When it was Bliss to be a Communist
PC Joshi: A Biography by Gargi Chakravartty National book Trust, 2007 Rs 45 Between 1936 and 1947, the Communist Party of India grew from a base of few hundred cadre to 80,000. During one of the most critical phases of its history, when it supported the British war effort in 1942, the Party actually expanded and brought into its fold people who later became major cultural figures. When the Royal Indian Mutiny took place in 194

Links
Robert Fisk created quite a flutter last week with his article on the decline and possible demise of the dollar. Probably the rumours are untrue, but then there isn’t a smoke without a fire. Martin Wolf critiques Fisk’s views in FT (needs free registration). The award of the Nobel for literature to Herta Muller confirms that East and Central Europe, along with Latin America, is the happening place for contemporary literature.

Connect via Twitter and FB
An overwhelming majority of hits that new posts on this blog receive of late are via twitter and facebook. Given their popularity, I am adding interfaces to both to make a reader’s words more accessible on both platforms. Click here to follow via twitter (thanks to twitterfeed). Click here to connect on Facebook via networkedblogs. Posted in Blogging

Running away from Gandhi
Mahatama Gandhi’s posthumous adulation is in sharp contrast to the treatment that he received during his lifetime and even for many decades after his death. The Rashtriya Swayemsewak Sangh (RSS) criticized him for his perceived closeness to the Muslims, Muslims saw him as one who popularized Hindu symbolism in Indian politics, progressive Muslims opposed his support for the Khilafat movement and the communists opposed his advocacy of class collaboration. Even his closest followers like Pandit Nehru did not share his vision best laid out in Hind Swaraj[pdf]. Indeed, Gandhi

Caste, Racism and the UN Resolution
Hats off to the Maoists in Nepal for taking the caste question to the UN level. This is in sharp contrast to the stance taken by the Indian government all through. During the World Conference Against Racism in Durban (2001) India had opposed equating the caste system with racism and the then Attorney General Soli Sorabjee had gone on record stating that: “There were misconceived attempts by some NGOs to equate racism with caste-based discri