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.Second Wave Of Covid-19 Driving Up Unemployment
The second wave of COVID-19 beginning from February 2021 has been not only severely impacting the economic recovery in India, but has also threatened a contraction in its GDP and consequently a sharp spike in unemployment. S&P’s moderate and sever downside scenario has estimated a hit of 1.2 –...
Bengali Intelligentsia Has To Counter BJP’s Islamophobia
By Amulya Ganguli The belief that the RSS-BJP has scored an ideological victory over the secular forces by forcing their leaders to visit temples at election time or give voice to the Chandi incantation is only partially true. Hindus have always been expressive about their faith as the four-day...
What Next: Should Development Precede Bengali Pride?
By Subrata Majumder The uproarious West Bengal poll is over. Nudging out the highly speculative hung government, West Bengal witnessed the return of TMC (Trinamool Congress) led by Mamata Banerjee, with a massive victory for a third term. This sends a new message to Modi’s political satraps, who were...
States Battle Covid Without Much Help From Modi Govt
By Subodh Varma Last year, the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to be directing the fight against COVID-19 directly, imposing a two-month long lockdown starting March 25, 2020, announcing various schemes and policies to buoy the economy, funding private companies for vaccine development and other...
Behind The Scene: A Vote For Both Change And Continuity
By Harihar Swarup The outcome of the assembly elections is a setback to both national parties and will result in more assertive states. It is also now time for all the new governments to focus on Covid-19. Swear in the new chief ministers immediately, don’t fight over cabinet berths,...
Modi Has A Knack For All Wrong Decisions At The Wrong Time
By K Raveendran “This government has lost its mind. They talk of being a superpower, but what kind of superpower that can’t even find oxygen for its people?” This quote from a Meerut man who lost his niece to Covid, has been carried by The Economist to show the...
Wheat Procurement Up Amidst Fear Of Covid-19
By Gyan Pathak The ferocious rise in COVID-19 infection and its continuing spread from the urban to rural India has put the government and the people under fear of difficult days ahead. People are worried about fall in their income and rise in inflation, while the government has become...
Japanese Deflation — That Horrible Sinking Feeling
By Anjan Roy In the midst of a pandemic, the economic scenario is looking dismal. To break the chain of infection, we are isolating ourselves and that is bringing the level of activity to a minimum; demand is hibernating; investment is better not mentioned. Prices of manufactured goods are...
Total Lockdown Should Have Been Declared Earlier
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The nine-day total lockdown, which has come into force from this Saturday, has been welcomed by one and all. It has been put in place as the partial lockdown has failed to prevent a deterioration in the covid situation. But there is a perception that...
Questions Being Asked As To What Next For Labour Party
By Arun Srivastava Labour’s humiliating byelection defeat in Hartlepool marks the disastrous end to the first year of Keir Starmer’s leadership, which was supposed to begin a new era for Labour. Keir had replaced Jeremy Corbyn with the promise to salvage the situation and give a completely new dynamics...
Is There Hope In This Pandemic?
By Ibad Mushtaq This perhaps may not be the best of times to ponder upon the question of hope. Engulfed by death, disease and desolation, India, and along with it the entire world, is going through a time unparalleled and not witnessed by most of us alive. Scenes of...
Mamata To Forge United Front Of Opposition
By Rahil Nora Chopra After becoming the chief minister of West Bengal for the third term, Mamata Banerjee now has become the face of opposition leader for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 and she is expected to launch a United Front against the BJP at the national level....
BJP May Face Defeat If There Is Alternative
By Binoy Viswam While the propaganda machinery of the Sangh Parivar was singing glory for the Modi magic during Covid, the people of five Indian states have written a different story. They came out with their verdict. These states represent the south, east and northeast regions of the country....
For Free Universal Vaccination Against Covid-19
By Prabhat Patnaik Of all the decisions taken by the Modi government the most mindless has been the so-called “liberalisation” of vaccine distribution. Originally, the central government was the sole buyer from the two producing firms at a fixed price of Rs 150 per dose, and then, while itself...
Assam Victory Model Crucial For BJP Nationally
By Sagarneel Sinha Putting an end to the endless speculations of the skeptics, who weren’t sure about the saffron party’s victory, the BJP led NDA returned to power with a comfortable majority. This is the first time in the history of Assam that a non-Congress party returned to power...
BJP Preparing Ground For Dismissal Of Mamata Government
By Arun Srivastava While the Union home ministry is busy building a strong case for imposition of President’s rule in Bengal and proceed against Mamata government for its failure to check the eruption of large scale post-poll violence in the state, Mamata Banerjee announced no one, even a union...
Bangladesh Cheers Trinamool Congress Win
By Ashis Biswas While the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) major election victory in Bengal has been welcomed in Bangladesh, there is also an undercurrent of dismay. Judging by social media messaging, Bangladeshis fear that the Teesta River Water sharing project may not be implemented. And criticism on this score about...
Time For U.S. Foreign Policy To Abandon Cold War Strategies
By David Cavendish Passing the 100-day mark of President Joe Biden’s administration, one word we hear often is “bold.” From the passage of the American Rescue Plan (to fight the coronavirus), to important changes proposed in the American Jobs Plan (on infrastructure), and his American Families Plan (expand paid...
