Blog
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18Aug“Exiles From the Future”: Why Communist Histories
[courtesy counterpunch.org] Prof. Vijay Prashad is one of the most impressive scholars today. His recent anthology Communist Histories Volume 1 gathers together a series of essays by historians from across the globe that creates a new vision of Indian history and a Communist Party that was simultaneously aligned with the Soviet Union and a populist mass movement. I sat down for an interview with Prof. Prashad wherein we discussed this new volume and what it can teach activists today. The audi[...] -
The Big Picture: A review of The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution
[courtesy frontline.in] I was reading this book when the failed coup of July 15 occurred in Turkey. The book helped me much to understand what happened after the coup when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claiming that it was a “God-given” opportunity for him to “cleanse” the system of the cancer that has set in, proceeded to dismantle democracy in his country. This is the primary merit of this book written by Vijay Prashad, blessed with an extra-large dosage of wanderlust. He travels [...] -
From the Editors - Aug, 2016
To our LeftWord Books Community. Dear Friends, We are delighted to share with you news of our new books, what to anticipate for the rest of the year and what we have planned for 2017 (particularly towards commemoration of the centenary of the Russian Revolution). 1. What's out. Part of the mission of LeftWord Books is to promote interest in the history of Communism. Along that grain, we kicked off our new series - Communist Histories - with the first volume. This book, with deeply researched[...] -
Communist Histories
In volume 1, Lisa Armstrong has an essay that is - in many ways - the prehistory of her book on AIDWA. That essay - Indian Peasant Women’s Activism in a Hot Cold War - demonstrates how Indian communists built a mass movement in the aftermath of the Bengal Famine of 1943, and in connections with anti-imperialists across the globe. It was the combination of international connections and a deep commitment to organising peasant women that enabled the women in the communist movement to have a m[...] -
Futility of Aerial Bombardment
In today's AlterNet, Vijay's frustrations run dry - http://www.alternet.org/world/bombs-not-effective-war-terror. It ends, 'The monstrous anger of the guns continues. Space for a peace process desiccates. The Saudi-Yemen discussions fell apart on Sunday, while the Syrian peace process lifts few hopes. There is no real conversation towards peace in Afghanistan or Libya. Hope in aerial bombardment as the prophylactic for peace is absurd. It has given us instability and chaos. Other roads ha[...]