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).
HINDUTVA VIOLENCE PORTENDS GRIM FUTURE
Vinod Mubayi
Authoritarian right wing groups belonging to the movement commonly known as Hindutva in India are increasingly perpetrating violence of the classic fascist variety. Recent attacks have occurred on tribal Christians in the state of Orissa, on the New Delhi headquarters of the CPM in New Delhi, and in several other places. This violence could be a prelude to the national elections, which are due within the next year, and offers a glimpse of the grim future that may affect the country if the right wing alliance comes back into power.
SHARE THE WEALTH – URGENT NEED FOR SUBSTANTIVE LAND REFORMS IN PAKISTAN
Kiran Omar
The issue of land reform has been a contentious and difficult one to address in Pakistan. Since its creation, both democratic and military regimes have failed to address this problem seriously. The Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent has a large rural population, and agriculture is an important part of its economy. Since Partition in 1947, India, which abolished feudal holdings, has managed successfully to diversify and broaden its economic base, and has steadily progressed in developing its industrial sector. Such diversification has eluded Pakistan’s economy, which is still heavily dependant on agriculture as its main economic activity.
DALAI LAMA, TIBET UNREST and INDIA
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
The unrest in the Tibet region of China is having an impact in India also. The Indian government is obligated to ensure that the Tibetan community in India who fled with the Dalai Lama in 1959 does not engage in political activity against China. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proclaimed during his recent trip to China that it was India’s desire to have good and friendly relations with China. However, events related to the conflict in Tibet have indicated that India needs to do more to ensure that India does not become a platform for campaigners with their own dubious agendas.
HISTORY AND COMMUNITY HONOR: Protests against film Jodha Akbar
Ram Puniyani
Disruption of the screening of film Jodha Akbar. Sections of Rajput community claims that this film insults their community honor. Some Governments banned this film, which was lifted by the courts. The film shows many a trends and patterns of the time, Akbar’s policy towards those following other faiths, his alliances with Rajputs and the development of Mughal Rajput syncretism. The communal historiography which understands the history through the prism of religion has been brought in strongly by the RSS combine and it presents the Mughal period as the dark period of Indian history.
POLITICAL PARTIES CONDEMN ATTACK ON CPI(M) HEADQUARTERS BY SANGH PARIVAR
Daya Varma
(Based on a report in the Hindu of March 10, 2008)
The attack by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists on the national headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] on March 9 has been condemned by several political leaders and intellectuals.
AIDWA HAILS FOCUS ON AGRARIAN CRISIS
Daya Varma
(Based on Press Reports)
The All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has hailed Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s initiative of taking cognisance of the huge agrarian crisis. In a statement, Subhashini Ali, President, and Sudha Sundararaman, General Secretary of the AIDWA, said the measures for debt waiver and debt relief did not, however, address the critical issue of loans taken from private moneylenders.
INDIA LAUNCHES SCHEME TO PROTECT THE GIRL CHILD
Shree Mulay
On March 8, 2008, International Women’s Day, Renuka Chowdhary, the Minister for Women and Child Development, launched the ‘Dhan Laxmi,’ (female as a treasure) scheme with Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) to remedy the scandalous decline in sex ratios of girls. This is not the first time India has experimented with a scheme to protect girls.Hopefully the Dhan Laxmi scheme will have better success than previous such schemes.
MAKHDOOM MOHIUDDIN BIRTH CENTENARY
Birth Centenary Celebration (Montreal, Canada)
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