Peoples Democracy newsletter

Peoples Democracy newsletter

The Dangers of Centralisation

WELL-known Marxist scholar, the late Amalendu Guha, had argued persuasively that in modern India there co-existed in the minds of the people a dual national consciousness: a local, regional-linguistic nationality consciousness, of being a Bengali, or a Tamil, or a Gujarati or an Odiya; and also simultaneously an overarching pan-Indian consciousness. This duality, he had argued, had to be cognized and accepted; an over-emphasis on either one to the exclusion of the other would produce a dangerous reaction.

What Do Farmers Want from the 2025 Union Budget?

CONSIDERING the ten earlier budgets of the BJP-led government led by prime minister Narendra Modi, there is nothing much that the farmers and agricultural workers of India can expect from the coming eleventh budget except more vicious attacks on their livelihood, made under the smokescreen of high-sounding phrases about their welfare.To put it bluntly, it is now crystal clear that all the earlier budgets of the Modi regime have fattened a handful of crony domestic corporates and international finance capital, and have squeezed all sections of the working people, farmers and agricultural wor

Smuggling in the Hated Farm Laws Through the Back Door

THE draft “National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing (NPFAM)”, recently circulated by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare reveals the sinister intentions of the RSS-BJP-led union government. It is a conspiracy to sacrifice farmers' interest and maximise corporate profits.The draft reveals that the centre has not addressed any of the serious demands raised by the fighting farmers’ movement like legalising MSP, increasing public investment in agriculture, pro-farmer credit facilities etc.

That Strong Spirit of Palestinian Emancipation

IMPOSSIBLE to bottle this sensibility. All of Gaza is a ruin. Millions of Palestinians have braved the winter in makeshift tents or in ruined buildings, their children freezing (a few frozen to death) and their hunger escalating. The smell of Israeli vengeance is everywhere. The sound of the tanks and the even more terrifying silence of the bombs shatters the nerves of even the most hardened fighter.

School Education in Crisis, Latest Government Report Reveals

RECENTLY, the Ministry of Education released reports of school education in 2022-23 and 2023-24 covering a wide range of indicators. These rather delayed reports form a series of similar reports going back to 2005. Earlier the National Institute for Educational Planning & Administration (NIEPA) used to compile these reports but since 2018-19, this task was taken over by the ministry directly. The recent reports are available at the portal of the Unified District Information System of Education (UDISE+) and school-wise details are available at the Know Your School (KYS) portal.

Eternal Capitalist Appeal: Work More but Earn Less

ONCE again, a moral appeal of extending working hours to ninety hours a week has been proposed by L&T chairman resonating the need for extending working week to 70 hours proposed by Narayan Murthy last year. Workers should work more and preferably on Sundays to achieve higher growth and be on the top of the world. This is being floated when India is one of the most unequal countries in the world. Capitalists always vouch for higher efforts from the workers while being silent on the issue of return.

WB: Jyoti Basu's Legacy Lives On: JBCSSR Complex Opens

JYOTI Basu, a staunch opponent of communalism, famously labelled the BJP a "barbaric party" after the Babri Masjid demolition. Today the situation has worsened. Those whom Jyoti Basu had called barbaric were once at the threshold, but now they hold State power. They are trying to make Hindutva the State’s official ideology. Had he been alive, Jyoti Basu would have been at the forefront of the struggle against these forces of darkness.

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