Pritam Singh | Oxford Brookes University (original) (raw)
Videos by Pritam Singh
This interview examines three farming laws passed by India's Hindu nationalist government, farmer... more This interview examines three farming laws passed by India's Hindu nationalist government, farmers protests against these law and the government attempt to repress this democratic upsurge
28 views
Papers by Pritam Singh
Capitalism Nature Socialism, 2023
The 'Small is Beautiful' frontally attacks the gigantism of orthodox economics. This paper presen... more The 'Small is Beautiful' frontally attacks the gigantism of orthodox economics. This paper presents a critical evaluation of Schumacher's contribution from an eco-socialist perspective.
The Wire, 2024
The caste electoral engineering by the BJP may exacerbate the existing, but dormant, Jat resentme... more The caste electoral engineering by the BJP may exacerbate the existing, but dormant, Jat resentment against Punjabi Hindus in Haryana.
The Wire , 2024
This caste electoral engineering by the BJP in winning the Haryana election through anti-Jat mobi... more This caste electoral engineering by the BJP in winning the Haryana election through anti-Jat mobilisation may exacerbate the existing, but dormant, Jat resentment against Punjabi Hindus in Haryana. This will not only undermine the BJP agenda of creating totalising unity in Hindu society but it may also lead to its electoral defeats in the future
The Wire , 2024
As I pay homage to Sitaram Yechury, whose death represents a significant loss for India since he ... more As I pay homage to Sitaram Yechury, whose death represents a significant loss for India since he was one of the most notable leaders of the Left and a remarkable representative of parliamentary communist politics in the nation — this tribute blends personal recollections with political contemplations.
Punjabi Tribune , 2024
THE overwhelming conclusion that emerges from the UK general election results is that it is more ... more THE overwhelming conclusion that emerges from the UK general election results is that it is more of a defeat of the Conservative Party and less of a victory for the Labour Party. Though voters demonstrated their deep disenchantment with the ruling party and the government, they did not show much enthusiasm for Labour.
The Tribune, 2024
THE overwhelming conclusion that emerges from the UK general election results is that it is more ... more THE overwhelming conclusion that emerges from the UK general election results is that it is more of a defeat of the Conservative Party and less of a victory for the Labour Party. Though voters demonstrated their deep disenchantment with the ruling party and the government, they did not show much enthusiasm for Labour.
The protest vote against the Conservative government ensured a massive Labour majority. The electoral contest witnessed one of the lowest voter turnouts in the UK’s electoral history. Many Conservative supporters simply did not turn out to vote or voted for the more extreme right-wing party, Reform UK. This contributed significantly to the devastating rout of the Tories, to the extent that former Prime Minister Liz Truss and dozens of ministers suffered humiliating defeats.
Mainstream Weekly, 2024
As the seventh phase of India’s 2024 General Election gets underway, the emerging political scene... more As the seventh phase of India’s 2024 General Election gets underway, the emerging political scene in the country is throwing signals of inner contradictions in the Modi-led BJP’s strategy that had proved electorally successful in 2014 and 2019. The key aspect of this contradiction is that what led this strategy to succeed in the past is precisely what may lead to its failure in 2024….
The persistence and intensity of attacks on Muslims has made even other religious minorities feel unsafe in a way that these minorities had not felt before except the Sikhs who had felt massively persecuted after the 1984 Bluestar operation in Punjab and Delhi carnage. Since the BJP came to power at the Centre, the Sikhs have been experiencing a new kind of fear of BJP/RSS trying penetration into Sikh religious institutions to Brahmanise Sikhism and weakening the egalitarian ethos of their faith. BJP’s attempt to seek defections of some Sikh leaders to its fold not only erodes the credibility of the defectors, but it also further accentuates fears among the Sikhs about BJP/RSS trying to infiltrate among the Sikhs to weaken the Sikh institutions.
This may lead to the BJP having the worst ever election outcome in Punjab, Chandigarh and the constituencies in other states with substantial Sikh voters.
Tribune , 2024
Tribute to the eminent Punjabi poet Surjit Pattar
The Mainstream Weekly, 2024
Tribute to Ahmad Salim who was an eminent poet, writer, researcher, scholar-activist, translator,... more Tribute to Ahmad Salim who was an eminent poet, writer, researcher, scholar-activist, translator, archivist and above all, a socialist of exceptional qualities, and who spent his entire life promoting Punjabi in Pakistan
Punjabi Tribune , 2024
This article in Punjabi draws out the deep commonality between the European and Indian farmers st... more This article in Punjabi draws out the deep commonality between the European and Indian farmers struggles despite specific regional differences and characterises them as a hopeful sign of a new way of thinking on farming and farming communities
Frontline Hindu , 2024
Farmers in both regions are fighting against urban bias in agricultural policies, and for a role ... more Farmers in both regions are fighting against urban bias in agricultural policies, and for a role in shaping a sustainable future for farming.
