KERALA has a unique social composition in which Muslims and Christians together comprise 45 per cent of the population. Kerala is also distinctive in that the three religious communities are interwoven into the social fabric and have coexisted harmoniously.  The Malayali identity has assimilated the socio-cultural traits of all these major religious groups.

This mosaic is complemented by a strong secular tradition in politics to which the Left has made a major contribution.

THE Muzaffarnagar Mahapanchayat organised by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on September 5 will go down as a historic landmark in the annuls of the peasant movement of the country.  Lakhs of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab along with contingents from many other states participated in the rally.

CAMOUFLAGED in jargon that speaks of ‘monetisation of de-risked assets’, the BJP-led NDA government has announced its plan to sell out India’s public sector. In that plan, assets ranging from roads, ports, airports and railway track and stations, through fuel pipelines, telecom towers, optical fibre cabling, warehouses, and stadia, are to be handed over to big private investors in return for upfront or staggered payments of around Rs 6 lakh crore over a four year period ending financial year 2025.

AMERICA’S ignominious exit from Afghanistan, the collapse of the Afghan National Army, the fleeing of President Ashraf Ghani and the rapid takeover by the Taliban, have all been stunning developments. 

THE announcement by the Modi government providing for 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections in the all-India quota for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses from the current academic year is being hailed by the BJP and its supporters as an example of the Modi government’s commitment for the welfare of OBCs. The prime minister has hailed this decision of the government as a “landmark decision”.