IT was in December 1992 that I had a direct interaction with Com. Fidel Castro. As part of the delegation led by Com. Harkishan Singh Surjeet, the then General Secretary of the CPI(M), I had travelled to Cuba to receive the Caribbean Princess, which had sailed from Haldia to Havana. The relief ship was carrying more than 10,000 tonnes of wheat raised by Indian farmers and workers, during Cuba’s severe economic ‘Special Period’, following the collapse of the Soviet...
ON August 7, the US Senate passed a bill, by a large majority (86-11), permitting the US Administration to impose up to 100 percent tariff on countries that import substantial amounts of oil from Russia in violation of the US-imposed unilateral sanctions against that country. The five countries which import substantial amounts of oil from Russia and are targeted by this bill are: India, China, Hungary, Slovakia and Azerbaijan. The argument...
IN June 2026, The Nature Index, one of the most well-regarded barometers of high-quality research, issued the annual Research Leaders rankings. It made the academic community sit up and take note. Harvard University slid from first place to third for the first time in 10 years, behind China's Zhejiang University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chinese institutions now occupy nine of the top 10 overall slots. This would have been...
IN capitalism the contribution of labour in production is valorised in respect to its contribution to creating surplus value. Labour producing goods and services which are useful but not produced for exchange are not considered as productive work in capitalism neither are they captured in the measurement of GDP. The contribution of labour is recognised only when it creates surplus value, other forms of work are not recognised as...
THE ecology of Assam is characterised by a large network of rivers and tributaries originating from the hills of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, and the neighbouring country of Bhutan, which join the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers to form a highly dynamic and complex river system. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries, together with the Barak river system, inundate large areas of the...
“We, the People of India…” These opening words of the Constitution embody the founding principle of the Indian Republic. It underlines that sovereignty belongs to the people and that citizenship is not a privilege but the constitutional basis of membership in the Republic, carrying with it equal rights, equal dignity, and an equal say in the democratic process.
FOR more than three decades, the United States has treated Middle Eastern diplomacy as an exercise in writing the terms for others. Iran’s emerging regional strategy is challenging that privilege. The immediate evidence is emerging in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and Oman are negotiating an arrangement under which Tehran could oversee vessels entering the Gulf while Muscat manages outbound traffic. The proposal remains...
THE BJP's defeat in Datia is being attributed solely to sabotage (bheetarghat) by Narottam Mishra. He has remained the focal point of discussion before, during, and even after the election. However, this is a calculated move by the BJP-aligned media. It is an attempt to mask the failures of the BJP government and the Chief Minister, as well as a ploy to divert attention from the fundamental reasons behind the...
The book launch of Prof R Ramaswamy’s recent biography of D D Kosambi (DDK) was held on July 31, 2026, at Goa, DDK’s birthplace, in a well-attended function organised jointly by the Goa University and the India International Centre, Goa. This writer was a discussant along with Prof. Parag Parobo and scholar Kaustubh Naik. The book, titled ‘DDK – One Life, Many Worlds’ is a masterpiece of research into many of the many worlds of DDK.
FORTY-SIX parties participated in the 24th International Meeting of the Communist and Workers Parties (IMCWP) that was held in Havana, Cuba from August 7- 9, 2026. Emilio Lopez, the Head of the International Department of the Communist Party of Cuba, presided over the sessions of the Working Group and the Plenary of the IMCWP. The Plenary adopted a joint declaration reaffirming solidarity with the people of Cuba who are resisting...
Polit Bureau StatementsCPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statements
Condemn BJP Government’s Disgraceful Position on Venezuela |
