BJP Setback in Assembly Elections

THE results of the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are a big blow to the BJP. In all these three states, there were BJP governments and in two of them – Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh – the BJP had been in government for fifteen years, ie, for three successive terms.

Growing Mobilisation of Working People to Defeat BJP

THE Kisan Mukti March on November 29-30 in Delhi was an impressive mobilisation of farmers from all over the country who are being ground down by the neoliberal policies of the Modi government. Coming after the big worker-peasant rally of September 5, which sharply highlighted the class demands of the workers, peasants and agricultural workers, the Kisan March organised by a wide range of farmers’ organisations pointed to the growing unity and common purpose of the working people to fight for their basic rights. The mobilisation of the working people in these two rallies and the numerous st

Potential of Kartarpur Corridor1

THE decision to open a corridor from the Indian side to the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan is one of the rare instances when the two governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to cooperate after a long period of stalemate and tensions between the two countries.The corridor from the Dera Baba Nanak Gurudwara in Gurdaspur district of Punjab to the Darbar Sahib Gurudwara where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life, is being opened to mark the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism next year.

Sabarimala: Foiling the BJP-RSS Gameplan

THE agitation launched by the BJP-RSS against the verdict of the Supreme Court on entry of women of all ages to the Sabarimala temple has been exposed for what it is. The plan of the Sangh brigade is to provoke violence and create trouble within the temple premises and to put the blame on the LDF government of Kerala for destroying the sanctity of the temple.

Crisis in Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA has been plunged into a political and constitutional crisis due to the arbitrary steps taken by Maithripala Sirisena in the past three weeks. The president dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and swore in his erstwhile opponent Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister on October 26.It may be recalled that Sirisena, who belongs to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), had broken away from Rajapaksa. He had fought the elections and defeated Rajapaksa in January 2015 in alliance with Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP).

Renaming for What?

ALONG with the revival of the issues of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, the BJP-RSS combine has opened a new front with communal intent. That is the renaming of cities and places which have a Muslim cultural lineage. The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh led by Adityanath, has gone on a name changing spree. Allahabad, one of the foremost educational and cultural centres of Uttar Pradesh has been renamed officially as Prayagraj.

Article 35A: Another Divisive Move

THE petition challenging Article 35A of the constitution before the Supreme Court is meant to open up another divisive issue in tune with the Hindutva politics espoused by the BJP and the RSS.Article 35A was introduced by a presidential order in 1954 to safeguard the rights and guarantee the unique identity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This provision gives the Jammu and Kashmir legislature the right to decide who are permanent residents of the state and confer on them special rights in acquisition of property, in public sector jobs and social welfare.

NRC: Include All Indians

THE publication of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has caused widespread consternation as over four million (40 lakh) persons who had applied have not found a place in the Register.The updating of the NRC of 1951 constitutes part of the implementation of the Assam Accord of 1985. As per this Accord, March 24, 1971 was fixed as the cut-off date for determining those who came after that date to be illegal migrants. The decision of the Supreme Court in 2014 to get the updating of the NRC underway was generally welcomed by all sections of the people in Assam; by the Asam

No-Confidence Motion: Modi Government Exposed

THE no-confidence motion discussed and voted upon in the Lok Sabha on July 20 became an occasion for exposure of the four-year record of the Modi government.Though the motion was in the name of a Telugu Desam MP, whose purpose was to highlight the betrayal by the Modi government of the commitment made to Andhra Pradesh to declare it as a special category state, the opposition was able to focus on a range of issues concerning the many failures of the Modi government.

Capitulating to US Demands

THE contradiction between the strategic alliance with the United States and India’s national interest is coming to the fore. The Modi government is not going to resolve this contradiction in the national interest. Rather, it is getting ready to capitulate to the demands of the Trump administration.On the surface, the public stance adopted by the Modi government on issues such as maintaining economic and trade relations with Iran, or, buying sophisticated weaponry from Russia seems to be in consonance with national sovereignty and independent decision making.

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