The Myth of Bitcoin as Money

THE cryptocurrency Bitcoin has seen its price see-sawing wildly over the last 12 months, making it one of the most volatile of assets. Whether it can be considered at all a currency – a token of money which can be exchanged for other goods – is another question. At its current price in dollars – 1 bitcoin is trading for $9,120, down by about half from its highest price of $19,206 a month back. It is still nine times what it was trading only 12 months ago. Among all cryptocurrencies, and there are more of them, Bitcoin is by far the biggest.

WEST BENGAL: Tea Workers’ Historic March

THOUSANDS of tea workers marched to ‘Uttarkanya’, the state government office in North Bengal on January 24, in a historic show of unity. Tea workers in northern Bengal are suffering from severe distress. Many tea gardens are closed since long, triggering starvation deaths and large scale migration. In other gardens, workers are being paid paltry wages, their ration and health facilities have gradually declined. The state government has remained criminally callous to the widespread crisis in tea gardens.

Students’ Struggle against Communal Violence & Politics of Hate

INCIDENTS of communal violence and hatred have increased manifolds in India in recent times. The idea of a secular, democratic republic is under attack by the very forces ruling at the Centre. The idea of those who are leading the regime in this country is an idea which wages war against the constitutional values itself. The brutal murder of Mohammad Afrajul and the circulation of a video of his killing is one of the most horrifying experiences in the recent past.

Minimum Budgetary Demands of AIAWU

THE All India Agricultural Workers Union, in a statement issued on January 30, has called on the finance minister to ensure that at least 5 per cent of the GDP is spent on agriculture, which has gone down sharply in growth since last year. Also there is a situation where farmers are ploughing back potatoes into their fields, throwing tomatoes on to the roads and in general failing to get the prices demanded under the Swaminathan formula for minimum support price which the present government had promised to implement in its election manifesto.

Goa Organising Committee Holds 17th Conference

THE 17th Conference of the Goa Organising Committee of the CPI(M) was held at Comrade Thalmann Pereira Nagar, Vasco on January 27, the conference venue being named after the Goa party’s former organising secretary, whose untimely death last year has left a big void . At 11 am, the Party flag was hoisted by Anand Betkikar, the senior most member of the Party in Goa.

Pakoda Jobs

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has, in an interview last week with a private television channel, claimed that someone who opens a pakoda shop in the street is to be considered as employed. Further, his earning of Rs 200 per day is not reflected in any book of accounts. He said, “The truth is massive number of people are being employed”. So, now we have it from the prime minister himself that massive employment has been created by people selling goods on streets.

Widespread Protests over Bus Fare Hike in Tamil Nadu

THE Tamil Nadu government announced a hike in bus fares across the state by 55-100 per cent on January 19. After the fare hike came into effect, bus conductors had a tough time in facing the angry people.

Tripura Legislative Assembly Election – 2018

Tripura Legislative Assembly Election – 2018 List of Left Front Candidates

Eminent Hindi Writer Doodhnath Singh Passes Away

PROFESSOR Doodhnath Singh, an eminent Hindi writer and president of Janwadi Lekhak Sangh passed away at midnight of January 11, 2018 at Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) his hometown. He was 81 and very active till his last breath. He suffered from cancer of the prostate, he was undergoing the treatment at a hospital in Allahabad but had a cardiac arrest and thus passed away. He was a member of the CPI(M).Prof. Doodhnath Singh taught Hindi literature at the Allahabad Central University.

The Dramatic Rise in Wealth Inequality

OXFAM has just produced a report in which it highlights the dramatic increase in wealth inequality that is occurring in India. The basic data it uses are from Credit Suisse which regularly brings out a Global Wealth Databook; and according to Credit Suisse the top 1 per cent of the population in India cornered 73 per cent of the additional wealth generated in the year 2017.This is an incredible figure in itself. What is more, this percentage, which refers to the latest year, is higher than the overall figure that had prevailed prior to this year, which was 58 per cent.

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