We expected them to speak about us, the dalits, the untouchables. Because, for us, speaking about Babasaheb without speaking about us, is meaningless. We thought they will speak about the attacks on us. We wanted them to speak about people who still shamelessly call us dogs. We hoped that they will talk about things that will help in the education of our children, jobs for us and an improvement in our overall life. For us, Ambedkar is a struggle and we thought that there will be a talk of our struggles in the parliament. Glued to the TV, we watched and watched and watched.

THE fortnight long capture and occupation of the northern Afghan city of Kunduz by the Taliban has further exposed the frailty of the central government in Kabul. Kunduz is the fifth largest city in Afghanistan with a population of more than 300,000. The Taliban in a surprise attack had caught the Afghan security forces, trained and equipped by the West, apparently by surprise. On September 28, a few hundred Taliban fighters attacked the city from different directions and quickly captured the city. According to reports, they had many supporters who had infiltrated into the city.

THE CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee organised a three-day state-level Party class for its leading activists working on the student front from November 7-9, 2015 at the Comrade B T Ranadive Memorial Bhavan in New Mumbai. The class began, significantly, on the 98th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution led by the Bolsheviks under Lenin. 105 selected student activists from 13 districts attended the class.

The following is the memorandum sent to Venkaiah Naidu, minister for parliamentary affairs and Rajnath Singh, minister for home, Government of India on November 24, 2015 by the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch regarding the issues to be raised in the special sitting of parliament held on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar.THE proposed beginning of the winter session of parliament with a special sitting on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar is a welcome step by the government.According to the media reports, the first two days have bee

THE Andaman & Nicobar State Conference of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) was held on November 21-22 in Port Blair. The two-day conference gave a call to intensify movements on various long-pending and genuine demands of the employees and workers in the islands.The conference began with an open session at Tiranga Park, Aberdeen Bazar in Port Blair at 5 p.m. Before the open session, a huge procession of workers marched through the main areas of Port Blair.