Make Way for the Women

THE question of women’s rights in the Soviet Union was resolved through a fundamental restructuring of the old society with the active participation of the women themselves.

Yet another Secret Mission of US Surveillance Agency

WIKILEAKS again blew off the lid of yet another secret mission of US surveillance agency CIA. WikiLeaks has released 8,761 of secret documents of Centre for Cyber Intelligence, which is a part of CIA. These documents are greater in size than those released during the first three years of Snowden. Code named “Vault 7”, this is a first part of a series “Year Zero” that WikiLeaks is developing. Snowden’s revelations were the first hand exposure of US and UK’s programmes capturing people’s communications and exploiting the machines.

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

THE second phase of Budget Session began on March 9. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day on the first day without transacting any business as a mark of respect to sitting member Haji Abdul Salam who died recently. Salam represented Manipur in the Upper House.Sitaram Yechury raised the matter regarding alleged attack on academic freedom in Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University and pointed out that these universities have been established by law enacted by Parliament.

MAHARASHTRA: WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATED WITH ZEST

MARCH 8, International Women's Day was celebrated and March 10, death anniversary of the great social reformer and pioneer of women’s education in Maharashtra, Savitribai Phule, was observed in Thane-Palghar district of Maharashtra by AIDWA with tremendous zest and enthusiasm. During the week from March 3-10, over 8,000 women in various tehsils took part in programmes around the three slogans given by the AIDWA CEC:1. Work for all with equal wages for equal work2. Rise up against all regressive, Manuwadi and fundamentalist ideologies that deny women equal rights and3.

TELANGANA: Pinarayi Vijayan will Participate in Struggle Convention

CHIEF Minister of Kerala and Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M), Pinarayi Vijayan, will participate in the Struggle Convention for Social Justice scheduled to be organised on March 19 in Hyderabad to mark the culmination of Mahajana Padayatra undertaken by the CPI(M) in Telangana, asserted Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M), MA Baby. The RSS threats won’t deter Vijayan and he will tour all over the country, he said. Baby participated in the Mahajana Padayatra and addressed a public meeting at Choutuppal on March 12.

On the Results of the Five Assembly Elections

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on March 11, 2017THE BJP has won a sweeping victory in Uttar Pradesh getting over three-fourth of the seats in the assembly. This victory has been accomplished by a mix of rank communal appeal and by putting together a wide ranging caste coalition.

Narendra Modi on Poverty

IN his speech to BJP workers in Delhi after the assembly election results had been declared, Narendra Modi announced that his policy henceforth would be to empower the poor by providing them with opportunities, instead of handing out doles to them, which, he believes, is what the various “pro-poor” welfare programmes amount to. Newspapers were quick to underscore, and in general laud, this shift in approach from “welfarism” to “development”.

The Attack on Indian Americans

WHEN Narendra Modi sat in the wilderness of American political opinion, sections of the NRI community came to his defence. Graphic human rights reports on the pogrom in Gujarat had turned the US State Department against Modi. He was denied a visa to enter the United States. It did not help Modi that there was clear evidence of discrimination against Christians in Gujarat, most notably in the Dangs region where Modi’s allies used violence against Christian missionaries. This did not sit well with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

MAHARASHTRA: Rightwing Offensive Continues In Local Body Elections

A FORTNIGHT before the results to the Uttar Pradesh and other four state assemblies were declared, the same rightwing offensive was evident in the elections to 10 municipal corporations (MC), 25 zilla parishads (ZP) and 283 panchayat samitis (PS) in Maharashtra. These elections took place last month and the results were declared on February 23.THE OVERALL PICTUREThe BJP won eight of the ten municipal corporations – Nashik, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Ulhasnagar, Solapur, Nagpur, Amravati and Akola with clear majorities. The Shiv Sena retained Thane with a clear majority.

Lengthening Shadow of Terrorism in the Region

PAKISTAN and Afghanistan have in recent weeks and months witnessed a wave of serious terrorist incidents that have cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. Alarmingly, most of the attacks have been the handiwork of the so-called Islamic State (Daesh). It no longer can be denied that the lethal terrorist group has sprung roots in the sub continent. The suicide attack on one of the most famous Sufi shrines in the region, the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, situated in Sindh province, in the third week of February is an illustration.

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