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).
EDITORIAL: WILL THE BJP’S PROCLAIMED FUTURE 1000-YEAR RAM RAJYA REPEAT ITS 10-YEAR RECORD OF RULE?
Vinod Mubayi
In a resolution passed by its national council on Sunday February 19, the BJP proclaimed the establishment of the Ram temple in Ayodhya heralds the advent of Ram Rajya in India for the next 1000 years. “The construction of a grand and divine temple of Lord Shri Ram at his birthplace in the ancient holy city of Ayodhya is a historic and glorious achievement for the country. This heralds the establishment of Ram Rajya in India for the next 1,000 years with the beginning of a new Kalachakra” (event cycle), said the resolution.
Read more…DECOLONISATION FOR THE HINDU NATIONALISTS: TOWARDS AN AUTHORITARIAN STATE
Irfan Engineer
Hindu nationalists pin their partisan acts favouring the majority community on the ‘decolonisation of ideas and culture’ hook. Decolonisation is often used interchangeably with de-Westernisation. Enactment of the three laws pertaining to criminal justice system in 2023 – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniya, and Bhartiya Nagarik Surakhsha Sanhita – with more than 85% of the contents from the earlier legislations were also brought in with the plea of decolonisation.
Read more…WHY SHOULD DOMESTIC LABOUR BE FORMALISED IN SRI LANKA?
Devana Senanayake
Domestic labour is one of the most precarious forms of work, whether in Sri Lanka or in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Workers are at risk of exploitation, abuse and in many instances, death. In 2022, R. Rajakumari died from the physical abuse she experienced inside the police station.
FARMERS’ PROTEST: IT’S A BATTLE AGAINST SERVITUDE
Utsa Patnaik
Jawaharlal Nehru had written that once Britain obtained political control over India—which started effectively from 1765 with the East India Company wresting the right of tax collection in Bengal—our country’s economic development could no longer be understood in isolation, without considering its relation to international capitalism.
ANTI SEMITISM, PALESTINIANS & THE WEST
Kannan Srinivasan
The Hamas attack as well as Israel’s response might be placed in the context of the history of Zionism.
Read more…RESULT TAMPERING IN PAKISTAN’S ELECTION
Dawn Editorial
THE botched conduct of the Feb 8 election continues to haunt the Election Commission of Pakistan. After failing to meet the legal deadline of Feb 22 to publish all Form 45s, the Commission finally released the documents on Tuesday, in the process triggering another storm of complaints regarding blatant and, in some instances, rather crude manipulation of electoral results.
LONG READ: LEFT BEHIND: HOW THE SOCIALISTS ENABLED THE HINDU RASHTRA
Qurban Ali
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AT A PUBLIC MEETING IN DELHI, on 2 February 1948, the general secretary of the Socialist Party of India, Jayaprakash Narayan, reacted to the recent assassination of Mohandas Gandhi. Narayan demanded a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Hindu Mahasabha, believed to be behind the plot to kill Gandhi.