The Wire , 2023
The article highlights that a socialist/Marxist alliance led by Salvador Allende won power throug... more The article highlights that a socialist/Marxist alliance led by Salvador Allende won power through the democratic electoral process in Chile. This government was overthrown through a military coup led by General Pinochet that was engineered by the CIA. Massive human rights violations followed in the 17 year military dictatorship. Now Pinochet is thrown into the dustbin of history while Allende remains an icon of the socialist movement all over the world.
Tessaleno Campos Devezas (ed) Global Challenges of Climate Change Vol2, Springer , 2023
This paper focuses on tracking a spatial shift in global capitalism that has taken place most dra... more This paper focuses on tracking a spatial shift in global capitalism that has taken place most dramatically in the last thirty years, and the ecological consequences of this shift. The paper demonstrates empirically that this shift has two key characteristics: one, a relative decline in economic power of the developed capitalist economies (mainly in the West), together with the concomitant rise of emerging economies in the East in the world capitalist economy; and two, the movement of the geographical centre of capitalist development away from economies with relatively small populations to economies with massive populations. Inequality persists globally between high-income developed/Western economies and countries in the East with relatively low per capita incomes, but the gap is narrowing swiftly. This narrowing gap is most evident in some of the key emerging capitalist economies in the BRICS region. The combination of rising average per capita income in the emerging/BRICS economies and their high populations has unprecedented ecological consequences in terms of consumption of natural resources and generation of waste. The limits placed on global ecological damage which were evident during the earlier phase of capitalist development, confined as it was to sparsely-populated regions of the world, are no longer holding. A stage in global history has reached where any further development of capitalism could create conditions of barbaric ecological collapse. The paradigm shift from ecologically-damaging capitalism to a new model of socialism compatible with nature (ecological socialism) has become a historic necessity. This new model of socialism stands in opposition to the old Soviet style of socialism which was environmentally as destructive as capitalism. An alternative capitalist paradigm (green capitalism) is not feasible given the inherent conflict between nature and the imperative to maximise profits. The paper concludes by outlining a few key aspects of the path of eco-socialist transition.
Journal of Development Studies, 1990
The distinguishing character of Blaut's book is an excellent combination of theoretical rigor and... more The distinguishing character of Blaut's book is an excellent combination of theoretical rigor and empirical-historical material not often found in social science literature these days. It is a very valuable contribution to the literature on the critique of Eurocentrism in social theory in general and that of Euro¬centric Marxism in particular
Punjabi Tribune , 2023
The recent death of former CM Parkash Singh Badal marked the end of an era in Akali and Punjab po... more The recent death of former CM Parkash Singh Badal marked the end of an era in Akali and Punjab politics. He was the last member of the third generation of Akali politicians that included Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi and Surjit Singh Barnala. Each had a distinctive brand of politics but what was common to them was a moderate approach...
The new generation of Akali politicians must transcend narrow visions of electoral politics and enrich itself intellectually by drawing inspiration from Guru Nanak’s teachings on ecology and social equality.
The Tribune , 2023
The recent death of former CM Parkash Singh Badal marked the end of an era in Akali and Punjab po... more The recent death of former CM Parkash Singh Badal marked the end of an era in Akali and Punjab politics. He was the last member of the third generation of Akali politicians that included Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi and Surjit Singh Barnala. Each had a distinctive brand of politics but what was common to them was a moderate approach...
The new generation of Akali politicians must transcend narrow visions of electoral politics and enrich itself intellectually by drawing inspiration from Guru Nanak’s teachings on ecology and social equality.
Punjabi Tribune , 2023
The use of hydrogen should be linked with climate goals and social justice; otherwise, it will ju... more The use of hydrogen should be linked with climate goals and social justice; otherwise, it will just become another sector to be grabbed by energy companies.
Red Green Labour, 2023
That hydrogen is a problematic green energy resource as an alternative to fossil fuels is not gen... more That hydrogen is a problematic green energy resource as an alternative to fossil fuels is not generally recognised. This obfuscation characterises the Indian government’s ‘green’ hydrogen mission too.
Financia Times , 2023
It is a myth that a capitalist economy is governed by the logic of free market competition. The l... more It is a myth that a capitalist economy is governed by the logic of free market competition. The late Joan Robinson of Cambridge University had long ago exploded the myth in her pioneering work the Economics of Imperfect Competition
This interview examines three farming laws passed by India's Hindu nationalist government, farmer... more This interview examines three farming laws passed by India's Hindu nationalist government, farmers protests against these law and the government attempt to repress this democratic upsurge
28 views
Capitalism Nature Socialism, 2023
The 'Small is Beautiful' frontally attacks the gigantism of orthodox economics. This paper presen... more The 'Small is Beautiful' frontally attacks the gigantism of orthodox economics. This paper presents a critical evaluation of Schumacher's contribution from an eco-socialist perspective.
