India observed her 62rd year of independence with a solemn Prime Ministerial pronouncement: not a single Indian citizen would be allowed to go hungry. The Premier was immediately contradicted and
True to its character, the Chhattisgarh Government on July 8 banned Habib Tanvir’s internationally reputed play Charandas Chor, which had been running since 1974. This play, based on a Rajasthani
Swine Flu, technically a variety of flu caused by the H1N1 virus, is the latest of epidemics (following close on the heels of avian flu) to have affected people all
The spectre of one of the worst ever drought situations looms large over the country. Central India suffered a massive 93% deficiency in rainfall in the first week of August,
In a shocking development, three people died of hunger in as many days (between 10-12 August) in Ratu Bigaha village under Paraman panchayat of Ghoshi block in Jahanabad district: Ram
The Lok Sabha passed the farcical Right to Education Bill on 4 August, ignoring all the protests by educationists and a cross-section of people that a better draft bill be
Few words have the propensity of slipping so easily, unquestioned, into public consciousness as the term ‘encounter’. Part of public discourse now, it has come to mean elimination of gangsters,
"Setback is necessary", said comrade Charu Mazumdar in late 1971 quoting Mao Zedong, "because it demolishes the sense of easy victory and helps us realise what is right and what
As decided by the Central Committee, most states held cadre meetings or conventions between July 28 and August 10. The July 28 CC call served as the basic approach paper
The All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) held a March to Parliament on August 3 to demand that the 33% Women’s Reservation Bill be passed. Thousands of women from all
(Excerpts from a Campaign folder issued by AICCTU for its All-India Campaign, 9-31 August 2009. AICCTU launched the campaign against the UPA Government’s anti-worker agenda from August 9, Quit India
The Nationwide campaign undertaken by AICCTU was flagged off on 9 August in most states. Some of highlights of the campaign until we go to press (21 August) are below.
In
For the past two years in Coimbatore, workers of PRICOL, a leading auto components manufacturing factory supplying components to most leading auto majors, have been engaged in a protracted struggle
Most remarkable about the last three months or so of intense struggle in Punjab are the courage and initiative displayed by the ‘rank and file’ who boldly took the lead
In Jamua, Giridih district of Jharkhand , CPIML and AIPWA have been trying to organise workers who have been denied their wages. On 8th July at Bagodar, Saria, Birni, Rajdhanwar
Tamil Nadu Update
Madurai: Protest against Illegalities in NREGA
A protest against poor implementation of NREGA was organised on 12 August in Vadipatti block of Madhurai district. AIALA and AIPWA carried out
Countries of Latin America are up in arms against the US decision to open seven military bases in Columbia (a move taken on the pretext of combating narcotics trade). Apart
Ecuador is a country of 14 million people located in the western part of South America. It has many nationalities including the dominant nationality of mestizos (mixed). There are 17
The world of Hindustani classical music lost one of its brightest jewels recently when Gangubai Hanagal, doyenne of the Kirana Gharana, passed away in Hubli, Karnataka at the age of
