Category Archives: Capitalism

Capitalism, Countryside, Debates, Ecology/Environment, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Dhinkia to Beladal: A Protest Padayatra to Make the Orissa Coast Free of Capitalist Investments

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An Appeal to join this  Padayatra November 29 to December 5, 2009

(Mail sent by Mamata Dash)

Dear Comrades/Friends,

Coastal Orissa and hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants who have been living for generations on its precious resources such as agriculture, beetle-vines, fisheries and village art and craft industry are facing today a great crisis of existence imposed on them all over the coast by capitalist investors with the active patronage of the state at the centre and in Orissa.  Be it POSCO or Vedanta or any other name, the most favorite investment destination for everyone is our natural resources and our rich coast line. No iron and steel factory can manufacture sustainable livelihood systems and life centric ecology. No world class university can take care of education of economically deprived who can’t even afford minimum primary education. The Nabin Pattnaik government knows this truth. But they also know another truth-the amount of black money these corporations can pump in for the benefit of the ruling elites no other work in the state can ensure that much for them.  The farmers, the peasants, the workers protest and they take the shape of powerful people’s movements in the form of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti or Vedanta Viswavidyalaya Virodhi Sangharash Samiti. The people threatened by a project resolve not to give in, but they take the pledge to fight back even if they have to pay a price. Many fighters have been killed but the fight continues in Kalinganagar, Kashipur, Keonjhar, Sundergarh, Lanjigarh, Hirakud, Dhinkia and Beladal. Hundreds of false cases have been filed against the people resisting destruction. But it has only added their resolve to fight with determination. In order to spread the messages of continuing the fight against unjust capitalist aggression on our resources the PPSS has initiated along with the help of Vedanta Viswavidyalaya Virodhi Sanghrash Samiti and several other mass movements, a Padyatra which will start on 29th November 2009 from Dhinkia and culminate on the 5th of December 2009 at Beladal.

We request you to please join this Padyatra to raise your voice against the powerful corporations who are eying shamelessly on our resources. The coast is to protect our livelihood and also to protect the environment. Let us not allow any private investment in the coast of Orissa. Let us make Padayatra a great success. We meet at Dhinkia in the evening of 28 November 2009. The Dhinkia villagers have arranged for food and stay for every pad Yatri. On 29th, the Yatra starts from Dhinkia (Centre of anti POSCO struggle) which ultimately will end on the 5 December 2009 at Beladal (Centre of anti Vedanta University struggle) where everything will be taken care of by the Beladal villagers.

Yours Sincerely

Abhaya Sahu, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, Dhinkia, Jagasingpur-( Mobile 9437571547)

Pitambar Das, Jatadhar Bacao Andolan, Ersema

Babuli Behera, Devi Muhan Surakhya Samiti

Benudhara Pradhan, Vedanta Viswavidyalaya Virodhi Sangharsa Samiti,

Bhagaban Majhi, Prakrutika Sampada Surakhya Parishad, Kucheipadar

Lingaraj Azad, Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti

Rabindra Jarika, Vistapan Virodhi Janmanch, Sukinda

Ashok Pradhan, Paschima Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti

Muralidhar Sardar, Mittal Virodhi Manch

Khirod Singh Deo, Hirakud-Rengali Budi Anchal Sangram Samiti

Akhaya Das, Jala Surakhya Jan Manch

Prafulla Samantra, Lok Shakti Abhiyan

Budha Gamango, Lok Sangram Manch

Sibaram, Jiban Jibika Surakhya Samiti

Natabar Sarangi, Prachi Chasi Meli

Narayan Redy, Gana Sangram Samiti, Ganjam

Jogendra Gadanayak, Sidheswar Anchalika Surakhya Committee, Naraj

Nikunja Bhutia, Odisha Jana Adhikar Mancha

Dandapani Mohanty, Odisha Forest Majdoor Union

Jayadeb Nayak, Basi Surakhya Manch

Nitu Chakhia, Rajdhani Basti Unayan Parishad

Capitalism, Culture, Empire/ Imperialism, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Debating “Political Islam”

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A number of activists from the South Asia Solidarity Initiative (SASI) in New York have initiated a reading group on South Asia.  The notes below are the second in a series of commentaries following reading discussions that some members of the reading group are posting on Kafila.  This is an attempt to broaden the discussions and in the process make it a productive dialogue to understand developments in the region and deepen our solidarity.

