SENIOR journalist, editor of an independent progressive weekly Gauri Lankesh was killed at her house in Bangalore, by unidentified gunmen. She was a vocal critic of the RSS-BJP and has spoken regularly against rising intolerance, through her weekly and through activism. Ironically she was also one of the main persons in the campaign to arrest the killers of Dr M M Kalburgi. Dr M M Kalburgi was murdered two years back. Now just a few days into this two year old murder, Lankesh’s assassination in the same way is even more shocking.

 THOUSANDS of people marched in the streets of Kolkata on September 1, raising anti-imperialist, anti-war mongering slogans. Left parties, along with left and democratic organisations organised the huge rally which crossed seven kilometre long way from central part of the city to north.Remembering the horror of the beginning of Second World War, the rally carried 79 colourful flags. Tablos, depicting global peace, defence of the earth from nuclear weapons, contours of US-India strategic relations were there.

SINCE 1986, Coimbatore city in the state of Tamil Nadu has been witnessing communal disturbances of varying degrees.  But, they involved neither rioting nor looting. After the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, violence erupted in the city.  Nevertheless, the situation was then contained without any further flare-up.  But, in November and December 1997, following the murder of a traffic policeman, the premier industrial city witnessed a communal conflagration unprecedented in its history.

THE environment of politics and culture is undergoing a major transformation in Indian society and its impact is reflected in Puducherry also. The minorities, the downtrodden and the working classes are continuously being threatened and getting affected. In this context, a Forum for Social Harmony-Puducherry  for uniting all the progressive mass organisations, trade unions, Confederation of government employees associations, civil society organisations, was launched in Puducherry.As a first step, the Forum organised a special seminar in July on ‘Challenges to Social Harmony’.

THIS Independence Day, the Modi government has yet again made it clear that in our country, none but one person has the freedom of speaking his ‘Mann ki Baat’. Not even the democratically-elected chief minister of a state.Before the Independence Day, Doordarshan Tripura had recorded a speech of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, which was to be telecast on August 15.