Mainstream Weekly

Most recent articles

• After Fiftyone Years

  24 September, by SC
  EDITORIAL
  Fiftyone years ago, in September 1965, Pakistan had gone to war with India with the purpose of annexing the Kashmir Valley by force. This happened barely sixteen months after the demise of our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who  (...)

• Murder of Democracy in Arunachal Pradesh

  24 September
  by V. Bijukumar
  Politics in Arunachal Pradesh assumed a new turn in the context of the mass migration of Congress MLAs, including its Chief Minister Prema Khandu, to the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), a regional outfit set up with the  (...)

• A Flashpoint in South Asia?

  24 September
  by L.K. Sharma
  Pakistan and India are engaged in a war of words at the highest level. Unusually provo-cative statements have been made by the two Prime Ministers. The area of contest and conflict has been widened. The TV channels in the two  (...)

• Standstill In The Valley: Both Separatists and the Centre have a Lot to Answer For

  24 September, by Badri Raina
  The way to you-know-where, they say, is paved with good intentions. After the results of the last Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were in hand, it seemed a logical assumption to the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed that joining with the BJP  (...)

• Intifada in Kashmir

  24 September
  by Mustafa Khan
  The Kashmir problem cannot be addressed unless you address Pakistan, says Dr Madhav Godbole.1 The Kashmir problem is a quandary but new grounds seem to be broken. Sitaram Yechury, who called on Geelani but could not meet him,  (...)

• Kashmir and Conscience

  24 September, by Nikhil Chakravartty
  From N.C.’s Writings
  In the brochures and posters of Indian tourism, Kashmir still figures with its enchanting attractions. In reality, however, the picturesque Valley of Kashmir is becoming out of bounds for the peace-loving citizens of this  (...)

• Scene of Linguistic Chauvinism

  24 September, by Kuldip Nayar
  The horrors of partition came to my mind when I saw television beaming pictures of rioting and killing in Bengaluru. It was the same way I felt when partition took place and we, the people living in the newly-constituted state of Pakistan, had  (...)

• Share Water, but also Share Responsibility for Protecting River

  24 September, by Bharat Dogra
  COMMUNICATION
  Whether in the context of the Cauvery river or the Narmada river or other rivers, so much time and effort has been spent on the sharing of the river waters. Isn’t it time now to devote more time and effort to the sharing of  (...)

• Id in Kashmir, Problem of Survival in Mewat

  24 September, by Humra Quraishi
  MUSINGS
  Perhaps, for the first time in the recent history of Kashmir, curfew was imposed in the Kashmir Valley on Id. To compound the situation, connectivity snapped, if it was not hugely disrupted. The masses in the Valley cannot get over the  (...)

• Mahasweta’s Last Wish Remained Unfulfilled

  24 September
  TRIBUTE
  by Chandrasekhar Bhattacharjee
  It was a scorching summer noon of mid-April, 2010. Mahasweta Devi landed at Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi, from Delhi after receiving the Manavata Bikash Award, conferred by the IIPM. She was trying to find a  (...)

Mainstream Weekly

• About Mainstream
• Archives (2006 on)
• 2015

Most recent articles

• Primary Task Today

  26 December 2015, by SC
  EDITORIAL
  As the year comes to an end with Mainstream entering its fiftyfourth year, one is reminded of what was written in these very columns a year ago.
  Surveying the political scenario of the nation at the end of 2014, it was noted in this journal’s Annual Number last year:
  Seven months ago the outcome of the 16th Lok Sabha elections resulted in a political earthquake the tremors of which are still being felt even if the intensity of those tremors has lessened with the passage of time. (...)

• Time to Rally / Insanity Enthroned / Wanted: Statesmanship of Highest Order / Ayodhya and Hindu-Muslim Unity

  26 December 2015, by Nikhil Chakravartty
  From N.C.’s Writings
  Time to Rally
  There is nothing unusual for a nation with complex problems to face to go through difficult times, and a great nations like ours with myriads of problems to clear can hardly be expected to enjoy all the time an even tenor of development. Challenges are inevitable for it to encounter, and as it overcomes them, it comes across new heights to climb in its journey ahead.
  What is being witnessed today in our country is, however, much more serious and (...)

• Building the Idea of India

  26 December 2015, by Irfan Habib
  The following is based on a lecture delivered by the author, a renowned historian, to the students of the Aligarh Muslim University at the AMU’s Kennedy Hall on September 7, 2015. The author has himself edited the text of the lecture’s transcript and sent it to us for publication.
  Young Friends,
  In the preliminary remarks here it was said that the concept of India is a growing one, and I, therefore, propose to discuss how the concept of India arose, how it developed and how India became a (...)

