Editorial

The Ayodhya Verdict:

A Blow to the Spirit of Modern India

On the eve of the Allahabad High Court verdict on Ayodhya, we had said the verdict would be a “test case for India’s secularism, democracy and justice.” Now, following a close look at the shocking verdict, we must say it has failed this test in every possible way. 30 September, 2010 will now be bracketed with 6 December, 1992. Eighteen years after the dastardly physical demolition of the Babri Masjid, we have now seen its judicial demolition, a verdict that flies in the face of the basic principles of justice and rule of law, and challenges the fundamental spirit of a secular, democratic modern India....Full text

Cover Feature

Ayodhya Verdict:
Faith Privileged Over Fact

[The demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 rocked the foundations of secular India. The Ayodhya issue, often misrepresented as a Hindu-Muslim dispute, in fact represents a contest between secular democratic values on the one hand and a communal fascist vision of India on the other. The idea of ‘Ram Janmabhoomi’ and ‘Ram Temple’ at the identical spot of the Babri Masjid, far from being articles of ‘faith’ for Hindus at large, was established as part of a sustained political campaign on part of the Sangh Parivar over a period of several decades – a campaign that the Indian State, for all its secular protestations, failed to arrest even when it blatantly violated laws of the land.....Full text

Campaign

US hands off India,
hands off Asia!

Arindam Sen

Barack Obama’s journey to India in the first week of November promises to be remarkable on several counts. Not all US Presidents visited India; those who did came here only in their second terms in office. Obama will be coming here before completing his second year in the White House and the trip is expected to cover full four or five days – the longest on record. Generally speaking this is a measure of India’s enhanced importance in the American dream of world domination. But perhaps more important are the current context and the immediate concerns on both sides.....Full text  

Commentary

The CWG Aftermath:
Lessons and Challenges

- DB

The Commonwealth Games 2010 are finally over. India finished second with 38 gold medals (third in overall medal tally), with Indian women participants contributing nearly 40% of the total medals. This is certainly a high point in the country’s performance in international sporting events, revealing the great potential that can be tapped with appropriate policies and care. The corrupt and inept organizers of CWG 2010 are now trying to bask in this glory achieved by Indian sportspersons, hoping that the country will forget and forgive the huge scams and bungling that made everybody aware of the CWG in the first place. We cannot let that happen.....Full text

Karnataka, Jharkhand, Bihar:

BJP’s Sordid Saga of Opportunism

- KK

In state after state where it is in power or shares power, the BJP stands racked by factional wars and opportunistic strife. The BJP’s “party with a difference” claims have been exposed long back by corruption and in-fighting. Even so, the recent dramas enacted in the Karnataka Assembly, the Jharkhand cabinet expansion exercise and resignations of prominent leaders in-charge of Bihar and Punjab point to a new low in the BJP’s trajectory.....Full text

Feature

Bihar Assembly Elections 2010
As we go to press, comrades in Bihar are right in the midst of a most vigorous election campaign in the 104 constituencies we are contesting under a seat-sharing arrangement with the CPI and CPI(M). Here we publish our election manifesto and list of candidates.

CPI(ML)’s Appeal and Commitment
to the Bihar Electorate
New Road to New Bihar

Dear Electors,
Before you cast your valuable vote in the coming elections for Bihar Assembly, the CPI(ML) appeals to you to spare a thought on the following points....Full text

CPI(ML)’s Charter for the People of Bihar

Fight against Corruption: Corruption has become a major drag on development and it marks a serious denial of dignity and democracy for the poor. The CPI(ML) is therefore determined to wage a “zero-tolerance to corruption” campaign and insists on comprehensive probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation or other credible and competent agencies into all frauds unearthed by the CAG and other vigilance agencies to ensure that all officials, politicians and contractors/middlemen responsible for misappropriation and diversion of public funds and PDS loot are brought to book. More often than not, corruption flows from the top and it is therefore particularly important to mete out stern punishment in every case of corruption in high places. The CPI(ML) demands that each Minister and any other politician holding the office of profit and each bureaucrat be legally mandated to publicly declare his/her assets that s/he possessed before s/he occupies the public position, and then at every six months interval during the period of holding such position, failing which the concerned minister/official should face automatic termination. Special courts in sufficient numbers must be created right from the state level down to district and subdivision levels to try corruption cases through speedy trials.....Full text

Updates

12th Smriti Diwas of Comrade Nagbhusan Pattanaik Commemorated

- Mahendra Parida

The 12th death anniversary of comrade Nagbhusan was observed at Nagbhusan Bhavan, Bhubaneswar, on 9th October on behalf of Nagbhusan Bhavan Smriti Committee....Full text

Cover

Organise Country-wide Protests during
Barack Obama's India Visit

US President Barack Obama's forthcoming visit to India this November will inaugurate a new chapter in the 'strategic partnership' between US imperialism and India's ruling class. As people of India, let us examine the interests that the US President represents and the implications of his visit for India......Full text