Editorial

Towards 2021 with Optimism

THE Latin term `annus horribilis’ (horrible year) has been widely and understandably used to define the year 2020 which had just ended.  This is a natural description of an unprecedented year, which has seen a global pandemic – the corona virus pandemic – the comparable scale of which happened a full century ago when the “Spanish flu” caused worldwide havoc in 1918-1919. The Covid-19 pandemic by the end of the year had afflicted nearly 81 million people and caused 1.8 million deaths.  It caused large-scale suffering, especially for those families whose near ones died and caused rec

An Award to a Military Ally

THERE is something curious about the “Legion of Merit” award conferred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by President Donald Trump.  The Legion of Merit is primarily a military honour bestowed by an American president.  The chief commander category has been in the past given mainly to army chiefs, generals and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of other countries.

A Resounding Victory in Kerala

THE Local Self-Governing Institutions (LSGI) elections in Kerala have resulted in a resounding victory for the Left Democratic Front.  The LDF has won 11 out of the 14 district panchayats; 108 of the 152 block panchayats; and 514 of the 941 grama panchayats.  The LDF has won five of the six corporations and 35 of the 86 municipalities.It is significant that the LDF has improved overall upon the success it registered in the 2015 elections, five years ago.

A Long Struggle Ahead

THE big success of the Bharat bandh called by the farmers’ organisations on December 8 was a display of people’s support and sympathy for the cause of the farmers.The spontaneous response to the bandh call in many places and the support extended to it by a wide range of organisations and sections of the society – trade unions, traders’ organisations, transport associations, teachers, students and women’s organisations – all indicate the isolation of the Modi government on this issue.  It is also significant that almost all non-BJP opposition parties expressed support for the protest action.

Targeting the LDF Govt in Kerala

THE efforts to discredit and denigrate the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala have been mounting in the past few weeks.  The Congress-led UDF and the BJP have conducted agitations utilising the gold smuggling case to target Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the LDF government. As the assembly elections draw closer, the Congress and the BJP have moved explicitly to widen the ambit of their attack on the government.  Some of the central agencies have also been enlisted in this nefarious game. At present, there are four central agencies – National Investigation Agency, Customs, Enfor

Ab ki Baar Biden Sarkar

THE victory of Joe Biden in the presidential election in the United States must have been a galling for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  After all, he was the first Indian prime minister ever to virtually endorse a candidate for  the election, the incumbent Donald Trump. Everyone recalls the reiteration of the slogan “Ab ki Baar Trump Sarkar” by Modi at the “Howdy Modi” rally at Houston in September 2019.  The Namaste Trump rally at Ahmedabad in February 2020 was another political gesture in favour of Trump organised by Modi.Traditionally, the Indian government maintains a neutrality in the p

The Fight for Employment

THE spectre of unemployment is stalking the country.  After the pandemic broke out and the hasty lockdown, millions lost their jobs in industry, small businesses, service sector and, above all, in informal sector.Even prior to the Covid-lockdown, unemployment had grown tremendously.  Demonetisation and the implementation of the GST had affected petty producers and small enterprises leading to a steep rise in unemployment.  The 2017-18 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which the government tried to suppress, showed that the unemployment rate had increased to a level that was unprecedented

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