Safdar Hashmi Memorial Observed With Fervour

FOR 28 years now, January 1 has been an important date on the Delhi calendar. What began as a spontaneous coming together of artistes of different hues, vocations and inclinations has become, arguably, the most prominent annual cultural and political event in the city. Routinely, the colorful drapes and banners adorned the otherwise dreary built structures of VP House. The events organised by Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust began at noon with the play “Desh Badal Raha Hai” by the theater group, Bigul.

Obama, Why this Kola Veri?

THE US has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia and expelled 35 of her diplomats on Russia's supposed hacking of the US elections. Obama, as president, was seen to be less prone to war unlike his predecessor George Bush (Junior) or even his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

Criminal Negligence of Management Killed Workers In the ECL Rajmahal Coal Mine Accident

A MAJOR accident took place at Maintola patch of the Rajmahal open cast mines of the Eastern Coalfields Limited, during the second shift of work in the night on December 29, 2016. The ground zero was barricaded and sealed by the CISF personnel and no one was permitted to enter the mine.

On the Supreme Court Verdict

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on January 3, 2017. THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) welcomes the majority verdict of the seven-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court which held that the electoral process is a secular activity and religion can have no place in such an activity.

Prime Minister Must Respond

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on December 30, 2016.THE prime minister has announced that he will make fresh announcements after the deadline of December 30 on the demonetisation of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes.

Digital Economy as a Way Out of Crisis

EFFORTS to convert societies into cashless economies gathered traction since the 2008 global economic crisis. Finance capital felt that this is a necessary transition to be made in order to overcome the deep-rooted crisis that is continuing in spite of, and in addition to, the various steps already undertaken.

“He Never Died”

IT was as if we were watching a recap of the year.The first play to be performed at Dr Ambedkar Park, Jhandapur, Sahibabad – the place where Safdar Hashmi and Ram Bahadur were killed 28 years ago – was on demonetisation. It was done by a group of school girls from NOIDA, and they spoke about a number of issues around the central theme, including unemployment.Following this, young actors from Jan Sanskriti, Delhi, did a hard hitting piece about the cultural appropriation by the Hindutva forces.

Undefeated Five Decades of Ganashakti

“THERE can be no alternative to socialism in the history of human civilisation”, said veteran CPI(M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. He was speaking on the occasion of Ganashakti, the daily organ of CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee, completing its 50 years of glorious existence. To commemorate the occasion, a special gathering was organised at Promode Dasgupta Bhavan, the Kolkata district headquarters of CPI(M) on January 3, 2017.

Demonetisation and the Question of Inflation

NARENDRA Modi had asked for 50 days’ time for his demonetisation measure to work: the people were supposed to suffer for 50 days, by the end of which the wonderful results of demonetisation were to become evident. He was even willing to get “hanged” if proved wrong at the end of this period.

Demonetisation and State Repression in Bastar

RECENT cases of action against adivasi rights activists, lawyers and intellectuals have shown that demonetisation has become one more tool of State repression. At the start of the demonetisation drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claimed that this measure would strike at the root of the funding to ‘terrorist groups and maoist insurgents”. This claim was further buttressed by unverified police media leak that the ‘maoists’ had stashed rupees seven thousand crores in the jungles and were now forcing villagers and sympathisers to exchange their old notes for new ones.

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