Fasting Saints Could Become a Curse for Politics of Hindutva

Fasting Saints Could Become a Curse for Politics of Hindutva Former Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) Professor Guru Das Agrawal, who became an ascetic in 2011 at the age of 79 years and came to be known as Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, died on 11 October, 2018 on the 112th day of his fast, demanding…

Chhattisgarh’s Mineral Wealth Not Benefiting People

Chhattisgarh’s Mineral Wealth Not Benefiting People As the people of Chhattisgarh go to polls to elect another state Assembly and government, dominant political parties have completely ignored a vital question: what are they going to do about the state’s rich natural resources? That’s because the current model of unbridled private exploitation of minerals, land and…

Rebellious Scientists Issue Urgent Appeal

Rebellious Scientists Issue Urgent Appeal On October 31, 2018, a select group of UK scientists launched a Declaration of Rebellion against the UK government at the Houses of Parliament: “For criminal inaction in the face of climate change catastrophe and ecological collapse.” According to the scientists, now is the time to act as a planetary…

Jayaprakash Narayan: An Idealist Betrayed – Part IV

Jayaprakash Narayan: An Idealist Betrayed – Part IV The fourth part of a personal epitaph on Jayaprakash Narayan by former civil servant M.G. Devasahayam.   What is Fascism?   This is the dictionary definition of fascism: “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above…

The Wealthy Barely Pay Taxes: Will the Govt Make Them Pay?

The Wealthy Barely Pay Taxes: Will the Govt Make Them Pay? India is often mistakenly seen as a country with relatively low economic inequality. In fact, there were always very significant economic inequalities in India, which intersected with social and locational inequalities in complex ways. More significantly, the country’s inequalities widened after the internal and…

Netaji Bose, Nehru and Anti-Colonial Struggle

Netaji Bose, Nehru and Anti-Colonial Struggle India’s anti-colonial struggle has been the major phenomenon which built modern India into a secular democracy. Many political streams were part of this movement, and all of them struggled in their own way to drive away the British. There were also some political streams, the ones who upheld a…

The Way Forward for Socialists in Brazil

The Way Forward for Socialists in Brazil The devastating victory of extreme right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential elections on October 28 left many across the world shocked and wondering how someone who openly preaches hate and violence could have won. Claudia Fanti, an Italian journalist, spoke to João Pedro Stedile of the national…

Sacrifice at the Altar of Development

Sacrifice at the Altar of Development The legendary Professor Guru Das Agrawal, who got promoted from a Lecturer directly to Professor at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur after having finished his Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley in two years, who had laid the foundation of India’s anti-pollution regimen as the…

Ambedkar and Capitalism

Ambedkar and Capitalism Prof Anand Teltumbde’s two-part article, “Babasaheb Ambedkar and Neo-Liberal Economic Reforms” that appeared in the September 30 and October 7 issues of Janata were a necessary rebuttal to those who are fraudulently using Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s name and aura to promote an economic model which he despised. I would like to give…

Babasaheb Ambedkar and Neoliberal Economic Reforms: Part II

Babasaheb Ambedkar and Neoliberal Economic Reforms: Part II Ambedkar and Globalisation At the outset, to speak about Ambedkar in relation to globalisation, which represents a paradigmatic transformation of global capitalism into its extremist version, is fundamentally speculative. But there are enough fools who rush in where angels fear to tread . Since they cannot rationally…