• Hindutva {Juggernaut on Roll: Beef-eaters to be out of Indian Nationhood

  26 December 2015, by Shamsul Islam
  The Hindutva propounder, V.D. Savarkar, in his book, Hindutva (1923), and the prominent ideologue of the RSS, M.S. Golwalkar, in his book, We or Our Nationhood Defined (1939), kept Indian Muslims and Christians out of Indian nationhood. According to their definitions, only Hindus could be part of the Indian nation (which was an exclusive Hindu nation) as they only had Aryan racial lineage, in their veins Hindu blood ran, they spoke the Sanskrit language, their ‘Fatherland’ (motherland (...)

• All Well for Now — And How

  26 December 2015, by Badri Raina
  When I spoke of the historical inevitability of the Constitution of India some months ago (see “Republic Resilient”), in contradistinction to inevitability of another kind that we have been taught to expect—namely, the demise of Capitalism at the hands of its own progeny—I could have had little idea that events would rush with such emphasis to prove me right. The crushing assertion of the sensible, secular vote in the Bihar elections—which must go down as watershed in the history of Independent (...)

• Sangh Proposes, Modi Disposes

  26 December 2015
  by Arun Srivastava
  It was soothing to the ears that the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, praising Jawaharlal Nehru, was reaching out to the Congress leaders, adopting a conciliatory attitude towards the opponents, emphasising “if there is any incident of atrocity against anybody, it is a blot on all of us for the society as well as the nation” and asserting that no Indian needed to prove her/his patriotism.
  Listening to the speech on the floor of the Lok Sabha it appeared that the person, who (...)

• India: Roller-Coastering Democracy

  26 December 2015
  by L.K. Sharma
  Those who have seen the Indian Prime Minister’s irresistible rise in politics and heard his inflammatory rhetoric over the years, were astounded by his speech in Parliament. Short of quoting from the Bible, Narendra Modi sought to convey to his opponents that his “idea of India” was no different than theirs! And it is this very “idea of India” over which the two sides have been battling with each other. Modi’s critics would not believe the new convert, but his few conciliatory (...)

• From Bihar to Assam: Understanding and Predicting BJP’s Election Strategies in Upcoming Assam Elections

  26 December 2015
  by Aejaz Ahmad and M. Rafiq Wani
  Introduction
  The story of religious invocation and incantation in politics is as old as modernity itself. While modernity was supposed to release what is now called ‘modern politics’, of all the parochial traditions that had fused religion and politics into one interdependent system for several centuries, it could not bring the presumed transformations in the developing world for several reasons. Instead, it opened up new avenues wherein the parochial (...)

• Yemen Fighting Causing Disaster

  26 December 2015, by Harish Chandola
  A bigger tragedy than that of Syria is taking place in the small, poor Middle-East country of Yemen, which is being constantly bombed by a coalition of nine countries led by Saudi Arabia, fighting on behalf of Yemen’s deposed govern-ment. Over 6000 civilians have been killed in the bombing and its people are now fleeing to Somalia, across the Gulf of Aden. From across the Red Sea are arriving fierce Sudanese soldiers to fight the Yemenis. The devastated country is facing starvation because (...)

• Fear of War rising in Europe

  26 December 2015, by Apratim Mukarji
  The author was recently in Italy and Greece, the two European countries most affected by the refugee-migrant influx. Here he shares his experiences and impressions of the visit with our readers.—Editor
  In late-November, anti-war rallies were criss-crossing squares and avenues in European cities waving placards and banners and calling for peace and amity. The day Turkey brought down a Russian jet (November 24), the fear of an impending war spilled over and peace activists, academics and (...)

• Most recent articles

  • A Christmas Story in the Modi Era

    26 December 2015, by John Dayal
    Last year, the then brand new government of India declared 25th December to be Good Governance Day in honour of Atal Behari Vajpayee, a bachelor activist of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a founder of the Jana Sangh and its successor, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the first of the Swayamsevaks to become the Prime Minister of India from 1998 to 2004. Twentyfifth December is also Christmas, celebrated across the world, and also in India where over 27 million Christians live. Christmas (...)