Debating “Political Islam”

– Svati Shah, Biju Mathew, Sumitra Rajkumar, Prachi Patankar and Ahilan Kadirgamar

The recent debate between Samir Amin and Tariq Amin-Khan on a left perspective on “political Islam” in the context of imperialism, published in Monthly Review (December 2007 and March 2009), provides an opportunity to reflect on a number of issues that have vexed the anti-war movement and the left with respect to the on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The most vexing of these issues has been the question of whom the left should target as its allies in those countries, and what position the left should take toward so-called “political Islam,” represented by Islamist groups calling for an end to foreign occupation.  The definition of “political Islam” is presented below in relation to each critique.  Both Amin and Amin-Khan are in agreement that both “political Islam” and imperialism have to be challenged simultaneously.  There are no strategic questions here, in terms of joining one to fight the other.  The defeat or withdrawal of both is desirable in the interests of a people-centred politics.  In imperialism’s projection of capitalism and reactionary Islam’s comfort with capitalism (that class and gender do not trouble it) they are objective allies even if on the ground their adherents are military enemies.  This initial agreement then delves into a number of nuanced questions that must be considered in order to foster the return to a people centred politics in both of these countries, and the regions as a whole.

Continue reading Debating “Political Islam” →

Bad ideas, Capitalism, Identities, Media politics, Politics

Violence in Consumerism’s Own Country

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As the stories of the DHRM and those of the successful negotiations with which the Chengara land struggle has ended continue to unfurl in the Malayalee media, contradictory messages about Dalit political struggle continue to reverberate in Kerala. Dalits have been markedly reserved about the outcome of the talks with which the land struggle at Chengara has ended. Laha Gopalan, the leader and chief negotiator, has openly declared that the settlement was a hurried one, and that he agreed to it mainly out of fear of violence, given that the divisions have been created among the landless people at Chengara, whose patience has worn thin. Meanwhile, the DHRM’s violence continues to offer opportunities for potshots at Dalit politics. The Kerala Chief Minister, for instance, issued ‘warnings’ against ‘identity politics’ on Gandhi Jayanti, as if ‘identity politics’ were the same as ‘violence’.

Continue reading Violence in Consumerism’s Own Country →

Capitalism, Law, Movements

MRF United Workers’ Union Case: Ramapriya Gopalakrishnan

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This guest post has been sent to us by RAMAPRIYA GOPALAKRISHNAN. She is a lawyer practising in the Madras High Court working on labour rights, environmental and human rights issues. She is one of the two lawyers who appeared for the MRF United Workers’ Union before the Madras High Court.

The MRF United Workers’ Union case – Ruling of the Madras High Court on the recognition of trade unions

The workers in the Arakonam factory of MRF Limited, a tyre major, ended their 125 day old strike on September 14, 2009 and resumed work following the pronouncement of the much awaited verdict in the case filed by the MRF United Workers’ Union before the Madras High Court concerning the recognition of the union by the management of the company.

The Arakonam factory of MRF Limited in Vellore District in Tamil Nadu is the largest of the six tyre manufacturing factories of the company.  The workers in the factory are paid piece rate wages with no transparency in the process. They do not have any information on what constitutes a ‘piece’ and the rate at which they will be paid for the ‘piece.’ Moreover, the number of ‘contract workers’ engaged in the factory for direct production work is more than twice the number of direct confirmed workers engaged for doing the same work. These facts by itself would indicate the status of labour law compliance in the factory. There was thus a long felt need among the workers for an independent and effective trade union to protect their interests.

Continue reading MRF United Workers’ Union Case: Ramapriya Gopalakrishnan →

Capitalism, Left watch, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

The End or Future of Capitalism and Ending Obama’s War

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Last night I heard a public conversation between the Marxist Geographer David Harvey and Alexander Cockburn the editor of CounterPunch and columnist with The Nation.  The conversation titled, ‘The End or Future of Capitalism’ was hosted by The Center for Place, Culture & Politics.  Cockburn opened the conversation by speaking about the lack of vision in the Left.  Harvey argued that the capitalist system was facing tremendous stress and that a different path of economic development had to be envisioned.  Harvey continued on the end of capitalism as one needing analysis in terms of how this crisis arose with the problem of accumulation and realization of surplus, and poses the question of what is to be done?  Central to Harvey’s argument is that the mounting stress seen at the centre of the capitalist system in the last three decades is the culmination of the inability to sustain the two and a half percent compounded accumulation that has been a characteristic of global capital over the last couple hundred years.  That the capitalist system is unable to find productive investments for the two and a half percent accumulation rate leading to repetitious and aggravating crises in the unproductive bubbles in financial assets.

