THE results of the by-election to two assembly constituencies in Bihar have created a political storm out of nothing. The two seats – Kusheshwarsthan and Tarapur – had been won by the JD(U) in the 2020 assembly election and the by-election was necessitated after the demise of the legislators due to Covid-19. While the ruling NDA constituents were united and put up a joint fight, the unity between the Congress and the RJD could not be sustained.
THE Left parties staged protests against the steep hike in prices of petroleum products throughout Andhra Pradesh on October 28. These include rasta rokos, sit-in dharnas, pulling autos with ropes, cooking on firewood etc.
THE national executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party was held on November 7. As it was being held after a gap of two years, there was interest to know how the ruling party at the centre assessed the political developments and the work done during the Covid-affected period. But if there were any persons who expected an objective review of the government’s work in this period and the policies adopted, they would have been sorely disappointed. The address of the president, the political resolution and Modi’s valedictory speech – all taken together show not an iota of a self-critical
ON September 8, Tripura witnessed widespread attacks on CPI(M) offices and the houses of CPI(M) cadres across the state. More than a score of offices were burnt down or ransacked. Even the state committee office in Agartala was not spared. Vehicles in front of the offices were burnt. Many houses of Party leaders and activists were set on fire or ransacked. These coordinated attacks by mobs of BJP men were meant to suppress the CPI(M) and stop its activities among the people.These fascistic type of attacks are an onslaught on democracy and a brutal attempt to suppress the opposition.
SINCE the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades back, efforts to rubbish the November revolution and its underlying principles continue. It is another matter that the questions raised and the answers provided to some of the profound issues confronting the human society cannot be ostracised for good. They stand up with the full range of its ideological posers. In fact, with the passage of time they raise new vision in engaging with the current and evolving reality under contemporary neo-liberal capitalism.
MORE than hundred years after it ‘shook the world’, the Great October Revolution that changed the course of history continues to inspire the working class around the world.
THERE are a number of misconceptions about Indian agriculture which, if not removed forthwith, can have potentially adverse effects on the ongoing kisan agitation against the three farm laws. The first of these is the belief that corporate encroachment on peasant agriculture is a matter concerning only the corporate encroachers and the peasants. This is wrong: corporate encroachment on peasant agriculture is a matter that affects the economy as a whole; it concerns everybody. This is not a rhetorical statement; it is literally true.
THE Lakhimpur Kheri Shaheed Kalash Yatra in Maharashtra began with great enthusiasm on October 27, 2021 at Pune from Mahatma Jotirao Phule's historic house, which has long ago been declared as a national monument. Mahatma Phule (1827-1890) was a champion of the peasantry, an inveterate opponent of the caste system and of women’s oppression, and the author of seminal works like ‘Slavery’ and ‘The Whipcord of the Peasant’.