IN a surprising move, the Kerala cabinet has decided to impose a huge hike in taxes, service charge and new rate of water charge. This hike is imposed in the pretext of overcoming the severe economic crisis the state faces. The new burden of Rs 3,000 crore will be put on the people through these new taxes. The burden may go up to Rs 4,000 crore as the additional taxes come. New taxes are in addition to Rs 5,614 crore tax imposed by the UDF government in the past three years.

ON September 28, 1864, St. Martin Hall, London, witnessed a meeting of workers and refugees from various European countries. They represented various workers’ organisations with heterogeneous ideas. In fact, the meeting started on September 26th itself where representatives of the suppressed Polish workers uprising were felicitated. However, the meeting on the 28th led to the foundation of the First International.

BOOTH capturing and wide spread rigging was unleashed across the state of Tamil Nadu on September 18 as the by-polls for local bodies including mayoral elections for Coimbatore and Thoothukudi cities were held.

THE fourth factor impinging on caste-contradictions in a neo-liberal economic regime arises from the tendency of this regime to get into crises and periods of prolonged stagnation. Growth under a neo-liberal regime depends essentially upon the formation of “bubbles” in asset prices. When such bubbles get formed, especially in the economy of the United States, which is the leading capitalist power in the world, the entire world capitalist system, and with it Indian capitalism as well, experiences high growth.

THE deputy chairman of the Planning Commission that has just been wound up, when asked on one occasion about the exorbitant fees that private educational institutions, whose weight in the education system has been increasing at an astonishing pace of late, were charging, replied that it did not matter, since students could always study on loans. He was simply articulating the neo-liberal position that since education enabled one to increase one’s earnings, the acquisition of education was like the acquisition of an asset.