THE central executive committee of SFI, in a statement issued on February 4, has condemned in the strongest possible words the assault of two Kashmiri students by a mob of people in Mahendargarh, Haryana. These students who belong to the minority community had gone to offer Friday prayers. While returning when they were crossing market area they were mercilessly beaten up with sticks, bricks and helmet. What is more shocking is that none of people there or the passersby came to their rescue. The police even refused to register an FIR in the case.

HYPERBOLES are the hallmark of the Modi government, especially empty hyperboles that are passed off as public policy. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s announcement during his budget speech, of the world’s “largest government funded health care programme”, outdid all previous records of the Modi government in making inflated claims. Quickly named ‘Modicare’ by the spin doctors of the BJP, the announcement was lapped up unquestioningly by sections of the corporate controlled media.

FEBRUARY 2, 1943 marks an important date in the history of the Second World War. It was on this day that in the battle of Stalingrad, Germany was handed one of its first comprehensive defeats. This defeat marked the turning point in the War, with the Red Army of the Soviet Union pushing back the German troops, leading to the ultimate defeat of Nazism and Hitler. The leaders of the imperialist countries like US, UK, France and many others have openly lauded the bravery of Red Army and Soviet citizens for this stupendous feat at that time.

THE situation of 69 year old Murlimmo of Pulmanvalsa village in Andhra Pradesh’s Araku taluk is no different from other elderly members of the particularly vulnerable tribal group, earlier known as primitive tribal group or PTG. With her wrong Aadhaar, she has been told that she was not eligible for Cyclone Hudhud victims beneficiary shelter. Her present shelter made of makeshift tin structure and twigs houses hens and ducks, along with her. Her husband died in Cyclone Hudhud in 2014. She had got Rs 5 lakh compensation, only on paper.

THE union budget for 2018-19 sets a new record for cynical dissimulation. To be sure there is a certain amount of “window dressing” in all budgets, but the announcement of fantabulous schemes with scarcely a paisa earmarked for them, as has happened this year, is quite unprecedented in the annals of budget-making in India.Consider for instance the much-hyped “world’s largest healthcare programme” announced in this budget, which is supposed to provide insurance cover for up to Rs 5 lakhs per family to 10 crore families constituting 40 per cent of India’s population.