By Bharat Dogra  Every voice for peace is relevant, every voice for peace is needed. Even if it is only a child carrying a placard in a gathering for peace, even if it is an elderly woman struggling to keep up with a procession for peace, all are important at a time when every word, every gesture for peace, and more particularly for justice based peace, has become very important. Yes, justice-based peace is what we really need and what must be our ultimate aim, but so tragic has been the daily toll of deaths, injuries and uprooting of people from Gaza to Ukraine and elsewhere that in such areas of high destruction there is an urgent and even desperate need to achieve at least immediate ceasefire, while justice-based solutions can be negotiated and worked out later. With the increasing destructiveness of weapons that are used, present-day war can unleash the kind of destruction within a few days which some of the worst wars earlier could not cause in months. Hence clearly there is o...

By Prantik Deka   It's indeed a proud moment for Assam and the country as the popular and talented Assamese singer, lyricist, composer and music director Neeshantt Nitul has won the Best Song in the International Category at the prestigious 'American Track Music Awards (ATMA) 2023' for the song 'Xomoy' (The Time).

By NS Venkataraman*  Ever since Hamas launched war against Israel and in the process killing hundreds of innocent citizens of Israel by catching the Israel government by surprise, many pledged supporters of Hamas and Palestinian cause vociferously have supported the action of Hamas. While Hamas openly declared that their object was to destroy Israel as a country, wipe out Israel from the world map and in the process forcing back the jews to the earlier days when they were stateless during Hitler’s time, for Israel, it was a fight for survival and a struggle with back to the wall. Israel has responded to the attack, as it was left with no alternative but to fight for its survival as a nation. What is to be noted here is that Hamas and its supporters want to destroy Israel once for all, while Israel has been wanting to reach amicable settlement with its neighbours and with a give and take policy, without sacrificing Israel’s territorial integrity. Recent near successful effort...

By Shaun Narine*  Canada’s deepening divide with India following its accusation that the Indian government was responsible for the murder of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar has revealed a cynical truth: the West’s interest in democracy and rules-based international order is largely empty rhetoric.

By Harsh Thakor  In an era where national liberation movements and organized class struggle overall are suffering merciless repression, the magnifying of Palestinian people’s national liberation war with Israel resurrects the faith in class struggle and national liberation as essential to complete the democratization of various societies. The occupation of Palestinian territories by the Israeli state and the prevention of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state are the root of the terror and malignancy, which has been perpetuated since 1948.In the absence of an independent, internationally recognized Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, any talk of peace is baseless or superficial. The phenomenal heroism of the Palestinian people in their protracted struggle for national liberation projects this an era of active resistance. In Palestine’s case, demanding any “two-state solution” is a gross violation of an oppressed nation’s right to self-determination andan endorsement of t...

By Prof. Sudhanshu Tripathi*  Once again the India’s foreign policy finds itself placed into a dilemma over Hamas attack upon Israel. And that pertains to choosing a side between the US led NATO powers assisted by several western nations and the consolidating Russia-China-Iran-North Korea alliance accompanied by many of the Arab states in West Asia. Evidently, the sudden terror attack by Hamas on Israel and Israeli counter-attack on Hamas have indeed created an unprecedented situation not only in and around Gaza but in the entire West Asian region by polarizing the aforesaid two power blocs. And that may most probably spread in all over the world to assume a global catastrophic dimension, most probably as a Third World War, with higher possibility of nuclear weapons being used, given the vested interests of the most of the global and major powers like the US led NATO powers and other western powers versus Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Turkey and most of the Muslim states in t...

By Archana Vaidya, Himanshu Thakkar*  In order to have high standards of dam safety the prerequisites are designing and constructing dams with reasonable safety margins; operating and maintaining them safely; and having emergency arrangements to address situations that might arise.

By Bharat Dogra*  The anti-imperialism movement is a very important movement with a very noble role—that of protecting the majority of the world’s people as well as its environment from the highly aggressive and inherently destructive tendencies of those powerful forces that are willing to endanger and sacrifice all else (safety and welfare of common people, protection of environment) in their overwhelming quest for dominance and very narrowly perceived self-interests. At present these powerful forces are most heavily concentrated in the USA and its close allies. This is clear for all those who care to see the reality. Hence as of today imperialism as represented by the USA and its close allies remains the most obvious and recognized face of imperialism against whom the forces of anti-imperialism must be mobilized the most in peaceful ways. Keeping in view the inherent destructiveness of wars with all their destructive weaponry, the anti-imperialism struggle in the present phase of...

By Harsh Thakor*  This month on October 23rd we commemorated the 100th anniversary of the decision by the Communist International to launch an armed rebellion in Germany. The uprising, which took place in October that year, was a landmark event. Looking back at the “German October” one hundred years later, it must be seen as a valiant bid by the Bolsheviks to escalate the spirit of revolution. The tragic reversal of this rebellion paved the road for the victory of Hitler and the horrors of the Holocaust and the Second World War. Today the International Communist Movement is still plagued by Trotskyite tendencies, which blame Stalinists and Comintern for it’s reversal, label the rebellion as premature , counter-productive and negating dictatorship of the proletariat, or blame the insurrection as mechanically copying Russian Revolution model, and eclectically profess that the debacle was caused by not complying with path of Leon Trotsky. This anniversary of the Hamburg Insurrection ...