The Wire, 2024
The caste electoral engineering by the BJP may exacerbate the existing, but dormant, Jat resentme... more The caste electoral engineering by the BJP may exacerbate the existing, but dormant, Jat resentment against Punjabi Hindus in Haryana.
The Wire , 2024
This caste electoral engineering by the BJP in winning the Haryana election through anti-Jat mobi... more This caste electoral engineering by the BJP in winning the Haryana election through anti-Jat mobilisation may exacerbate the existing, but dormant, Jat resentment against Punjabi Hindus in Haryana. This will not only undermine the BJP agenda of creating totalising unity in Hindu society but it may also lead to its electoral defeats in the future
The Wire , 2024
As I pay homage to Sitaram Yechury, whose death represents a significant loss for India since he ... more As I pay homage to Sitaram Yechury, whose death represents a significant loss for India since he was one of the most notable leaders of the Left and a remarkable representative of parliamentary communist politics in the nation — this tribute blends personal recollections with political contemplations.
Punjabi Tribune , 2024
THE overwhelming conclusion that emerges from the UK general election results is that it is more ... more THE overwhelming conclusion that emerges from the UK general election results is that it is more of a defeat of the Conservative Party and less of a victory for the Labour Party. Though voters demonstrated their deep disenchantment with the ruling party and the government, they did not show much enthusiasm for Labour.
The Tribune, 2024
THE overwhelming conclusion that emerges from the UK general election results is that it is more ... more THE overwhelming conclusion that emerges from the UK general election results is that it is more of a defeat of the Conservative Party and less of a victory for the Labour Party. Though voters demonstrated their deep disenchantment with the ruling party and the government, they did not show much enthusiasm for Labour.
The protest vote against the Conservative government ensured a massive Labour majority. The electoral contest witnessed one of the lowest voter turnouts in the UK’s electoral history. Many Conservative supporters simply did not turn out to vote or voted for the more extreme right-wing party, Reform UK. This contributed significantly to the devastating rout of the Tories, to the extent that former Prime Minister Liz Truss and dozens of ministers suffered humiliating defeats.
Mainstream Weekly, 2024
As the seventh phase of India’s 2024 General Election gets underway, the emerging political scene... more As the seventh phase of India’s 2024 General Election gets underway, the emerging political scene in the country is throwing signals of inner contradictions in the Modi-led BJP’s strategy that had proved electorally successful in 2014 and 2019. The key aspect of this contradiction is that what led this strategy to succeed in the past is precisely what may lead to its failure in 2024….
The persistence and intensity of attacks on Muslims has made even other religious minorities feel unsafe in a way that these minorities had not felt before except the Sikhs who had felt massively persecuted after the 1984 Bluestar operation in Punjab and Delhi carnage. Since the BJP came to power at the Centre, the Sikhs have been experiencing a new kind of fear of BJP/RSS trying penetration into Sikh religious institutions to Brahmanise Sikhism and weakening the egalitarian ethos of their faith. BJP’s attempt to seek defections of some Sikh leaders to its fold not only erodes the credibility of the defectors, but it also further accentuates fears among the Sikhs about BJP/RSS trying to infiltrate among the Sikhs to weaken the Sikh institutions.
This may lead to the BJP having the worst ever election outcome in Punjab, Chandigarh and the constituencies in other states with substantial Sikh voters.
Tribune , 2024
Tribute to the eminent Punjabi poet Surjit Pattar
The Mainstream Weekly, 2024
Tribute to Ahmad Salim who was an eminent poet, writer, researcher, scholar-activist, translator,... more Tribute to Ahmad Salim who was an eminent poet, writer, researcher, scholar-activist, translator, archivist and above all, a socialist of exceptional qualities, and who spent his entire life promoting Punjabi in Pakistan
Punjabi Tribune , 2024
This article in Punjabi draws out the deep commonality between the European and Indian farmers st... more This article in Punjabi draws out the deep commonality between the European and Indian farmers struggles despite specific regional differences and characterises them as a hopeful sign of a new way of thinking on farming and farming communities
Frontline Hindu , 2024
Farmers in both regions are fighting against urban bias in agricultural policies, and for a role ... more Farmers in both regions are fighting against urban bias in agricultural policies, and for a role in shaping a sustainable future for farming.