I stood in line when the floor was open, but much to my disappointment the moderator had brought the conversation to an end before I could ask my question, and so I am going to ask it here.  Both Harvey and Cockburn talked about the urgency of the moment and the need for provocative questions from the Left.  But what is the more urgent question to ask at this moment?  Is it the end or future of capitalism? Or is it the end or future of the American Empire?  The two may well be related and even two sides of the same coin, but the question for me is influenced by the urgency of the situation in our region; the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The relatedness of the two questions also leads me to ask what would be the consequence of the tremendous stress at the centre of the capitalist system on the wars fought at the periphery of Empire?  And in turn, what is the impact of the tremendous stress of the wars on the periphery for the hegemonic centre of the capitalist system?

Continue reading The End or Future of Capitalism and Ending Obama’s War →

Bad ideas, Capitalism

This Whole Business of Childhood

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“To all who come to this happy place – welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America … with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world. Thank you.”

Walt Disney’s father helped build the grounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. In the 1950s as the population of America for the first time shifted West into desert climes on a mass scale, Walt Disney started receiving letters from people about visiting the Disney Studio, located in Los Angeles. Walt realized that a functional movie studio had little to offer to visiting fans. He began to dream about a site near the studios for tourists to visit; ideas that evolved into the first Disneyland Park located in Anaheim, California. The first Disneyland opened to the public on Monday, July 18, 1955 and crowds started to gather in line to enter as early as 2 a.m. Walt’s brother Roy O’Disney had arranged to pre-purchase ticket number 1, so an adult named David MacPherson became the first official visitor to Disneyland, with ticket number 2. For a park that had to become iconic with children all over the world, MacPherson’s historic ticket was potentially disastrous from a marketing point of view, and recognised as such by the ever-alert Mr. Disney. In a masterstroke of foresight and damage control, he had an official photo taken with two children instead, Christine Vess Watkins (age 5 in 1955) and Michael Schwartner (age 7 in 1955). The photo was captioned, “Walt Disney with the first two guests of Disneyland.” Continue reading This Whole Business of Childhood →

Capitalism, Law, Politics

Company Secretary to Replace Inspector

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New Delhi: While the Manmohan Singh government’s Left-free second innings is expected to usher in changes to India’s archaic labour laws, the labour ministry is working on a quick-fix solution to help drop the country’s notorious ‘inspector raj’ tag.
If all goes to plan, India Inc would no longer have to deal with labour inspectors turning up at their premises to check compliance with 43 central and myriad state labour legislations. Instead, firms can submit a certificate from a company secretary that validates their compliance with the numerous employment laws.
( The Indian Express, Vikas Dhoot, Posted: Wednesday, Aug 05, 2009 at 0137 hrs IST)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led government’s ‘left free second innings’ seems to be taking the battle against ‘archaic labour laws’ full steam ahead. The outgoing Union Labour Secretary, Ms Sudha Pillai, some time back shared with the media about the draft which is being prepared in the labour ministry to this effect.
The proposal, which would be shortly submitted in the form of a cabinet note, seeks to ‘permit company secretaries to file compliance reports for labour laws, just like they give compliance reports for other laws.’ As of now the role of the company secretary is limited to certifying the said firm’s compliance with various statues, which includes the companies act, 1956 and also the listing agreement with stock exchanges and the issue of compliance with labour laws is handled by the labour inspectors.
Continue reading Company Secretary to Replace Inspector →

Capitalism, Debates, Empire/ Imperialism, Identities, Law, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Reading Land and Reform in Pakistan

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A number of activists from the South Asia Solidarity Initiative (SASI) in New York have initiated a reading group on South Asia.  The notes below are the first in a series of commentaries following reading discussions that some members of the reading group hope to post on Kafila.  This is an attempt to broaden the discussions and in the process make it a productive dialogue to understand developments in the region and deepen our solidarity.

