so many around feel or my personal affection for him. One of the liveliest and most positive comrades within[Read More…]
The present state of Muslims in India and elsewhere in the world is so beautifully captured in the following poignant words of one of the most celebrated contemporary Muslim intellectuals, Ziauddin Sardar in one of his books: “Muslims are sundered, divided and factional within, as much as they cherish a sense of superiority over other societies that they lack within[Read More…]
Without doubt Dilip Vengsarkar is one of the finest batsmen ever to have graced a cricket field. This week we commemorate the feat of Dilip Vengsarkar becoming the 1st overseas batsman ever to score three consecutive centuries in test matches at Lords. It is a landmark that would inscribe a permanent place in the museum of cricket. We also coincidentally[Read More…]
Comrade Satnam or Gurmeet Singh was one of the most original thinkers in the ranks of the democratic revolutionary movement. Rarely in recent times could we meet a human being with such a degree of intelligence or sensitivity. I met him first in December in 2015 in Patiala, staying a night at his place. He was inactive politically being compelled[Read More…]
The pandemic- tobacco is killing around 40 lakh people every year in India alone, while corona killed 3.29 lakh only so far from first and second waves. There was an interesting question before Supreme Court, whether a person has a right to die. That led to another question whether ‘life’ includes ‘death’. What is life? The line between two dots[Read More…]
Today we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Imran stepping his first foot into the arena of test cricket, at Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham.It was reminiscent of Amitabh Bacchan flashing on the Hindi film screen for the first time, where he hardly even looked a shadow of his later self. It would have been very hard for anyone to gauge[Read More…]
In June 1971, exactly 50 years ago at Edgbaston cricket ground at Birmingham in England, the bespectacled Zaheer Abbas gave the first flash of his illustrious cricketing career .His monumental 274 was amongst cricket’s classics taking aestheticism to regions of the sublime. For nine hours, ten minutes spectators were virtually put into a trance witnessing the glorious strokes all around