No Protein for the Poor

DAL prices have continued its upward trend causing real suffering for the people. Tur Dal is now more expensive than chicken with its retail price at Rs 220 per kg. Prices of arhar and urad are double what it was in October 2014. The prices of pulses is not just a problem of price rise, it is also of food security as the bulk of the population derive its protein requirements from pulses. As against the recommended daily requirement of 50 to 60 grams, current availability of pulses is less than 30 grams per day.

In the Name of the Cow

DADRI was not just an aberration or an isolated incident. Following the killing of Mohd Akhlaq by a mob in a village in Dadri on the false accusation of eating beef, there have been a spate of similar attacks using cow slaughter as the pretext. The death of 20 year old Noman after a truck carrying cattle was attacked in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh was followed by an arson attack in Udhampur on a truck carrying coal from Kashmir valley. Twenty three year old Zahid Ahmed died of burns sustained in this attack which was based on a malicious rumour about the killing of two cows.

Writers Stand Up

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.

Black Money Farce

NARENDRA Modi’s boastful claim that he will bring back all the black money stashed abroad is fast turning into a farce. Modi had promised during the Lok Sabha election, to bring the lakhs of crores of rupees illegally kept abroad. He had declared that when all this money comes home, every person in India would get Rs 15 lakhs. The government had got a legislation passed in parliament Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income & Assets) Imposition of Tax Act 2015.

West Bengal: War on the People

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

Malabar Exercises: Cog in US Strategy

THE Malabar joint naval exercises, to be conducted between October 14 and 21, illustrates the tightening India-US military collaboration. The Malabar exercises began in 1992 as joint naval exercises between the Indian and US navies. Subsequently, joint exercises were extended to the air forces and armies of the two countries. It got expanded and institutionalised with the Indo-US defence framework agreement that was signed in June 2005.

The Poison Spreads

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.

Nepal Constitution: A Historic Step

THE adoption of a federal, democratic and secular Constitution in Nepal is a historic occasion. The protracted struggle of the Nepalese people against feudal authoritarianism and for democracy has culminated in the establishment of a federal, democratic and secular State. Eight years after the interim Constitution, after a tortuous political process, the Constituent Assembly voted overwhelmingly (507 out of 601) to approve the Constitution.

Public Health Crisis

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.

A Swayamsevak Club

THE three-day meeting of the RSS and its affiliated organisations from September 2 to 4 called the “Samanvya Baithak” was widely reported as a coordination meeting between the RSS and the BJP government. The meeting was attended by all the senior ministers of the Modi government – Rajnath Singh, the home minister, Arun Jaitley, the finance minister, Sushma Swaraj, the external affairs minister, Manohar Parrikar, the defence minister and others. The BJP president Amit Shah was present. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended on the last day.

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Peoples Democracy

Editorial