Tributes to respected Shanti Bhushan-ji, a tall lawyer, great teacher and humble leader ! Instrumental in dethroning Indira Gandhi, gathering of forces for the post-Emergency Janata Party and bringing AAP and Kejriwal to the political forefront. I remember his surprise appearance for me in the Operation Bluestar Report – bail matter in the district Court of Tis Hazari, when I[Read More…]
PART I A Poem symptomatic of the Theme of Political Prisoners Let me invert the structure of this article a bit. I have referred to some of the poems in the anthalogy of poems “Dissenting Voices” (1977) which accompanied the 1977 – PUCLDR National Convention of Political Prisoners, at the end of this piece. However, let me begin with one[Read More…]
Eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee passed away yesterday of covid. My respect and tributes to the great man. I always like to narrate an anecdote about him. He defended me and my colleagues Ms. Amiya Rao and Tejender Singh Ahuja in the Supreme Court. Our anticipatory bail applications in the matter of sedition for writing the joint CFD Report on Operation[Read More…]
Visva – Bharati University founded in 1921 just completed a hundred years. Located at the Abode of Peace, Shantiniketan, it has however seen much disturbance and violence between the civil society and the Varsity authorities over the past centenary year. With the West Bengal elections slated four months hence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the University Chancellor had quite a[Read More…]
In 1940, a year before he died, Rabindranath Tagore placed a letter in Mahatma Gandhi’s hand. The letter said: “Visva-Bharati is like a vessel which is carrying the cargo of my life’s best treasure, and I hope it may claim special care from my countrymen for its preservation”. A century after being founded in 1921, Tagore’s life’s treasure – the[Read More…]
This is a scene from Basanta Utsab ( spring festival) song- and-dance programme at Visva-Bharati, Shantiniketan, a couple of years back. The VC of the University, Bidyut Chakrabarty, called it “Basanta Tandav” and banned it along with the Poush Mela. How can you expect a person found guilty of sexual harassment and punished, to understand, leave alone to appreciate, such[Read More…]
Very sad to have lost Swami Agnivesh. My respectful salute and Shraddhanjali to my human rights co-fighter and colleague. Deepest condolences to his friends and associates.Remember the innumerable occasions when we worked together or few where we differed. Remember my presence in the discussion and meeting on the hillocks bordering Haryana with Swami Agnivesh and Kailash Satyarthi the day when[Read More…]
While listening to PM Modi at Ayodhya, over TV the other day, dilating confidently on the theme of “unity in diversity” ( including a BIG LIE) with regard to the existence of many Ramayanas, I was thinking where has this non-scholar ( mildly put ) plagiarised his material from? Later , I was reminded of the great scholar, poet, folklorist,[Read More…]
Co-Written by AurobindoGhose and Gurjeet Kaur Picture of two Elderly Women at ShaheenBagh, is worth thousand words: Divided by Class and privilege but United by Compassion and Patriotism The moment we saw on Facebook on 25 January, 2020 the happy photograph of two elederly women together at the iconic site of women protest against the new Citizenship law, Shaheen Bagh,in[Read More…]
The niggardly standard of Indian diplomacy with respect to three of its neighbouring countries : Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, is getting exposed. First, the CAB wrongly accused these countries of having persecuted its non-Muslim minorities and assumed that they were thus forced to illegally migrate to India. Second, the NRC imperfectly identified the ‘foreigner’ mainly on account of lack of[Read More…]
Martin Neimoller’s confessional poem of how he, a Protestant pastor, did not care or ignored the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany , and how they arrested or persecuted the Communists, the Socialists, the trade unionists, the Jews and so on, one group after another till “Then they came for me – and there was no one left to[Read More…]
In January 2018, four top Supreme Court Judges in a surprise move, held a press conference declaring that ” Democracy is at stake, and we have a debt to the nation.” Justice Ranjan Gogoi, as he then was, had also remarked that, “independent judges and noisy journalists are democracy’s first line of defence”. Three of these judges have retired as[Read More…]
Savarkar petitioned the British Govt from Andaman Cellular Jail seeking pardon and promising loyalty to the Govt if released, says Justice Markendaya Katju. The Congress has thrown further light that Sawarkar had agreed with Jinnah on the two-nation theory. Documents further show that the Hindu Mahasabha of which Savarkar was a leader, joined hands with Muslim League and formed coalition[Read More…]
It was a very spirited anti-Fascist protest meeting on “Where is Najeeb?” at Jantar Mantar yesterday afternoon, organised by the peaceful resistance movement of United against Hate. The main speakers slated for the meeting were the brave, inspiratonal victims of hate : Najib’s mother, Nafisa-ji, and Tabrez Ansari’s wife, Gauri Lankesh’s sister and Subodh Singh’s wife. Besides, those who spoke[Read More…]
I was present at this amazing, historical Press Conference at Press Club of India today afternoon, by a team just back from its Kashmir visit from August 9 to 13 with its Report on Kashmir after abrogation of Art. 370. Team consisted of Jean Dreze, economist, Maimoona Mollah, AIWDA, Kavita Krishnan, CPI- ML (Maale) and Vimal Bhai, NAPM. What was[Read More…]
