Moral Authority Lost

THERE are times when a single incident can shatter the moral authority of a government. The death of Rohith Vemula, a research scholar at the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), who was driven to commit suicide is one such.

DSMM & Other Dalit Groups Demand Justice for Rohith Vemula

THE Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch and other dalits organisation and individuals have given a call for candle light procession and other action programmes all over the country on January 24 protesting against the death of a Ph.D. scholar Rohith Vemula of Hyderabad Central University. They have demanded the immediate removal of the suspension on the remaining four students and allowing them to continue in their hostels as usual, immediate removal of Prof P Appa Rao as vice chancellor, resignation of the two union ministers and a comprehensive compensation to the deceased family.

CPI(M) Greets CP Vietnam on its 12th Congress

The following is the text of the greetings sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on the occasion of its 12th Congress held from January 17 to 24, in Hanoi. The message was sent on January 8, 2016.
DEAR Comrades,

Indian History Congress Meets at Malda for its 76th Session

THE Indian History Congress met at Malda, West Bengal, for its three-day 76th annual session from December 27-29, 2015, under the aegis of the Gour-Banga University. About 1200 delegates from all over the country attended the session.Professor K Paddayya, eminent archaeologist, took over as general president for the ensuing year, and delivered his presidential address at the inaugural session on December 27. Professor Paddayya is currently Professor Emeritus at the Deccan College University (Pune), the Mecca of Indian archaeologists, of which he has also been the director.

My University?

WALKING through the main gate, we used to marvel at the expanse. Quiet, beautiful, stoic solitude of our university, with nearly 2,600 acres all for itself. University, the ideal place to think, contemplate, debate, innovate and research upon your ideas! Wow, passing through the main gate, we always felt how the physical presence of the university matches these ideas, providing the right atmosphere to materialise them.A security barricade slows your march within a few steps of crossing the main gate.

Casteism Killed Rohith

ROHITH Vemula is no more with us. He was born on January 30, 1989 to a poor Scheduled Caste family from Guntur district. Rohith who aspired to be a ‘writer of science like Carl Sagan’ was pursuing his Ph.D. in Science, Technology and Society Studies at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) at the time of his death. He has cleared both the UGC-JRF and CSIR-JRF. He was a scholar of great promise and a vocal student leader.Rohith was not the first, several dalit students have killed themselves in the last decade due to institutional discrimination at University of Hyderabad.

Peoples’ Unity as Marches Sweep Bengal

WHAT started as a jatha from Singur has turned out to be spectacular mobilisation of people throughout its way. The main jatha has been joined by many streams with more and more people enthusiastically participating, breaking all earlier records.Thousands of people started the march from Singur on January 16 with the main slogan of industry and employment in West Bengal.

Nava Kerala March Begins

THE month long Nava Kerala March with the theme of a “corruption free and secular progressive Kerala” got underway from Uppala, the northern tip of Kerala in Kasargode district on January 15, 2016. CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat formally inaugurated the Nava Kerala March by handing over the red flag to Pinarayi Vijayan, who is leading the march. Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan and Kerala state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also addressed the meeting to mark the commencement of the march.

The State of India’s Democratic Revolution

MARXIST theory holds that in societies that come late to capitalism, the bourgeoisie is no longer capable of dealing those telling blows against the feudal order which the bourgeoisie in an earlier epoch had done, such as during the French Revolution. This is because when the bourgeoisie comes late on to the historical scene, ie, when bourgeois property itself has come under challenge from the nascent socialist movement, the bourgeoisie becomes afraid that any attack by it on feudal property might well rebound into an attack on bourgeois property itself.

Foreign Policy Compromises National Sovereignty

FOREIGN policy is an extension of the domestic policies pursued by the ruling classes. The foreign policy of the Modi government in the last 20 months, since it assumed office, reflects the rightward shift in Indian politics. The foreign policy and strategic orientation militates against India’s sovereignty, an independent foreign policy and strategic autonomy.

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