Editorial

PM’s Visit to New York & Washington Lack of Substance: A Dangerous Portend

PRIME Minister Modi’s visit to New York and Washington on the occasion of addressing the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) turned out to be, as the PTI reported, of the nature of a “rock star celebrity”. His speeches at the Madison Square Garden and the annual rock star ritual that takes place every year on the occasion of the UNGA at New York’s Central Park confirmed once again that the mindset of a continuing Indian election campaign has not yet been discarded by Prime Minister Modi.

On Chinese President’s Visit to India

THE Chinese president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan paid their maiden three day State visit to India. This is the first visit of the Chinese president after his election to these positions in 2012. Sixteen agreements and memoranda of understanding have been signed, eleven of them with the central government and another five with the state governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

On Bye-Election Results

AS we said earlier, normally bye-election results do not constitute a major reflection on the national standing of any political party, particularly that party which heads the central government at the moment. However, if the recent three rounds of bye-elections since the BJP’s single party majority victory in the Lok Sabha and formation of the government at the Centre are taken together, the trends appear of certain significance.

PM’s Japan Visit: Yet Again Goebbelsian Methodology

THE RSS/BJP appears to have once again fallen back on their tested methodology that is based on a dictum advanced by Hitler’s fascist propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. During the period of the rise and consolidation of Nazi fascism, with all its consequent horrendous acts that eventually plunged the world into the bloody Second World War, Goebbels conducted the fascistic propaganda on the basis of his dictum: Tell a big enough lie frequently enough for it to be accepted as the truth by the people.

By-election Results Signify a Trend of Waning Modi “Euphoria”

EIGHT days before it completes its first hundred days, the Modi government and the RSS/BJP suffered a major setback in the recently held by-elections in Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. Out of a total of 18 seats, the BJP could only win ten this time. In comparison to the leads that the BJP and allies registered in the 2014 general elections, when they had eight out of the ten seats that went to polls in the by-elections in Bihar, they could win only four seats. And, that too, with very narrow margins. For instance, it won the Banka seat by a wafer thin margin of 711 votes.

Prime Minister’s Independence Day Speech: Talking & Walking in Opposite Directions

INDIA’S new prime minister Narendra Modi’s maiden speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of our Independence Day evoked appreciation from the traditional drumbeaters of the RSS/BJP and a widespread adulation from the growing tribe of `fresh converts’ – including some erstwhile pretentious secular liberals – who seem to be bending over backwards to earn brownie points in the race for some official patronage or appointments to share the spoils of office.

Duplicitous US Intervention in Iraq

THE United States has launched air strikes in Iraq against the forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS). President Obama has ordered this military action in Iraq, the first since its withdrawal of ground troops from the country in 2011. The Islamic extremist forces have been advancing towards Baghdad and Irbil in Kurdistan after occupying a substantial part of northern Iraq. The Obama administration had earlier sent special forces who are operating from two centres in Baghdad and Irbil.

Resist BJP’s Efforts to Disintegrate our Social Fabric

DURING the course of the 2014 general elections, we had pointed out, more than once, various features of the Narendra Modi-led BJP campaign that led to the unmistakable conclusion that `development’ and `Gujarat model’ employed as election mascots were only the veil concealing the actual ground reality of the campaign that focused on the sharpening of communal polarisation.

FDI in Insurance: Appeasing US & Finance Capital

THE Modi government has extended a welcome gift to John Kerry, the US Secretary of State who is visiting India. The union cabinet has approved the raising of the FDI cap in the insurance sector from 26 percent to 49 percent. An amendment to the Insurance Laws will be placed in this session of parliament itself. This will fulfill a longstanding demand of the United States, as voiced repeatedly by the India-US business forum which was set-up during the UPA-1 government.

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