Learn from the Uttarakhand Disaster

THE terrible disaster in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand on February 7, 2021, has already cost the lives of over 30 persons with another 150 or so missing or trapped. Tragically, most of the dead are workers in different infrastructure and hydro-electric power projects such as the small 13.2 MW project on the Rishiganga river near Raini Village which has been completely destroyed, and the much larger 520MW Tapovan power plant nearby on the Dhauliganga which too is badly damaged and where a number of workers are trapped.

Callous Deception on Health Budget

AFTER the global Covid-19 pandemic exposed the dismal state of India’s public health system, one would have thought that the government would have learnt some lessons. India’s public health expenditure is one of the lowest in the world and stood at 1.3 per cent of GDP in 2019.

A Remarkable Display of People’s Power

THE kisan tractor march on Republic Day in Delhi was a remarkable and unique mass action. At no time had the capital of India witnessed such an extraordinary protest which involved over one lakh tractors and tens of thousands of people. There may have been bigger rallies in the past but not such a massive protest action.

Republic Day: Resolve to Fight for Citizens Rights

WHEN the pogrom against minorities in Gujarat was raging in 2002, the then President of India, K R Narayanan had remarked to a delegation which met him seeking intervention, that: “The Constitution is not working in Gujarat”. Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat at that time.

Now, nearly two decades later and nearly seven years of the prime ministership of Modi, it can be said that the Constitution is not working in large parts of the country and in various sections of the polity.

An Ill-Conceived Order

THE order of the Supreme Court on the three farm laws and the farmers struggle against them is ill-conceived and one-sided.

Foreign Policy in Shambles

THE new year has begun with a sobering reminder that the foreign policy of the Modi government is in shambles and its pro-US approach has landed the country in a strategic cul-de-sac.

One Nation, One Election: Threat to Democracy and Federalism

THE Modi government and the BJP are planning another serious assault on the Constitution and the very basis of parliamentary democracy in India.

Towards 2021 with Optimism

THE Latin term `annus horribilis’ (horrible year) has been widely and understandably used to define the year 2020 which had just ended. This is a natural description of an unprecedented year, which has seen a global pandemic – the corona virus pandemic – the comparable scale of which happened a full century ago when the “Spanish flu” caused worldwide havoc in 1918-1919.

An Award to a Military Ally

THERE is something curious about the “Legion of Merit” award conferred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by President Donald Trump. The Legion of Merit is primarily a military honour bestowed by an American president. The chief commander category has been in the past given mainly to army chiefs, generals and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of other countries. Only a handful have been given to heads of State, or, government leaders and those too have been close military allies of the United States.

A Resounding Victory in Kerala

THE Local Self-Governing Institutions (LSGI) elections in Kerala have resulted in a resounding victory for the Left Democratic Front. The LDF has won 11 out of the 14 district panchayats; 108 of the 152 block panchayats; and 514 of the 941 grama panchayats. The LDF has won five of the six corporations and 35 of the 86 municipalities.

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Peoples Democracy

Editorial