THE corporate-communal alliance that came to power after the 2014 elections needs careful management by its promoters, because within each of the partners of the alliance there are elements that are not altogether comfortable with the other.Within the Hindutva fold there are some trade unions, and outfits like the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch which experience a degree of disquiet over the fact that their parivar is promoting a corporate agenda. Likewise within the corporate fold, there are some honchos who find communalism difficult to swallow.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat has given a call for continuing the united struggle of the land oustees and other people being affected by the blatant and naked aggression and coercion of the K Chandrasekhar Rao government in Telangana to dispossess them of more than four lakh acres of land. A massive dharna was organised by the struggle committee of land oustees of Telangana at Indira Park in Hyderabad on July 26 as a part of the ongoing struggle against the forcible and illegal acquisition of lands, demanding cancellation of  the controversial Government Order No.

A DELEGATION of CPI(M) comprising of Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Ghulam Nabi Malik, Mohd. Afzal Parry and Mohd Amin Dar met union home minister, Rajnath Singh on July 24. The delegation appraised him about the deepening of massive unrest in Kashmir and its fall out. The outburst of mass protests throughout Kashmir demonstrates the growing and deepening alienation of the people, particularly the youth. The response of the authorities has resulted in unfortunate deaths of dozens of unarmed civilians and thousands who got injured.

THE Antrix Devas Agreement was entered into without thought and terminated equally badly. The country might pay a huge price – not only for the mistake of signing a bad contract, but also for not knowing how to get out of such a contract. The two tribunal awards show the danger of the 80 odd bilateral investment treaties that India has entered into under which we are already seeing a spate of disputes.A tribunal in Hague has now imposed a penalty on India, which press reports claim could rise up to a billion, on the Antrix Devas deal's cancellation, deeming it an expropriation.

THE bill passed by parliament to prohibit all forms of child labour upto the age of 14 actually does the opposite.  It has legitimised child labour on a large-scale.The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill adopted by parliament, despite various objections raised by MPs, is a regressive law.  While it bans the use of children upto the age of 14 for all forms of labour, it has permitted children to be employed in family-based enterprises and to take part in “home-based work” such as in fields and forests.  Family is defined not just as the nuclear family but also the fathe