THE plight of apple growers in Kashmir is awful, says Zahoor Ahammed, a farmer from Kulgam. “We have heard of farmer’s suicide in Maharashtra; if the existing situation persists, apple growers in Kashmir will also be compelled to commit suicide,” said Ahammed while speaking to the AIKSCC delegation that visited Kulgam on November 14, 2019. The delegation representing the All India Kisan Sangharsh Co-ordination Committee (AIKSCC), the largest umbrella platform of around 250 peasant and agricultural workers organisations working across the country visited Kashmir valley on November 13-15.

 TELANGANA State Road Transport Corporation workers have been on a historic strike since October 5 demanding solution to their long-pending demands, including merger of the corporation with the government, pay revision and recruitment to various posts. Instead of addressing the workers’ demands, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, in a sudden and disastrous move, announced dismissal of 48,000-odd protesting employees, out of a total 49,190 workforce of the corporation. Even the High Court has refused to declare the strike as illegal.

THE Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Ranjan Gogoi, retired on November 17.  Justice S A Bobde has taken over charge as the new chief justice of India.  This is an appropriate time to look at what is happening to the highest judicial court of the land.  The Supreme Court is entrusted with the duty of ensuring that the laws adopted by Parliament are in conformity with Constitution and that the constitutional rights of citizens are safeguarded. Unfortunately, over a period of time, there are disturbing signs of the Supreme Court failing to live up to its responsibilities and to act as the c

EVO Morales, elected president of Bolivia, was overthrown in a coup carried out by the opposition oligarchic forces, aided and abetted by the US. With grave threats to his life, Morales was forced to seek asylum in Mexico. Bolivia now joins the long list of countries where the US had intervened and aided the overthrow of progressive, Left leaning presidents in Latin America. Morales was forced by the army to resign, though he had clearly won the elections by attaining 10 per cent votes more than his nearest opponent, Carlos Mesa.

OCTOBER 31st, marked the United Nation’s World Cities Day and the theme for this year is “Changing the world: innovations and better life for the future generations”. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General has remarked, “let us commit to embracing innovation to ensure a better life for future generations and chart a path towards sustainable, inclusive urban development that benefits all.” Over half of the world’s population now resides in cities, with rapid urbanisation, the number of people will almost double by 2050.