Emergency was declared by PM Indira Gandhi this day 44 years back when the citizen’s fundamental rights of life, liberty and expression were abrogated. Thousands were jailed, Press freedom was scuttled, hundreds were killed by the State in fake encounters and people, particularly the poor minorities, were forcibly sterilised. It lasted 19 months and when elections were held, Mrs. Gandhi’s[Read More…]
My tentative thoughts on the likely political scenario unravelling itself. Today is the BLACK DAY when the saffron forces consisting of RSS/BJP/Shiv Sena/ VHP /Bajrang Dal etc. demolished the Babri Masjid in December 1992 with the complicity of the State. It is clear as daylight what the saffron forces are conspiring to accomplish now and in future. They are hysterically[Read More…]
There is more to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s apparently graceful response to the Twitter trolling she has faced over her ministry’s issuance of a passport to an inter-faith couple than meets the eye. Swaraj has been the target of offensive tweets for helping Tanvi Seth, wife of Mohammad Anas Siddiqui, get her passport after an officer allegedly harassed her for not changing her name to a Muslim[Read More…]
A fifteen-year old boy was lynched to death in a train by a mob, when he was returning home with his relatives, on the evening of Thursday, 22nd June after doing his Eid shopping in Delhi. The mob threw his body at Asaoti railway station near Faridabad. The boy’s name was Junaid Khan. There have been more than a dozen[Read More…]
It is ten days since the One Belt One Road (OBOR) Summit called and hosted by China at Beijing from May 14 to 15, 2017, concluded. Significantly, India did not participate in OBOR. But the subject is so important for peace, development and stability or otherwise in the region and beyond , that it has continued relevance and requires a[Read More…]
On 7th February,2017 with only 2 hours notice, of about 740 workers, journalists and reporters of Ananda Bazar Patrika group of newspapers of Kolkata were retrenched. This was first reported in December, 2016, but the news was systematically suppressed. It is learnt that The Telegraph and its associated newspapers are being taken over by a powerful business group. It is[Read More…]
We need to remind ourselves that a unique Ramlila, is being staged since 1972, at Bakshi Ka Talab, about 20 km from Lucknow, where lead characters like Rama, Lakshman and Hanuman are played by Muslim youths, a clear departure in a region known for communal flare-ups. This four-day Ram Lila starts on the day of Dusshera day, and has also been adapted into a Radio play, ‘Us Gaon ki Ram Lila’, by Lucknow All India Radio, which won the Communal Harmony Award in 2000
Today is 25th August, the day a champion of the rights of the oppressed , Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal was born 98 years back. Today, he will be remembered for his many contributions to the cause of upliftment of the downtrodden, but particularly for his role as Chairman of the Second Backward Classes Commission, which released in 1980 what later became[Read More…]
Very successful press conference at the Press Club of India, New Delhi by Jignesh Mevani, lawyer and Dalit activist from Gujarat. Very good attendance. Lot of questioning by journos’ almost amounting to interrogation, which Jignesh tackled very well. Jignesh Mevani was at the same time fire and brimstone lashing away at Mr. Modi and the BJP, and also Captain Cool[Read More…]
According to the Gujarat CID, a lion killed Najabhai Ahir’s cow in Bediya village. Najabhai informed Balu Sarvaiya of Mota village on the morning of July 11, 2016 to come and dispose the dead cow. Whereupon, the sons of Balu Sarvaiya, a SC by caste who traditionally skin and dispose off dead cows, brought the dead cow to their village[Read More…]
At least 40 immigrants dead in fire at US-Mexico border 
Contemporary Anti-Semitism – A Jewish View from Germany 
In memory of 40th Anniversary of Military Dictatorship in Argentina 
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 
DOJ Called Upon to Investigate Environmental Activists Abuses 
The World’s Coffee Shops Have Emerged as Plant Milk’s Front Line 
Lara Sheehi’s ordeal, like Steven Salaita’s, is not quite over 
“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 
Hundreds Of Thousands Of Workers’ 24-Hour Mega Transport Strike Halts Germany 
Oldest Interfaith Organization in America Calls for Children to Have More Rights Than Guns 
What’s the Best Way Out from the War in Ukraine? 
How Indigenous Land Management Practices Are a Blueprint for Climate-Resilient Agriculture 
In memory of Hugo Chavez on 10th death Anniversary 
Xi’s ‘Chilling’ Remarks: A Multipolar World Offers Challenges and Opportunities to the Middle East and Africa 
Ukraine War – US-China Relations And the Doomsday Clock 
Anti-Rahul Defamation Card Has Its Limitations! 
Questions We Should Ask to Understand Real Impact of Poverty Reduction and Welfare Schemes 
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 
EU Warns After Russia Plans To Place Tactical Nuclear Weapon In Belarus 
A Hazardous Decision: Supplying Ukraine with Depleted Uranium Shells 
Media and the March to War 
The Basic Issue is not of Taking Sides in Superpower Rivalry, it is of Durable Peace to Save Earth’s Life 
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…]
