EXPECTATIONS about the improvement of bilateral ties between India and Pakistan were buoyed after the Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif accepted the newly elected Indian prime minister’s invitation for his swearing in ceremony. Sharif had come to Delhi at short notice despite the misgivings expressed by many in Pakistan, including those in the powerful security establishment. Narendra Modi on the campaign trail had targeted Pakistan as a threat to India’s internal security and had pledged to take a tough and uncompromising stand on the Kashmir issue.

THERE were three distinct visions for an independent India during freedom struggle – the Nehruvian vision, the Left vision and the right-wing ‘Hindutva’ vision. Pandit Nehru represented the mainstream vision for a ‘secular democratic’ India, while the Left vision was for a ‘secular, democratic and socialist’ India. The third was for converting independent India into a rabidly intolerant ‘Hindu Rashtra’. This vision originated with the formation of the RSS in 1925. The Muslim League was a ‘twin brother’ of the RSS.

THE 4th Berhampur district conference of Odisha Sales Representatives' Union (OSRU) was held at Sahid Laxman Nayak Community Hall in Berhampur on September 7. CPI(M) state secretariat member Ali Kishore Pattnaik inaugurated the conference. OSRU general secretary Subhnkar Das, who was the chief speaker, discussed the organisational functioning and developments in the sector. Das opposed the anti-worker policies being pursued by the central and state governments.

THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), in a statement issued on September 13, has welcomed the judgment of the Supreme Court setting at rest all hitherto misinterpretations of the three percent reservation provided to persons with disabilities as per the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. The Court has ruled that the three percent reservation applies not just to recruitment to all categories, but to departmental promotions as well.

RULING class offensives against the labouring poor in conditions of economic crisis are typically sought to be justified by advancing theories that attribute the crisis to the labouring poor themselves.