April 19, 2008

• New Dawn and Epochal Change in Nepal
  22 April 2008, by SC
  Two years ago on April 24, 2006 King Gyanendra was forced to announce the restoration of the Nepalese parliament he had dissolved in 2002. This was, as aptly noted in these columns, a remarkable success of the Nepalese people’s tenacious struggle  (...)
• Problem of Iraqi Refugees and Western Responsibility
  22 April 2008, by Mansoor Ali
  There is at present growing response in the Arab world to the problem of Iraqi refugees that is acquiring a serious dimension with every passing day. Since the beginning of the second US invasion of Iraq in 2003, up to 3000 people have been  (...)
• Extend Loan-Waiver to Landless Farm Workers
  22 April 2008, by Bharat Dogra
  (COMMUNICATION)
  It is deeply disturbing to see that the loan-waiver announced recently for marginal and small farmers in the Union Budget has not specifically included landless farm workers. Landless farm workers constitute the weakest  (...)
• In response to the statement on Taslima Nasreen’s departure from India
  22 April 2008, by Syed Shahabuddin
  COMMUNICATION
  The joint statement of Indian liberal establishment in your journal (Mainstream, April 5, 2008) follows the pattern of editorials in the national media. It not only misrepresents the facts of the case but defines democracy in a  (...)
• Panchayati Raj after 15 Years : Challenges Ahead
  22 April 2008, by B S Baviskar
  Fifteen years have passed since the landmark 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act was approved in 1992 by the Indian Parliament. Devolution of 29 functions, reservation of 33 per cent seats for women, similar reservation for the Scheduled Castes  (...)
• Open Letter to Prakash Karat and VS on the Chengara Struggle
  22 April 2008, by Thomas Kocherry
  Dear Prakash Karat and Chief Minister,
  The Chengara land struggle is coming in Desabhimani like the Right-wing media reporting the news! It is an irony of the times that the LDF and CPM are being accused of provoking a land struggle with Maoist  (...)
• Rights Reserved
  22 April 2008, by Sachi Chawla
  Dr B. R. Ambedkar once said: “We must make our political democracy a social democracy as well.†He then added: “Social democracy means a way of life which recognises liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life.â€
  The Founding  (...)
• Honouring Ambedkar
  22 April 2008, by Nikhil Chakravartty
  The award of the Bharat Ratna posthumously on B. R. Ambedkar raises mixed feelings. No doubt Ambedkar was one of the stalwarts of modern India; the high-water mark of his career was that he contributed most to the drafting of the Indian  (...)
• Dr Ambedkar : An Ambassador of Humanity
  22 April 2008, by Chaman Lal
  Bhimrao Ramji, who, later came to be known as Dr B.R. Ambedkar or Babasaheb Ambedkar in popular parlance, was born at Mhow, near Indore on April 14, 1891. He was the fourteenth child of Subedar Major Ramji and his wife Bhimabai. Only five of the  (...)
• Social Compliance, Social Accountability and Corporate Social Responsibility
  22 April 2008, by Abira Chatterjee
  †I honestly believe that the winning companies of this century will be those who prove with their actions that they can be profitable and increase social value — companies that both do well and do good... Increasingly, shareowners, customers,  (...)

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