ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Praveen JhaSubscribe to Praveen Jha

The World of Work in an Age of Permanent Crisis

The long crisis of monopoly capitalism has left the world of work in disarray. Several ongoing transformations in the world economy, such as those pertaining to the dispersion of production processes, and technological transformations, have major implications for the evolving labour question. When viewed through the lens of Karl Marx’s analytical framework, especially his formulation of the “General Law of Capitalist Accumulation,” one can conclude that the material and sociopolitical prospects for labouring people are being reconfigured. Thus, it is evident that capitalism is entirely unable to resolve the world’s labour question, and this necessitates moving beyond the logic of capitalism itself.

Repeal of the ‘Black Farm Laws’

Tracing the trajectory of the farmers’ movement against the farm laws, this article commends the victory of the farmers with the repeal of the black laws while also reflecting on the struggles that lie ahead.

National Education Policy, 2020

The National Education Policy, approved by the union cabinet on 29 July 2020, is the third education policy document of the country, coming after a gap of 34 years since the last one. This article is a brief commentary on some of the relevant concerns around the question of provisioning for good quality universal education, equitable access to education, and the increasing push to wards privatisation.

The World of Work

Contemporary Reforms of Labour Market and Industrial Relations System in India: Ease of Doing Business versus Labour Rights, Essays in Honour of Prof Lalit Deshpande edited by K R Shyam Sundar, New Delhi: Academic Foundation, 2018; pp 379, ₹ 1,495 (hardback).

 

A Country in Search of an Education Policy

The draft National Education Policy, out in May 2019, when accepted, will be the third education policy document of the country, coming after a gap of 33 years since the last one. Some of the relevant concerns, such as around the question of provisioning for good quality universal education, are examined, and focusing more specifically on school education.

 

Public Provisioning for Social Protection and Its Implications for Food Security

Persistent hunger and pervasive malnutrition are serious problems in the developing world. Recent literature suggests that well-designed public policies towards provisioning of social protection/security and strengthening of support measures to smallholder agriculture appear to be effective in reducing hunger and malnutrition. An investigation of the role of public provisioning on social protection in combating hunger using the recent evidence for 64 countries in the global South makes a strong case for a substantial push in public provisioning in favour of social protection, which, along with other policy measures, could play a vital role in strengthening national food security. Further, low levels of per capita income must not become an excuse for addressing the most basic human needs, as adequate fiscal space can be created even at low levels of income.

The Agrarian Question in the 21st Century

Drawing from the late Archie Mafeje's work and revolutionary spirit, this article revisits the "classical" agrarian question and responds to scholars who argue that the "agrarian question is dead"--indeed, those who feel that "we have been liberated from the constraints of agriculture, land and nature." Far from being dead, it is argued that the agrarian question remains real to people's politics in the 21st century and will remain so, especially in the global South where rural movements are finding alternative ways to wrestle monopoly-finance capital that continues to run amok.

Prospects of Right to Education in Manipur

State, Civil Society and Right to Education by Jeebanlata Salam, Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2013; pp xv+258, Rs 795.

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