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.Frontline Workers Are Called Heroes In USA
By Tim Libertti On one level, the coronavirus pandemic holds out the potential to shift America’s dominant cultural mentality to finally rethink—indeed come to terms with—how our political, economic, and moral systems value the work on which our lives most depend. Presumably, the pandemic conditions are making clear to...
PM’s Package Is A Hark Back To Old Strategy
By Anjan Roy The prime minister’s address to the nation has laid out a plan for completely rebooting India’s economic model in the context of the experience of the corona virus pandemic and the shape of the global economy that he possibly foresees. From an approach of globalisation and...
Covid Reveals The Existence Of The ‘Other India’
By K Raveendran The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the existence of the Other India, which has always been in existence, but remained invisible all along. The Other India comprises millions of migrant labour who do not belong to either the cities or the villages from where they had long...
Modi Is Following The Path Of Economic Nationalism In India
By Arun Srivastava Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to the nation just ahead of launching the fourth phase of ‘lockdown’ measures was primarily recapitulation, populist in nature and designed to boost his personality cult. His speech lacked any definite direction. The speech did not carry the signature of Narendra...
Kerala Seeks Freedom To Modify Lockdown-Related Guidelines
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has requested that the State be allowed flexibility to modify the lockdown-related guidelines in the battle against Covid-19. The request is part of the slew of demands the Kerala has made in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive that the States submit their...
Self-Reliance Costs A Pretty Packet
By Sushil Kutty Okay Modi’s cabinet will give its approval. It cannot be disapproval. Modi’s word is final. Ask Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister, she who cannot talk/tweet without hashtags @narendramodi and @PMOnarendramodi. It’s about a $265 billion economic stimulus package to rescue Covid-19 hit India. In Modi’s language,...
Urban Job Loss More Severe Than That In Rural India
By Satyaki Chakraborty The extent of job losses in India is more pronounced in urban areas than in most rural areas of the country due to the impact of the lockdown since March 25 this year. The lockdown will continue after May 17 in its fourth phase with some...
International Nurses Day Has Now New Significance
By Susana Barria May 12 is celebrated as International Nurses Day as it marks the birth of the founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale and the formal recognition of nursing in public health and. In addition, the United Nations World Health Assembly resolved to celebrate nurses and midwives by...
U.S. Targets Cuba, Venezuela During Pandemic
By W T Whitney Jr. Secretary of State Pompeo loudly condemns Iranian border guards who abused Afghans crossing into Iran. He castigates China’s supposed failings with the COVID 19 pandemic. He and President Trump rail against dictatorship they see in Venezuela. They protest Cuba’s “slave doctors” – who actually...
Coronavirus Crisis Has Put Rahul And Sonia Back At Congress Helm
By Kalyani Shankar While there was disappointment within the Congress party that interim president Sonia Gandhi was not very active and former chief Rahul Gandhi was indifferent to politics, the Covid-19 outbreak seems to have brought them back to the forefront again. Sonia and Rahul are proactive again, taking...
Covid-19 Could Cause Famine In About Three Dozen Countries
By Arun Srivastava The head of World Food Program David Beasley cautioned the UN Security Council last week of the hunger pandemic that the world was facing. He warned that this could push the global fraternity to “multiple famines of biblical proportions” within a few months if immediate action...
Work While Running A Home Should Be The New Post-Covid Mantra
By Christina Fernandes Who runs the world? So goes Beyonce’s foot-stomping, adrenaline-raising battle-cry for women masquerading as a pop song. But with full deference to the queen, the question is not of who, but how we run the world? The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing rules are the...
Chomsky, Sanders Announce Formation Of A New Progressive International
By Satyaki Chakraborty A coalition of leading left wing intellectuals and political leaders led by Noam Chomsky, Bernie Sanders, Yanis Varoufakis and Naomi Klein officially launched on May 11 the Progressive International (PI) with the support of the Democracy of the Europe Movement 2025 and the Sanders Institute. This...
Trump Continues Disinformation Campaign About Virus From Wuhan Lab
By Ian Goodrum As COVID-19 maintains its devastating spread throughout the world, it has found an unlikely ally: The United States government. Case and fatality counts in the U.S. continue to rise—nearly 1.4 million infected and over 80,000 dead as of May 11—but rather than take stock of its...
Time To Use Trade Muscle For Effective Diplomacy
By Nantoo Banerjee It is time that India boasting nearly a half-trillion-dollar annual merchandise import picks up right trade partner and not those who embarrass the country and challenge its diplomatic clout on every opportunity before international forums. The continuing critical response from some of the countries in West...
Indian TV Channels Under Fire In Arab World
By Amulya Ganguli After the Israeli historian, Yuval Noah Harari, voiced concern over the emergence of the “inner demons” of hate, greed and ignorance among people in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, UN secretary general Antonio Gueterres has spoken of a “tsunami of hate and xenophobia” sweeping the...
Snooping Apps May Be Integral To Post-Covid Era
By K Raveendran It took fewer days for the Modi government’s Arogya Setu to change from ‘voluntary’ to ‘mandatory’ than the number of days taken for the doubling of Covid-19 cases, at least in states like Kerala and Telangana, requiring 37 and 58 days respectively. The Covid app was...
Cash-Starved States Need Immediate Financial Assistance
By Dr. Prabhat Patnaik Despite repeated demands by the states, the centre still has not released what is their legitimate due, namely the compensation for their revenue loss owing to the introduction of GST; this has not been paid since August. Meanwhile the Covid-19 pandemic, while adding to the...
