South Sudan: Descending into a Civil War

BARELY two and a half years after South Sudan joined the community of independent nations, the bloody sceptre of a civil war has once again cast its shadow. The latest cycle of violence erupted on December 15. According to reports, the trouble started when a clash took place between two sections of the presidential security guards. The fighting was said to be on ethnic lines, with the Dinka clashing against the Nuer. The Dinkas constitute around 15 per cent of the population and the Nuer around 10 per cent.

AIDWA Demands Action in the Gang-Rape case of Adivasi Girl

The following is the press statement issued by the All India Democratic Women’s Association on January 23.

AIKS Deplores FDI in Farmland

THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on January 23, 2014, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) gave expression to its deep fury and protested against the move of the UPA government to open up the sale or acquisition of agricultural land to foreign direct investment (FDI). The AIKS said it would resist this treacherous move against the sovereign interests of the nation and its people tooth and nail, by joining hands with all progressive and democratic sections of the people. The Congress led Manmohan Singh government is all set to allow foreign corporates and realtors to put the country for

Anganwadi Workers on Indefinite Strike in Maharashtra

THE All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers has, in a statement issued on January 25, congratulated the nearly two lakh anganwadi workers and helpers in Maharashtra for their successful indefinite strike. It has demanded that the chief minister of Maharashtra should urgently intervene and settle the issue.

The anganwadi workers and helpers of Maharashtra are on an indefinite strike from January 6, 2014 demanding an increase in wages and implementation of the pension scheme which was declared as early as in 2005.

Hindutva Reinvented in Namo’s Rainbow of Deceit

RIGHTWING social forces have once again revealed their influence in the wake of the declining social reform role of the neo-liberal state. Incidents of the last few weeks have shown up the underbelly of neo-liberal corporate capitalism and the challenge of governance associated with it. In the first instance was the vigilante action undertaken by a responsible minister of Delhi to show his accountability to the people. In the process he revealed not only his own social conservatism but also the conservatism of the ‘masses’ who can rule the country.

Pete Seeger

THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) mourns the demise of Pete Seeger, a singer, folk-song collector and songwriter who spearheaded an American folk revival and spent a long career championing folk music, who died on January 27. He was a simple man, who prided in calling himself as a “communist with a small 'c'”.
Pete Seeger was born on May 3, 1919 and was 94 at his death. He performed and recorded for six decades, and was still an activist: as recently as October 2011, he marched in New York City as part of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

South African Patients Need our Solidarity

A few days back, the health minister of South Africa, Dr Motsoaledi, characterised an elaborate plot hatched by large multinational drug companies as "genocide" and a conspiracy of "satanic magnitude". He was referring to public disclosures of a detailed plan to derail proposed reforms of South Africa’s patent system.

The Indispensability of Marxism

WE have been hearing of late remarks like “We do not believe in ‘Isms’” and “Divisions between the Left and the Right are things of the past”. Since these remarks emanate from quarters that supposedly strike a chord with the contemporary youth, they deserve to be taken seriously. Besides, they constitute part of an intellectual tradition that has been recently in vogue, which holds that all “grand narratives”, of which Marxism is a classic example, are passé.

Miscarriage of Justice

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on January 25, 2013.
THE decision of the army court of inquiry to close the case on the Pathribal killing of five civilians in Kashmir is a travesty of justice.
It may be recalled that the CBI had investigated the matter and chargesheeted five army officers on the charges of abduction and murder.

For Stability and Prosperity : A Coalition of Secular Democratic Alternative

ADDRESSING the nation on the eve of the Republic Day, President Pranab Mukherjee articulated the almost universal concern in the country over the failure to meet people’s aspirations. Hailing the establishment and evolution of Indian democracy, he said, “I am not a cynic because I know that democracy has this marvellous ability to self-correct. It is the physician that heals itself, and 2014 must become a year of healing after the fractured and contentious politics of the last few years”.

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