The Wire , 2023
The article highlights that a socialist/Marxist alliance led by Salvador Allende won power throug... more The article highlights that a socialist/Marxist alliance led by Salvador Allende won power through the democratic electoral process in Chile. This government was overthrown through a military coup led by General Pinochet that was engineered by the CIA. Massive human rights violations followed in the 17 year military dictatorship. Now Pinochet is thrown into the dustbin of history while Allende remains an icon of the socialist movement all over the world.
Tessaleno Campos Devezas (ed) Global Challenges of Climate Change Vol2, Springer , 2023
This paper focuses on tracking a spatial shift in global capitalism that has taken place most dra... more This paper focuses on tracking a spatial shift in global capitalism that has taken place most dramatically in the last thirty years, and the ecological consequences of this shift. The paper demonstrates empirically that this shift has two key characteristics: one, a relative decline in economic power of the developed capitalist economies (mainly in the West), together with the concomitant rise of emerging economies in the East in the world capitalist economy; and two, the movement of the geographical centre of capitalist development away from economies with relatively small populations to economies with massive populations. Inequality persists globally between high-income developed/Western economies and countries in the East with relatively low per capita incomes, but the gap is narrowing swiftly. This narrowing gap is most evident in some of the key emerging capitalist economies in the BRICS region. The combination of rising average per capita income in the emerging/BRICS economies and their high populations has unprecedented ecological consequences in terms of consumption of natural resources and generation of waste. The limits placed on global ecological damage which were evident during the earlier phase of capitalist development, confined as it was to sparsely-populated regions of the world, are no longer holding. A stage in global history has reached where any further development of capitalism could create conditions of barbaric ecological collapse. The paradigm shift from ecologically-damaging capitalism to a new model of socialism compatible with nature (ecological socialism) has become a historic necessity. This new model of socialism stands in opposition to the old Soviet style of socialism which was environmentally as destructive as capitalism. An alternative capitalist paradigm (green capitalism) is not feasible given the inherent conflict between nature and the imperative to maximise profits. The paper concludes by outlining a few key aspects of the path of eco-socialist transition.
Journal of Development Studies, 1990
The distinguishing character of Blaut's book is an excellent combination of theoretical rigor and... more The distinguishing character of Blaut's book is an excellent combination of theoretical rigor and empirical-historical material not often found in social science literature these days. It is a very valuable contribution to the literature on the critique of Eurocentrism in social theory in general and that of Euro¬centric Marxism in particular
Punjabi Tribune , 2023
The recent death of former CM Parkash Singh Badal marked the end of an era in Akali and Punjab po... more The recent death of former CM Parkash Singh Badal marked the end of an era in Akali and Punjab politics. He was the last member of the third generation of Akali politicians that included Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi and Surjit Singh Barnala. Each had a distinctive brand of politics but what was common to them was a moderate approach...
The new generation of Akali politicians must transcend narrow visions of electoral politics and enrich itself intellectually by drawing inspiration from Guru Nanak’s teachings on ecology and social equality.
The Tribune , 2023
The recent death of former CM Parkash Singh Badal marked the end of an era in Akali and Punjab po... more The recent death of former CM Parkash Singh Badal marked the end of an era in Akali and Punjab politics. He was the last member of the third generation of Akali politicians that included Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi and Surjit Singh Barnala. Each had a distinctive brand of politics but what was common to them was a moderate approach...
The new generation of Akali politicians must transcend narrow visions of electoral politics and enrich itself intellectually by drawing inspiration from Guru Nanak’s teachings on ecology and social equality.
Punjabi Tribune , 2023
The use of hydrogen should be linked with climate goals and social justice; otherwise, it will ju... more The use of hydrogen should be linked with climate goals and social justice; otherwise, it will just become another sector to be grabbed by energy companies.
Red Green Labour, 2023
That hydrogen is a problematic green energy resource as an alternative to fossil fuels is not gen... more That hydrogen is a problematic green energy resource as an alternative to fossil fuels is not generally recognised. This obfuscation characterises the Indian government’s ‘green’ hydrogen mission too.
Financia Times , 2023
It is a myth that a capitalist economy is governed by the logic of free market competition. The l... more It is a myth that a capitalist economy is governed by the logic of free market competition. The late Joan Robinson of Cambridge University had long ago exploded the myth in her pioneering work the Economics of Imperfect Competition
Punjabi Tribune , 2023
An ecological perspective should shape the agricultural policy of the Punjab state in India.
Multiculturalism is an outcome of three forces: economically, post-Fordism mode of capital accumu... more Multiculturalism is an outcome of three forces: economically, post-Fordism mode of capital accumulation, morally a plea for equality and ideologically, post modernism.
Understanding Sikh prayer Ardaas as collective historical memory
Tribune , 2016
This is an argument about the need to deescalate conflict between India and Pakistan