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Arnab Pal

Push towards Extremism?

Vol - XLVII No. 36, September 08, 2012 | Arnab Pal

The arrest of Shiladitya Chowdhury, a farmer who raised some uncomfortable questions at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s rally in Belpahari, is a clear manifestation of a gradually evolving police state. Shiladitya was summarily tagged as “Maoist” for asking an innocuous query on the rising price of fertilisers. It seemed that the close-to-the-bone question of a poor farmer from the poverty-stricken Jhargram area enraged Banerjee.

Refusing to Learn

Vol - XLVII No. 30, July 28, 2012 | Arnab Pal

It is hard to escape the questions arising from the Communist Party of ­India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] politburo’s decision to support Pranab Mukherjee for the President of India. The arguments proffered remain unconvincing. The party has tried to avoid the question about what has prompted it to go against its own political resolution adopted three months ago in the party congress in Kozhikode, which pledges to keep an equal distance from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, and to continuously fight their neo-liberal economic agenda.

Weak Political Strategy

Vol - XLVII No. 22, June 02, 2012 | Arnab Pal


During an interactive show on television recently West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost her temper at questions from students on the Park Street and Katwa rape cases, and the arrest of a Jadavpur University lecturer for forwarding a cartoon on email and stalked out of the studio. While doing so, she accused the students of being Maoists.

Mining in 'Schedule V' Areas

Vol - XLVII No. 15, April 14, 2012 | Arnab Pal






LETTERS

Issn 0012-9976

Ever since the first issue in 1966,
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As editor for thirty-five years (1969-2004)
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Death of Kishenji and Peace Talks

Vol - XLVI No. 50, December 10, 2011 | Arnab Pal

The encounter death of Communist Party of India (Maoist) politburo member Kishenji has raised some questions, which demand serious introspection by both the Maoists and the Mamata Banerjee government.

Who Is to Blame in Lalgarh?

Vol - XLV No. 24, June 12, 2010 | Arnab Pal

In his letter “Misconceptions on Lalgarh” (EPW, 15 May 2010) Meghnad Bhunia highlighted some factual errors in the article “Is Lalgarh Showing the Way?”.

The police have been harassing the poor and innocent tribal people in the name of pursuing the Maoists. After the attack on the Bengal chief minister’s convoy at Salboni in 2008, the police arrested innocent villagers in haste, which spread public outrage. The incidents, where even women were also not spared by the security personnel in the name of searching for weapons added fuel to public anger.