Nilotpal Basu

A WEIRD political discourse raged across the country focusing on the nature of Indian nationalism; and its natural attribute, secularism. As is now becoming so familiar with BJP’s and more significantly, Modi’s campaign style; the emphasis is clearly on constructing imagery to drive home a political message. And, currently there is an overdose of that defining feature.

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.

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.

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.

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.