PROFESSOR Aijaz Ahmad, who passed away last week in Irvine, California, was one of the foremost Marxist intellectuals of our times.  His significance as a Marxist theoretician came to prominence in the period after the retreat of socialism in the late 1980s and which led to the dismantling of the Soviet Union in 1991.His erudition and talents were wide-ranging. He began his work as an Urdu writer and literary critic.

Condemns the draconian ESMA, retrenchment and repression on anganwadi, ASHA and MDM workers in Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh Resolves to make the general strike on March 28-29, 2022 a grand success ON March 15, around 1,500 anganwadi, ASHA and mid-day meal workers from Delhi, Haryana and Punjab under the leadership of All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers (AIFAWH), Mid Day Meal Workers Federation of India (MDMWFI) and All India Coordination Committee of ASHA Workers (AICCAW) assembled at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, in protest during the

THE Karnataka High Court in its order on March 15, has held that wearing of hijab is not essential to the practice of Islam; that college development committees (CDCs) have a right to prescribe a uniform; and that Muslim girls must comply with whatever uniform is prescribed by their college.   Women’s organisations and activists, in a joint statement issued on March 15, have appealed to the Supreme Court to issue an immediate stay on the Karnataka HC order as it will have a far-reaching negative impact on the safety, dignity, and right to education of Muslim girls and women.

AN alarming, strange and implausible incident took place on Wednesday,  March 9 this year when a missile, stated to be undergoing routine maintenance in Sirsa, Haryana, was unexpectedly and unintentionally fired, and landed in Mian Channu village, district Khanewal, Punjab, in Pakistan, thankfully without casualty or serious damage. The episode was, however, acknowledged only a day later by Pakistan and by India a further day afterwards on Friday, March 11, both sides especially Pakistan appearing not to want to escalate the incident even though it afforded plenty of opportunity.

THERE are three major takeaways from the recent assembly elections in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.  First, the decisive victory for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh for the second successive term and its success in Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa to retain its governments.Though the BJP and its allies got a lesser majority, their vote share has increased by 3.65 per cent to 45 per cent.