Articles by: Biju Negi

In Haldwani has BJP achieved what it set out to?

In Haldwani has BJP achieved what it set out to?

The Supreme Court has stayed the Uttarakhand High Court order of 20 December 2022 on the immediate land eviction – or rather, land bulldozing in Banbhoolpura, Haldwani. For the people to be affected, this may be a relief – perhaps only a temporary relief, if you are cautious enough. The Supreme Court underlined the need to consider the humanitarian aspect[Read More…]

by 13/01/2023 Comments are Disabled India
Succumbing to a Fed Narrative

Succumbing to a Fed Narrative

Imagine, if voting for the Himachal and Gujarat Assemblies was to take place on the same day, let’s say on 12 November or 1 December or 5 December – and not on these three separate days! Do you think the outcome of the voting would have been the same, as these have turned out to be? Or if not, then[Read More…]

by 15/12/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Maximum Government, Minimum Governance

Maximum Government, Minimum Governance

Do you remember 10 March 2022? What happened that day? The results of the elections to the five state assemblies were declared wherein the BJP won in four of the five states, with the fifth, Punjab going to AAP. What happened then? Almost immediately, the Prime Minister flew to Gujarat which was the next state slated for elections, though still[Read More…]

by 24/10/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Bharat Jodo Yatra And The March On Washington

Bharat Jodo Yatra And The March On Washington

The key messages of Bharat Jodo Yatra  are – “peace and nonviolence”, “against division and hatred” and the issue of “jobs and price rise”. These messages, strangely reminded me of Martin Luther King Jr and the March on Washington on 28 August 1963. The key slogans of that March were -“jobs and freedom”, “civil and economic rights” and  an “end[Read More…]

by 17/10/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Is the political narrative changing?

Is the political narrative changing?

A few interesting and politically significant developments have taken place in the country in the last few weeks. One, for the first time in many years, it is the opposition which is setting the agenda, somewhat stunning the national ruling party, its IT cell and the Godi media which are struggling to respond and catch up. Such an equation hasn’t[Read More…]

by 07/10/2022 Comments are Disabled India
A tale of two writings: On Nehru and Savarkar

A tale of two writings: On Nehru and Savarkar

In the November 1937, an article titled “Rashtrapatiji” was published in a Calcutta-based monthly journal “Modern Review”. Founded by Ramanand Chatterjee in 1907, the journal had good readership among the Indian intelligentsia with a diversity of writers contributing essays, informing or analysing the debates and issues around the country’s freedom movement. The paper “Rashtrapatiji”, written by one Chanankya, drew considerable[Read More…]

by 17/09/2022 Comments are Disabled India
In Despair Lies Hope

In Despair Lies Hope

A few weeks ago, communication from a friend who, citing a few immediate reasons which were widely known, suggested that he was in depression. In the last several months, there have been other similar personal mails or sharings in private conversations. Let me confess that I too have not been free from this mood visiting me occasionally. And I can[Read More…]

by 21/08/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Another Martyr, Another Time, Another Place – Thillaiyadi Valliammai

Another Martyr, Another Time, Another Place – Thillaiyadi Valliammai

Yesterday, 22 February, was Kasturba Gandhi’s 78th death anniversary. Kasturba died in 1944 and at the time she was in prison, arrested on 9 August 1942, the first day of the “Quit India Movement”. Gandhiji had already been arrested the previous evening, and both of them along with some of their closest colleagues were imprisoned at the Agha Khan Palace[Read More…]

by 23/02/2022 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Post 10 March Scenarios – Hope and Despair

Post 10 March Scenarios – Hope and Despair

Elections to the Vidhan Sabha in five states – Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur – took off, with the first round in Uttar Pradesh on 10 February. And a month later, we will have the results out on 10 March. These elections are being considered very critical – not just for the political parties and individuals in the[Read More…]

by 14/02/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Farmer’s Movement: Looking At The Larger Picture

Farmer’s Movement: Looking At The Larger Picture

On 15 January, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) met at Delhi’s Singhu border, to review the progress made by the government on its promises made at the time of the repealing of the three agri laws. Following Parliamentary and written assurances, the farmers had suspended their movement and lifted their occupation of the Delhi borders. At the review meeting, it[Read More…]

by 18/01/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Farmer’s Agitation: All Eyes On 15 January

Farmer’s Agitation: All Eyes On 15 January

Barely a few days are left to go now and all eyes, certainly of the farmers and their supporters, are on 15 January – the day Sunyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) is to reassemble in Delhi.  There, SKM will seek to evaluate the progress made on the promises made by the government following the repeal of the three agri-laws in November[Read More…]

by 10/01/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Farmers at the Borders of Survival – What Next?

Farmers at the Borders of Survival – What Next?

The Kisan Andolan is closing in on nine months – braving deeply disturbing times, braving weather extremities, braving police brutalities, braving government’s insouciance and subterfuge, braving the dark Covid clouds, braving the despair of over 500 compatriot deaths. Nine months! Displaying a clear understanding on the subject and its issues, and a clearer sense of purpose. Not for a day[Read More…]

by 22/08/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Sunderlal Bahuguna – The Anguished Voice of a Devastated Himalaya

Sunderlal Bahuguna – The Anguished Voice of a Devastated Himalaya

A white head-scarf, a white flowing beard, a faint smile and an impish twinkle in the eyes – Sunderlal Bahuguna’s was one of the more recognizable public faces in the country and certainly the most amidst the ecologists and environmentalist across the world. He breathed his last today (21 May 2021) at 1205 hrs at the All India Institute of[Read More…]

by 22/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Is This The Chauri-Chaura Moment In The Farmers’ Satayagraha?

Is This The Chauri-Chaura Moment In The Farmers’ Satayagraha?

On 1 August 1920,  Asahyog Andolan or a Non-cooperation Movement, the first of the three major Satyagrah in the course of the country’s freedom movement, was launched by the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. As part of this, the people would stop cooperating in the functioning of the government – give up their government jobs, titles[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
They are Citizens, so please stop calling them Migrants

They are Citizens, so please stop calling them Migrants

I was born and bred in Dehra Dun. Then, in search of job and a future, for some years of my life I worked and lived in Delhi and Ahmedabad. In the twelve or so years at the time, no one in Delhi nor Ahmedabad ever called me a “migrant”. Today many young women and men, having studied engineering, medical,[Read More…]

by 26/05/2020 Comments are Disabled India