Political Ecology of Pilgrimage and Its Hazards

CORPORATE media’s coverage of the havoc caused by the cloud burst in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh has largely concentrated on two aspects. The first has been on the plight of the tourists and pilgrims in these regions and the government’s “inability to provide adequate relief.” The second has been the focus on the relationship between environment and development in the making of the natural disasters. English media channels have been quick to term the disaster as a ‘man-made’ one that emanates from the harnessing of the rivers through large hydropower projects.

Put In Place a System of Safe Regulations

A HUMAN tragedy of grievous proportions continues to unfold in Uttarakhand. The state’s disaster management minister has speculated the death toll due to the flashfloods could be around 5000. Many feel even this is an underestimation. Officially, more than 10,000 people are still stranded in different parts of the rain ravaged pilgrim destinations of Badrinath and Kedarnath. The latter is the most severely affected area.

The End of the Theoretical Case for Capitalism

CAPITALISM represents quintessentially a world in which each “economic agent” is pursuing his or her own self-interest. Indeed it is this which, according to the votaries of the system, explains the drive to accumulate capital, to introduce technological change and to usher in “economic progress”, in the sense of effecting an unprecedented advance of the productive forces, which constitutes the differentia specifica of this system and its chief historical merit.

Uttarakhand Monsoon 2013 calamity

IT is about ten days since Uttarakhand was hit by torrential rains and cloudburst of a scale not seen in the state in over 50 years, which, along with accompanying floods and landslides, have caused untold devastation in the state. Thousands of locals and out-of-state pilgrims on the famous char dham yatra routes (to the four holy sites of the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples, and the Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers and temples) have died, many villages have been totally destroyed, many towns have suffered horrendous damage, and several roads and bridges have been swept away.

China in the Twenty-First Century – Present and Future

THE Left members of the European parliament are organised as GUE/NGL (The European Left/Nordic Green Left) under the presidentship of Die Linke (German Left Party) which has the largest representation in the European parliament. GUE/NGL organised a seminar on 'China in the 21st Century – Present and Future' on June 6-7, 2013 at the European parliament in Brussels.

DPRK Caution Not Misplaced

ON April 16, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) spelt out its response to the “US high ranking officials” who were reportedly vying with each other “to talk about dialogue” with it.

Malaysia Witnesses Political Polarisation

THE results of the closely contested general elections, held on May 5, have come as a stark revelation of the highly polarised nature of Malaysian politics. Though the united opposition won over 50 per cent of the votes, it could not even manage to secure a simple majority in the national legislature. Some 85 per cent of the country’s 13.3 million voters had turned out to cast their ballots in what was being described as a “watershed” election.

Comrade Satpal Dang

The following is the message of condolence sent by Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) to Sudhakar Reddy, general secretary of the

Communist Party of India on the demise of Comrade Satpal Dang. The message was sent on June 17, 2013.

Arrest Jindal, Dasari N Rao: CPI(M)

THE Haryana state committee of the CPI(M) has demanded immediate arrest of Congress member of parliament, Navin Jindal, in the wake of registration of an FIR by the CBI against him, and of the former minister of state Dasari Narayan Rao for their active involvement in the infamous Coalgate scam. The CBI has filed the case on the basis of substantial proof of procuring coal block allotments through the offer of a huge amount of money as bribe and also through commitment of a fraud by furnishing wrong affidavits.

CITU Runs Campaign, MAY 30 to June 15

AS a follow-up of the call given by its all-India conference at Kannur (Kerala) from April 4 to 8, the May 26 meeting of the state CITU office bearers decided to launch a mass campaign and agitation on the demands which were highlighted during the February 20-21 strike by all the central trade unions and on the burning demands of various sections of the workers in Punjab.

In consequence, actions were organised during the period from May 30 to June 15.

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