Greetings to the 11th Congress of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party

On January 14, 2021, the CPI(M) has sent the following message to the LPRP.THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) greets the 11th Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and wishes it all success. We take this opportunity to greet all the members of the LPRP and the people of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.The 11th Congress of the LPRP is being held under most excruciating times. The hollowness of the capitalist model of development was thoroughly exposed during this period.

Education Behind the Bars: Kashmir

"Where the people are many and their hands are all emptyWhere the pellets of poison are flooding their watersWhere the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prisonAnd the executioner's face is always well hidden."WHEN the COVID pandemic took lives and the reality of the health care system of the country plagued by continued neglect was barely open, the Modi government true to form forced students to take final year exams. But it has done nothing to now reopen educational institutions except bring out guidelines which are an eyewash.

Central Vista: Justice Undone

THE protest at Capitol building in Washington on January 6 was unequivocally condemned worldwide. Apart from the general feeling which many of us had to this protest/ attack, I was also intrigued to know- “How old is the building?” The same building which was targeted by the Trump supporters. This Capitol building was made operational in 1800 after seven years of construction work and continues to stand tall and serve its purpose.

Darkness after Noon, Capitol on Fire

THE darkest nightmare came alive on January 6, 2021. The venue was the most exalted symbol of American democracy, the Capitol Hill, which houses the Congress and the Senate. Images and live streaming videos invaded television households not just in the US, but across the world, with explosive fury.The setting for this extraordinary ‘insurrection’ was the holding of the Congress and the Senate for confirming the formal election of president – elect, Joe Biden. All possible institutional and legal challenges by Donald Trump to deny the results had been exhausted.

An Ill-Conceived Order

THE order of the Supreme Court on the three farm laws and the farmers struggle against them is ill-conceived and one-sided.The three-member bench headed by chief justice, S A Bobde has stayed the implementation of the three farm laws until further orders. This has misled some sections to hail the intervention of the Supreme Court. Actually, the stay is not linked to any further hearing on the substantive issues raised in the petitions or by the farmers in the struggle.

Foreign Policy in Shambles

THE new year has begun with a sobering reminder that the foreign policy of the Modi government is in shambles and its pro-US approach has landed the country in a strategic cul-de-sac.The outgoing ambassador of the United States, Kenneth Juster, has in a farewell speech put the Modi government on notice. After binding India in a series of military agreements, the United States will not countenance any strategic autonomy for the country.

Comrade Ganeshshankar Vidyarthi

THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its profound grief at the death of veteran communist and former member of its Central Committee, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. He was aged 96 and died at a Patna hospital on January 11, 2021, where he was admitted a few days back.Ganeshda as he was fondly called, joined the struggle for India’s freedom as a student aged 17.

AP: Burn Farm Acts in Bhogi Bonfire

RYTU Garjana, farmers’ vehicle rally, gave a clarion call to the people to burn the draconian Farm Acts in the bhogi bonfire as part of Sankranti celebrations. Farmers and activists took out a huge rally of tractors, autos, two-wheelers in Vijayawada on the January 4, at the call of AIKSCC state committee.

50 Years of Study, Struggle & Sacrifice

SFI COMPLETED its 50 years of study, struggle and sacrifice on December 30, 2020. The celebration of golden jubilee started in 2019 with a rally and public meeting in Dumdum, followed by the 49th foundation day celebration at Malappuram, Kerala. Since then, various activities were taken up remembering the glorious legacy of one of the largest students’ organisation in India. But the unprecedented pandemic situation forced in changing many of the scheduled programmes. Instead of following the usual calendar, SFI comrades had to take charge of providing the basic minimum to the needy.

The Timidity-cum-Callousness of the Modi Government

THE Modi government must be the most timid in the world vis-à-vis international finance capital. By the same token, it must be the most callous in the world vis-à-vis the working people of the country. The one is the flip side of the other; and the government’s economic policy during the pandemic bears ample testimony to its timidity-cum- callousness.All the advanced country governments provided sizeable relief packages to their populations whose income sources had dried up because of the pandemic and the associated lockdown.

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