Blog

Sitaram Yechury, Publisher

Much about Comrade Sitaram Yechury (1952-2024) is publicly well-known – the beginnings of his public life in the students’ movement; his leadership of the Students’ Federation of India and the JNU students’ movement; his imprisonment during the Emergency; his joining, and subsequent rapid ascent in the Communist Party of India (Marxist); his engagements with the international communist movement; his role in bringing together secular parties to forge a broad front against the fascistic,[...]

Sending Police to Beat Us up Won’t Silence Us: Pinarayi’s Speech in the Legislative Assembly after Emergency

Pinarayi Vijayan was among the first ten opposition MLAs who were taken into custody immediately after the declaration of Emergency in 1975. On the night of September 28, 1975, Pinarayi (then 30) was arrested and taken to the Koothuparambu police station. Five policemen beat him up through the day. His legs were broken. They kept kicking him till he lost consciousness. The press could not report this because of the censorship accompanying the Emergency. The leader of the opposition, E.M.S. [...]

Call for Red Books Day 2024

The International Union of Left Publishers calls on left writers, publishers, bookshops, and readers to join us to rescue the collective life on 21 February 2024, Red Books Day. As on the previous days, we encourage you to hold public readings of your favourite Red Books in your own language (it is also International Mother Language Day). In 2023, a million people participated in Red Books Day; for 2024, we would like to at least double the number! Red Books Day takes place on the date [...]

Who are We? with Sohail Hashmi

Right-wing ideologies and movements are on the rise globally. We are surrounded by fake news, distorted narratives, and spurious theories. Rationality and scientific thinking are under attack. In this context, it is critical that we arm ourselves with critical thinking, rationality, a scientific outlook, and logic. The Battle of Ideas courses are aimed at precisely this. Enroll today. SIGN UP HERE!   Who are we? History is vulnerable to distortion influenced by biases, cul[...]

Publishers for Palestine: Statement of Solidarity

A statement from Publishers for Palestine calling for a ceasefire and denouncing repression of Palestinian solidarity. November 3, 2023 We invite publishers, editors, and writers around the world who stand for justice, freedom of expression, and the power of the written word, to sign this letter and join our global solidarity collective, Publishers for Palestine. We honour the courage, creativity, and resistance of Palestinians, their profound love of their historic lands, and their refusal[...]