IN a glittering effort to mobilise people for the furtherance of development in Kerala, two marches – ‘Vikasana Munnetta Jatha’ (Taking Forward the Development March) – organised by the LDF has drawn tremendous response from every section of voters. The marches reached out to people in all 140 assembly constituencies and were structured to activate the LDF cadres and sympathisers in the run-up to the assembly elections scheduled for April 6. The northern and southern jathas culminated successfully on January 26 with massive rallies in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur.

INDIA and China have agreed to begin 'a workable and sequential' disengagement and de-escalation at all the heavily armed “friction points” in eastern Ladakh.

THE ongoing farmers struggle at the borders of Delhi, under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha(SKM) is not a spontaneous protest. This struggle, the largest in mass participation and striking power since independence, is the continuation of the agitations by the peasantry and the working class during the last three decades against the State policies, especially the neo-liberal policies being imposed on the people by successive union governments.The big capitalist class in India faces a decisive crisis.

THE road map for the next five years for devolution of funds to the states as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission(XV FC) is ready. The XVFC has met in the last few years and the previous year was the year of Covid pandemic and as a natural corollary-lessons to be learnt. However, the recommendations of the XV FC tend to belie the aspirations of the states and the people from getting a due share. The structure of recommendations is reduced on the basis of need and equity and more discretionary with the union.

FEBRUARY 18, Basant Panchami was a day when cold, wintry days were replaced by balmy spring weather.  A day of rejoicing. For the families of Komal, Kajal and Roshni, young teenagers closely related to each other, Basant Panchami will always bring back memories of young lives blighted by violence.In the afternoon of that day, the three girls went as usual to collect fodder from the fields. When they did not return after a couple of hours, Kajal’s mother, Bitola, and Roshni’s brother went looking for them.