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04JanCommunist Histories
We are – with 2017 – a hundred years away from the Russian Revolution, whose audacity brought the workers and peasants of that vast region of Eurasia to power. The USSR lasted only seven decades, and – without doubt – there will be much made this year about its achievements and its failures. One can guarantee that more will be said of the latter than the former. What will be overshadowed is the achievement of the revolution itself – the fact that ordinary people could overthrow the anc[...] -
02DecVas Bien, Fidel.
In 1999, LeftWord Books – only a few months old – decided that one of our early titles must be from Fidel Castro. Castro had delivered two speeches that year, one at the University of Venezuela and the other at a conference on culture and development in Havana. These were incredible speeches – vintage Castro – laying out his assessment of the world through the experiences of Cuba and through the emergence of what he called ‘imperialist globalisation’. One of the key elements of Castr[...] -
21NovOccupy Durgapur
Durgapur was once known as the Ruhr of Bengal – the heart of its industrial landscape, a centerpiece of the Durgapur-Burnpur-Chittranjan belt of capitalist industry. Proximity to the coal files of Raniganj drove its industrial development, with the construction of the Steel Authority of India’s plant there in 1959 as its centerpiece. Industry anchored West Bengal’s third largest city. If Durgapur was the Ruhr of Bengal from the standpoint of the capitalist class, it remains the Petrogra[...] -
14NovWe Are Najeeb: Identity Politics and the Left
Najeeb Ahmed, a student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was brutally attacked by a group of student activists from the Akhil-Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the forces of Hindu Rashtra. This attack took place at Najeeb’s hostel – Mahi-Mandavi. Najeeb, then, vanished. He has not been see since. Protests by students and others – including Najeeb’s family – have been violently set upon by the Delhi police. The police force seems keener to shut down pr[...] -
Letter from the Editors, November 2016
3 November 2016 Dear LeftWord Community, As you read this letter, you should know that across India kisans are on the march. Organised by the All-India Kisan Sabha, they are part of an immense Jatha that will descend on Delhi on 24 November for a large rally. At our LeftWord Blog, there is a short note on the Kisan Sangharsh Jatha. We hope you will go and read it. The blog post on the rally is only our most recent offering. At our LeftWord Books Blog, you will find posts on the work of our a[...]