by Sanjana Sree Manusanipalli and Sandeep Pandey The city is supposed to be the place where anyone can be anything they want to be. They say in a city like Hyderabad, there are no feelings of caste, class or religion. Everyone is supposed to be equal. Sociologists have also believed that urbanisation could signal the end of the caste system.[Read More…]
South Asian University is a university set up in Delhi by member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives – which is open to students from all these countries. However, as SAARC is receiving little attention these days because of regional political dynamics, it appears as if SAU[Read More…]
by Sanjana Sree Manusanipalli and Sandeep Pandey The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was enacted by the Union Government in 2009 and implemented in 2010. As part of Section 12(1)(c) of this Act, at least 25% of children in the age group 6-14 years from the disadvantaged groups and weaker sections can be admitted to unaided[Read More…]
Respected Yogi Maharaj, We were to take out a padyatra during 24-27 December, 2022 from Varanasi to Manduri, Azamgarh in support of a farmers’ movement going on at Manduri since 13 October against a proposed international airport which would involve taking over of 670 acres of land belonging to 8 villages uprooting close to ten thousand people. This padyatra was[Read More…]
In last five years Rs. 10,09,510 crores taken as loans by various companies from banks in India has been declared as Non Performing Assets, an euphemism for writing them off. Out of this State Bank of India alone wrote off Rs. 2,04,486 crores. Only about 13% of the total written off amount was recovered. Identity of the defaulting borrowers, most[Read More…]
The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) or the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have long argued for ‘Hindu-Hindi-Hindustan’, which into recent years has translated into a crisper English expression: ‘One Nation-One Religion-One Language’. Given this backdrop, it is curious that the BJP government has organised the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s constituency. Why did the BJP and RSS feel[Read More…]
Supreme Court has released six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. This was bound to happen as earlier A.G. Perarivalan was released in the same case, setting a precedent. Even though four of them are Sri Lankans but a popular Tamil sentiment favoured the release of these convicts which is why Tamil political parties supported this and resolutions were[Read More…]
by Rajeev Yadav, Arundhati Dhuru and Sandeep Pandey Azamgarh is a lively district of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Because of the entrepreneurial nature of people here Azamgarh is described as Kerala of U.P. People from here not only go to different parts of the country but also to abroad. Descendent of an indentured labourer family from here who migrated to Trinidad[Read More…]
It turns out that the Home Ministry actually gave permission for remission of sentence of 11 rape and murder convicts in the case of Bilkis Bano in Gujarat. It flies in the face of the argument that the convicts had completed 14 years of sentence, even though it is not settled in law that in every case of life term[Read More…]
by Harleen Sandhu and Sandeep Pandey After Mahsa Amini, 22 years old woman, was held by morality police in Iran for violating the Islamic Hijab code and she died within a few hours in police custody, Iran, mostly young women, has erupted in revolt. They are not afraid of giving up their lives like Sarina Esmaeilzadeh and Nika Shakarami, both[Read More…]
A padyatra (foot march) was to be taken out between 26 September and 4 October, 2022 from Randhikpur village in Dahod district of Gujarat to Ahmedabad to apologise to Bilkis Bano. Randhikpur is Biliks Bano’s village. In 2002 Gujarat communal violence she was gang raped, her 3 years old daughter, another child in womb and a total of 14 family[Read More…]
A Muslim youth was beaten recently when he tried to witness the famous Garbha performance during the Hindu religious 9 days festival of Navratri in Gujarat. There was a time when Muslims could easily participate in Garbha events in an atmosphere of cordiality. Bilkis Bano was gang raped in 2002 Gujarat communal violence, her 3 years old daughter, the child[Read More…]
It is a matter of shame for us as a society that Bilkis Bano’s rapists have been released by a District level committee of Gujarat Government. Some people in the Hindutva family are also justifying the act by claiming that a few of the rapists are Sanskari Brahmans. If rapists and murderers will be called Sanskari, then we as a[Read More…]
by Harshavardhan Purandare and Sandeep Pandey The Congress party declared Bharat Chhodo (Quit India) movement against the British regime in 1942. The Congress party is now launching a movement Bharat Jodo (Connecting and Uniting India) against the Modi regime in 2022. Indian people have had a journey of 80 years since Mahatma Gandhi gave that Quit India call to the[Read More…]
The Bhartiya Janata Party government has issued a diktat – that every house should fly the national flag on this independence day when India is celebrating 75th year of independence. The government has taken the responsibility to make the flags available. The Uttar Pardesh government is spending Rs. 40 crores to procure 2 crores flags. Remaining 2.5 crores flags will[Read More…]
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathu Ram Godse. There are some people subscribing to Hindutva ideology who idolize Godse. Various leaders, activists associated with the Hindutva ideology from time to time have portrayed Godse as a patriot. Question is Gandhi was the tallest leader of India’s freedom movement and even before India achieved independence Godse was making an attempt to[Read More…]
by Naveen Tewari and Sandeep Pandey A recent full front page of the advertisement by a Bhartiya Janata Party government declares, ‘House is not just a word. It is a place where power to dream comes and aspirations are fulfilled. Home is much about dignity and security than it is about shelter.’ It further goes on to quote Narendra Modi,[Read More…]
by Harshavardhan Purandare and Sandeep Pandey Narendra Modi government just doesn’t seem to learn from its past mistakes. From demonetisation to Farmers’ laws with decision on Kashmir, Citizenship Amendment Act and Covid lockdown in the interim the citizens of this country have had to suffer because of not just the unwise decisions of the government but also the manner in[Read More…]
