IT has become a crime in New India to observe Children’s Day by remembering the Palestinian children killed in Israel’s war on Gaza. This is what happened on November 14 in Mumbai when a few score people, including minor girls, held a silent prayer in Juhu beach. 17 of them were arrested by the police and kept in the police station till the evening. All of them belong to the minority community. For the BJP rulers, death of 5,600...
THE annual climate summit is upon us, with COP28 taking place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12, 2023. COP28 is a milestone event since it will take up the first five-yearly Global Stocktake (GST) to assess where the world stands with regard to decisions taken under the Paris Agreement (PA). The GST covers mitigation, adaptation, financing and other support to developing countries. Yet, given the menacing levels reached by impacts of climate change the...
ALMOST four decades of neoliberal regime uninterruptedly continued with an ideological posture that public sector and State owned enterprises are less efficient and need to be replaced by private players. This ideological campaign in favour of global finance was carried out with a mission to transform national wealth into privately owned assets which can be traded in financial markets and speculative gains can be derived out of that. The campaign was driven by...
SINCE Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in the year 2000, both have followed a similar electoral trajectory with both the states being ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a long period and voting it out in 2018 assembly elections. Then their paths diverged. In Chhattisgarh, Congress won the 2018 Assembly elections decisively, getting 68 of the 90 seats with 43 per cent vote share. BJP was confined to 15 seats with 33 per cent...
THE National Education Policy 2020 (NEP), supposedly introduced to modernise and revamp India's education system, is currently being actively implemented nationwide in various phases and at varying paces. As India enters the second quarter of the 21st century, being the most populous country globally and anticipating a youth dividend, a contemporary and fair education system is imperative. This system...
THE killing of a local Trinamool Congress leader in Jaynagar in South 24-Parganas district and the events in its aftermath bring back the memories of the carnage that took place at Bogtui village under Rampurhat sub-division in Birbhum district on March 21 last year. In Bogtui at least 10 people, including women and children, were burnt alive and their houses torched in retaliation for the killing of TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh....
PORTUGAL is moving for snap elections after the prime minister Alberto Costa was forced to resign on the allegations of corruption. Though it was later reported that the investigative agencies were confused with the name Costa and had wrongly blamed the prime minister (instead of the finance minister Costa), the damage was done. These elections are being held in the midst of...
ON November 23, the urban residents of Agartala witnessed an impressive and spirited march by the dalit and agricultural workers of the state, symbolising their unwavering commitment to fight for their rightful entitlements. The resolute participants in this march braved the watchful eyes of the ruling authorities, the potential denial of government benefits, threats of severe repercussions...
THE Trade Union International (TUI) Transport 15th World Congress concluded with resounding slogans of "Workers of the World Unite - TUI (T) Zindabad." The TUI (T) comprises transport, ports, fisheries, and communications and is an integral part of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). The Congress took place in Athens, Greece, from November 21-22, 2023. Four delegates from India – Abhimanyu, Narendra Rao,...
