ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Pressure Groups in India

Sumanta Banerjee Pressure Groups and Democracy in India by L P Misquitta; Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1991; pp 320, Rs 275.
WHILE the state is indeed an organ of class rule, in India the motley and protean character of the ruling classes have invariably led to a proliferation of pressure groups from among various sections of them which seek to influence the state's decision-making in areas which affect their respective interests. Economic pulls and pressures, and contra- dictions among these different groups, are brought to bear upon the state which sometimes mediates between the conflicting interests, sometimes succumbs to a more powerful pressure group, and sometimes overrides another

Dangerous Game in Nagaland

Dangerous Game in Nagaland Sumanta Banerjee Taking advantage of the dilemma of the NSCN insurgents arising out of developments inside Burma, the smart alecs in New Delhi's home ministry have revived their manipulative game of dividing the Naga rebels and pushing through yet another accord with that section of the rebels which appears to be more pliable to the ministry's bureaucrats. In the process, they are risking a resurgence of the Naga insurgency.

Towards a Critique of Language Imperialism

Towards a Critique of Language Imperialism Sumanta Banerjee Rethinking English: Essays in Literature, Language, History, edited by Svati Joshi, Trianka, New Delhi, 1991; pp 348, Rs 280.

Complexities of Organising Rural Poor

Complexities of Organising Rural Poor Sumanta Banerjee Social Action and the Labouring Poor: An Experience by Primila Lewis; Vistaar Publications, New Delhi, 1991; pp 267, Rs 95.

Calendar of Barbarities

WHEN will our police lock-ups and jails, interrogation centres and torture chambers become museums? Like the Tower of London, or the Auschwitz concentration camp, will they ever be turned into historical monuments for a future generation to help them learn lessons from the past phases of barbarism in the history of human civilisation? The so-called Indian civilisation right now appears to be passing through such a phase of barbarism. Hopefully, a future generation of civilised Indians will teach their children to abhor such acts of barbarity and become better citizens.

West Bengal Today An Anticipatory Post-Mortem

Post-Mortem Sumanta Banerjee The mess the West Bengal CPI(M) finds itself in today can be traced to two factors: first the party's partisan and unprofessional attitude towards the running of the state administration and second, as a consequence of the party's policy at various junctures to align with and to utilise lumpen elements in order to demolish political challenge, the rise of the underworld as a powerful arbiter both in politics and in civil society THE culture of the Congress(I) seems to have finally come to fruition under a Left regime in West Bengal. With almost two rapes every day (according to the West Bengal state government sources), large- scale rigging and violence in the recent Calcutta Corporation elections, and the hegemony of underworld goons in alliance with the police over Bengali society, West Bengal can now feel proud of at last catching up with those parts of India which form the core of the 'national mainstream', and where such trends have been established as norms for several decades.

Mid-Summer Madness over Human Rights

The heavyweights in our government, the political establishment and the newspaper business prefer to wrap around their cowardice and self-satisfaction a gaudy veil printed with graffiti advertising 'unity of the country', 'national security', 'patriotic responsibility' and xenophobic slogans. It is no wonder that they feel outraged when this precious veil is about to be ripped off by ugly disclosures about how the minions of the Indian state are going about the job of maintaining the 'unity of the country' in Kashmir.

India s Kashmir War

It is the Indian government which has provided a handful of secessionist militants in Kashmir with a mass base. Jagmohan's return to Jammu as governor signalled the unleashing of state repression on a massive scale The government's tendency to treat mass demonstrations as the handiwork of Pakistani agents and use indiscriminate force against the people has alienated the Kashmiri public from India and pushed them into the arms of militants. 7b make matters worse Jagmohan's identification with the BJP in the popular perception and his pronounced anti-Muslim measures are widening the gulf between Hindus and Muslims in the state.

Snared in Parliamentary Coils

Snared in Parliamentary Coils Sumanta Banerjee Parliamentary Communism: Crisis in the Indian Communist Movement by K S Subramanian; Ajanta Publications, Delhi; pp 150; Rs 110.

. .What Injury You Have Done My Horses

" ...What Injury You Have Done My Horses?" Sumanta Banerjee WHILE Monsieur the Marquis was driving his carriage down the streets of Paris, his horses knocked down and killed the child of a worker. As the workers stood in sullen silence, he made a speech: "It is extraordinary to me that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. One or the other of you is for ever in the way. How do I know what injury you have done my horses?" He then shouted at his driver: "The horses there! Are they right?" That was Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities describing the behaviour of a French aristocrat, 200 years ago on the eve on the French Revolution.

Curse of History

Curse of History Sumanta Banerjee The world's first socialist society began its journey as a deformed system

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