South African activist Ela Gandhi asks world to condemn the US attack on Venezuela / Wall Street Goons Look To STEAL Venezuelan Oil

“Can the world stand by and allow such aggression to continue?” Southasia Peace (Sapan) and Sapan News BOSTON: Invoking her grandfather Mahatma Gandhi‘s words “I want world sympathy in this battle of right against might,” Ela Gandhi in South Africa has issued a statement on the U.S. attack on Venezuela, in her capacity as Chairperson Gandhi Development… Read More South African activist Ela Gandhi asks world to condemn the US attack on Venezuela / Wall Street Goons Look To STEAL Venezuelan Oil

They Questioned India–Israel Ties. Now the trolls want to destroy their lives

NB: In India today, a section of opinion considers any criticism of Israel to be equivalent to ‘anti-nationalism’. This is similar to what has taken place in the USA; where even academic rersearch on Palestinan history is censored. It’s ridiculous that criticism of another country should be seen as betrayal of my country. Why? What… Read More They Questioned India–Israel Ties. Now the trolls want to destroy their lives

‘Hope is a​n embrace of the unknown​’: Rebecca Solnit on living in dark times (2016)

Memory produces hope in the same way that amnesia produces despair,” the theologian Walter Brueggemann noted. It is an extraordinary statement, one that reminds us that though hope is about the future, grounds for hope lie in the records and recollections of the past. We can tell of a past that was nothing but defeats, cruelties and… Read More ‘Hope is a​n embrace of the unknown​’: Rebecca Solnit on living in dark times (2016)

‘India’s First Radicals’ argues for a generous assessment of 19th-century Indian intellectual life

NB: Those who bang on about Macaulay’s Minute on education (1835) should acquaint themselves with this early Indian patriot, whose work in education inspired a generation and who preceded Macaulay by many years. DS The men of Young Bengal emerge not as pale imitations of British liberals, but as creative political thinkers who addressed India’s… Read More ‘India’s First Radicals’ argues for a generous assessment of 19th-century Indian intellectual life

Mainstream, Dec 6, 2025

++++++Readers outside of India can donate hereto support Mainstream Weeklyhttps://tinyurl.com/2rsy4ss6++++++ In this issue DOCUMENTS: BOOKS IMAGE & SOUND Editor’s Picks: Books of Note

Zohran’s run

The enduring lesson of Zohran Mamdani’s victory is that the moderate Centre is invariably the respectable front for right-wing prejudice. The voices of the liberal Centre, the political ‘moderates’, the newspapers and the magazines responded to Mamdani’s candidacy in a way that was indistinguishable from Donald Trump’s denunciations Mukul Kesavan New York’s mayoral race was… Read More Zohran’s run

The Unmaking of Ladakh: RSS, Corporate Power, and the War on India’s Plural Soul

Since 2014, this has been the RSS–BJP’s consistent strategy: criminalize dissent, discredit activists, and rewrite constitutional morality. They know that a large-scale civil war is impossible in a subcontinent as vast and diverse as India. What they fear are small, localized movements, like Ladakh’s, that cannot be militarily conquered, but only silenced with force. The assault… Read More The Unmaking of Ladakh: RSS, Corporate Power, and the War on India’s Plural Soul

Zohran Mamdani elected mayor of New York City in historic win / NYC’s millionaires flee as Socialist surge sparks suburban bidding wars

Anna Betts in New York City Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani was elected on Tuesday as the 111th mayor of New York City, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and making history as the city’s first Muslim mayor. Current mayor Eric Adams, who had campaigned for a second term as an independent, dropped out of the race in September. When Mamdani… Read More Zohran Mamdani elected mayor of New York City in historic win / NYC’s millionaires flee as Socialist surge sparks suburban bidding wars