Founding Editor: Daya Varma (1929-2015)
Editors: Vinod Mubayi (New York) and Raza Mir (New Jersey).
Editorial Board: Ram Puniyani and Irfan Engineer (Mumbai); Pervez Hoodbhoy (Islamabad); Dolores Chew (Montreal); Vamsi Vakulabharanam (Amherst); Ajay Bhardwaj (Vancouver).
Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
NANDIGRAM AND CPM MORALISTS
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
Police atrocity is routine in India. But the death of 14 people in police firing in Nandigram on March 14, 2007 in West Bengal, ruled by the Left Front of which has the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) is the leading constituent, has come under more scrutiny and bashing than any similar event earlier.
INDIAN MAOISTS ON A RECKLESS SPREE
Daya Varma
Indian Maoists are doing what they are good at. Lately they blew up railway lines in a more callous manner than was done during the Quit India Movement of 1942. The railway station in Birmadih, Bengal was also burnt. The driver and the guard of the train were taken hostages. I do not know whether or not they hoisted the red flag and declared the area in West Bengal ruled by the “revisionist” Left Front as a liberated zone. In any case, emulating some of the Jihadi groups, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) claimed responsibility for this act.
HISTORY FROM BELOW
Irfan Habib
Frontline: June 16-29, 2007
The Revolt of 1857 must be set in the larger context of what colonialism was doing to India and its people at the time.
PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH-1857
We do not know if any organization or news media has taken note of the 150th anniversary of the great 1857 rebellion. Both countries were part of the entity which rebelled. If people in these countries do not recognize 1857 as a part of their history, it is regrettable. Ed.
POLICE AND MINORITIES
Asghar Ali Engineer
(Secular Perspective June 1-15, 2007)
The police as such is unfriendly, even antagonistic to people and much more so when it comes to minorities. The police act was drafted by Britishers in 1961 and its main purpose at the time was to suppress people and to enforce British rule. Thus the police act was meant to suppress people and make them obedient to the British rulers. It was understandable that any foreign rulers would do that.
NATIONAL SEMINAR ON ENCOUNTER KILLINGS HELD ON MUMBAI 26 JUNE 2007
Mumbai, June 26: The different communities living in India should join hands together to counter the state terrorism in order to bring dignity of life to each and every individual.
WEST BENGAL ELECTION RESULTS
(People’s Democracy, June 10, 2007; Abridged)
When Mamata Banerjee addressed a media conference at her luxuriously appointed private layer that doubles as the office no one of the Trinamul Congress at Kalighat in south Kolkata, and announced a victory of the people, the presence of an uncharacteristic tremble and weakness of tonality in her rasping voice was evident.
NEPAL ASSISTANCE TO BE TRIPLED: INDIA
(Kantipur Online, May 29, 2007)
BANKE: Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shiva Shanker Mukherjee Monday said New Delhi was preparing to triple the existing Indian assistance to Nepal for its education, infrastructure and health sector. Opening a school built with Indian assistance in Nepalgunj Monday, the Indian envoy said the increase had begun since last June’s meeting between the two countries’ premiers.
CANADIAN ACADEMICS TO STUDY RACIAL PROFILING UNDER SECURITY AGENDA
Alnoor Gova
MARU together with the University of British Columbia is currently engaged in conducting a study to document experiences of people living under heightened security practices in Canada.