INDIA’S writers have done the country proud.  They have stood up to condemn the rising attack on freedom of expression, the worst manifestation of which was the killing of Prof M M Kalburgi who was murdered by extremists on August 30.

THERE was an all-out assault on democracy when elections to the Bidhannagar municipal corporation, the Greater Asansol corporation and the Bali corporation were held on October 3.  Trinamul Congress gangs led by its leaders indulged in booth capturing and false voting.  The elections in Salt Lake under the Bidhannagar  corporation were completely falsified with fake voters being deployed from outside, attacks on genuine voters who tried to vote and assaults on journalists who sought to cover the rigging of the elections.  The fact that 13 journalists were injured here shows the ferocity wit

THE pace of communalisation has quickened in the past few weeks, both through the official level and by the Hindutva outfits on the ground. Soon after the “Samanvay Baithak” of the RSS held in the first week of September, the minister for culture, Mahesh Sharma came out with a series of pronouncements regarding cultural pollution by western values and about restoring Indian culture based on the thinking established in the Gita, Mahabharat and the Ramayana.

THE tragic suicide by the parents of a seven year old boy who died due to dengue in Delhi is a shocking reminder of the dismal state of the health care system in the country.  30 million Indians are infected by dengue fever every year and 80 percent of them do not get medical care, or, are refused admission in hospitals on the plea that no beds are available. This illustrates the public health crisis facing the country.  Dengue epidemics break out in Delhi frequently, but the government and the health system have regularly failed to cope with the outbreak.

THE countrywide general strike on September 2 called by the Central Trade Unions and independent national federations received massive response from the workers all over the country. Crores of workers employed in almost all the sectors of the economy participated in this strike. Police was used on the workers in several states. The Trinamool government in West Bengal used the brutal force of its police as well as its goons to physically attack the workers on strike. The workers bravely fought back this terror and participated in the strike.