IT was half a century back. The Indian government headed by Indira Gandhi had made up its mind to extend full military support to the Bangladesh liberation struggle in 1971. A substantial political stake was involved to go for an early strike. But before starting the campaign, the then PM summoned the army chief, (the only field Marshall so far from the Indian army) Sam Manekshaw. The general put his...
THE UNAIDs executive director, Winnie Byanyima had appealed before the 12th WTO Ministerial of WTO in Geneva that the world would face a grim future if patent waivers did not take place. At a press conference, Byanyima had said, "In a pandemic, sharing technology is life or death, and we are choosing death," In the 12th Ministerial of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which ended on June 17th, the rich countries did precisely that...
MODI promised one-rank-one-pension (OROP) to the armed forces personnel in his quest to capture Delhi in 2014. After eight years all he has ended up giving is no-rank-no-pension (NRNP). He has administered another rude shock to the Indian armed forces by launching the ‘Agnipath’ scheme of recruiting 46,000 soldiers for a short period of 4 years.
FOR the past three years India’s economy had to face the worst pandemic and Ukraine-Russia war which impacted global production and prices. These external shocks however only exacerbated the ailments that existed before the pandemic contributed by the unwary internal shocks of demonetisation and the imposition of the GST regime. The denial of the protracted impact of the pandemic and the consequent contraction of the economy required instead...
THE police administration in Assam launched a crackdown against the leaders and leading activists of the SFI, DYFI and the AIKS with the aim to suppress peaceful democratic protests against the centre’s Agnipath scheme. The three organisations had given a joint call to stage protest demonstrations against the scheme on June 20. However, the police started to detain leaders of these mass...
THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the manner in which MLAs belonging to the Shiv Sena have been spirited away to Surat and then to Guwahati, both BJP-ruled states. This has been done by the BJP utilising the State machinery in both states. The central agencies have also been utilised to target ministers and legislators of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government with the aim of destabilising the government.
THE Kerala state conference of the CPI(M) held in Ernakulam in March this year created a landmark by adopting a document outlining the development perspective for a new Kerala. This was an important step forward, coming in the wake of the historic victory of the LDF in the 2021 elections when the LDF was given a continuous second term by the people of Kerala.
ON June 19, 2022, long lines brought 39 million Colombian (out of a population of 51 million) to vote in their presidential election. In rural areas, where the vote is often suppressed due to desolation or violence, the lines seemed longest. People took great risks – against threats from paramilitary groups and narco-mafias – to stand in these queues and choose between two very different political projects: an old project that favoured the old...
THE 110th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was held from May 27 to June 11, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland. It established six committees based on the standing and technical items adopted. The report of the committee of experts on the application of conventions and recommendations covers numerous matters related to the application of ILO standards in which there is some...
SHAKESPEARE, speaking through Angelo in Measure for Measure, asks a pertinent question that resonates even today: “The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” In the law on sedition, the Supreme Court of India made it clear that the one inciting violence is the guilty person. Ergo, the tempter sins most. In today’s interpretation of the law, it does not matter whether there is incitement or not; a charge of sedition will be slapped anyway...
