THE 24th Congress of the CPI(M), which concluded at Madurai on April 6 with a massive rally, was notable in many respects. There were changes both in the agenda and content of the Congress discussions.First of all, a Political Review Report which reviewed the implementation of the political-tactical line adopted at the 23rd Congress was presented along with the Draft Political Resolution for discussion by the delegates.

AS the year 2026 approaches, the issue of the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies is drawing public attention and controversy. This is the year when the freeze on the number of seats will end, and the next round of delimitation must be undertaken following the first census conducted after 2026. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment, enacted during the Emergency in 1976, initially froze delimitation.

THE communal poison regularly injected into the body politic by the Sangh Parivar and its growing numbers of supporters among common people and the administration has been responsible for numerous attacks on Muslims.  Most tragically, recent incidents have shown that children and infants are now being made the targets of these attacks.In Malvan, a small town in Sindhdurg district of Maharashtra, a young Muslim boy of 15 was apprehended by the police, his parents arrested and their small scrap shop was bulldozed by the municipal corporation on February 25.  All this was done on the basis of

PRIME Minister Modi’s visit to the White House on February 13 was meant to illustrate how close Modi was to his friend, Donald Trump, and to bask over the photo-op that it presented. Instead, what Modi’s short visit to Washington underlined was the subaltern status that India has been reduced to under Modi’s watch.There was no tearing hurry for the Indian prime minister to have an official meeting with President Trump.

THE Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has, in her budget speech, announced the government’s intention to amend the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA).  The amendment to the Atomic Energy Act is meant to facilitate the entry of the private sector in  nuclear energy production, which, in itself, is a bad idea.  However, the amendment to the CLNDA is more dangerous as it dilutes the compensation to be given to people affected by a nuclear accident, whether it be in the public sector or private sector.The CLNDA was adopted by Parliament in 2010.  A