In various streams of the freedom movement, we meet Yogendra Shukla ( 1896-1960) in different roles: what is common to all these roles is that he always worked with the highest commitment. If at an early stage of his life we find him living as an inmate of Sabarmati Ashram attracting the admiration of none other than Mahatma Gandhi, at[Read More...]
Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastri (Raavi Sastri) (30 July 1922 – 10 November 1993), India’s Gorky, was a great Telugu writer whose birth centenary celebrations are presently going on in Telugu states. Reviewing the works of Ravishasri is like doing a social audit, said one judge. “Raa Vi Sastry gave a powerful narrative on India’s bureaucracy, police, legislature, parliament, apart from[Read More...]
“The Earth does not rest on the forehead of Sheshanaga. It is safe in the hands of the Dalits, the farmers and the workers.” (Annabhau Sathe) As we celebrate the birth centenary of Tukaram (Annabhau Sathe) we not only see the relevance of his writings at that time but even today. Here is a man who belonging to Maanag (Matang)[Read More...]
One of my closest comrades Steve Otto, expired 4 days ago, while sitting on the porch of his house. Some months ago, he lost his wife Cammy.He ran blogs ‘Ottos War Room’ and ‘Idiot Factor.’ I may not have personally met him but I don’t have words to express my sense of loss at his demise and my gratitude for[Read More...]
Vijay Singh Pathik (1882-1954) was an eminent freedom fighter, peasant leader, journalist, poet, author, educationist and historian who worked tirelessly all his life to fight both imperialism and feudalism at several levels. At one level he was active in the Indian National Congress, fulfilling important responsibilities in Rajasthan in particular but also in other areas. However he had started life[Read More...]
All of us who yearn to see a mass movement of workers united across national, racial and gender lines against capitalism and imperialism should remember and learn from the life of Walter Rodney. A Guyanese historian and activist who was murdered by his own ruling class in 1980 at the age of 38, Rodney understood the pitfalls of pseudo-socialism and[Read More...]
An avoidable controversy has arisen recently due to the unfortunate comments of a politician of Punjab who called Shahid Bhagat Singh a terrorist. That this politician is linked closely to the Khalistani ideology explains his narrow worldview, and his comments regarding Bhagat Singh were quickly dismissed by most people. However to counter false propaganda based on such comments, it will[Read More...]
by Sahba Husain & Meera Velayudhan Dakshayani Velayudhan was born on this day in 1912 at Bolghatty, a small island off the coast of the then princely state of Cochin, in an agrestic slave caste, Pulaya. She was the child of social change, for the early 1900s saw some of the earliest struggles for equality and recognition across Kerala. At[Read More...]
by Sahba Husain & Meera Velayudhan Dakshayani Velayudhan was born on this day in 1912 at Bolghatty, a small island off the coast of the then princely state of Cochin, in an agrestic slave caste, Pulaya. She was the child of social change, for the early 1900s saw some of the earliest struggles for equality and recognition across Kerala. At[Read More...]
On Sanjoy Ghose’s 25th death anniversary, Ashutosh Tosaria tells us through a microstory how collectives are transforming lives of young girls and women across the country – an idea in which Sanjoy believed strongly. Two hours from Kolkata, a group of thirty young girls and women, all in the age group 16-22, had gathered in a village in Baruipur. They[Read More...]
