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).
LINE OF CONTROL (LOC ) ON THE BOIL AGAIN – TRADE AND TRAVEL AFFECTED
Vinod Mubayi and Daya Varma
Once more, when better relations between India and Pakistan were on the horizon, expected to be anchored by significant easing of the onerous visa requirements on the citizens of the two countries and a major expansion of cross-border trade, a series of tit-for-tat attacks across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir has plunged relations back to the murky depths from which they were due to emerge. Read more…
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN CAN BE PREVENTED BY GOOD GOVERNANCE
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
The fatal rape of a young aspiring woman in Delhi evoked massive protest by civil society. It is a heartening development because this is the first protest of this scale on an important social and cultural issue. The deceased woman might well prove to be the saviour of thousands upon thousands of girls and women and the forebear of a more civilized India. Read more…
WHO IS AFRAID OF JUSTICE VERMA COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS?
(Liberation News Service: Forthcoming : ML Update editorial)
The Justice Verma Committee Report marks a milestone in the struggle for women’s rights in India. The Report is a powerful vindication of the central demands of the ongoing movement against sexual violence, and is also an equally powerful challenge to the Government and the political establishment. Read more…
THE CHAUTALA FORMULA: MEANWHILE ACROSS THE BORDER
Garga Chatterjee
It has been more than a month since the serial rapes in the Indian state of Haryana shot to the headlines. Now that our eyeballs have moved to newer headlines of the year in this holy land, and the urban liberal condemnation brigade has moved on to newer issues, let me spoil the momentum and bring back the issue. Read more…
PREVENTING CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN: ARE STRINGENT LAWS THE ONLY SOLUTION?
Ram Puniyani
The death of the Delhi gang rape victim in Singapore (Dec 28, 2012) has created a massive wave of anger and protest. As such after this ghastly act, which took place nearly two weeks ago, the anger and protest of the people came to the streets and one witnessed the unfortunate police action. This gang rape was so horrific that the attention of the people from all the sectors of society was drawn to it, and the rage amongst people was limitless. Read more…
RISING SHADOW OF TRIDENT: MODI’S VICTORY IN GUJARAT
Ram Puniyani
The recent electoral victory of Narendra Modi, his third consecutive one (Dec 2012), has drawn lot of applause from a section of society and he is being projected as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. It’s another matter that BJP, itself is in shambles as far as electoral arena is concerned and its NDA allies are unlikely to endorse Modi, given his aggressive communal politics and the authoritarian style of his functioning. One knows that this victory of Modi was predicted by many exit polls, one also knows his victory was not a smooth sail, as by now the dissatisfaction from his policies, his style of functioning is adversely affecting a large number of Gujarat population. The people of Gujarat turned out in big numbers to cast their vote. Read more…
JOINT PUBLIC STATEMENT ON HINDUTVA TERROR
24 January 2013
While one may or may not agree with the terminology employed by the Home Minister in his recent speech at Jaipur, we feel that for long prejudice has ruled investigations, obscuring the role of organizations and their multiple affiliates in planning and executing of attacks and bombings in the country. The veneer of ‘nationalism’ — narrow, exclusionary and based on hatred for minorities as it is– cannot hide the violence that Sangh and its affiliates beget and peddle. Read more…
COMMUNAL RIOTS -2012
Asghar Ali Engineer
Like other years in the post-Gujarat era, this year too witnessed several riots and riot-free India remained just a dream. India is a too vast and complex a country and one cannot expect uniform development all over the country. North, Central and Western India is far too sensitive to communal politics. South, it must be said, is less prone to communal violence though Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are more communally sensitive than Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Read more…
CUBA SHOWS THE WAY
Don Fitz
Furious though it may be, the current debate over health care in the US is largely irrelevant to charting a path for poor countries of Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. That is because the US squanders perhaps 10 to 20 times what is needed for a good, affordable medical system. The waste is far more than 30% overhead by private insurance companies. It includes an enormous amount of over-treatment, creation of illnesses, exposure to contagion through over-hospitalization, disease-focused instead of prevention-focused research, and making the poor sicker by refusing them treatment. Read more…
ISRAEL ADMITS ETHIOPIAN WOMEN WERE GIVEN BIRTH CONTROL SHOTS
Talila Nesher
A government official has for the first time acknowledged the practice of injecting women of Ethiopian origin with the long-acting contraceptive Depo-Provera. Read more…
OBITUARY: Padma Shri Prof. Mahdi Hasan (1936-2013)
Abbas Ali Mahdi
Padma Shri Professor Mahdi Hasan was born in 1936 in village Gadayan, Akbarpur, then in Faizabad, now Ambedkar Nagar, U.P.). He was a Senior/Honorary Scientist of the Indian National Science Academy and Honorary Professor of the Department of Anatomy, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow and formerly Principal and Chief Medical Superintendent (1983-87), Dean (1992-94), Professor (1972-96) and Chairman of Anatomy (1983-87,1990-93), Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University. Read more…
Top - Home