From Yeola in 1935, when Dr. Ambedkar announced that he would not die a Hindu, to Nagpur in 1956 when he converted to Buddhism, is a considerable distance in time. But, there was in him a need to make a public announcement in 1935 about moving away from Hinduism. It was a testament to the depth of his feelings of the futility of[Read More…]
Some political commentators have wondered why the BJP made the Bengal elections such a big deal. Former minister Yashwant Sinha puts forth the opinion on the NDTV site that it was done to nip Mamata Banerji’s national ambitions in the bud. Others felt that it was a crucial event for Amit Shah to “cement his position as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s[Read More…]
It will be considered no mean feat to outdo the likes of President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil. At every step of the corona crisis, he maintained a head-in-the-sand, denialist attitude. He pooh-poohed covid protocols and repeatedly played down the threat from the pandemic. He invested little to no resources in Brazil’s testing and vaccination campaigns. As a result, Brazil experienced devastating[Read More…]
Cornel West is a very well-known African-American scholar. In fact, he should be better described as a scholar-activist, one of a rare breed of people in the world today. His advocacy of a wide variety of global issues, including that of Palestine, is well known. In fact the author of this piece first met Dr. West at a rally for[Read More…]
As the world watches in fascinated horror, the US’s election-results fiasco drags on. Donald Trump, who now presides over the greatest UnReality Show, has been unequivocally told, “You’re Fired.” Yet, he continues in some La-La-Land of Denial, playing hooky on international zoom conferences, and golf. His mastiff-like pugnaciousness and refusal to acknowledge reality in the face of overwhelming evidence reminds one[Read More…]
Sep 28 marks important days in the lives of two revered icons of revolutionary action in India – Bhagat Singh and Shankar Guha Niyogi. Both exemplified a sense of identification with the issues of the masses and sought to join the struggle while on the frontlines. Niyogi worked shoulder-to-shoulder with mine workers in Chhattisgarh. Both paid with their lives for[Read More…]
The BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Swapan Dasgupta, in an opinion piece titled The rise of the proud, global Hindu which appeared after the Aug 5 Bhoomi Pujan at Ayodhya, mentioned “the new Hindutva” that seems to have emerged in recent times. He contrasted it with the older Hindutva, identified with V. D. Savarker, describing that as “too ideological for popular[Read More…]
One of the most distinguishing features of the Shaheen Bagh protests, all around the country in their various manifestations, was their lack of any overt ideology. The first encampment in Delhi was largely spontaneous, beginning in mid-December 2019 and composed of local women from the Shaheen Bagh area. Though they had local university students managing the logistics, the frontlines of[Read More…]
On Tuesday Mar 24, prime minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day total lockdown across India to “break the chain” of the coronavirus spread. The lockdown kind of a feeling has been slowly sinking in for most Indians. Many people sensed the oncoming bad times and stocked up on all manner of goods they could lay their hands on, emptying grocery[Read More…]
We cannot be absolutely sure if the “Janta Curfew” (People’s Curfew) advocated by PM Narendra Modi in his speech to the nation about the corona-virus is in earnest (for the good of the people!) or a foretaste of the kind of curfewing that the citizens have to get used to if the corona pandemic continues. Or if it is some[Read More…]
The stories of Yes Bank’s troubles, close on the heels of the crisis in DHFL, come as traumatic reminders to many of us. Add to this the cases against Nirav Modi and the involvement of the public sector bank PNB, and the issues with ICICI bank (its top management once again) – and it is hard not think of[Read More…]
One can probably sense the cynicism and the scoffs right away, given that the title of this piece seems to make almost a preposterous comparison. But, patience is requested, and some good humour. It is interesting to note that what the AAP has made available to the citizens of Delhi, in terms of subsidized electricity and water, and improved –[Read More…]
When Winter Came, the Power of the People Blazed On The brave protesters at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi have been on protest since Dec 15 after the brutal attack on Jamia students. They have been sitting in solidarity with the protest of the students and against the various steps that the central government threatens against citizenship criteria, like the Citizenship[Read More…]
At least 40 immigrants dead in fire at US-Mexico border 
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Poor work conditions, non-compliance with Constitutional provisions seriously impact adolescent girls in workforce 
Take action against K Surendran for insulting Women 
Calculated Exoneration: Command Responsibility and War Crimes in Afghanistan 
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“Facing Clear Evidence of Peril” in a Country of Lies 
The case of Kashmir: A Gandhian Resolution 
Non-Availability of Badly Needed Funds for Dalit Students Increases Their Difficulties 
A bureaucrat-turned- minister in a mess 
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Oldest Interfaith Organization in America Calls for Children to Have More Rights Than Guns 
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In memory of Hugo Chavez on 10th death Anniversary 
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Ukraine War – US-China Relations And the Doomsday Clock 
Anti-Rahul Defamation Card Has Its Limitations! 
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Punjab: Democracy Under Siege? 
Declaration excessive dividends by the Board of HZL may not be in compliance with Section 123 of the Companies Act 
Men, masculinities, and gender equality 
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A Hazardous Decision: Supplying Ukraine with Depleted Uranium Shells 
Media and the March to War 
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The Pentagon’s Budget from Hell 
“…I want poetry to be detonated like a bomb!” -Nathalie Quintane 
Bundelkhand Must Choose its Priorities Carefully 
Citizenship: Beyond the Forked Vision 
Caste-wise census is necessary for balanced development 
Tribal woman murdered after rape in Rohtas and strong protest demanding punishment of culprits 
Why Avoiding Catastrophic War is the Biggest Priority Today 
Labor in market, and the mainstream economics 
Serbia Shall Never Forget NATO Aggression, Vows Serb President 
Kerala’s New Public Health Bill 2023: Subservient to Market Forces rather than Deliberative Democracy 
The Piracy of Development – The 3-Ds: Dispossession, Displacement, Destitution 
Our beloved K.P.Sasi is no more. Filmmaker, cartoonist, writer, mentor, friend and above all tireless activist championing the cause of every underdog, Sasi breathed his last, mid-afternoon this Christmas day – after battling a medical condition for months. I remember the last time I met him, almost exactly a month before he passed away, at the ayurvedic healing center in[Read More…]