  • Partition Museum sans Britain

    26 December 2015, by Kuldip Nayar
    I liked the idea of a Museum on Partition. There was a lot of enthusiasm for it. But I find to my horror that the Partition Museum would be a branch of the British Museum, which would also supervise it. The whole purpose is defeated because the British are the ones to blame for the partition that resulted in the killing of one million people and uprooting of thrice that number.
    The partition was a parting kick by the British before they quit. They drew the line on the basis of religion (...)

  • A Mountain of Darkness surrounds Disappearance of the Koh-i-Noor from India

    26 December 2015, by A K Biswas
    COMMUNICATION
    This is a mystery of history. Veteran columnist and author Kuldip Nayar want us to believe that the Koh-i-Noor ”belongs to them (British) and that Lord Dalhousie fraudulently took it away from Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s son, Dilip Singh, a minor then during the British rule”. [‘Claims over Kohinoor’ in Mainstream, Vol LIII, No 49, New Delhi, November 28, 2015] In various capacities, for example, as journalist, Member of Parliament and High Commissioner of India to UK, he has been in (...)

  • In Paris Summit Rich West evaded responsibility for Global Warming

    26 December 2015, by Soma S. Marla
    The 21st Conference of Parties (or CoP 21) has just ended. Signed by negotiators from nearly 200 countries a legal agreement has set ambitious goals to limit temperature rises and hold govern-ments to account for reaching those targets. Perhaps the goal of 1.5° C is a big leap from the 2° C agreed six years ago at the Copenhagen Summit and also for the first time rich countries, rising economies and some of the poorest countries have agreed to work together to curb emissions. Rich countries (...)

  • Global Warming: After Paris, What?

    26 December 2015
    by Binoy Viswam
    Finally the world has come to an agreement in Paris. It was the outcome of intense negotiations for two weeks, with representatives of 190 countries attempting to find ways and means to face the challenge of global warming. The Paris agreement undoubtedly is a step forward in rescuing humanity from a climate catastrophe. But, there are ambiguities still revolving on the climate agreement. The world will have to witness further debates focused around the interpretation and (...)

  • Bullet Trains: A Costly Toy India Can Ill Afford

    26 December 2015, by Barun Das Gupta
    As part of his overall policy to counter China in the Indian Ocean region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widening and deepening Indo-Japanese cooperation. It spans a wide area, from defence to nuclear power generation; from high-speed rail corridors to information and communication technology and electronics. The first of the high-speed railway corridors that will come up will be from Ahmedabad to Mumbai—a distance of 505 kms. The bullet trains on this line are expected to run at an (...)

  • Land and People: 1894 To 2015

    26 December 2015, by S G Vombatkere
    Control over Land
    Land is a non-renewable resource. Along with water, it is essential for survival of human and non-human species. It is not merely a source of food and livelihood for the food-producers, but also a socio-cultural basis of life, especially in India, where “bhoomi” is sacred, along with rivers. Land and water are two of the “panchamahabhutas”, the five fundamentals of life itself.
    The British politically unified India and brought central laws to India at a time when India was (...)

  • Hunger and Distress Peak towards Alarming Levels in Bundelkhand

    26 December 2015, by Bharat Dogra
    While hunger, deprivation, mass distress and migration have been widely reported from Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh in recent years, this year has seen the peaking of these distress conditions. Adverse weather conditions have worsened due to official neglect and apathy. If urgent steps to check the fast deteriorating conditions are not taken imme-diately, the situation will get out of hand within a few weeks resulting in avoidable loss of precious human lives. In addition many farm (...)

  • Democratic Decentralisation in J&K: Gender and Political Change

    26 December 2015
    by Gull Wani and Effat Yasmin
    Introduction
    The democratic renewal globally has created opportunities for more decentralisation of economic and political power. Panchayati Raj Institutions or democratic decentralisation is the development of the reciprocal relationship between the Central Government and local governments and between local governments and the citizens. Decentra-lisation has been helpful in the process of democratisation of polities and societies. In India, since 2005-06 the (...)

  • Candidly Baring out the Stark Realities of Kashmir

    26 December 2015, by Humra Quraishi
    BOOK REVIEW
    The Many Faces of Kashmiri Nationalism—From the Cold War to the Present Day by Nandita Haksar; Speaking Tiger, New Delhi; 2015; pages: 335; Price: Rs 350.
    The Many Faces Of Kashmiri Nationalism— From The Cold War To The Present Day (Speaking Tiger) is Nandita Haksar’s latest book and, perhaps, the most significant. It not just captures the very historical backgrounders to Kashmiri nationalism but in that process also throws open the dark realities of the prevailing situation. (...)