With transcendent wisdom, this spring’s student uprising has rejected conformity as a lethal anesthetic while the horrors continue in Gaza. Leaders of the most powerful American institutions want to continue as usual, as if official participation in genocide were no particular cause for alarm. Instead, young people have dared to lead the way, insisting that… Read More War Culture Hates the Ethical Passion of the Young
Will Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s walk out of Tihar Central Jail prove to be as historic as Babu Jagjivan Ram and H N Bahuguna’s walk away from Indira Gandhi’s Congress after she lifted the Emergency and announced elections? That day, February 3, 1977, a strong signal went out that Indira Gandhi could be defeated. Bharat… Read More Straws in the Wind: Kejriwal’s bail and Modi’s meltdown
My voting life began in a republic deformed by the Emergency and Mrs Gandhi’s experiments in communalism. Her party’s complicity in the pogrom of Sikhs created precedents that changed the republic forever Mukul Kesavan I’ve lived continuously in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency for the last sixty years. My parents were employed by the government… Read More Election memories
1. Panel Discussion in Hindi on Job creation. Bahujan Samvad, May 10. It is at: https://youtu.be/YGt-Qky0HBk?si=eg9uavfTAzqHt1jm 2. Interview in Hindi on economy and volatility in stock market. TV6 May 10. It is at: https://www.youtube.com/live/bAHK-Ewp4A4?si=N3LWTpr9sccubz6J 3. Article on Direct Tax data points to growing inequality. Businessline May 9. It is at: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/direct-tax-collections-reflect-disparities/article68158293.ece 4. Indian Economy’s performance in the last 10 years. Mainstream, May 4. It is at: http://mainstreamweekly.net/article14564.html Its Hindi translation appeared in Samayik Varta Magazine,… Read More Arun Kumar: Articles, talks & discussions on aspects of the economy
From 20 to 26 May 2024, groups and individuals from different parts of the world will meet in Prague to coordinate anti-war activities as part of the Week of Action. The series of events will also include an anti-war congress, which will take place from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 May 2024. Campaigns, direct actions, projects,… Read More ANTI-WAR CONGRESS. PRAGUE, 24 to 26 May 2024 / References from Faridabad Majdoor Samachar
NB: The title of this post is inspired by a lecture on Gandhi’s ideal of resistance to oppression, delivered by my old friend Professor Bhagwan Josh. Please find below some words of advice to student protestors in the context of the global resistance to genocide. They are also relevant to all of us who resist… Read More Stand Up, Say No
BOOKS IMAGE & SOUND: Editor’s Picks: **************************************************
First posted August 29, 2013 Robespierre Edited by Colin Haydon and William DoyleReviewed by Hilary Mantell In the two years following the taking of the Bastille, he pursued an impeccably liberal and far-sighted agenda. He spoke for manhood suffrage and against a property qualification for voters; against slavery; in support of civil rights for Jews; against capital punishment; and… Read More Hilary Mantell: Springtime for Robespierre
GAZA casualties, live statistics Odeh Bisharat Sometimes I wonder why we don’t see demonstrations in American against Russians because of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, or why we don’t see demonstrations against Chinese because of China’s designs on Taiwan. The first thing that comes to me, and this of course is a partial answer, is that… Read More Israel Has Become a Burden to the Jewish People
Corporate business financing of politics in India goes back decades. The court ruling on the electoral bonds scheme is not going to end this business-politics nexus. We can only hope that the nexus can be nudged in the direction of greater transparency so that voters can make more informed choices. JAGDEEP S. CHHOKARThe recent judgement of the… Read More Corporate Business and the Financing of Political Parties
After the truth-shower 