Defeat BJP! Continue the Fight for Alternative Policies!

FOR the first time after independence, the central trade unions and independent industrial federations in the country joined together to adopt a ‘Workers’ Charter’ and demanded that these demands be included in the election manifestoes of the political parties. The ‘Workers’ Charter’ was unanimously adopted in the joint national convention of workers held in New Delhi on March 5, 2019.

Tech for Democracy in a Brave New Digital World

WITH the elections in the offing, different groups – the Free Software Movement of India, Association for Democratic Reforms, Common Cause, etc – have raised a key issue: how to stop the Indian elections from being distorted by big digital platforms and the enormous influence they exercise over us today. And as “influence” on these platforms can be bought, will Indian elections, already plagued by money power, suffer even further? Added to this, is the enormous ecosystem of fake news, which the BJP, the RSS and its “parivar” has built over the last few years.

Epistemic Critiques of Hindutva

AnchorIT is heartening to see that several intellectual critiques of Hindutva on epistemic grounds are beginning to appear now – one has come across a few online in recent weeks. The immediate shock of seeing the intellectual discourse in the country being swept aside by sheer brute force had a numbing effect; this effect is finally wearing off.

Modi is not Statesman Enough to Understand War

INDIA has a Modi problem. He is a charismatic communicator but an ineffectual leader “beating in the void his luminous wings in vain”. Modi doesn’t understand “war is a statesman game”. He considers his speech to be the trumpet of change that would restore India’s past glory and make it great again. If he had his way, he would pull down all the constitutional bodies and proclaim India to be a one-party theocratic state. He is quintessentially a Hindu supremacist. His abiding hatred for minorities is venomously expressed in his speeches and actions.

Farm Income Deflation the Norm Under Modi Govt

THE promise of the Modi government to double farm incomes by 2022 seems to be a cruel joke on farmers who are suffering the reverse - a steady decline in farm incomes. The Central Statistics Office has added credence to the allegations of the peasantry that the last five years have seen continuously low incomes. CSO figures show that farm income growth crashed to the lowest in 14 years in the last quarter of 2018 (October-December).

Rebuff US Trade Measures

THE United States has extended its trade war to India by withdrawing preferential trade treatment for India. By scrapping the benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences, which will take effect after 60 days, 1900 items of exports from India, which were exempted from duties, will be affected.

This hostile step comes after the imposition of increased duties on steel and aluminum imports from India, earlier.

Central Committee Communique

Post-Pulwama air strike by the Indian Air Force inside Pakistan territory, the retaliation by Pakistan the next day and the subsequent release of Wing Commander Abhinandan must lead India to step up its diplomatic efforts to exercise international pressure on Pakistan to purge terror outfits and cross-border terrorist activities.

Five Years of Modi Govt Sees Deterioration in Women’s Status

THE Modi government’s five years have led to a deterioration in women’s status on several important fronts. The overall pro-corporate thrust of the government’s policies on the economic front, its blatant assault on the constitutional principles of democracy and secularism and especially its ideological campaigns of Hindutva utilising State power, damage the gains women have achieved over the years through their struggles and sacrifices. This article looks at a few of those aspects.

IN THE ECONOMY

Jenny and Karl Marx-XXXIV

KARL was eighteen years old when he spent the late summer weeks of 1836 in his parent’s home after leaving Bonn University and before proceeding to Berlin to continue his studies. During these weeks, he wooed Jenny von Westphalen, who had not only unusual beauty but also an unusual spirit and character.

Comrade Subodh Das Passes Away

VETERAN CPI(M) leader Subodh Das passed away at G B Pant Hospital in Agartala on February 24 after remaining bed-ridden for several months. He was 74. A former member of the CPI(M) Tripura state committee and a former minister in the third Left Front government, Das was a bachelor.

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