Left watch

[The title is inspired by Balachandran Chullikkad’s searing poetry] I have recently been asked about why I didn’t write anything about the anniversary of the CPM-led government of Kerala.  Have also been asked why I don’t write about politics in Kerala anymore. The answer to the first is easy and painless: governments are not organic … Continue reading Losing the Soul’s Acid Tongue … Terrorist State, Unbowed Children at Kerala’s Puthvype

This May Day comes at a very crucial juncture in our history. Crucial, not simply because there is a belligerent Hindu Right government in power but also because it comes in the wake of the most unprecedented belligerence of the upper castes and their all-round violence, especially on the Dalit communities across the land. Last … Continue reading Thinking Labour in Contemporary India – For a Different May Day Agenda

An earlier version of this essay was published in Outlook magazine “The young students are not interested in establishing that neoliberalism works – they’re trying to understand where markets fail and what to do about it, with an understanding that the failures are pervasive. That’s true of both micro and macroeconomics. I wouldn’t say it’s … Continue reading New Politics of Our Times and Post-Capitalist Futures

My friend Guddi has a great story about a Gujjar wedding she attended recently in Ghaziabad. It was a typically chaotic event, marked accurately by the swirling crowds around the dinner stalls. If Gujjar weddings are chaotic and the dinner doubly so, the scene around the tandoor is triply compounded chaos. Barely concealed competition amongst … Continue reading Who will get the hot roti in the Delhi assembly elections?

Guest post by CP GEEVAN The following is a response to the piece by Biju Mathew on Kafila, underlining the need for single-minded focus and keep the feet firmly on political realities Given the exuberant optimism that Biju Mathew evokes in these dark days, many of us afflicted by malignant pessimism should not have many … Continue reading Thinking Past the BJP Victory in UP – Response to Biju Mathew: C.P. Geevan

Guest post by BOBBY KUNHU Rasheed, a political activist, award winning journalist and activist was one of the founders of the Trotskyite movement in India and the RSP in Kerala. He passed away on the 6th of January, 2017 It is very unusual for a grandchild to write public obituaries for grandparents – but Comrade … Continue reading Remembering M. Rasheed – A Grandchild’s Political Farewell: Bobby Kunhu

Guest Post by Radical Desi A letter asking Canada’s Minister of Sports and Persons with Disabilities Carla Qualtrough to intervene for the release of disabled social justice activist who has been convicted for life in India was submitted at her constituency office on Tuesday, March 28. Signed by 100 people, the letter asks Canada, which claims … Continue reading Canada’s intervention sought for the release of Saibaba : Radical Desi

Guest Post by Kavita Krishnan It’s been twenty years since the assassin’s bullets took Chandu away from us, at 4 pm on 31 March 1997. I still recall my sheer disbelief when a phone call from my party office at my hostel that evening informed me ‘Chandu has been killed.’ Chandrashekhar as well as youth … Continue reading Remembering Chandu, Friend and Comrade: Kavita Krishnan

This is a guest post by SHAFEY DANISH The violence that gripped Ramjas College on the 21st and 22nd of this month is now national news.

  We, the undersigned, wish to express our dismay and deep concern about the recent violent events at University College, Thiruvananthapuram, which seem to indicate that the rights of college students, especially women students, are seriously compromised in this venerable institution.