Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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AADHAR: Who Benefits?
If Aadhar, currently in the process of registering every citizen of the country by providing each citizen with a Unique Identification Number (UID), comes into force then it would probably put Hitler, Mussolini or even the Rajapakse regime in Sri Lanka to shame. By gaining unprecedented access to each individual personnel and financial records, it…
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Casteism in ‘Asare’ Homes
Nearly 2 years after the floods in Northern Karnataka that devastated the lives of many thousands of people there, the newly constructed houses ‘asare’ for those who lost their houses has acquired a caste dimension to it. The prospects of houses being distributed randomely among people irrespective of their caste had terrified many upper caste…
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Film Review: Aarakshan (Reservation)
A name that still rattles the nerves of many people especially the youth across India is the issue of reservation (affirmative action) and has been used by governments time and again to divide people along their caste lines. This film by the noted director – Prakash Jha, which was released recently stoked controversy mainly among…
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Life of Hell: Bangalore Garment Workers Woes & Challenges Ahead
The life of 5 lakh plus (half a million) Garment workers in Bangalore is nothing but hellish existence. This industry which predominantly employs women, is rampant with all known forms of exploitation. Extreme work pressures, lack of secure job , absence of basic facilities, extended working hours without adequate Over Time allowance , denial of…
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Editorial: Dudiyoraa Horaata (Workers’ Struggle)
(Bi-monthly Kannada Paper of the New Socialist alternative) Recently certain authorities from the ministry of finance, who thought very clever of themselves, by stating that the situation of poverty in India is not as bad as claimed by the Arjun Sengupta committee on unorganized workers and that the living wages of the poor has actually…
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World Economy: Capitalist leaders desperate to calm turmoil
Trying to control an anarchic and blind system, none of the measures taken stem the downward spiral As their system continues to slide into its worst crisis since the 1930s, the frantic efforts of world capitalist leaders to reverse the process are farcical, contradictory and ineffective. “Is anyone in control? Is this a runaway train?”…
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Britain:Tottenham riots
Fatal police shooting sparks eruption of protest and anger Tottenham is located in the borough of Haringey, north London, where over 10,000 people claim jobseeker’s allowance. One ward, Northumberland Park, is among the most deprived areas in Europe. The council has voted to add to this immiseration with £41 million in cuts to vital public…
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HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS EXPRESS CONCERN ON MA’DANI CASE
We the following organisations and concerned individuals hereby express the following concerns: We are shocked at the way Abdul Nasser Ma’dani, his family and supporters have been harassed for a long period by the Karnataka government. Earlier Ma’dani, falsely accused in the Coimbatore blast case, was in jail for more than nine years after which…
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For Generals and the Army the War may be over, but not for the upright political campaigners & activists, especially the Tamils
Dear Comrades A Joint Picket (Protest) was held in Colombo on 2nd August to Protest the brutal assault of Gnana Sundaram Kuganadan News Editor of Uthayan Paper Published from Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Gnana Sundaram, who is sixty years old, senior and respected Journalist of Sri Lanka is known for his fearless exposé’s of the…
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Report on “Indian State and the Art of fabricating False Cases”
With the marked increase in the brutality of the Indian state in cracking down on dissent, whether on people’s movements or on the marginalised sections of society, this convention in Bangalore on the topic “Indian State and the Art of Fabricating False Cases” organised by several groups (that includes the New Socialist Alternative) brought together…
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