Reading Land and Reform in Pakistan

— Svati Shah, Prachi Patankar and Ahilan Kadirgamar

“…any strategy to stem the tide of Taliban-Al Qaida led militancy cannot ignore the issue of land rights…. Any reforms that revalue and formally recognize the local management of common property resources, therefore, will elevate the authority of tribal leaders over religious clerics or TAQ militants.”
Haris Gazdar, ‘The Fourth Round, And Why They Fight On: An Essay on the History of Land and Reform in Pakistan’

Given the escalation of a multifaceted war in Pakistan, and given our own commitment to a peace with justice in South Asia, we have started reading and discussing issues of importance in Pakistan and South Asia more broadly.  This inquiry is informed by the alarming and rapidly changing situation in Pakistan, and by an interest in interrogating the category ‘South Asia’ itself.  While all are agreed that the term ‘South Asia’ is indispensable, we wonder how ‘South Asia’ could be used to describe more than a region or a set of places outlined by shared borders. We wonder how we can move beyond the limitations of finding historical unity in South Asia primarily through the lens of British colonialism?  We wonder how we could describe the political unities and potential solidarities of ‘South Asia’ in this moment?  We find it particularly helpful to approach these questions by seeing common issues in the region relating to labour, land and the role of the state in societies in South Asia.  At the same time, we want to move away from the received notions of South Asia, whether they be the statist conceptions of SAARC, South Asia as seen by the US State Department or, for that matter, as a region defined by area studies.

Continue reading Reading Land and Reform in Pakistan →

Capitalism, Everyday Life, Government, Metropolis, Politics

Notes from a Metro (Pun Unintentionally Intentional)

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Enter Delhi: The boy was about 13, perhaps less. He was riding a bike which was about three times his size. He swerved between the vehicles on the road at Karol Bagh, very much in the wrong in terms of which side of the road he ought to be on, and therefore also in terms of the traffic rules and regulations. But he could not care. I looked at him and wondered,

Dilli dilwalon ki hai – Delhi is a city of the large-hearted, of the daring, the bold and the courageous.

A few days later, one of the auto drivers remarked to me during a journey,

Kehte hai dilli dilwalon ki hoti hai. Lekin yeh jhoot hai. Sabhi log yahan paise ke peeche pade rehte hai aur har koi aapko lootne ki koshish karna chahta hai – It is a saying that Delhi is a city of the large-hearted. But this is false. Everyone here is behind money, and each person is out to loot/cheat you.

Continue reading Notes from a Metro (Pun Unintentionally Intentional) →

Bad ideas, Capitalism, Culture, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Government, Left watch, Media politics

The (‘Quotation’) Gangs of Kerala

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The media in Kerala is in a tizzy  these days over ‘quotation’ gangs and their influence on everyday life. Like evil spirits dancing upon the bodies of fallen heroes in abandoned epic battle-fields, ‘quotation gangs’, it seems, now dance upon the dead political heroism of the Malayalees. Suddenly, the media finds, they are everywhere, settling every kind of dispute. The institutions of law and order are turning, slowly, into adjuncts or versions of ‘quotation gangs’. The recent murder of the real-estate businessman Paul Muthoot, who was apparently traveling with two of the most notorious ‘quotation gang’ leaders in Kerala, has brought matters to a head. The papers are clogged these days with advertisements feeding Onam-time consumer-frenzy and news of the Paul Muthoot murder and they don’t see any connections between the two.

Continue reading The (‘Quotation’) Gangs of Kerala →

Capitalism, Debates

Virtuous Feedback: Why Google keeps winning

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This is in response to Anu’s comment on my previous post on Google: Search and Destroy.  I started off responding as a comment, but had been planning a follow-up post on the issues she had raised.  Read the first post and her comments here.

Anu’s queries are centred around the stability of Google’s current market dominance  – namely, can a new entrant do to Google what Google appears to be doing to Microsoft? In an industry of constant innovation, what is to say the next big innovation – in search, or in data storage etc – won’t come from somewhere completely unexpected and upend the Google applecart?

These arguments are in essence the arguments that Google has consistently cited – this is not to say that this is problem: these are very good arguments with no clear answers and are the reason that Google is still around in its present form and has not been split into many smaller Googules.

The stability of near-monopolies is actually a very interesting question – one that a lot of MBA classes spend a lot of time over. There might be a bit of jargon in this post, but I think its worth the effort.

