BAHRAICH is an extremely poor and backward district in Uttar Pradesh. It has a very low literacy rate and also a negative sex ratio with only 819 women to 1000 men, despite the fact that the district witnesses a fairly high rate of out-migration. Muslims make up about 35 per cent of the total population and, in the urban areas, they outnumber Hindus. Some of them have become fairly prosperous because of their involvement with crafts like jewellery-making, woodwork etc.The district is politically polarised with a large section of Hindus voting for the BJP while the Muslims are, in the mai
ON the occasion of the centenary of the death of Vladimir Lenin, the Andhra Pradesh committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held three seminars across Vijayawada, Guntur, and Anantapur to discuss the relevance of Leninism in contemporary India.The discussions addressed a wide array of issues from communalism and centralised electoral policies to economic inequality.
THE All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) has, in a statement issued on October 27, welcomed the recent judgment of the District Sessions Court of Koppal, which sentenced 98 people to life imprisonment for their involvement in a brutal attack on dalit residents in Marakumbi village, Gangavathi Taluk, Karnataka.
IN September this year, average price rise hit a nine-month high of 5.5 per cent. More significantly, prices of food items crossed 9.2 per cent. A majority of Indians spend nearly half of their income on food. So, food inflation hurts the most. Among food items, vegetables in particular saw a staggering price rise with year-on-year price increases of 42.4 per cent for tomatoes, 66.2 per cent for onions, and 65.3 per cent for potatoes. These three are the most consumed vegetables, across the country.
IN a major victory for the people of Puducherry, the state government has finally agreed to reopen all ration shops across the union territory after a prolonged struggle led by the CPI(M) against the closure of these essential outlets.
The sugarcane farmers’ federation said the central government is “slowly removing pro-farmer provisions” in the existing sugar control order and taking away power from states.THE union government has published the draft Sugar (Control) Order, 2024, citing technological advancements in the production process and other changes in the industry to replace the Sugar (Control) Order, 1966.Criticising the move, the All-India Sugarcane Farmers Federation (AISFF) has accused the union government of deleting even the few provisions that extended some benefits to sugarcane farmers.
THE Uttar Pradesh state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) organised a state-level condolence meeting for Comrade Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of CPI(M) on October 6, 2024, at the CPI(M) state office in Lucknow. Apart from CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) and the Forward Bloc, prominent leaders of Indian National Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Loktantrik Janata Dal also paid tributes to Comrade Sitaram Yechury.
SINCE April this year, price of crude oil that India imports has fallen from 89.44 dollars per barrel to 73.59 dollars per barrel. That is a drop of nearly 18 per cent. It is this oil which is refined and sold in India as petrol, diesel and various other petro-based products.Since 2010, the government has supposedly withdrawn from fixing the retail price of petrol (diesel since 2014) claiming that prices will be determined by the market. That means that it should be determined by international prices.
THIS year’s Nobel Prize in economics (the Riksbank Prize to be more precise) has been awarded to three US-based economists for their research into what promotes or hinders the growth of wealth among nations; and they assign a crucial role to institutions, arguing that western institutions like electoral democracy are conducive to growth.
THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a protest at the Adani Missiles and Defense Systems building in Pahadi Sharif, Hyderabad on October 21, condemning the supply of Hermes 900 drones by Adani Aerospace to Israel. The protest, organised by the Ranga Reddy district committee, demanded an immediate halt to these exports, calling on the Indian government to end its support for Israel's military actions.