The Mars Mission Moves out of Earth's Gravity

JUST past midnight of November 30, India's Mars Orbiter or Mangalyaan left earth's gravitational pull for its ten-month long journey to Mars. This happened after a series of orbit raising manoeuvres undertaken by ISRO in which the highly elliptical orbit of Mangalyaan was successively raised by firing its liquid fuel engines. Finally, sun's gravity captured the Mangalyaan and it moved from a geocentric( earth centred) orbit to a heliocentric (sun centred) orbit.

Pope Francis on Capitalism

ON Tuesday, November 25, the Vatican brought out an 84-page document written by Pope Francis which was a severe indictment of the current unjust economic system that prevails in the world. It said (all quotations and the basic information are taken from Lynn Parramore’s article published in Truthout of December 2):

Defeat the Communal Challenge

WE are going to press on the eve of the 21st anniversary of the wanton destruction of the Babri Masjid.This destruction was not merely the demolition of one building, or, an Islamic religious structure alone.It symbolised the efforts to destroy the edifice of the modern secular democratic republic of India that emerged over a century-long epic struggle for India’s freedom and modernity.While shedding crocodile tears, the RSS/BJP have all along claimed that this destruction was the result of a spontaneous `anger’ of the kar sevaks assembled there.

Haryana ASHA Workers Protest Illtreatment

ON November 30, 2013, thousands of ASHA workers from all over the state of Haryana organised a rally in Rohtak and marched towards the chief minister’s residence. They came with the banner of the ASHA Workers Union Haryana, which is affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). They were protesting against the injustice and second rate treatment meted out to them by the chief minister in Gohana rally on November 10, 2013.

CPI(M) State Plenum Concludes

ON November 29, 2013, the CPI(M)’s Kerala state plenum, held over the last three days at EMS Nagar in Palakkad, concluded with an appeal to the party cadres to intervene strongly in the concrete political issues in the state. The plenum also decided to energise the organisation.The plenum,which was attended by all-India leaders of the party, including its general secretary Prakash Karat and Polit Bureau members Sitaram Yechury, S Ramachandran Pillai and M A Baby, culminated with a massive rally that was attended by nearly two lakh party workers coming from Palakkad district alone.

Conscience Keepers (sic!) A Sant, a Judge and an Editor

THIS is about three stories – of a sant, a judge and an editor. The Sant is a jnani who attains moksha and shows the path to God; the Judge, who, according to George Mikes, has a 'God complex' and the third and the most important one is about an editor who considers himself as 'one who can make or break a God'. Though all three seem to be related with God, God is not our concern here. They are.

Comrade Shyamali Gupta

THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep grief at the passing away of Shyamali Gupta, member of the Central Committee of the party and president of the All India Democratic Women’s Association till recently. Shyamali Gupta fell ill at the AIDWA all-India conference held in Bodh Gaya and died after she returned to Kolkata. She was 68 years old.

Shyamali Gupta joined the Communist Party in 1963 after being active in the student movement. She played an important role in the Bengal Provincial Students Federation.

Tearful Adieu to Comrade Shyamali Gupta

CPI(M) central committee member and leader of the democratic women’s movement Comrade Shyamali Gupta breathed her last on 25th November morning in her residence in Kolkata. She returned to Kolkata from AIDWA all India conference in Bodhgaya on Saturday as she fell ill.

Jathas Highlight Women’s Unnatural Death

B Madhava

Massive Rally Sounds Bugle for Protest Actions

Tikender Singh Panwar

ON November 12, Shimla, the state capital of Himachal Pradesh, witnessed a massive rally, perhaps the largest by mass organisations in the state. The rally was organised by six main organisations of the people; these were the All India Kisan Sabha, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, All India Democratic Women’s Association, Students Federation of India, Democratic Youth Federation of India and the Seb Utpadak Sangh (Apple Growers Association).

Here it needs to be mentioned that more than half the participants were women.

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