SURELY it was giving me the goose bumps. I was simply overwhelmed by the enormity of the occasion and the circumstances.  We were right there; meeting hall of the Thong-Nhat Palace (which in Vietnamese would read) -the reunification palace.  It was here that at 11.30 am on April 30, 1975, the Liberation Army of Vietnam commandeered by Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap entered the main gates of this building then known as the Independence Palace.

SEVENTY years have passed since the victory over fascism, with the defeat of Hitler and hoisting of Red Flag over the Reichstag, but a new trend is emerging in our country whereby the Hindutva and right-wing forces are trying to implement what Hitler tried and eventually failed. As the Hindutva and right-wing forces attempt to replace India's secular and democratic traditions with a "neo-fascist" system, there is a need to strengthen the Left and democratic forces to counter these challenges.

Against the Privatisation and Commercialisation of Healthcare

The 21st Party Congress of the CPI (M) notes with grave concern the sustained attempts by the BJP government at the Centre to further erode public health services through a variety of measures that are designed to increase the profits of private corporate hospitals and insurance companies, throwing the mass of people at their mercy. At the same time it has permitted the increasing commercialisation of medical education which goes against the interests of public health services.

ON April 18, S Ramachandran Pillai, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member presented the Political-Organisational Report adopted by the Central Committee to the 21st Congress of the CPI(M)  held in Visakhapatnam from April 14-19. At the very outset he stated that since the Plenum on Organisation is going to discuss all aspects of the Party organisation and the functioning of the mass organisations, the Political-Organisational Report will be focusing on the state of the Party organisation today and it analyses some of the weaknesses prevalent.

ANYWHERE in Bengal, you may suddenly face bomb blasts; in a remote village, in front of polling booths or in an early morning suburban train. The common thread is everywhere you will find a Trinamul connection.The mysterious blasts in Khagragarh are still fresh in mind. On October 2, 2014 an explosion occurred in a house in the Khagragarh locality of Burdwan. Initially the state government and police just brushed away the whole episode as a trivial matter. But the NIA investigations have unearthed even terrorist links, routed to Bangladesh.