PRAGOTI

This quest to understand the universe and, therefore, ourselves must proceed on the basis of a rational scientific temper. This man-nature dialectic must unfold by, say, restoring to Einstein his awe of creation, i.e., to create one unit of matter energy equivalent to the square of the speed of light is required (m=E/c2), rather than emphasise on destruction where tremendous amounts of energy is released with the destruction of matter (E=mc2). An insightful article by Sitaram Yechury. Courtesy: Hindustan Times

Comrade Surjeet is no more.

A flood of memories overwhelm me as I start to write this. I met him first in 1973, 35 years ago. A full assessment of his life and work will surely be made in the coming days. Suffice it to say that he was one of the pioneers of the Communist movement in India, a kisan leader, relentlessly fought against all deviations to uphold the revolutionary content of Marxism-Leninism and a master tactician. He was always quicksilver, thought on his feet, leaving his political adversaries at least two moves behind.

The push has come to shove. The political crisis that appeared imminent last fortnight could have been averted if the UPA government had refrained from pushing ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal, an issue that was not part of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) on the basis of which the Left parties extended outside support. Unfortunately, this was not to be. With the open declaration of a ‘go ahead’ by the Prime Minister, the Left had no other option but to enforce the decision taken nearly two years ago to withdraw support if the government goes ahead.

Neither has the BJP repudiated communalism, nor has the party acknowledged the definition of secularism in the country, Sitaram Yechury points out. The BJP/ RSS' understanding of secularism remains a potent danger to India's unity and diversity.