‘Let’s Do This Everywhere’
| | |

‘Let’s Do This Everywhere’

Julia Conley   Lawmakers in Kansas City, Missouri took a “visionary step” on December 5, 2019 by unanimously voting to make public transportation in the city free of charge, setting the stage for it to be the first major US city to have free public transit.   The Kansas City Council voted to direct the…

Raja Dhale: A Renaissance Figure in Dalit Literature and Art
|

Raja Dhale: A Renaissance Figure in Dalit Literature and Art

Yogesh Maitreya    If there is one man who deserves to be called a renaissance figure in dalit literature and art, it is Raja Dhale. Many may have heard of him only recently, when he passed away in July, 2019. Dhale was a remarkable poet; an occasional but refined translator; a fiery yet incisive critic…

French Unions and Yellow Vests Converge, Launch General Strike
|

French Unions and Yellow Vests Converge, Launch General Strike

Richard Greeman   On the eve of an “unlimited” (open-ended) General Strike called for December 5, more and more unions and protest groups are pledging join it.   Two things are unusual about this strike. The first is that it is open-ended, rather than the usual one-day of ritualistic protest marches, and may be prolonged…

Venezuela’s Civilian Militia Reaches 3.3 Million Members
| |

Venezuela’s Civilian Militia Reaches 3.3 Million Members

Paul Dobson   “Venezuela’s Bolivarian Militia has grown to 3.3 million men and women, surpassing the target for 2019. The body is due to be legally incorporated into the Armed Forces as a ‘combat unit’.”   This announcement was made during activities held over the weekend for the Day of Loyalty, which commemorates the last…

Why is the ‘Israel Model’ Bad for India
|

Why is the ‘Israel Model’ Bad for India

Siddharth Varadarajan   So deep does national sentiment in favour of the rights of the Palestinians run that regardless of which party is in power, the Indian government has so far remained formally committed to the cause of an independent, secure Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.   India has excellent relations with Israel…

Telecom: License-to-Loot Raj
| |

Telecom: License-to-Loot Raj

Prabir Purkayastha   The major private operators in the telecom sector, along with the state-run ones, are currently reeling under a three-year price war with Reliance Jio. This has hit their profitability hard, with Jio buying its entry into the market with very low call and data charges, what others have termed as predatory pricing….

Neo-Liberal Regime’s Perversity
| |

Neo-Liberal Regime’s Perversity

Prabhat Patnaik   When income growth slows down in an economy, so does the growth of tax revenue within the given tax regime. Since the government has certain expenditure obligations, to meet these obligations it has to either impose additional taxes or expand its fiscal deficit.   Enlarging the fiscal deficit in such a situation,…

CAB and NRC: Why Both are Terrible Ideas
|

CAB and NRC: Why Both are Terrible Ideas

Ujjwal K. Chowdhury   The Citizenship Amendment Bill has passed in the Lok Sabha, after a marathon discussion on 9 December. This proposal was a part of the manifesto of BJP in the last 2019 general elections.   What does it basically entail?   The Bill provides for persecuted minorities professing to be Hindu, Christian,…

Ayodhya Letter
|

Ayodhya Letter

Constitutional Conduct Group   On 6 December 2019, 46 former civil servants, most having held positions of great prominence during their careers, wrote an open letter addressed to the people of India expressing deep concern on where the nation stands today, 27 years since the Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindu activists on December 6,…