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’S NEW OUTREACH
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) was born in 1925 on the principle that ‘Hinduism is nationalism’. In the eighty-six years since its founding it has traversed numerous paths – all leading to the fulfillment of this formulation. Read more…
SHRI SRI RAVISHANKAR AND ART OF POLITICS
Ram Puniyani
AS ELECTIONS in Uttar Pradesh are nearing, so is the number of travels by spiritual gurus. These gurus are giving their discourses against corruption. (November 2011). The major ones amongst them are Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Sri Sri). Sri Sri has shared space with Anna and played a considerable role when the government had arrested Anna. Sri Sri came to play the role of an interlocutor between Anna and his followers, during his prison stint. As if by a divine design, yoga guru Ramdev and Sri Sri have suddenly realized this menace of corruption and have plunged themselves head long into the anti-corruption movement. Read more…
MAMATA B’S NAPOLEON COMPLEX–TIME TO BE CONCERNED
Trevor Selvam, Chennai
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress replaced the Left Front government, which had been in power for the last three decades. Her victory was made possible by shortcomings of the Left Front government but more importantly because of large scale opposition of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the leading force behind the Left Front Government by left intellectuals as well as the Communist Party of India (Maoist) who are engaged in armed struggle in many Adivasi areas and whose leader Kishenji was recently killed in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee’s government has now, as was to be expected, unleashed a rule of terror. Read more…
RUINING INNOCENT LIVES: GUILT OF INVESTIGATION AGENCIES
Ram Puniyani
Nine youth accused in Malegaon blast case of 2006 have been granted bail by the MCOCA court. (Nov 6 2011). These Muslim youth were arrested after the bomb exploded on the Shab-e-Barat, killing several people. Immediately after that the Anti Terrorist Squad arrested nine Muslim youth, there was really no evidence worth its name against them. Still police which is, motivated more by biases than by professionalism, arrested these Muslims youth. Read more…
FREEDOM OF PRESS AND JUSTICE KATJU
(socialist_pakistan_news@yahoogroups.com)
Justice Markandey Katju is making a very relevant point about the behaviour of media. The media has been taking more interest in trivial issues that entertain the elite like the Formula 1 race or trivia about Bollywood personalities. It has by and large ignored serious issues like conflicts, adverse impact of globalization on the large sections of Indian people, corporate greed and corruption, etc. If Media is non-entertaining, it is covering issues that catch the fancy of Middle-class like the disproportionate coverage given to Anna Hazare Movement for days without end as if there were no other issues concerning the people of India. Read more…
ISHRAT JAHAN: MURDER IN COLD BLOOD
Ram Puniyani
Ishrat Jahan’s murder in Gujarat is yet another instance of death during fake encounters of Muslim youth by Narendra Modi’s government. Read more…
NEPAL: PARTIES CRACK ENDLESS DEADLOCK
In a much awaited breakthrough in the peace process, the political parties in Nepal arrived at a consensus following hectic talks held in Baluwatar Tuesday evening. Read more…
THE RICHNESS OF THE RAMAYANA, THE POVERTY OF A UNIVERSITY
(The Hindu: Opinion October 8, 2011)
‘What people don’t recognize is that the story of Ram, what we call the Ram Katha, extends over a huge historical period.’ – Diana De Selliers Read more…
UNRAVELLING THE TRUTH: BOOK REVIEW
Ram Puniyani
(Book Reviewed: Godse’s Children- Hindutva Terror in India, Pharos Media, Delhi, Pages 400, Rs 360, Pb)
Terrorist violence has been one of the major problems of recent times. This phenomenon came to popular notice more so after the 9/11 attack on WTC, which was followed by, apart from other things, popularization of the terms ‘Islamic Terror’, ‘Jehdi terror’. Read more…
LIBYA RECOLONISED
Aijaz Ahmad
Libya is the first country that the Euro-American consortium has invaded exclusively on the pretext of human rights violations. Read more…
MARCH IN NEW YORK AGAINST MILITARY REPRESSION IN EGYPT
Friday Nov. 25 witnessed a spirited march by some 500 people against military repression in Egypt that has led to at least 40 deaths and 2000 serious injuries in the last week especially in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Read more…
OBITUARY: John McCarthy (1927-2011)
John Markoff (NY Times October 25, 2011)
[We are reproducing this obit not only because John McCarthy was a great scientist but also because of two other reasons: 1. In late 1970’s some of us used to produce a monthly magazine New India Bulletin and one of us (Daya Varma) used to go to Boston to have the material type set by Deepak Kapur using MIT computer with which McCarthy’s name is associated. 2. McCarthy comes from a communist family. Ed.) Read more…
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