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Discussion

Is There a Pan-North-East Identity and Solidarity?

Vol - XLVII No. 36, September 08, 2012 | Thongkholal Haokip

"The 'North-East' Map of Delhi" (EPW, 28 July 2012) finds an emerging pan-north-east "identity", and "solidarity" in opposition to Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 and racism and violence in Delhi by north-east migrants. An attempt to throw light on some misconceived generalisations.

Case for Delhi Metro Rail

Vol - XLVII No. 35, September 01, 2012 | Monish Gulati

This is a discussion on the article “Delhi Metro Rail: Beyond Mass Transit” by Pritpal Randhawa (EPW, 21 April 2012). The author basically argues that gentrification is the main motivation for the introduction of a Mass Rapid Transit System in Delhi, because the metro has neither been successful in achieving its stated objectives of reducing traffic congestion and pollution, nor is it climate-friendly.

Why Use Consumer Expenditure Surveys for Analysis of the RSBY?

Vol - XLVII No. 35, September 01, 2012 | T R Dilip

This is relating to the recent debate on the so-called “rigorous evaluation-based robust findings” based on the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) consumer expenditure survey (CES) data available for 2004-05 and 2009-10 (Selvaraj and Karan 2012a), on the inability of publicly-financed health insurance schemes to reduce out-of-pocket expenditures in India.

RuPay Card

Some Observations
Vol - XLVII No. 34, August 25, 2012 | Pinaki Roy and Abhinav Jha

As RuPay has been presented as a viable alternative to international payment settlement systems (“RuPay Card: An Alternative”, EPW, 26 May 2012), the complexities of existing payment systems, issues in fi nancial inclusion, technological challenges and market competition cannot be sidelined. This comment highlights two contentious issues: (1) competitive markets, and (2) challenges in bringing about fi nancial inclusion.

 

What Is Learning and Where Is It Happening?

Vol - XLVII No. 32, August 11, 2012 | Disha Nawani

"Learning Levels and Gaps in Pakistan: A Comparison with Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh" (EPW, 30 June 2012) overgeneralises the fi ndings of the study on which it is based without bothering to analyse them to throw light on why children learn the way they do, or why children do not learn enough, leave alone contemplating what constitutes meaningful learning.

Whose Semi-Fascism?

Vol - XLVII No. 30, July 28, 2012 | Subhasis Bandyopadhyay

Ishita Mukhopadhyay’s article “Moving towards Semi-Fascism in West Bengal” (EPW, 26 May 2012), on the first year of a right-of-centre government is impoverished in theory as well as in its politics. The portrayal of the state of affairs remains flat, and full of oft-repeated jargon. Unfortunately, the branding of the present regime as “semi-fascist” or one that is inclined towards semi-fascism betrays her own ideological underpinnings!

Publicly-Financed Health Insurance Schemes

Ignorance Is Not Bliss
Vol - XLVII No. 29, July 21, 2012 | Sakthivel Selvaraj

A reply to T R Dilip's assertion (EPW, 5 May 2012) that Sakthivel Selvaraj and Anup K Karan (EPW, 17 March 2012) arrived at unacceptable conclusions due to methodological fl aws with regard to assessing the effectiveness of publicly-fi nanced health insurance schemes.

The Importance of Democracy in Socialism

Vol - XLVII No. 28, July 14, 2012 | Arup Baisya

This response to Sumanta Banerjee's "Revolutionary Movements in a Post-Marxian Era" (EPW, 5 May 2012) entifi es the democracy deficit as the main internal obstacle to a new revolutionary practice informed by Marxism.

Eco-incarceration or Chronicling the Dissidence of Bare Life?

Vol - XLVII No. 26-27, June 30, 2012 | Anindya Sekhar Purakayastha

Alpa Shah's review of Arundhati Roy's, Broken Republic ("Eco- incarceration? 'Walking with the Comrades' ", EPW, 26 May 2012) missed the central axiom of Roy's ethico-political argument against state coercion and neo-liberal totalitarianism.