PATNA: Over 300 intellectuals including Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali and Jean Dreze have demanded justice to the victims and survivors of Bathani Tola massacre. The recent acquittal by Patna high court of all the accused in this carnage has shocked everyone. On July 11, 1996, 21 landless poor were slaughtered in broad [...]
Observers have commented that Indian officials may benefit from the ‘opening up’ of Myanmar [AFP] Chang Mai, Thailand - When Indian foreign minister SM Krishna traveled to Myanmar in June 2011, he brought with him a gift of ten heavy-duty rice silos. It was a sweetener for the new Myanmar government, which had taken office only months [...]
The kingdom of Bhutan does not measure GDP growth, but ‘gross national happiness‘ [GALLO/GETTY] New Delhi, India - The economic crisis, the ecological crisis and the food crisis are a reflection of an outmoded and fossilised economic paradigm – a paradigm that grew out of mobilising resources for the war by creating the category of economic “growth” [...]
“There Are Marxists in India?”: Economist Prabhat Patnaik on the Global Crisis Saturday, 28 April 2012 12:19By Robert Jensen, Dissident Voice | Interview After an engaging half-hour interview with India‘s pre-eminent Marxist economist during a conference at New York University, I told a friend about my one-on-one time with Prabhat Patnaik. “There [...]
Child marriage dates back to India’s ancient period [EPA] “I am one of those unfortunate Hindu women whose hard lot is to suffer the unnameable miseries entailed by the custom of early marriage. This wicked practice of child marriage has destroyed the happiness of my life. It comes between me and the things which I [...]
The New(er) World Order? Neoliberal Dragons, Eurasian Wet Dreams, and Robocop Fantasies A History of the World, BRIC by BRIC by Pepe Escobar Goldman Sachs — via economist Jim O’Neill — invented the concept of a rising new bloc on the planet: BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Some cynics couldn’t help [...]
The launch makes India part of an elite club with intercontinental nuclear defence capabilites [AFP] India has test launched its first long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), capable of reaching deep into China and as far as Europe, with a scientist at the launch describing the mission as successful. “It has met all the mission objectives,” S [...]
Full text: The letter Aruna Roy, Noam Chomsky wrote to PM by Danish Raza Apr 18, 2012 A group of academicians, scientists and social activists, including National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy and professor Noam Chomsky, have written to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention against the West Bengal government’s high [...]
KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee government finally bowed before the groundswell of support for the arrested scientist Partha Sarathi Ray. On Tuesday, a city court granted him bail after 10 days in jail custody. But the bail pleas of six others arrested with Ray on April 8 were denied. Ray’s arrest has been condemned [...]
North Sea Gas Leak: Experts Assess Climate Impact of Ongoing Accident Saturday, 07 April 2012 12:33By Elizabeth Grossman, InsideClimate News | News Analysis The sizeable leak from a plugged well raises fresh concerns about accidents and methane’s role in global warming. The French energy company Total estimates that its North Sea Elgin field gas [...]
Oliver Stuenkel was part of Brazil’s delegation to the Track II academic forum in preparation for the New Delhi Summit for the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) which was held on Thursday. Stuenkel specialises in Brazil’s relations with India, but also more broadly focuses his research [...]
Ground Zero in New York City. (Photo: Karen Blumberg / Flickr)The endless war on terror in South Asia – with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, the United States, Great Britain, Russia, India, France, Germany, Spain, all players - must seem like a senseless maze to the people forced to live with daily random violence in this region. In [...]
Thirteen states in India have prevented genetically modified aubergines from being planted [GALLO/GETTY] New Delhi, India - In an interview with the journal Science, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh chose to focus on two hazardous technologies – genetically engineered seeds and crops, and nuclear power – as vital to the progress of science in India and the “salvation [...]
View PhotoSouth African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies attends a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, January 27, 2011. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The BRICS group of countries have broadly agreed they are not bound by “unilateral” sanctions onIran, measures that threaten higher global oil prices and could result in supply shortages, South Africa’s [...]
There are few things as infuriating as the annual report by one of my favorite research organizations. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released on March 19 its yearly global arms report, with data showing that arms transfers for the past four years have increased by a quarter over the 2002-2006 period. Asia is leading [...]
A TB patient in South Africa. Photograph: Alexander Joe/A Tracy McVeigh The Observer, Sunday 25 March 2012 Article history The fight against new, antibiotic-resistant strains of tuberculosis has already been lost in some parts of the world, according to a senior World Health Organisation expert. Figures show a 5% rise in the number of new cases of the highly infectious [...]
