Frontier at 50

by Gayatri Chakravarty Spivak

Frontier | Autumn Number 2018 | Vol. 51, No.14 – 17, Oct 7 – Nov 3, 2018

In 1968, as the liberal plans made immediately after Indepen dence seemed well and truly gone, and in the shadow of Naxalbari, Samar Sen founded Frontier, a journal for socialism and democracy.

Samar Sen died in 1987. Timir Basu had already started working at Frontier before that date. After Sen’s death he has kept Frontier going almost singlehandedly. We celebrate Sen and Basu as we celebrate Frontier.

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50 Years Later

A Frontier editorial | Autumn Number 2018 | Vol. 51, No.14 – 17, Oct 7 – Nov 3, 2018

That Frontier has survived to celebrate 50 years of publication is a puzzle. But there are people who are not in favour observing anniversary ritual. They think rationalists should not indulge in such ritualistic exercise. Then there are people who would like to observe anniversary. They think it is an occasion to reflect on the past. As for Frontier the past is riddled with too many odds. The long journey has never been a smooth one. Over the years Frontier has demonstrated what press freedom means. Frontier is in crisis. But the print media in general is in crisis. The world is changing very fast. This is the age of robotics and artificial intelligence. Advanced communication technology has opened up new fields of capital accumulation in culture and the arts and in the privatisation of public services, including health and education, and in the commodification of human sociality by way of mobile devices and social networking. All these trends are in turn accompanied by the dramatic restructuring of work rearrangement, paving the way for emergence of new contradictions, affecting the print media.

Fifty Years of Frontier

by Santosh Rana

Frontier |Autumn Number 2018 | Vol. 51, No.14 – 17, Oct 7 – Nov 3, 2018

In 1967, in the fiftieth year of the Great October Revolution, the Spring Thunder over Naxalbari created a revolutionary upsurge among the workers, the peasants, the students, and youth and revolutionary intellectuals all over India. The peasants were in revolt against the exploitation and tyranny of the landlords, money-lenders and other exploiters. One could hear the resonance of Naxalbari in far-off Srikakulam, Mushahari, Lakhimpur-Kheri, Debra-Gopiballavpur, Birbhum and other places. The students, many of them with brilliant academic achievements, abandoned their career and went to the villages, forests and mines to integrate with peasants, adivasis and workers and build the revolutionary movement.

Youth touched by Biko: The quest for “a more humane face”

by Veli Mbele

Pambazuka News | October 05, 2018

Photo credit: looptt.com

This brief input deals with the meaning of Steve Bantu Biko for young people today and whether his vision of bestowing upon South Africa “a more humane face” remains valid. Biko is without doubt one of the most important figures of Black liberation of the past century. Today, 41 years after his murder, his mission of total independence for Black people, remains unfinished.

 

Opening remarks 

In order to argue this conclusion, we will reflect on critical moments in Black radical resistance that occurred during the month of September, provide a brief description of Biko’s philosophical character, suggest which of today’s young people may be described as having been “touched” by Biko, and attempt to illustrate the implications of Biko’s vision of a ‘human face’ for the advancement of the Black liberation project, today.

Frontier 50: Reflections on Frontier

by Nirmal Brammachari

Frontier | Vol. 51, No.13, Sep 30 – Oct 6, 2018

The weekly Frontier has completed its fiftieth year in April, this year. I do not know of any Bengali or English periodical published from Kolkata to have played a progressive role on Indian and international affairs for such a long time. It is particularly remarkable that its publication was started by the illustrious poet, Samar Sen. Frontier was not published as the organ of any political party or group, and it continues to retain its independence till date. Samar Sen wielded his strong pen in the then existing political situation. His razor-sharp language, criticims and comments on important events were already well-known. In editing Frontier, he transformed with elegance this work into regular and professional journalism. At that time, the Bengali Deshabrati and other political journals were being published regularly. But Samar Sen filled a need, that of spreading radical thought among readers beyond Bengal’s border. In other states of India, many English dailies and weeklies were published; but most of them were organs of political institutions or servants of exploiting and ruling classes. As against them, this English weekly, published from Kolkata and embodying an original approach, undoubtedly evoked a good deal of response. By focusing on the popular struggles, whether of the peasantry or of workers or of students and youths, then going on in different states including West Bengal, Samar Sen set a bright example of honest journalism through Frontier.

Theoretical contributions of Samir Amin (1931-2018)

by Abayomi Azikiwe

Pambazuka News | September 24, 2018

The Egyptian-born social scientist and activist Samir Amin wrote extensively on political economy and the challenges for the peripheral capitalist states. He died in a Paris, France hospital on 12 August 2018 at the age of 86.

 

He was a prodigious researcher and publisher issuing over 40 books, hundreds of articles and papers dealing with the relationship between the colonial, semi-colonial and neo-colonial territories and the imperialist states.

First Decade of Frontier

by Aloke Mukherjee

Frontier | Vol. 51, No.12, Sep 23 – 29, 2018

[This year Frontier is celebrating 50 years of its continual struggle for survival. Autumn Number 2018 is actually 50th anniversary number. And this special issue which will be out in the second week of October, carries a number of articles on the theme “Frontier 50”. Aloke Mukherjee’s article ‘First Decade of Frontier’ may serve as a curtain-raiser.]

It was early 1968. The news spread among the revolutionary democrats like wild fire that in the first half of April, Samar Sen’s new magazine would hit the news stands. The D Day came and my friend Asim (Asim Datta) brought a copy for me. It was an exciting experience. The flavour coming out of the new magazine was not that of a new paper only, but of the boldness and never-give-up attitude of its editor, of good wishes of the readers.