A THREE-DAY (March 21-24) ‘Peoples Alternative Budget Session’ was held at Freedom Park, Bangalore. It was organised by Samyukta Horata Karnataka – a coordination committee of peasants, workers, dalits, students, youth, and mahila organisations.  Ruling party governments do not have any pro-people orientation. No discussion or debate takes place on any vital issue concerning people in the budget session of Karnataka legislature.

“NOBODY has a right to force a girl to wear or not to wear a headscarf. Let girls and their parents decide.” said Brinda Karat, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member at Mangalore, Karnataka. She was addressing a well-attended ‘Harmony Convention’ (Souhardata Samavesha) on March 21 at Kudmal Rangarao Bhavan (Townhall) organised by CPI(M) state  committee.Brinda Karat expressed her sadness and anger at the condition of girls, who are breaking barriers to get education in Karnataka, but are being deprived of the universal right to education by a government order.

PROFESSOR Aijaz Ahmad, who passed away last week in Irvine, California, was one of the foremost Marxist intellectuals of our times.  His significance as a Marxist theoretician came to prominence in the period after the retreat of socialism in the late 1980s and which led to the dismantling of the Soviet Union in 1991.His erudition and talents were wide-ranging. He began his work as an Urdu writer and literary critic.

THE Karnataka High Court in its order on March 15, has held that wearing of hijab is not essential to the practice of Islam; that college development committees (CDCs) have a right to prescribe a uniform; and that Muslim girls must comply with whatever uniform is prescribed by their college.   Women’s organisations and activists, in a joint statement issued on March 15, have appealed to the Supreme Court to issue an immediate stay on the Karnataka HC order as it will have a far-reaching negative impact on the safety, dignity, and right to education of Muslim girls and women.

RED books day was observed enthusiastically by the CPI(M) leaders, cadres and followers throughout Andhra Pradesh.  Prajasakti and Visalandhra publishing houses jointly conducted a meeting in Vijayawada at the Marx Engels statue square. Left intellectuals and sympathizers took part in the programmes at many places.