THE number of employed persons in India has plummeted in the past few months by about 2.5 crores and the unemployment rate has zoomed up to about 12 per cent, indicating the immense misery that Indian people are facing. Coming as it does when the brutal second wave of Covid-19 pandemic is just about beginning to abate, and after over a year of suffering the carnage caused by this pandemic and its mishandling, the country’s people have been crushed under unprecedented economic burden.

THE return of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to power in Kerala in May 2021, with an unprecedented mandate, was driven by an extraordinary record of governance on multiple fronts. On the one hand, the economic policies of the central government led to falling economic growth rates, rising unemployment and poverty and shrinking public revenues. Kerala was particularly severely affected by many of these misadventures in policy. On the other hand, Kerala was hit by multiple natural calamities, an epidemic and a pandemic between 2016 and 2021.

THE longest, largest, most united, and peaceful kisan struggle since independence has been continuously gaining in strength. The agitating farmers have shown unprecedented unity, determination and strength despite facing several odds – from winter chill to pouring rains and searing heat. As the anti-peasant Modi government did not allow them to come to the national capital, farmers in their thousands are seating peacefully at five border points of Delhi -- Singhu, Tikri, Gazipur, Palwal and Shahjahanpur.

Below we publish the full text of the fraternal message of greetings sent to Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), by Sitaram Yechury, general secretary, CPI(M) on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. This message was read out by R Arun Kumar, Central Committee member of the Party, at the online symposium held on May 27

HUMAN suffering is regarded as a secondary issue in our country.  We listen to  fake  history  spread through the media by  our rulers that are intended to   praise  our ancient past  and to also to re-write our history  so that it is  sanitized of  any traces of our socialist, secular and democratic character of our constitution. They regard this as a purification for our people.