T The leaders of the BRICS nations are attempting to build meaningful, useful institutions [EPA] New Delhi, India - As it prepares to hold its latest annual summit in New Delhi on March 28-29, the BRICS grouping - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – remains a concept in search of a common identity and institutionalised [...]
Thousands of Anti-Nuclear Protesters Face Police in India, 200 Arrested Green signal for nuclear power ‘is a red signal for our lives’ – Common Dreams staff After thousands gathered in Idinthikarai, Tamil Nadu, India on Monday to protest the vastly contested Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant there, police forces came out en masse to repress demonstrations. [...]
Is it a house or a home? A temple to the new India, or a warehouse for its ghosts? Ever since Antilla arrived on Altamont Road in Mumbai, exuding mystery and quiet menace, things have not been the same. “Here we are,” the friend who took me there said, “Pay your [...]
Palestinian children fly kites to show their solidarity with the Japanese people near a Japanese-funded housing project in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, March 18, 2012. The event was organized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to mark the first anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set [...]
The Tata family, including Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata, ‘run more than 100 companies in 80 countries’. Photograph: Denis Balibouse /Reuters There’s no escape from the corporations that run India Domestic mega-corporations’ tentacles extend into every aspect of Indian life – but no one dares speak out against them Arundhati Roy guardian.co.uk, Monday 19 March 2012 [...]
“Without general elections, without unrestricted freedom of press and assembly, without a free struggle of opinion, life dies out in every public institution, becomes a mere semblance of life, in which only the bureaucracy remains as the active element. Public life gradually falls asleep, a few dozen party leaders of inexhaustible energy [...]
A display by the Sarang helicopter display team during India‘s air force day at Hindon, New Delhi, last autumn. Photograph: Gurinder Osan/AP Global arms trade growth by a quarter is spurred by India Fears of arms race in Asia as Stockholm peace institute data shows India is now biggest importer article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/19/arms-sales-grow-24percent The global arms trade has [...]
Enlarge image Bayi Aerobatics Team of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force show China‘s J-10 jet fighters during an air show for the Changchun First Aviation Open Day in Changchun, in northeast Chinas Jilin province. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images China Buys Fewer Weapons as Local Industry Expands, Sipri Says By Daniel Ten Kate [...]
War, Pipelineistan-style Pepe Escobar United States Secretary of State Hillary “We came, we saw, he died” Clinton’s message to Pakistan was stark; try to go ahead with the IP (Iran-Pakistan) gas pipeline, and we’re going to take you out financially. Islamabad, its economy in tatters, living in power-cut land, and desperate for energy, tried [...]
China’s Impending Financial CrashBy Gwynne Dyer March 16, 2012 “Vancouver Free Press” — Building a skyscraper is the ultimate expression of economic confidence, and more than half of the 124 skyscrapers currently under construction in the world are being built in China. But confidence is often based on nothing more than [...]
A mobile unit gives a child polio drops in New Delhi, India. Photograph: Saurabh Das/AP India‘s removal from the list of “polio endemic” countries has been threatened by a suspected case of the disease in the east of the country. A year without a recorded new case of polio – a major step towards its total [...]
I posted an article about the book by Arundhati Roy, Walking With The Comrades” just by way of further introduction to this splendid book you might like to read a few excerpts. The book concerns Roy going to meet Indian Maoists on their home ground in parts of India and then walking over quite a distance through [...]
Review: 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism Sat, 03/03/2012 – 16:23 — Anarcho Printer-friendly versionHa-Joon Chang, while an economist, is not of the mainstream neo-classical brand. This becomes very obvious reading his extremely useful book 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism. It also becomes very clear that Chang is [...]
I posted an article about the book by Arundhati Roy, Walking With The Comrades” just by way of further introduction to this splendid book you might like to read a few excerpts. The book concerns Roy going to meet Indian Maoists on their home ground in parts of India and then walking over quite [...]
Remember that China fills a curious role in Australian politics. As a country with a long history of racism particularly directed at the Chinese, Australia is trying to play on both sides of the net. On the one hand we are trying to say they as [...]
Most attention has focussed on China’s first aircraft carrier, the former Soviet ship the Varyag. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images What is China doing that is different to what the US and others have been doing for a few centuries? The answer is nothing. Once you encircles a country and place all manner of war items around [...]
Is an India-China arms race brewing? As Asia’s two rising powers boost defence capabilities, we ask who stands to benefit and what it means for the region. On Saturday, the Indian armed forcesended a major military exercise near the Chinese border, while China has announced that it will increase its military [...]
India’s ruling Congress party has suffered a major election setback in crucial state polls, winning clearly in just one of five states contested. Congress, which runs the federal government in New Delhi, suffered a landslide defeat in Uttar Pradesh, India‘s most populous and politically significant state. With all but a few results [...]
