Q. Why is the CPI(M) always criticising Israel as if it is a demon and always hailing Palestinians even the radicalist Palestinians?Sagarneel Sinha A. Israel as a State was founded in 1948. The establishment of Israel was a Zionist project which was backed by the Western powers. Earlier, this land was Palestine which was a British colony. The original inhabitants of Palestine were of Arab origin which included both Muslims and Christians and a small Jewish population.

THE Uttar Pradesh assembly election has resulted in an unprecedented sweep for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP with its smaller allies has won 325 out of the 403 seats and polled 41.4 percent of the vote which is just fractionally lower than the percentage polled in the Lok Sabha election.It is important to understand how the BJP has achieved this success if a coherent political platform and alternative to the BJP has to be worked out.

AS the people of Tripura are mounting a struggle against anti-people policies of the Modi government, particularly demonetisation which affected the day-to-day life of the common people, the BJP, TMC and the tribal based regional party IPFT are indulging in undemocratic activities to disturb the peace and amity of the state. Though these anti-CPI(M) and anti-Left parties are working separately, it is amply clear that they have reached a secret understanding to create law and order situation in the state and to damage the traditional bond of tribal and non-tribal populations.

PERHAPS no other public policy debate in post-independence India has seen as much of an “inversion of reason” on the part of the government as the demonetisation debate. When critics were pointing, on the basis of government statistics themselves, to the palpable failure of the demonetisation measure to achieve its purported objective, which was to cripple the black economy, the government kept harping, in its justification, on the extraordinary“boldness” of the move.

The ABVP-RSS goons have been targeting SFI activists in Kerala.  In the past few weeks, there were several attacks on SFI leaders in various parts of Kerala. December 16, 2016: KS Akhil, SFI unit president of Kerala Varma College in Thrissur was attacked on his way to the college by two ABVP-RSS men on a bike.  He suffered injuries to his right hand and had to be admitted to hospital.January 18, 2017: Rathin Raj, joint secretary of Konni area committee of SFI in Pathanamthitta district was attacked by about 20 RSS goondas.  He was attacked with a sword and