THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) strongly condemned the views expressed by Narendra Modi at Jamshedpur on April 10 while campaigning for the BJP there.
TEN days after his discharge from a hospital in Mexico City, Gabriel García Márquez, one of the greatest writers of our times, died on April 17, 2014 at the age of 87. Author of classic works such as One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Times of Cholera, No One Writes to the Colonel, The Autumn of the Patriarch and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, he created the eternal and marvelous Macondo which, in the imagination of millions of his readers, became synonymous with Latin America.
We are reproducing below a slightly edited article by Comrade M Basavapunnaiah that appeared in a special issue of People’s Democracy commemorating the birth centenary of V I Lenin (April 22, 1970). This is being done both as a tribute to Comrade MB’s understanding of the Leninst tactics and for the importance of these being based on concrete analysis of concrete conditions. Secondly, this article is being reprinted on the occasion of Lenin’s 144th birth anniversary that falls on April 22, 2014.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury warned that the policies of Narendra Modi- led BJP and Rahul Gandhi-led Congress will only lead to more crises in the coming period for the country. He called upon people to stengthen Left parties in order to ensure a genuine alternative formation at the centre that will implement pro-people policies.
MUCH is written these days about how “the youth” is “tired” of the “rigid ideological positions” of the Left, how Marxism itself, notwithstanding its immense appeal in the past, has ceased to be attractive to today’s “youth”, indeed how “grand narratives” of all kinds, of which Marxism of course is the leading example, have become passé.
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on April 24, 2014.
IT is unfortunate that the Andhra Pradesh High Court, in a judgement, has acquitted 21 persons sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Chundur case involving the massacre of dalits in 1991.
It is shocking that 23 years after the massacre, justice has not been rendered. It is imperative that the state government immediately lodge an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict.
THE duality in the BJP’s election campaign is getting exposed. At the top, there is a veneer of Modispeak about “development” and promise of good governance and employment. Lurking beneath is an intense communal campaign which is specially concentrated in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
YET another acquittal. Yet another denial of justice. In the recent past, it was Bathani Thola, then Laxmanpur Bathe and now it is Chundur. Similar pattern. Similar excuses. Similar role of the governments, investigation authorities, police machinery... lack of credible evidence, doubts on the witness accounts...
THE remarks made by driver of the taxi we had boarded set the tone. “Saab why are you going to that Muslim locality” was his refrain, once we informed him of our destination. This is what Varanasi has been turned into. A communal cauldron. Deep runs the mistrust. The BJP’s decision to field Modi from Varanasi is only going to widen this divide.
Social Media to Have Little Influence on Indian Elections: Report
Are we over estimating the influence of social networking websites on the Indian elections?
AMID the high decibel action on social media sites, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Indian elections this year could see a vote swing influenced by Facebook and Twitter.