On Competition: Despite all the rhetoric about competition making us stronger, the fact is that most businesses hate competition.  The key to successful business is create a market and then erect enough barriers to entry to make life hell for new entrants. The better the barriers, the greater are your profit margins.  So, are there barriers to entry in Google-land – or is it simply a case of being better than everyone?

Continue reading Virtuous Feedback: Why Google keeps winning →

Capitalism, Culture, Government, Law, Mirror Worlds, Violence/Conflict

Ai Weiwei’s (Chinese Artist) Statement: Guest Post from Monica Narula

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Dear All,

I would like to share with all Kafila readers something that my friend Monica Narula posted recently on the Reader List about the intimidation that the well known Chinese contemporary artist, Ai Weiwei has faced, in connection with his support for the currently detained dissident rights activist Tan Zuoren in Chengdu. This is an introduction to Ai Weiwei in the current context and a text of his recent statement released in the context of the harrassment (including beatings by police) that he has had to go through. Please read and share widely.

best

Shuddha

—————

Avant-garde artist Ai Weiwei, one of China’s foremost public  intellectuals, was recently detained and beaten by police when he  attempted to testify at the show trial of dissident Tan Zuoren in  Chengdu. Harassment and threats are connected, in part, to his “Names  Project,” a performative intervention which aims to compile, publish,  disseminate, and memorialize the names of the thousands of children  who were crushed to death en mass in their “crumbling tofu  construction” schools (the rotten fruits of official corruption and  kickbacks) during the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, while  neighboring government buildings stood intact. The State has strong- armed bereaved parents into silence, refused to investigate government  corruption, and barred the victims’ names from public release. Ai  Weiwei’s vocal defiance has led to his censorship, intimidation,  threats and now arrest and beating.

Having spent the first 2 decades of his life with his father, the  revolutionary poet Ai Qing, in a cadre labor reform camp for errant intellectuals, Ai Weiwei understands that no one in China, no matter  how “high profile” is ever “safe. Thus, he has chosen to push the  State as far as he can in an attempt to reclaim the public sphere for  critical discourse, and champion the cause of free speech and genuine  citizen and human rights in China. As such, he has willingly put  himself in a great deal of danger. His recent statement merits  reposting. I hope that you will pass this on and share it with others  who believe in the need to nurture and support critical public intellectuals, especially in places like China, where there are so few
such clarion and courageous voices.

Ai Weiwei’s Statement

“Watch out! Have you prepared yourself?” —

Ai Weiwei: “I am ready.  Or, perhaps I should say that there is nothing to prepare, no way to  prepare myself. A person–this is all of me–is something that can be  received by others. I offer up all of myself. When the time comes when  it is necessary, I will not hesitate, I won’t be ambiguous about it.  If there is anything that I am reluctant to leave behind it is the  wondrous miracle that life has brought me. And that miracles are that  every one of us is the same, that people are equal in this game, as  well as the fantasies that come along with playing it, and our  freedom. I regard every kind of intimidation, from any kind of  ‘authority or power’ [sic – the character is for quanli as in  ‘rights’, but from the context this appears to be a typo, perhaps?],  as a threat to human dignity, rationality and reason–a threat to the  very possibility of opposition. I will learn to face and confront this.”

Capitalism, Countryside, Government, Law

Land and Human Rights

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There are few more contentious and complex problems in India than those dealing with land and land rights. Rather than just focus on a single issue, a continuum of rights has to be established regarding land, especially in areas of access and reforms, laws and enforcement, use planning and management, administration and information, and its cross-cutting issues. The new and existing initiatives on land should be guided by the core values of pro-poor, conflict resolution, democratic governance, equity, and justice, as well as gender sensitiveness. Although land policy development is taking place, it generally lacks a human rights framework. Land is not simply a resource for one human right. While some rights have been recently established in the legal framework (like work, education, food), they all can be adversely affected by access to land, and the legal implications of it for a broad range of human rights is obvious. The Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bills should also be assessed on the basis of several international principles, interpretive documents and legal frameworks. Continue reading Land and Human Rights →

Capitalism, Debates

Search and destroy: Google and the online ad market

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Google spokesperson, Adam Kovacevich’s favourite example of a well-researched article on the now-aborted Yahoo-Google deal is “The Plot to Kill Google” that appeared in Wired Magazine in January 2009.  The lengthy article takes great pains to reveal Microsoft’s attempts to scupper “a small deal that it [Google] was convinced would benefit consumers, the two companies and the search-advertising market as a whole” and paints Google a company of well-meaning nerds whose only fault is their inability to schmooze with powerbrokers in Washington.  Towards the end however, one gets the feeling that Google seems to have a robust team of lobbyists itself.  The article is co-written by a member of the New America Foundation – a think-tank chaired by Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Continue reading Search and destroy: Google and the online ad market →