The car was damaged mainly not by the bomb’s explosion, but by the resulting slow-burning fire [Reuters] Washington, DC - The magnet bomb that exploded on an Israeli Embassy diplomat’s car in Delhi on February 13 seemed on the surface to be consistent with an Iranian-sponsored action. It was carried out with same method by which [...]
(GLobal Crop Diversity Trust) Create Food Democracy, Occupy our Food Supply by Vandana Shiva The biggest corporate takeover on the planet is the hijacking of the food system, the cost of which has had huge and irreversible consequences for the Earth and people everywhere. From the seed to the farm to the store to [...]
Millions Join Strikes Across India Demanding Reforms Indians demanding improved rights for employees, trade unions and political activists – Common Dreams staff Millions of people, including members of the nation’s eleven largest trade unions, took to the streets across India today in a nationwide strike that seeks a remedy to rampant inflation, an end [...]
In the book “Walking With The Comrades by the exceptional Indian activist and writer Arundhati Roy you are given an outstanding analysis of Indian life, politics and culture as only she can write. There is so much to recommend this book that any description is too much like those previews that virtually tell [...]
By Shashi Tharoor “Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope In a Mumbai Undercity” A book by Katherine Boo This is an astonishing book. It is astonishing at several levels: as a worm’s-eye view of the “undercity” of one of the world’s largest metropolises; as an intensely reported, deeply felt account of the lives, [...]
(Photo: Cihan) 15 February 2012 / AP, TAIPEI American attempts to get major Asian importers of Iranian oil to rein in their purchases are faltering as allies South Korea and Japan give US officials a polite brushoff. Emerging giants India and China may even increase their purchases, further stymieing Washington’s efforts to force Iran to [...]
Does ‘biopiracy‘ endanger world food supplies? Seed monopolies could affect the livelihoods of farmers and biodiversity. Here s a link to this article and videos associated with it. http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/does-biopiracy-endanger-world-food-supplies-0021995 There is a video featuring Vandana Shiva. For those of you who are familiar with her work and opinions this is another opportunity to look at [...]
‘India to buy Iran oil in gold not dollars’ New Western sanctions seek to prevent other countries from importing Iran’s crude oil. India has agreed to pay the price of crude oil it imports from Iran in gold, which makes it the first country to drop the US dollar for purchasing the [...]
Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption activist, whose hunger strike garnered international attention, is sick – and his movement seems to have lost momentum [EPA] Six months after millions of Indians took to the streets protesting against corruption, the government has rejected anti-corruption legislation. Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption activist, whose two-phase fast-unto-death catapulted him to national hero [...]
Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption activist, whose hunger strike garnered international attention, is sick – and his movement seems to have lost momentum [EPA] Six months after millions of Indians took to the streets protesting against corruption, the government has rejected anti-corruption legislation. Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption activist, whose two-phase fast-unto-death catapulted him to national hero [...]
Australian Militarism in the Asia-Pacific Century Written by Nile Bowie For a nation who has historically subordinated itself to larger powers, Australia’s Labour-led foreign policy shows little divergence away from being wholly complicit to American full spectrum dominance in the region. For all of its pristine natural beauty, the continent-nation has become [...]
Just in case you have been seeing, reading or listening to the never ending stream of media types who in their economic wisdom see only the bright side or at least feel it is their god given right to spin the [...]
Despite sanctions on Iran, India will continue buying oil New Delhi, Jan 17 2012, DHNS: Only UN sanctions acceptable, says Mathai Justifying its stance to continue buying Iranian oil despite US sanctions, India on Tuesday made it clear that the restrictions do not apply to individual nations. New Delhi has sent a [...]
According to a survey conducted in India, 42 per cent of children under five are underweight [GALLO/GETTY] New Delhi, India - Geeta, a 27-year-old mother of three, living on the outskirts of the national capital region looks vacant at the queries of malnourishment. For her, gathering cereals for the two square meals of her family is [...]
India orders crackdown on ‘human safaris’ in the Andaman Islands As outrage over exploitation of Jarawa tribe spreads, minister flies in for talks Video link showing….police officer makes Jarawa tribeswomen dance for the amusement of tourists in the Andaman Islands Link to this videoEmbarrassed officials in the Andaman Islands are desperately attempting to deal with the [...]
Nearly six million Indians are employed in the GCC states [GALLO/GETTY] London, United Kingdom - Claiming that a great deal of uncertainty hangs over the contemporary security/strategic environment in the Middle East is neither a novel statement nor an exaggeration. Although it is commonly acknowledged that the regional politics will have a stronger Islamic flavour in [...]
