THOUSANDS of Left activists and supporters came out on the streets in West Bengal to protest authoritarian attack on the constitution by abrogating special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the constitution and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir. Braving hate campaign, the CPI(M) organised a protest rally on  August 5 itself, hours after the announcement in the parliament. The rally in Kolkata was attended by CPI(M) leaders including Biman Basu, Surjya Kanta Misra and Mohammad Salim. Similar rallies were held in different parts of the state including Siliguri.  

THE Draft of National Education Policy 2019 (DNEP) is a proof that the Modi -led government is trying all the tricks in the trade to make a unitary form of governance in the country and that it has taken up the work of saffronisation of education across the country.  

A WIDE swathe of rocky hills and forests stretches from Mirzapur to Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh, home to various tribal groups – Gonds, Kols and Bhils.  The area is rich in minerals and water-resources and has seen the establishment of cement factories, Hindalco,  large power plants, the Rihand and Kemur dams at the cost of the poor and their land.  Promises of compensation and jobs never materialised.

IN justification of the move to end Kashmir’s special status, Amit Shah in his speech in the Rajya Sabha brought in the question of Kashmir’s “development”, arguing that closer integration with the rest of India will bring in much investment into the region. He especially appealed to the youth of Kashmir, promising that they would have larger employment opportunities.

WHAT was notable about the spate of legislations presented in the first session of parliament was the hurried manner in which they were passed without any legislative scrutiny.  There was no reference to the standing committees or select committees to get the bills vetted and considered. Using its big majority in the Lok Sabha and the manipulated majority in the Rajya Sabha, none of the bills underwent proper scrutiny.