B. Kolappan

1 week ago | thehindu.com | B. Kolappan

He is the mascot of revolution and the fight against injustice. Che Guevara, the Argentina-born Cuban revolutionary, with his unkempt hair and a cap with a star on his head and a cigar in his mouth, continues to remain a ubiquitous symbol of counter culture even 58 years after his killing in Bolivia. He is on t-shirts, people’s bodies in the form of tattoos, and walls, and adorns the conferences and hall meetings of revolutionary groups across the world.

1 week ago | thehindu.com | B. Kolappan

The formalisation of alliance between the BJP and the AIADMK, as expected, drew strong criticism from DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. He accused the AIADMK of seeking to “mortgage” the interests of Tamil Nadu. However, it is not as if the DMK had not expected the two parties to come together, as part of the NDA. Yet, it has made the DMK’s task tougher since it can no longer rest on its laurels as narrow margins could tilt the scales in the 2026 Assembly election.

2 weeks ago | thehindu.com | B. Kolappan

Among the women Communist leaders featured in the exhibition to mark the 24th Congress of the CPI(M) in Madurai are Manalur Maniammal and Pa. Visalam, who continue to live in the pages of two novels. While Pathaiyil Pathintha Adikal, a biographical novel by Sahitya Akademi winner Rajam Krishnan, captures the life and struggles of Maniammal, Mella Kanavai Pazhakathaiyai is an autobiographical novel by Pa. Visalam. Both the works, however, are not uncritical of the Communist movement.

2 weeks ago | thehindu.com | B. Kolappan

Demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the 24th Congress of the CPI(M) on Friday (April 4, 2025) said Israel should be declared as an “apartheid State” and dealt with accordingly. A resolution adopted in the congress in Madurai said the BJP-led government at the Centre should stop supporting Israel and revert to the established Indian policy of backing Palestine.

2 weeks ago | thehindu.com | B. Kolappan

I belong to the generation that grew up listening to the songs of Ilaiyaraaja, probably the first music director whose fame overshadowed even actors with a mass fan following. This was evident in any cinema hall when loud cheers would rent the air on seeing his name appear on the screen. Another sight used to be of us collecting cinema tickets from others present in the movie hall and throwing them up in the beam of the projector light from the operator’s room.