Sanskrit in ‘Mann Ki Baat’
On 111th Mann Ki Baat PM praised All India Radio for celebrating the 50th anniversary of its news bulletin broadcast in Sanskrit, whose motto–Bahujan Hitaya Bahujan Sukhaya (welfare and happiness for all) is taken from Rigveda. Sanskrit is used by NASA because communication can be done in the shortest possible way. People in 'Mattur' village in Karnataka speak in Sanskrit. India has given the world the gift of Sanskrit.
T S K, Chennai

Leftists Win in France
Preliminary results from France's parliamentary election on Sunday [July7] show that strategic collaboration between the left and allies of President Emmanuel Macron has succeeded in preventing Marine Le Pen's fascist National Rally from winning an absolute majority.

According to projections released shortly after polls closed, Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP)—a coalition of left-of-center parties formed ahead of the snap elections to counter the far-right—is on track to secure the largest number of seats in parliament.

Le Pen's Rassemblement National (RN) is expected to finish third with between 120 and 150 seats.

Following the first round of voting last weekend, hundreds of candidates from Macron's alliance and parties within the NFP dropped out of three-way runoff races in a strategic bid to defeat RN candidates—an effort that appears to have paid off in a major way.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the leftist La France Insoumise party, called the early election results an "immense relief for a majority of people in our country" and urged Macron to resign and allow the left to govern.

"The united left saved the republic," said Mélenchon. "It can begin the ecological and social work that our people, our time, our world, [and] our Europe so badly need."
Common Dreams Staff
07-07-2024

Personal Political
[As news of Noam Chomsky’s failing health makes the rounds, a journalist and peace activist from Pakistan shares some of her learnings from interactions with a trailblazing public intellectual whose moral compass has impacted the world.]

I once asked Noam Chomsky how he manages to remember so many facts and figures and hold audience's attention. He replied that he didn’t convey any new information, that his talks are based on materials already in the public domain, and that he simply joins the dots–providing context–and repeats the information consistently and in different ways.

His response was typical of his humility as well as his courtesy towards a much younger person to whom he owed nothing.

Chomsky teaches us that it is not necessary to be loud and sensationalist to be heard. This, together with the clear and courageous moral compass he has provided over decades, is a most valuable lesson.

Noam Chomsky was already a legend when I first met him over two decades ago in December 2001 when he visited Pakistan for the inaugural Eqbal Ahmad Memorial lecture series.
Beena Sarwar
beena.sarwar@gmail.com

Bonded Slavery
India is one of the world’s largest producers of silk. Silk sarees, silk curtains, and clothes command a premium globally. However, Sericulture in India has a dark side—bonded slavery, particularly child slavery. It is an aspect yet to be acknowledged, let alone addressed. The problem is severe and needs much attention. Most people employed in these industries are children of Dalits, people belonging to socially and economically marginalised communities.
MC

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 4, Jul 21 - 27, 2024