THE other remarkable woman I met was the landlady of my comrades from Karnataka who were in Cuba with me.  They had no idea of her history and thought that she was just a very nice, thoughtful old lady who was very hospitable and generous.  One morning, one of them saw her taking something out of a box and looking at it.  When she saw that he was looking at her, she quickly put it away.  He asked her what it was and she wouldn’t answer, just brushing away his question but when he insisted she told him that it was a medal that had been given to her by Fidel.When I heard about this, I was ver

THE use of the term neo-fascism by CPI(M) referring to the current regime in India has ignited a serious debate within the Left as well as other sections of our country. Certainly, the political nature of any regime should be analysed primarily on the basis of its class composition, contradictions and political-economic content, and not the degree of repression unleashed by the State. The action of the State may vary in different junctures of history, in different countries and the bourgeois democratic parliamentary system may be mutilated by many of the authoritarian rulers.

EVEN while being the supreme head of the Catholic Church, the late Pope Francis stood out as a spiritual leader for the entire world. He was a remarkable personality who took notable stances against the control of the few in the institution of the Catholic Church. However, it cannot be said that such interventions have led to a complete transformation of the Catholic Church as a whole.Within the rigid framework of Catholic doctrine itself, Pope Francis took an extremely courageous stance in support of the human rights of transgender individuals.

AFTER a White House meeting between Trump and Netanyahu, Netanyahu said, "We're both united in the goal that Iran does not get nuclear weapons." He added, "If it can be done diplomatically, in a full way, the way it was done in Libya, I think that would be a good thing" (italics mine). The Libyan model is where President Gaddafi surrendered and disarmed and was promptly overthrown and killed by the rebels who were militarily supported by the US, UK and French.

March 14, 2025 was the 142nd death anniversary of Karl Marx. On March 17, 1883, Frederick Engels had delivered his historic speech at the graveside of his closest comrade and friend Karl Marx at the Highgate Cemetery in London, where Marx lies buried. The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) and the Marx Memorial Library (MML), London have for long been jointly organising annual orations on the work and relevance of Marx every year on the first Sunday after March 14. Communist leaders and Marxist intellectuals from all over the world are invited to deliver these Marx Orations.