Need for a Renewed Focus on Education Issues

THERE is a continuous attack on education and educational institutions today under the patronage of the BJP government at the centre. During the last three years, the attacks on democracy in campuses and attempts to crush the democratic cultures in educational institutions are among the most talked about and discussed developments. Attacks on JNU, HCU, FTII, IIT Madras etc, were highlighted throughout the nation, and featured prominently in media debates.

TRIPURA ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2018: People Vow to Defeat Communal & Separatist Forces

THE country vests in the people of Tripura a historic role to establish the Left Front government in the state for an eighth term, thus heralding a real alternative to the BJP or the Congress which are two sides of the same coin. This was the clarion call Left Front leaders gave while addressing a mammoth rally at Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala on December 31. They exposed the evil moves of the BJP/RSS which, posing as self-proclaimed upholders of patriotism, are ultimately trying to break into pieces the unity and integrity of the country.

Triple Talaq Bill is Funadamentally Flawed

THE Lok Sabha has adopted the bill on talaq-e-biddat moved by the Modi government. The CPI(M) members of parliament had moved amendments to the bill and also demanded that it be referred to the standing committee. The bill is fundamentally flawed. There are several issues involved.THE BACKGROUNDThe issue of talaq-e-biddat or instant arbitrary pronouncement of divorce has been a privilege enjoyed by Muslim men in India at the cost of the dignity and security of Muslim women.

SFI Condemns Murderous Attacks on its Activists in Kerala

THE central executive committee of the Students’ Federation of India, in a statement issued on December 29, 2017 has condemned the murderous attacks on SFI activists yesterday in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala.Multiple incidents of RSS attack on SFI and Left activists are reported from Kerala.

Sahmat Holds Safdar Evening on January 1

THE setting up of Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (Sahmat) was a spontaneous and organic response to the murder of a street theater activist, known for his commitment to the democratic and secular principles that undergirded the promise of Indian independence. Since it came into being in 1989, Sahmat has stood for preserving the very values that defined Safdar’s public work.

National Medical Commission Bill not in Public Interest

THE National Medical Commission Bill, 2017, recently approved by the union cabinet, has now been referred to a parliamentary standing committee after protests by various sections of the medical profession. The bill is designed to replace the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956. The bill was drafted in the aftermath of several scandals that rocked the Medical Council of India in the past decade.

On Caste and Identity Politics in Gujarat Elections

THE dust has settled on the Gujarat elections. The BJP has claimed that it has fought twenty two years anti-incumbency and won the elections because of its ‘politics of vikas’ versus the opposition’s ‘casteist politics’. In a post-election interview, the BJP president Amit Shah claimed that his 150+ mission had failed because of the “dirty and low level casteist politics of the Congress and its allies”. In doing so, Shah dismissed all the agitations that Gujarat has been facing for the last few years as “dirty low level politics”.

MAHARASHTRA : CPI(M) Supports Bandh to Denounce Violence against Dalits

THE CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee has, in a statement issued on January 2, called upon all democratic and secular minded people in the state to extend their full support to the joint Maharashtra bandh call on January 3, the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule. The bandh has been called by various Ambedkarite and Left groups to denounce the January 1 attacks by casteist and communal forces on lakhs of dalits who had gathered at Bhima Koregaon in Pune district to pay homage to martyrs on the 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle in which the hated casteist Peshwa rule was def

SOLIDARITY PROGRAMME IN WEST BENGAL: Tripura will Resist Enemies of the People

THE people of Tripura will not bow down before enemies of the people and will not allow single space to secessionists and communal forces. Despite the obstacles imposed by the centre and by the trouble makers, they will march to another victory. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and chief minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar, asserted with conviction at a public meeting in Kolkata on December 28. The meeting was organised by the CPI(M) West Bengal state committee to express solidarity with the struggling people of Tripura.

A Year of Willful Economic Disaster

THE uniqueness of 2017 lies in the fact that never before has the country seen a government-caused economic crisis as serious as was witnessed in this year. There have certainly been worse years for the people, such as 1965-66, 1966-67, and 1973-74, each of which saw massive inflation. But these were years when economic hardships occurred for reasons that had nothing to do proximately with government policy. 1965-66 and 1966-67 when the “Bihar famine” had occurred, had seen a sharp drop in food grains output, a drop that had lasted two years.

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