Opinion
Appeal
The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.Hijab Row Gets National Dimension After Ruling By Karnataka High Court
By Sushil Kutty The Karnataka hijab row now goes to the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court ruled that the hijab is not essential religious practice in Islam, and there’s clear and present danger that the row will escalate to the “national stage”, which was what the high...
Extension Of Credit Facility To MSME Sector Is Just An Eyewash
By Dr. Gyan Pathak The Union Government of India has just extended the validity of a key scheme bolstering equity support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for one year by facilitating Rs20,000 crore as subordinated debt which will now remain in force until March 31, 2023. The...
AFSPA In North East Is A Never Ending Trauma For Activists And Citizens
By Ravi Nair The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was passed by the Indian Parliament on September 11, 1958. The Parliament was told it would last no longer than a year. In 2022, we are still waiting for that year to end. The Act contains immunity clauses for...
A New Anti-War Movement Is Gaining Traction In Russia And Ukraine
By Symon Hill There is a new joke going round Russia: “What’s the easiest way to clear the snow from your street? Write No To War in the snow — and the police will clear it for you.” Footage on social media shows police obliterating anti-war messages written in...
Several Countries Plan To Step Up Military Spending
By Nantoo Banerjee The Russian attack on Ukraine seems to have given a wakeup call to countries in Europe and Asia to substantially step up their annual defence expenditure to protect themselves from possible external assault. Given the ominous security situation in Europe, a number of countries, including Germany,...
Anti-Muslim Sentiment Among Sizeable Hindus Is BJP’s Trump Card In Polls
By Amulya Ganguli “It’s the economy, stupid!” was the phrase used during the 1992 US presidential contest to emphasize the challenge faced by Bill Clinton during his campaign. In India today, the BJP’s opponents have to realize that the party’s success is the result of its clever use of...
Modi Government Pushes Workers 45 Years Back
By Dr. Gyan Pathak By the decision of the Centre to cut interest rate on workers’ and employees’ PF deposits, Modi government has just pushed workers 45 years back on social security at a time when the working class needed it most due to rising price rise and inflation...
Two Roadshows Tell Evolving Political Fortune Of BJP And AAP
By Sushil Kutty My roadshow versus your roadshow. The last time AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal took on Narendra Modi the ‘azaan’ sounded and Kejriwal paused. Then, Varanasi voted Modi to make him Prime Minister. Kejriwal didn’t have a prayer to stop him. In 2019, nobody had a prayer. Today,...
Russia’s Ukraine War Impacts Bangladesh’s Trade And Development Programmes
By Ashis Biswas In South Asia, size continues to matter, even for countries- never mind diplomacy. Bangladesh has been impacted by the ongoing war in Ukraine, along with India, but the Western response could not have been more contrasting. The US/EU-led bloc of countries have hit out at Bangladesh...
Ukraine May Force Middle East Rivals To Upgrade Toolkit
By James M Dorsey Struggling to remain on the sidelines of the 21st century’s watershed war in Ukraine, Middle Eastern nations are discovering that they may be fighting their battles with an outdated toolkit. As a result, the Ukraine war could saw off the legs from under the table...
America Moving Cautiously In Ukraine War To Avoid Direct Involvement
By Debabrata Biswas BOSTON: The Ukraine war started on February 24, when Russia invaded on the plea that Ukraine intends to join NATO and thereby threatens Russia’s security. The attack was not sudden, Russia has mobilized troops on Ukraine’s border for sometimes before, diplomatic efforts from USA and EU...
BJP’s Victory In Manipur Will Have Big Impact On North Eastern Region
By Sagarneel Sinha Every time a section of leading intellectuals, eminent journalists and political analysts try to propagate that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s domination is a past, the saffron party gives a response by winning states with huge mandates. The saffron party’s scripting history both in Uttar Pradesh and...
Mayawati Has Lost In Uttar Pradesh Poll But She Can Not Be Written Off
By Sushil Kutty Bahujan Samaj Party supremo ‘Behen’ Mayawati feels betrayed by the ‘bahujan samaj’. The BSP’s Muslim vote-bank dumped the elephant for the cycle and, watching this migration, the party’s upper caste and non-Jatav vote-banks also left fearing the return of the “jungle raj” of the Samajwadi Party...
Assembly Polls Outcome Gives A Big Boost To BJP In Bengal
By Ashis Biswas In West Bengal, the first immediate impact of the recent Assembly polls in five states has been a noticeable change in the familiar rhetoric used by major parties. The eventual outcome of the polls has also affected the internal functioning of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC),...
Congress Leadership Has To Do Real Introspection On Its Poll Debacle
By Arun Srivastava Just a day ahead of the counting of the votes, March 10, for the assemblies of five states, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had observed emphatically that soon India will be a Congress Free Bharat. His tone bore the impression of an assertive authority. Ever since...
How ‘Z’ Has Come To Acquire An Evil Meaning Similar To Nazi Swastika
By K Raveendran The ‘Z’ marking seen on Russian battle tanks and other military equipment as a coding for the Ukraine invasion is fast acquiring an evil meaning, similar to the evil that the Nazi symbol of Swastika denotes. In India, Swastika connotes exactly the opposite, as the Hindu...
India Has Lowest Female Labour Force Participation Rates In The World
By Dr. Lakshmi Lingam and Dr. Ipsita Sapra March 8 is the International Women’s Day . The history of IWD is linked to women protesting for their rights as workers and thereafter receiving official recognition through this day from the United Nations in 1975. Each year, women’s movements...
Putin’s Russian Empire Ambitions May Encompass Africa
By James M Dorsey Russian civilisationalism is proving handy as President Vladimir Putin seeks to expand the imaginary boundaries of his Russian World, whose frontiers are defined by Russian speakers and adherents to Russian culture rather than international law and/or ethnicity. Putin’s disruptive and expansive nationalist ideology has underpinned...
