More than 19,000 OBC, SC and ST students have dropped out of IITs, IIMs and Central Universities in the past five years.

MORE than 19,000 students from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) have dropped out of central universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the past five years.

THE end of last month was marred by violent communal tensions and clashes in various parts of West Bengal. It is evident that organising Ram Navami processions has become a new tactic for Hindutva forces to incite communal activities and disrupt people's unity. Initially, the state government attempted to evade responsibility after failing to ensure law and order. The official statement was that a part of the police force did nothing to intervene. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee initially claimed that they were taking steps to maintain and restore peace.

WITH people’s anger against poor governance, rampant corruption and politician-criminal nexus growing stronger every day, Bengal’s current political landscape is densely dotted with protest movements. The wave of protests is encompassing a significant section of general working people, thus adding an important dimension to mass activism. Marches and rallies are being held almost daily against the misrule and authoritarianism of the TMC government.

HUNDREDS of thousands of toiling people of our country thronged the national capital Delhi on April 5, 2023 to participate in the Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally and vent their anger against the policies being pursued by the Modi led BJP government. They represented tens of crores of workers, peasants, agricultural workers, service sector employees and other sections of the common people who face deterioration in their working and living conditions due to the aggressive pursuit of neoliberal policies under the present government. Many of them participated along with their families.

LAST week, further developments exposed the governance of the BJP government, including a new case of corruption by an MLA. A video surfaced showing a bribe being given to an aide of the MLA for clearance of a tender. In Mandya district, a gang of self-proclaimed "cow-protection" vigilantes brutally killed Idris Pasha, a driver of a vehicle transporting cattle. Some aspects of the case suggest that it is part of the BJP's communal polarisation attempts.