Labor/Economics

India’s pastoralist communities sustain livestock economies, conserve indigenous breeds, and steward vast rangeland ecosystems, yet they remain largely invisible in policy. This article examines how historical discrimination, shrinking grazing commons, weak implementation of legal protections, and the absence of a national commons policy continue to undermine pastoral livelihoods. While a few states have taken steps to recognise migration routes and grazing rights, most pastoralists still face barriers to mobility, land access, and official recognition. As the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists unfolds, the article argues that meaningful policy action is urgently needed.

Hugh J Curran examines how colonial rule continues to shape political instability, economic dependency, and environmental crises across African nations. Focusing on the Sahel, Sudan, Congo, and Nigeria, the article traces how European powers extracted resources, deepened ethnic and regional divisions, and left behind fragile states vulnerable to conflict and foreign intervention. It also explores contemporary struggles involving terrorism, climate change, militarization, and global competition for Africa’s minerals. At the same time, the article highlights local resilience, ecological restoration efforts such as the Great Green Wall Initiative, and the aspirations of African societies seeking development beyond the legacy of colonial exploitation.

The administration is targeting travelers who criticize US policy.

Dr Marwan Asmar examines the systematic destruction of Palestinian olive groves and agricultural infrastructure in the occupied territories and Gaza. Drawing on Palestinian and Israeli sources, the article documents the uprooting and burning of thousands of olive trees in 2026 alone, alongside decades of land confiscation linked to settlement expansion. It also details the devastation of Gaza’s agricultural sector during the ongoing war, including the destruction of orchards, olive presses, and cropland. The article argues that these attacks are not only environmental and economic losses, but also a direct assault on the livelihoods and cultural heritage of Palestinian farming communities.

The labour movement is in crisis across much of the world. One exception is Chile. Since the mid-2000s, the South American country has seen a sustained upward trend in strikes and labour mobilisations. But does this represent a genuine revitalisation of trade unionism — and what are its limits?

Varanasi Subrahmanyam’s article examines the April 2026 workers’ uprising in Noida’s industrial belt, where thousands of factory workers walked out demanding higher wages, legal overtime pay, safer conditions, and dignity at work. Through detailed reporting and workers’ testimonies, the article traces how years of stagnant wages, long working hours, contract labour, rising living costs, and the implementation of new Labour Codes created widespread anger across factories. It also documents the state’s response, including arrests and repression, while situating the protests within a broader resurgence of labour struggles across India’s industrialsectors.

India’s growth narrative highlights rising productivity, expanding markets, and increasing wealth at the top. Yet workers who sustain this growth face stagnant real wages, rising living costs, and deepening insecurity. Dr. Ranjan Solomon examines how productivity gains are increasingly captured by capital rather than shared with labour, producing a widening productivity–pay gap. The article situates this imbalance within structural changes—weakening labour institutions, informalization, and concentrated economic power—arguing that the issue is not slow growth but unjust distribution, with implications that extend beyond economics into the health of democracy itself.

This article revisits Karl Marx’s concept of the Asiatic Mode of Production to argue that its abandonment by Indian Communists led to a flawed understanding of caste and class. It traces how the rejection of AMP by the Communist International shaped Indian Marxist practice, reducing caste to a secondary issue. The piece highlights missed historical possibilities, including early alliances with B. R. Ambedkar, and examines how this theoretical shift weakened revolutionary strategy in a caste-structured society, with lasting political consequences.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported Monday April 27 that global military spending reached US$2.887 trillion in 2025, a 2.9 percent real-terms increase from 2024 and the 11th consecutive annual rise. Global military spending now stands at 2.5 percent of world GDP — its highest share since 2009. Per-capita global military spending reached US$352 in 2025.