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Specials

Modalities of an Emergent Dictatorship

Vol - XLVIII No. 07, February 16, 2013 | Kumar David

The Rajapaksa regime is on a premeditated course to establish an authoritarian regime in Sri Lanka. The specific modality through which power will be exercised is a totalitarian corporatist state strategy.

The Question of Militarisation in Post-war Sri Lanka

Vol - XLVIII No. 07, February 16, 2013 | Ahilan Kadirgamar

A political economic study of militarisation in Sri Lanka must situate it within the neo-liberal transformation of the country, the changing role of the state in the economy this has entailed, and the state-society model which has enabled regime consolidation through significant electoral victories. The international image of the military as a force of untrammelled power within Sri Lanka and the image being constructed within Sri Lanka of the military as capable of winning all battles are both flawed and undermine progressive politics. The need is for serious analysis and a far-reaching debate on militarisation which can enable dissent and contribute towards post-war democratisation.

The Military Expansion into Education

Vol - XLVIII No. 07, February 16, 2013 | Shamala Kumar

Militarisation, or securitisation, in Sri Lanka is not necessarily restricted to the formal military structure; its orientation is far more pervasive, as can be evidenced in the recent developments in the education sphere. Already existing imbalances and practices in the education sector have been exacerbated by the military ideology imposed upon it by the Sri Lankan government.

Militarisation, Lankan Style

Vol - XLVIII No. 07, February 16, 2013 | Tisaranee Gunasekara

The military in Sri Lanka is being transformed from a politically non-partisan entity into the de facto praetorian guard of the Rajapaksa family - a force willing and able to overstep legal and constitutional limits in defence of Rajapaksa rule. Concomitantly, civilian spaces are being infused with a "Rajapaksaised" military, and civilian institutions compelled to submit to its authority.

In Memory of Hobsbawm

Vol - XLVII No. 46, November 17, 2012 | Sumit Sarkar

An assessment of Hobsbawm based on the contexts and contradictions which marked his life and work. Using insights from his autobiography, Interesting Times, this tribute attempts to understand his politics and academic contributions which make him one of the greatest historians of the 20th century.

Remembering Eric Hobsbawm

Vol - XLVII No. 46, November 17, 2012 | Romila Thapar

A historian who straddled the intellectual scene of 20th century social sciences, Eric Hobsbawm leaves behind a rich, layered and also contested legacy. A member of the path-breaking British Historians' Group of Marxist scholars, he stood apart both for the expansiveness of this academic output as well as his political positions. A survey of his varied contributions to academia and intellectual life presents a picture of a man, who, despite the realisation of the failure of socialism in the 20th century, kept alive the promise of the October Revolution.

The Brilliance and Dogmatism of Hobsbawm

Vol - XLVII No. 46, November 17, 2012 | Ramachandra Guha

Eric Hobsbawm was a pioneer in introducing new methods and perspectives in the historian's craft and breaking the bounds of the discipline. His intellectual contributions to our understanding of the world, even in contexts far removed from what he studied and wrote about, are exceptional. However, his academic brilliance was scarred by his unquestioning loyalty to the Communist Party of Great Britain, which made him compromise academically when writing on the history of the 20th century. Yet, despite this fl aw, his intellectual achievements are staggering.

Reflections on Hobsbawm

Vol - XLVII No. 46, November 17, 2012 | Immanuel Wallerstein

This short reflection highlights Hobsbawm's influences outside the Marxist tradition and speaks about the shared concerns and divergences with the author.

Bathani Tola and the Cartoon Controversy

Vol - XLVII No. 22, June 02, 2012 | Anand Teltumbde

Why has there been such a silence from dalit leaders over the Bathani Tola judgment acquitting all those accused of killing 21 dalits? At the same time, what explains their loud protests over the Ambedkar cartoons in the textbooks? Has the elevation of Ambedkar as an icon relegated the dalit leadership to a politics of empty symbolism? Is the issue of a lack of accountability in the judicial system towards dalits not more important than the hollow iconisation of Ambedkar?

Quality Constraints in Education

Vol - XLVII No. 22, June 02, 2012 | Krishna Kumar

It needs pensive reflection to understand how an organisation whose name is perhaps the most widely recognised public sector brand across the length and breadth of India could become the target of so much instant anger and contempt in the highest legislative forum of the republic.