WEST BENGAL: Red Flag Challenges Enemies of the People Mammoth Rally Warns TMC and BJP

IN another sign of Left’s resurgence, tens of thousands of people marched into the heart of Kolkata on December 16, at the call of CPI(M) North 24 Parganas district committee. They came from faraway forest areas of Sundarbans, from working class habitats of Barracpore industrial area, from middle class suburbs like DumDum. With red flags held high, stream of humanity overflowed Sahid Minar Maidan.

Hoopla over the Berlin Wall

GERMANY marked the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall on November 9 with a great deal of pomp and pageantry. The streets of Berlin were jam packed as crowds gathered to mark the day that led to German reunification. 8000 lighted balloons were released into the night sky with the music of Beethoven playing in the background. In attendance were stalwarts of movements that led to the collapse of the Socialist Bloc, like the Solidarity leader, Lech Walesa. The fall of the wall has been characterised as a triumph of good over evil, of democracy over dictatorship.

All India Loco Running Staff Association’s 20th All India Conference Held

ALL India Loco Running Staff Association’s 20th All India Conference was held in Chithorgarh of Rajasthan from November 15 to 16. The Conference was organised at a railway garden near Chithorgarh station in Rathlam Division of Western Railway. More than 3,000 loco running staff members and their families from all over the country assembled at the venue. The meet was welcomed by Badri Lal Jat and presided over by L Mony and N B Dutta.

Education in Bihar: Govt Claims Are Far-fetched

THE condition of education in Bihar is not as encouraging as the state government wants us to believe. The government claims that lots of works have been done in the field of education in the state and the attendance ratio in schools has increased with every child going to school. But as one takes a closer look at the prevailing situation what he/she finds is that the government claims are far-fetched and detached from ground reality.

The Gita Mystery

THE BJP is treading a familiar path. This time its agenda is to declare the Bhagavad Gita the 'National Book'. This demand has been voiced by senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, presently the country's foreign minister. In her statement to the media, one gets two terms - 'National Book' and 'National Scripture'. Call a rose by any name it will spread the same scent. Or rather, in reality, what will spread is the stench. Baba Ramdev and the newly-elected Chief Minister of Haryana have supported Sushmaji with their hands held high.

The Week in Parliament

THE week-long impasse over Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's controversial remarks ended in the Upper House after the government agreed to let Chairman Hamid Ansari make a general statement on behalf of House appealing ministers, MPs and leaders to "maintain civility in public discourse" and uphold constitutional values. After the statement, the House went ahead with the scheduled work.

TAMIL NADU: After Nokia, now it is Foxconn

NARENDRA Modi’s ‘Make in India’ is now turning into ‘Pack from India’.

Yes. After Nokia, now it is Foxconn.

FIH India Private Limited, formerly known as Foxconn India Limited, a global company and subsidiary of Hon Hai Group based in Taiwan, has made it official that it will suspend production on December 24 after finishing off residual inventory in the SEZ at Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Its action comes as a sequel to Nokia's decision to stop production at its Sriperumbudur factory.

Lima Climate Summit: Bad Signs for Paris 2015

ANYONE following the climate negotiations, especially since the disastrous pattern set at Copenhagen in 2009 and even more so given the tepid progress made since the wishy-washy Durban summit in 2011, could have seen it coming. There were low expectations from the Lima Conference of Parties (COP 20) to begin with and, true to form, the summit ended with a whimper of a statement, low on ambition on all fronts, emissions reduction, finance and technology, but full of statements with dark portents for the future.

The Meaning of Neo-Liberal “Development”

NARENDRA Modi is “marketed” these days as the “development” man. The BJP’s electoral successes, such as they are, are attributed to the fact that everyone wants “development”, which the other political formations, caught up in appeasing this or that “sectional group”, are alleged to have been ignoring until now. And taking a leaf out of Modi’s book, others too have started talking about prioritising “development”.

Comrade P R Menon

VETERAN leader of the railway workers of India, former general secretary and president of the National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU), former vice president of the All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF), one of the senior most members of the CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee and chairman of the Comrade B T Ranadive Memorial Trust, Comrade P R Menon passed away in Mumbai at the age of 81 on December 5, 2014.

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