Bad ideas, Capitalism, Scams

Deora Uncle, this ain’t fair

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Read this post by Girish Shahane before it’s removed under the threat of a legal notice:

At the start, I reported to a gentleman on deputation from Intel, but he was soon replaced by a gang of four youngsters whose designations were never made clear. Three of them had a parent on the board of Reliance Industries, while the fourth, Milind Deora, was the son of the politician Murli Deora. Continue reading Deora Uncle, this ain’t fair →

Capitalism, Government

Job Losses: A Reality Check

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The right to work involves just and fair condition of employment, and also, protection against unemployment. It also entails access to employment without discrimination and a supportive structure that aids access, including appropriate and free choice, skill building and vocational education. However, the economic survey 2008-09 and the union budget 2009-10 demonstrate how the burning issue of job losses – retrenchment, lay off, redundancy – in times of global financial crisis and economic slowdown, are perhaps the least understood of the economic, social and political concerns. There are clear evidences that the job losses have worsened in many sectors in the recent past, posing a threat to the overall inclusive growth prospects, and are a challenge to continue successful poverty reduction efforts. Job insecurity in the country is on the rise and an expected decline in growth and investment is likely to exacerbate this problem. It is critically important to recognize the issue, and build a political will to tame anti-labour atmosphere and practices. Supportive structures should come with innovative policies and programmes. Continue reading Job Losses: A Reality Check →

Capitalism, Countryside, Ecology/Environment, Everyday Life, Movements, Politics

Gaon chodab nahin

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Bad ideas, Capitalism, Theory

The Picnic Managers: Prasanta Chakravarty

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This is a guest post by PRASANTA CHAKRAVARTY.

Writing in the Encounter, September 1961, Edward Shils characterizes the Indian student in the following terms:

“Your curiosity, idle or ordered, takes you to an Indian university or college. You walk across the dusty sun-stuck grounds or through damp, dark corridors and past malodorous lavatories; and you see clumps of boys, chirruping like birds, an occasional pair walking hand in hand, sometimes a little knot of girls in pigtails. They look extraordinarily childlike, with all the melting tenderness of children, terribly shy, soft-eyed, gentle, fragile, and very quick to smile…Their voices are low and soft, their movements light, elastic, lamb-like. If one of them, darting about in the suddenly ignited outburst of a boyish prank, nearly collides with you, he aplogises with timorous embarrassment. If you ask one of them where to find a certain professor or the head of a particular department, he will go far out of his way to lead you to the right place, and you will be impressed by his shyness and deferentiality. When he has delivered you to your destination, and you thank him, he will say something like ‘Not to mention’ and will turn and dash off as light-footedly as a young deer.”

Continue reading The Picnic Managers: Prasanta Chakravarty →

Capitalism, Centre watch, Ecology/Environment, Identities, Left watch, Politics

Vaikom Viswan and Little Bo-Peep

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If I weren’t aware of Kerala’s more vibrant political past,I’d have died laughing this elections. The election campaign in Kerala was impossibly funny. Just to give you an example  — in Thiruvananthapuram, in the middle of the campaign, we were treated to the spectacle of all the three major contenders — of the CPI, the Congress, and BJP — don the costume of the chivalrous knight — indeed, pushing and shoving each other quite unchivalrously– determined to rescue the damsel in distress. However, there was no damsel waiting to be rescued! Continue reading Vaikom Viswan and Little Bo-Peep →

Capitalism, Culture, Everyday Life, Media politics, Politics

Barter – is that what they’re calling it now?

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It’s a world on the downturn out there.

And new and creative ways of handling the situation emerge. Imagine a journalist accepting some old jeans (in very good condition), some rice, atta and vegetables (and also sugar)  from the newspaper proprietor in exchange for her reporting. Meanwhile, an ad agency employee  opts for day-old newspapers and fruits for every successful slogan he coins.

Impossible?

Continue reading Barter – is that what they’re calling it now? →

Capitalism, Ecology/Environment

Olive Ridley Turtles still wait for Ratan Tata to spare them their lives

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