THE Tamil Nadu government announced a hike in bus fares across the state by 55-100 per cent on January 19. After the fare hike came into effect, bus conductors had a tough time in facing the angry people. Decrying the move, CITU state secretary A Soundararajan said that the Tamil Nadu government was hell bent to run the buses either with the savings of the transport workers or by charging the people more.

PROFESSOR Doodhnath Singh, an eminent Hindi writer and president of Janwadi Lekhak Sangh passed away at midnight of January 11, 2018 at Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) his hometown. He was 81 and very active till his last breath. He suffered from cancer of the prostate, he was undergoing the treatment at a hospital in Allahabad but had a cardiac arrest and thus passed away. He was a member of the CPI(M).

THE Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch, NCR Committee organised a symposium on the relevance of Savitri Bai Phule’s ideas in the present time on January 7, at its office 44, Ashok Road, New Delhi. The symposium was attended by 150 people. Savitri Bai Phule was born on January 3, 1831 in Nayagaon village which falls under Pune district of Maharashtra. Commemorating the birth anniversary of the first woman teacher of India, DSMM organised this symposium.

WHILE the heads of States of various countries and economic honchos are meeting at Davos in the World Economic Forum, discussing the ways and means to further their exploitation of resources and markets, people in various parts of the globe are coming out in protests. Determined and militant protests are seen in countries like Sudan and Turkey, initiated by the communists. The dictatorial and authoritarian governments, led by religious fundamentalist forces in these two countries are trying to quell these protests unleashing brutal repression.

AFTER the formation of the new government in Himachal Pradesh, people have been waiting for the usual announcements of the so-called pro-people policies. Immediately after being elected to the government, setting a few time-bound goals and trying to portray them as pro-people are the usual trend of bourgeois parties, but nothing of this sort has happened in Himachal Pradesh. Instead, the education fraternity has indulged in a planned attack against a book.