July 2009

In India the term ‘Adivasi’ has gained immense popularity in the last few decades to identify the tribes. This term is more commonly brought to use by the NGO circles and activists of the ‘mainstream’ or ‘mainland’ India. The term has also gained currency amongst the tribes mainly belonging to central India. In Kerala too the tribes of late prefer to be identified as ‘Adivasi’. In Hindi the term ‘Adivasi’ means original settlers.
The term Adivasi is not portrayed just for literary (…)

While the sordid drama involving two women politicians—UPCM Mayawati and UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi—continues to animate the political scene of not only Lucknow but New Delhi as well once again focusing attention on the growing alienation of the BSP running UP from the Congress stewarding the shop of state as the head of the ruling UPA in South Block, Parliament, now in session, has been lately rocked by two events. One of these is the India-Pakistan agreement reflected in the Joint (…)

The death of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, circa May 18, 2009 remains an enigma wrapped in mystery. The exact details of what happened, we may never know. Things have never been what they appeared on surface. Colombo’s media management techniques are a legion. Therefore, peering through a looking glass into the future of Sri Lanka becomes quite problematic.
The bottom line, of course, is that a question mark must be put on the intentions of (…)

With the end of civil war in Sri Lanka and the defeat of the LTTE, a frictional chapter in Indo- Sri Lankan history has come to an end. It is time for India and Sri Lanka to start a new chapter with renewed vigour and vitality by rigorous cooperation especially in the economic realm.
At a time when the whole world is reeling under economic recession Sri Lanka is no exception. In fact the economic crisis will have a far deeper impact on the war-torn economy of Lanka. The economy in Sri (…)

This article reached us before June 29, Prof Mahalanobis’ birthday, but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons.
Various statistical activities, such as crop-cutting surveys, socio-economic surveys, economic census, agriculture census, demographic census etc. being conducted in India are well known worldwide for their size and technical efficacy. Data captured through these surveys and censuses are utilised to ensure planned development and formulating policies for economic (…)

Was Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed fed poisoned food while in detention during 2007-08? The question should be a matter of concern not for reasons of her health alone and not only for the country that gave her a landslide election victory at the end of last year.
On June 27, in a television programme that went almost unnoticed outside of Bangladesh, a top leader of Hasina’s Awami League (AL) alleged that Hasina was served poison-laced food for an unspecified period as (…)

BOOK REVIEW
Rural Development in Punjab: A Success Story Going Astray by Autar S. Dhesi and Gurmail Singh (eds.); Routledge, New Delhi; 2008.
There was a forecast of starvation in India during the 1960s due to food deficit. As a response to meet the food deficit the state launched the Green Revolution which was spearheaded by Punjab. Under the Green Revolution specialisation of wheat-paddy crops brought tremendous growth in food production. India not only became food-sufficient but also (…)

From N.C.’s Writings
This month marked the 37th anniversary of the Simla Summit. On this occasion, we reproduce the following piece by N.C. in ‘Editor’s Notebook’ (Mainstream, July 8, 1972). This needs to be read in the context of the just concluded Manmohan-Gilani talks in Sharm-el-Sheikh. —Editor
If cautious optimism marked the approach of New Delhi to the Indo-Pak Summit before it took place, it persists, more or less in the same measure, even after the Simla Agreement. At the (…)

The short point to US President Barack Obama’s first visit to Russia in his new avatar is that he forgot to reset the button before leaving Washington. To say “forgot” is to indulge in euphemism because the American foreign policy-making elite has no intention of fulfilling what Vice-President Joe Biden initially promised in resetting the button in relations with Russia.
True, the US and Russia took the first steps in agreeing to reduce their gargantuan nuclear arsenals to replace (…)

The CPM will never be the same after the disastrous Delhi decision of the Central leadership on July 12, 2009.
The long awaited final decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party-Marxist on that day after prolonged discussions at various State and central levels apparently to end factionalism in the Kerala State unit of the CPM did not surprise anyone but disappointed many in the party and its fellow-travellers. The nature of the punishment was less severe than generally (…)