THE Left parties – CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), RSP, Forward Bloc and the CGPI, Basti Suraksha Manch – in a joint statement issued on August 2, have welcomed Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s statement to halt ongoing illegal demolitions in slum settlements across the city.
AS the 79th Independence Day approaches, India stands at crossroads. On one side are powerful forces that are bent upon subverting the Constitution which enshrines the legacy of freedom struggle. These are the RSS, its political wing BJP, and numerous other associated organisations, collectively called the Sangh Parivar.
IN the last one and half decades, West Bengal has borne witness to a chilling surge in gendered violence. From the shadowed alleys of Park Street to the sterile corridors of R G Kar Medical College and the rural tracts of Kaliganj, the state has turned into a stage for recurring, orchestrated attacks on women and people with marginalised gender and sexuality. These are not sporadic eruptions of criminality, rather together they form a normalised architecture of violence rooted in political patronage and patriarchal order.
CONSIDERABLE time has gone by since the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its Preliminary Report (PR) on July 12 into the crash of Air India flight AI-171 a month earlier. The flurry of speculative print, online and social media reports has thankfully subsided. Many of these earlier reports had been driven by conjecture, fuelled by unfortunate leaks from within the investigation team.
WHEN our delegation* met the nuns, Sisters Preeti Mary and Vandana Francis in the Durg central jail, the utter injustice of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh was further brought home to us by the courage and dignity displayed by both the sisters. They were more concerned about the well-being of the adivasi youth Sukhman Mandavi who had been arrested along with them. The nuns have provided selfless service for decades in some of the most deprived and remote areas of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where there are no facilities.
A CPI(M)-AIKS delegation visited Himatnagar on July 21, 2025, following the tragic death of 42-year-old dairy farmer Ashok Choudhury. The delegation, led by CPI(M) leaders, demanded a judicial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Choudhury’s death and called for compensation of one crore rupees to his family, among others.Choudhury’s death is rooted in the long-standing issue of corruption within the BJP-controlled Sabarkantha District Milk Producers Union (Sabar Dairy). Dairy farmers in the region have been raising concerns about mismanagement and corruption in the cooperative.
A CONDOLENCE meeting chaired by Amra Ram, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, was held in Delhi at HKS Surjeet Bhavan on July 30, to commemorate the life and legacy of Comrade V S Achuthanandan.In his address, Amra Ram said that VS not only fought tirelessly for the cause of the working masses but also proved to be an efficient administrator, reviving many public sector undertakings during his tenure.
IN a significant development following years of persistent struggle, the Government of India has announced an increase in the fixed and performance-based incentives for ASHA workers.
IN response to a call by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), thousands of angry residents marched through the scorching heat to the District Collectorate in Sikar on July 26, raising slogans such as “Scrap Master Plan 2041,” “The land is ours, your loot won’t be tolerated.” The protest was a direct challenge to the anti-people Bhajanlal government in the state.Amid heavy sloganeering, CPI(M) MP Amra Ram, and CPI(M) leaders Kishan Pareek, Pemaram, and Kudli sarpanch, Prabhu Ola, and Shivsinhpura sarpanch Mahaveer Saini publicly burned copies of Master Plan 2041 as a warning to the state