Tragic Death of Praful Bidwai

VETERAN journalist Praful Bidwai, 66, passed away on June 23 in Amsterdam where he was attending a conference. Praful, a friend of all Left wing causes and one of the most trenchant critics of the Hindutva agenda as also of neo-liberal policies authored several books and wrote a syndicated column carried by several newspapers. His articles which brought a Left wing analysis to critical subjects from foreign policy to political economy and social issues, were most well researched, providing valuable information and analysis to those in struggle.

Governmentalisation of Yoga

A PURELY individual physical exercise like yoga has for the first time in the history of post-Independence India been given a national status because the central government announced that June 21 would become a landmark in Indian history when “the whole of India” would be officially expected to perform yoga exercises. The central government had asked every public servant, autonomous universities/colleges and others to observe June 21 as International Yoga Day, which was accepted by the United Nations at the sole initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An End to the Blackmail

In a landmark speech, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announces that a referendum will be held on the Troika bailout deal.

The NDA’s War on Rural Poor

THE NDA government waged an incessant war on rural poor immediately after coming into power. As a key strategy of this war, the Modi-led government made an explicit commitment to remove any kind of State intervention which hinders the free play of market forces. The key elements of this strategy are allowing foreign and domestic private capital to poach the vast rural market through various means of market instruments. The precondition for such facilitation lies in the limiting the role of government agencies, systems that govern the economic activity in an agrarian economy.

Foundation Conference of Mid-Day-Meal Workers Federation Held in Bengaluru

THE foundation conference of Mid-Day-Meal Workers Federation of India – their first all India conference was held in Bengaluru from June 21-23, 2015. The city of Bengaluru which, in the recent years has witnessed large militant mobilisations of scheme workers including MDM workers has once again witnessed a massive mobilisation of Mid-Day-Meal workers on June 21 who had come from different parts of Karnataka to be part of a colorful rally of 10,000 Mid-Day-Meal workers, all clad in red, organised on the occasion of their first conference.

TAMILNADU: We Do Not Want Charity Give Us Our Rights!

THE second state conference of Tamilnadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caretakers (TARATDAC) was held in Kovilpatti from June 22-24. The conference started with a rally and public meeting on June 22 in the evening. Brinda Karat, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member participated in the rally and addressed the public meeting. In her speech, she congratulated all the members, cadres and leaders of the organisation for the big struggles that had been carried out during the last three years to assert the rights of the differently abled persons.

Massive Convention at Guwahati Against Land Acquisition Ordinance

THE city of Guwahati witnessed a massive convention against Land Acquisition Ordinance, on June 19. The spacious auditorium of the District Library was packed up to its capacity and many of the participants had to take their seats on the floor. More than a thousand delegates attended the convention which was inaugurated by Hannan Mollah, general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha.

Stop the Anti-People “Reforms” in Higher Education!

AN article in the previous issue of People’s Democracy had highlighted the agenda of “reforms” being systematically imposed on public funded higher education (‘Warning bells for India's Public Higher Education’, June 21, 2015). This agenda, started by the UPA government and being ever more aggressively pursued since the Modi regime took over, threatens to destroy public funded higher education and chain it irrevocably to the interests of for-profit private players, domestic and foreign.

Smart Cities and Urban Mirages

PRIME Minister Modi recently launched one of his pet programmes, namely setting up 100 “smart cities,” along with plans for upgrading 500 towns and cities (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation or AMRUT), and a pledge to provide housing for all by 2022, requiring around 20 million units by the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.

The Spectre of the Thirties

THE Reserve Bank of India, as is to be expected, has been denying that its governor Raghuram Rajan had ever suggested that the world was facing the possibility of a 1930s-type Great Depression. Members of the “global financial community” are not supposed to say such things; so even if Dr Rajan did, a denial was inevitable.The point however is not whether Rajan actually said this. The point is not even whether the world would actually slip into a 1930s-type depression.

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