THERE was an all-out assault on democracy when elections to the Bidhannagar municipal corporation, the Greater Asansol corporation and the Bali corporation were held on October 3.  Trinamul Congress gangs led by its leaders indulged in booth capturing and false voting.  The elections in Salt Lake under the Bidhannagar  corporation were completely falsified with fake voters being deployed from outside, attacks on genuine voters who tried to vote and assaults on journalists who sought to cover the rigging of the elections.  The fact that 13 journalists were injured here shows the ferocity wit

THAILAND experienced its deadliest terror attack on August 17 when a bomb went off at the Erawan Shrine. It is a popular Hindu and Buddhist shrine, frequented throughout the day by large numbers of tourists. 22 people were killed and more than 120 injured in the attack which was designed to cause maximum casualties. Many foreigners, seven of them from China and Hong Kong, were among those killed. Many of the wounded are also from China and Taiwan. Two unexploded bombs were discovered after the carnage.

THERE are clear signals that India’s higher and technical education is being thrown open to ‘for profit’ private entities. The threat of global competition via the WTO route is already here, and it is likely to aggravate in future.Under WTO, educational services, particularly the tertiary educational services like higher education, are treated as globally tradable services.

THE first all India convention of sugarcane growers, held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu on September 27-28, resolved to organise militant struggles in front of sugar mills across the country on various issues. The first ever convention of the sugarcane growers was held under the direction of All India Kisan Council of the AIKS. It was a memorable and historic event in the Kisan movement of the country, held in the historic city of Madurai, which contributed immensely in building the Kisan movement.

THE idea of India as a secular democratic and culturally diverse nation was a result of the broad consensus between the representatives of all major classes in the Constituent Assembly. The Constitution, which was a result of this broad process of negotiation, guaranteed certain fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and religion as well as equal opportunity for historically exploited social groups. The attack on this idea has been growing.