THE Jammu and Kashmir state committee of the CPI(M) has expressed grief over the sad demise of Comrade Bishan Dass, who was a veteran kisan and senior CPI(M) leader.
THE Modi government's sordid attempt to topple the Harish Rawat government in Uttarakhand and install a BJP government with the help of defectors has been thwarted by a vigilant judiciary. Harish Rawat has won the floor test in the Uttarakhand assembly in an unprecedented Court monitored vote by the legislators.
THERE has been quite widespread media coverage of the serious drought afflicting large swathes of India – particularly in Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan, Bundelkhand and even Punjab. Many areas have seen two consecutive years of problems arising not only from rainfall deficiency but also serious crop loss owing to unseasonal rain. With nothing to eat for humans or livestock, distress migration from many areas is a very visible phenomenon.
THE recent World Employment and Social Outlook Trends, 2016 (hereafter WESO) shows that the crisis in contemporary capitalism has worsened in the last two years and the forecasts for the next few years are also quite bleak. This scenario is best exemplified by the growing rate of unemployment in the world economy, particularly in developing and emerging countries. It should be noted, that the current phase of contemporary capitalism is characterised by location of production units in emerging and developing economies by transnational corporations.
THE first civilian government in more than fifty years in Burma formally took over the reins of power on April 1. The military which had monopolised power for most of the years since the country gained independence however will continue to have a major say in the running of the government. The constitution it has bestowed on the country without meaningful debate has placed significant roadblocks for the smooth transition to a full fledged civilian rule.
THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in a statement issued on May 1, has denounced the hike in petrol price by Rs 1.06 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.94 per litre. Due to this hike, petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 62.19 per litre and diesel will cost Rs 50.95 per litre.
THE second part of the budget session of parliament began on April 25 on a stormy note in both the houses over the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
THE flash strike by the garment workers in Bangalore and Visakhapatnam, almost simultaneously in the month of April attracted wide attention. The significant features of the strikes were - all these workers were women, they were not members of any trade union and no trade union led the strike in either place. In both the places, the major issue was the government notification banning withdrawal of their money from their PF accounts till retirement.19,000 workers in the Brandix India Apparel City in the Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone in Visakhapatnam were on strike from April 15, 2016.
TWO letters were submitted to the Election Commission on May 2, 2016 by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with regard to various concerns about the assembly elections in West Bengal.The letters noted that there has been widespread appreciation both among the people and among the media for the manner in which the polls were conducted in the fifth phase on April 30. This is, however, despite some problems in few ACs like Behala (East) and Canning (East). But the post-poll violence continues unabated, even leading to fatalities.
THE lamentation of a teenage girl is still haunting the conscience of Bengal where she screamed that she used to sleep beside her father but what will she do in the coming days!