135th Birth Anniversary of Muzaffar Ahmad: ‘Fight against Plunderers Shall Go On’

COMMEMORATING the 135th birth anniversary of Muzaffar Ahmad, affectionately known as Kakababu, the West Bengal state committee of the CPI(M) held a meeting on August 5, in Kolkata.

CPI(M) Writes to Delhi Police Commissioner to Act on Provocative, Communal Campaign

Niger Is the Fourth Country in the Sahel to Experience an Anti-Western Coup

AT 3 am on July 26, 2023, the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum in Niamey, the capital of Niger. Troops, led by Brigadier General Abdourahmane Tchiani closed the country’s borders and declared a curfew. The coup d’état was immediately condemned by the Economic Community of West African States, by the African Union, and by the European Union. Both France and the United States – which have military bases in Niger – said that they were watching the situation closely.

WB: Victory Won by Rigging Cannot Undermine People’s Struggle

THE 10th panchayat elections in West Bengal were marred by massive fraud, vote looting, and manipulation at the counting centres, reducing the electoral process virtually to a farce. These can no longer be called “unprecedented” because such methods of widespread election rigging have characteriSed virtually all Bengal’s local body elections in the past decade. There is almost a consensus now that a major characteristic of the electoral process in Bengal is the incidence of pervasive rigging of elections.

The Problem with “Universal Basic Income”

MANY economists have been advocating a universal basic income for India, an idea that was mooted even in the official Economic Survey for 2016-17. Of course the practical proposals towards this end have varied, some suggesting a common universal transfer to all persons below a certain income, and others suggesting a graded transfer depending on how badly off an individual happens to be.

Next Target is Gyanvapi Mosque

THE Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, has virtually declared that a new front is being opened up in the temple-mosque issue. This time, it is the Gyanvapi mosque and the Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.

AP: Stalling the Privatisation of Vizag Steel Plant for 900 Days

THE ministry of finance sub-committee (central) announced the strategic sale of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), popularly known as Vizag Steel, on January 27, 2021. The then recognised union, CITU, united all permanent workers' unions, contract workers' unions, and officer's association on one platform, forming a struggle committee to save Vizag Steel Plant from privatisation.

TN: ‘Manipur Violence is an Assault on Federalism and Plurality’

THE CPI(M) Madurai urban and rural district committees jointly organised a special conference on the ‘Protection of States’ Rights’ on July 23, at Madurai. Addressing the conference, CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury said the violence in Manipur is an attack on federalism and plurality of the country unleashed by the BJP has been trying to convert the secular democratic republic of India into a fascist Hindutva rashtra.Yechury said the freedom struggle underlined the need to uphold diversity such as of language, culture and religion.

Punjab: Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet’s Death Anniversary Observed

ON August 1, 2023, a programme was held at Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna Bhawan in Chandigarh, to pay tributes to Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet on his 15th death anniversary. Md. Salim, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and West Bengal state secretary, attended the programme as the chief guest. Salim praised Comrade Surjeet's remarkable efforts in preventing the communal BJP from forming a government at the centre by mobilising secular and democratic forces on many occasions.

South Korea-Japan Inching Closer

THE latest Hollywood blockbuster "Oppenheimer" is not likely to hit theaters in Japan. The release of “Barbie,” the second superhit of the year, is also under a cloud as Japanese people are irked by social media comments which have combined the two movies as “Barbenheimer.”It is certainly difficult for Japanese audiences to digest a movie eulogising Robert Oppenheimer, a physicist who led the project of making atomic bombs. Moreover, this would be unacceptable to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose political constituency is in Hiroshima.

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