WE are all taught that there are no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ in history. In spite of it, many a times we always pose the question, ‘what if’, to deal with certain pressing issues confronting our present. Collecting few of such imaginary questions, a book was published – ‘What would Marx Do?’ as part of a series titled ‘How the Greatest Political Theorists would Solve Your Everyday Problems’.

JANUARY 17 was the 15th death anniversary of Jyoti Basu, the towering person of the post-independence Indian communist movement. On this day,  along with laying the foundation stone of Jyoti Basu Centre for Social Studies and Research (JBCSSR)  building, a seminar was organised at the construction site in Jyoti Basu Nagar, in the New Town. The topic of the seminar was “The Challenge to Safeguard Our Secular Democratic Republic”. CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Party state secretary Md Salim took part in the discussion.

“IT is we who are the prisoners. Those who gangraped and murdered our sister, committed terrible atrocities on her, are free. They are walking around the village like victors. But we cannot step out of our home.” These words were spoken by Satinder Kumar, the 33 year old elder brother of the girl known as the Hathras victim to Subhashini Ali and myself when we travelled to their village Bul Garhi, on January 17. We had made the trip to inquire about their welfare.

THE Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, a draft of which was circulated for public comments by the union ministry of information and broadcasting in November 2023, is yet another step by the Modi government to restrict and stifle freedom of expression. It seeks to replace the nearly three-decade-old Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995.

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in a statement issued on January 20, has condemned the announcement of a holiday for government offices, institutions, and industrial establishments on January 22, 2024. This decision, made by the government at the centre and in some states, is criticised by CITU as an abuse of power, which constitutes a gross violation of the principles of secularism enshrined in the constitution and emphasized by the Supreme Court. The Court has mandated that governments should refrain from aligning with any specific religion.