By Paul Woolwich*  A new Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) UK investigation has found the body parts of threatened leopards and pangolins are being used as ingredients in at least 88 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products. Manufactured by 72 Chinese companies and licensed by the National Medical Products Administration of China, some of those identified also contain tiger and rhino, in contravention of recommendations made by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The facts are contained in the new EIA report  "Investing in Extinction – How the global financial sector profits from traditional medicine firms using threatened species." EIA has also identified 62 banks and financial institutions – many of them Fortune 500 companies and household names – based in Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and USA which have invested in three publicly listed Chinese pharmaceutical groups manufacturing nin...

By Sudhansu R Das*  The septuagenarian Chief Minister, Naveen Pattnaik, has ruled Odisha for more than two and half decade. Though, he has built good roads, bridges and schools in the state, he has not groomed a strong Odia leader in the state who is capable of safeguarding the vast mineral resources, build Odisha specific infrastructures, protect the rich Odia culture, create employment, prevent massive migration of the native Odias to other states. 

By Bharat Dogra  One of the biggest programs of installing water pipelines and taps in villages is under way in India. There is a lot of enthusiasm regarding this and a big sense of achievement. Statistics relating to progress which often appear in media are impressive. However while visiting several villages from time to time often I hear different views from experienced and thoughtful people, particularly those living in areas which frequently experience water scarcity. These voices must also be heard to have a better understanding of the issue. One aspect emphasized in these differing views is that the main problem and issue is that of water sources getting depleted or endangered in various ways (deforestation, mining, pollution etc.). Groundwater table is declining in most places. Some of the smaller rivers are almost vanishing while others are badly depleted in dry season. Many lakes and tanks are badly endangered. Hence resources and attention must be mainly concentrated in s...

By Bharat Dogra*  Bhaiyaram Lakshman is a youth from Naugavaa village located in Naraini block of Banda district ( Uttar Peadesh). He was working in Hyderabad as a construction worker when lockdown was declared. After waiting for a few days he decided to leave with two other friends from the area. After walking on the highway for a long time they managed to get a ride in a truck.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Mrs Balbir Kaur Balley came to United Kingdom in 1975 at the age of 20. Born in a Dalit family in Punjab, her father was a soldier in the army but still they had to face caste discrimination particularly when she had to go to another village for her school. She dropped out after 9th standard and her father arranged a marriage for her with D R Balley who was working in a foundry in Birmingham. From Punjab, she travelled to London all alone and the flight got delayed for one day as it was the month of December and there was heavy snow everywhere. She stayed a night at the airport in Germany. Both her husband D B Balley and she are devout Ambedkarite. They struggled together and embraced Buddhism in Birmingham. She too worked from home to help the family. Whenever I travel to UK, Birmingham is a home for me and it has always been wonderful to hear their inspiring stories. It is important to understand how the first or second generation of Ambedkarite with no b...

By Citizen Perera  Who says Sri Lanka is our Motherland, the country of our forefathers, the country of our birth, the country where we married, the country where our children were born and grew up, the country where our parents died and are buried, the country whose soil would one day lie comfortably over us, the country we lovingly call home? We are proudly able to declare that we are Sri Lankans, because our records and archives - dutifully and painstakingly maintained in our Registries - tell us so and our rich history recorded in documents, books, and manuscripts, tell us so. But what happens if we are ordered to destroy all physical documents of identification and retain only a cryptic dog-tag identification number that corresponds to some data-entry in a master-computer? What happens if all lands in the country are mapped-out in outer-space by a satellite, and these lands are identified by cryptic grid-reference numbers which have corresponding entries in the master compu...

By Harsh Thakor  Several notable actions of the People’s War in the Philippines have recently undertaken by the New People’s Army (NPA), giving a striking blow to military battalions, and winning adulation of the people. On September 10th, the NPA-Bukidnon had a confrontation with the troops of the 89th Infantry Battalion in Quezon. A reactionary soldier was injured and another died. There were no injured reported in the NPA units. This is not the first time that the two units battled against each other, since in June there was another confrontation in which there was a dead soldier and three injured by the reactionary army. Three days later, on September 13th, there was an armed confrontation between the troops of the 48th Infantry Battalion that guarded a control post in Quezon. A reactionary army soldier was killed. This action was welcomed by the people, since they were on the receiving end of abuses and pressures on export control and income in their areas. In Samar Oriental ...

Anant Ambani By NS Venkataraman*  Recently,  big controversy  arose over the proposal to appoint Mukesh Ambani’s youngest son, who is said to be just 28 years old, on the Board of the family controlled Reliance Industries Ltd.  A share holders services company has expressed its concern about appointing a person with little experience in the board of a large and technologically advanced company and has asked the share holders to vote against the proposal.