Jharkhand: Communal Cauldron

EVER since the BJP government was formed in Jharkhand, the state is being converted into a communal cauldron. In the 15-month period of the Raghubar Das government, religious processions and events are being utilised to create communal tensions and unleash violence. The latest incidents have occurred during the Ram Navami processions in Bokaro and Hazaribagh. In Bokaro, the procession entered in a Muslim locality to which it had no permission to go.

Kashmir: Killing with Impunity

THE Handwara incident in the Kashmir valley, once again, highlights the political and administrative failure in tackling the vexed problems in the troubled state of Jammu & Kashmir. The alleged harassment of a school girl by an army jawan led to protests outside the army bunker in the town. This was responded to by the heavy hand of the security forces.

Justice for Delta Meghwal

A meeting was organised on April 2 in Jaipur to condemn the rape and murder of Delta Meghwal, a 17-year-old Dalit student in Rajasthan. On March 29, the body of Meghwal was found in the water tank of Jain Adarsh Teacher Training Institute for Girls in Nokha, Bikaner where she was studying. Police took her body to hospital in a civic garbage carrying vehicle without video-graphing the whole process.

Syria: Partial Russian Pullout

THE announcement on March 14 by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin that the bulk of the Russian forces deployed in Syria were being withdrawn caught Washington and its allies on the wrong foot. Their predictions that Russia would be mired in a long drawn out war were deflated. At the beginning of the military campaign in Syria last year, President Putin had made it clear that the mission in Syria was a time bound one with clear cut military goals.

Contemporary Relevance of Ambedkar's Thought

EVERYBODY is talking about Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's life and work today. One of the reasons for this spurt in interest might be the 125th birth anniversary of Ambedkar. However, the interest shown by political parties on Ambedkar today has got other strong political reasons.Ambedkar's life work was to a large extent in the pre-independence period. He passed away on December 6, 1956. It was not even a decade since achieving independence at that time. And it was not even five years after the promulgation of constitution, in whose drafting he had played a major part.

Champion of Democracy, Secularism & Justice

DR Babasaheb Ambedkar was without doubt one of the most towering personalities of modern India. Drawing inspiration from his three gurus – Buddha, Kabir and Phule – Ambedkar attained iconic status as a champion of socio-economic justice and an inveterate opponent of the hateful varna and caste system that was an inseparable part of Hindu religion. As chairman of the drafting committee of India’s Constitution, he was the main architect of its democratic, secular and federal tenets and its provisions for affirmative action in favour of the socially oppressed.

Inequality and the ‘Class Divide’ in ‘Dalit’ Politics

THE analysis below looks at the question of class formation in selected states which have historically been important for both dalit and Left politics. It analyses the trends in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (important centres of Ambedkarite politics), Tamilnadu (which has pioneering movements in radical dalit politics like Panthers) and West Bengal and Kerala (important centres of Left politics).

BEFI Holds Tamilnadu State conference Successfully

THE 11th conference of Bank Employees Federation of India - Tamilnadu held at Coimbatore from March 25- 27, 2016 has been a milestone in the bank employees’ movement of this part of the country.The reception committee constituted on January 24, 2016 under the chairmanship of P R Natarajan, former MP has done an excellent job in taking care of the delegates and observers and providing a pleasant atmosphere for the smooth conduct of the conference.On March 25, the eighth special women’s conference was held for the first time as a whole day conference.

DELHI: CPI(M) Condemns Termination of SSA Teachers

THE Delhi state committee of the CPI(M), in a statement issued on April 12, has condemned the termination of services by the AAP state government of thousands of teachers working under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The AAP is blaming de-recognition of these teachers by the MHRD and stoppage of central funds for the SSA for this situation. The BJP on the other hand denies these accusations and blames the AAP for using the teachers as a pawn in their fight against the BJP.

Public Health Must Prevail Over Corporate Profits

The following is the statement issued by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan on March 19.THE Jan Swasthya Abhiyan compliments the government for notifying a list of over 300 drug formulations, available as fixed‐dose combinations (FDCs) of two or more drugs, which are to be banned with immediate effect on the grounds of “lack of therapeutic justification”.

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