The judgement of Supreme Court releasing A.G. Perarivalan, convicted in the case of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, has been widely hailed as upholding the human rights of prisoners. Yet, Yasin Malik, Kashmiri separatist leader, has been given two life terms and there is hardly any debate on him. At the same time Government of India is engaged in a dialogue with[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey and Arundhati Dhuru Uttar Pradesh’s Director General of Police Mukul Goel has been removed from his post for disregarding government work and not taking interest in departmental duties. Quite obviously not everything has been alright with UP Police department. On 1 May police raided the house of Kanhaiya Yadav in Manrajpur village of Chandauli district and when[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey, Vikrant Singh, Pawan Singh and Devesh Patel Even though Yogi Adityanath is now back as Chief Minister, the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election results can at best be taken with a pinch of salt. The general mood during the campaign was for change. People wanted the Bhartiya Janata Party government to go. People belonging to communities other[Read More…]
As Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections draw to a close, a wind of change seems to be blowing through the state. Initially it was thought that because of farmers movement the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance will dominate Bharatiya Janata Party only in western UP. Although revival of SP had begun much before the elections but it was believed that BJP[Read More…]
In the middle of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections the Bhartiya Janta Party published a full front page advertisement a day before and on the day of polling for fourth and fifth phase. This advertisement is basically electoral promises. According to Section 126 of the Representation of Peoples Act all campaigning must stop 48 hours before the conclusion of polling.[Read More…]
The Sangh Parivar claims to be a cultural organization. Core supporters of its ideology are upper caste and/or the educated elite. Quite naturally it gives importance to education. It is opposed to caste based reservation in the name of honouring merit. The irony is among the top leadership of Sangh Parivar or it affiliate organisations there are hardly any intelligent[Read More…]
The problem of stray cattle is so severe in Uttar Pradesh that the new Chief Secretary in his first press conference asked the District Magistrates to run a special drive from 1 to 10 January, 2022, to catch all stray cattle. Realising that ten days period was not enough for this purpose he extended it by a week. A farmers’[Read More…]
by Venkatesh Narayanan and Sandeep Pandey The issue is not privacy – it has never been. Millenials of all stripes today willingly sign-off most of their personal life fully well knowing that Big Tech is openly hoovering up their messages and posts. Mining every word and search term for valuable insights into users’ behaviour leads to targeted advertising, ergo[Read More…]
On 4 December, 2021, six civilians, all coal miners, were killed by Indian Army in Mon district of Nagaland. Home Minister Amit Shah claimed in Parliament that the vehicle carrying the miners was asked to stop but instead it tried to flee. This version has been rejected by one of the two survivors. It was cold blooded murder. In the[Read More…]
An advertisement of Bhartiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh proclaims, ‘Educated woman is our resolve, She is an alternative for golden future.’ However, an educated woman Shikha Pal is perched on top of an overhead water tank for more than hundred days at the height of about hundred feet aspiring to become a teacher in U.P. government run schools.[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey, Seema Muniz and Gopal Krishna Verma Some people are disheartened with the disruption in children’s education due to the menace of Covid and the successive lockdowns. While a number of children are getting used to attending online classes, their counterparts from the weaker socio-economic backgrounds continue to struggle either because of unfamiliarity with technology or because of [Read More…]
by Chaitanya Pandey and Sandeep Pandey India today is witness to two contesting ideas of nationalism. There is an idea of nationalism which emerged from the freedom movement. This idea of nationalism was inclusive and tried to take everybody along. It was based on concepts of democracy, secularism and socialism and espoused values of equality, justice, liberty and fraternity. The[Read More…]
by Advocate Mohammad Shoaib and Sandeep Pandey That corruption is rampant in police department is a common experience. However, there is another form of corruption which devastates lives of individuals and their families. It has now emerged as a common phenomenon that police more often than not register false cases because of which individuals have to spend number of years[Read More…]
Written by Bobby Ramakant and Sandeep Pandey Well known Hindustani classical singer Padma Vibhushan Channulal Mishra, chosen as one of the proposers of Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha elections, lost his wife and elder daughter to Covid in private hospitals in Varanasi. Younger daughter has accused Medwin Hospital of charging Rs. 1.5 lakhs for treatement of her sister and not[Read More…]
Written by Abhay Jain and Sandeep Pandey As Covid consumes human life in a very conspicuous way we are confronted with additional problem of disposing off human corpses. Cremation grounds are lit with continuous pyres, graveyards are running out of land and now Ganga has become a mass grave potentially polluting its water. In India, one estimate reveals that funeral[Read More…]
Written by Anandi Pandey and Sandeep Pandey Without consulting anybody from the Arab population, which outnumbered the Jews by about ten times, the British made public their intent to create a national home for Jewish people in Palestine on 2 November, 1917 through the Balfour declaration. Then on 29 November 1947 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution recommending[Read More…]
Written by Harshavardhan Purandare and Sandeep Pandey India has been advertised as ‘the country with a great future’ ever since we globalised in the ‘90s, but now this narrative of the future has become empty rhetoric to hide our weaknesses. At present, we paint a pathetic picture of ourselves. As Covid 19 second wave reaches the marginalised sections of our[Read More…]
Written by Sandeep Pandey and Divesh Ranjan In the recently concluded elections in Assam, it turns out that if the votes of Mahajot alliance led by Congress Party and the alliance of Assam Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal are combined then they would have been in a position to prevent Bhartiya Janata Party from forming a government in Assam. If[Read More…]
Written by Poornima Bisineer and Sandeep Pandey As the second more virulent wave of coronavirus rages on, the urban areas seem to be more adversely affected compared to the rural areas. Although, there are cases and deaths being now reported from rural areas too but the numbers in cities is disproportionately higher. And within the cities the better off localities[Read More…]
Co-Written by Anandi Pandey, Lubna Sarwath and Sandeep Pandey A common question asked by upper caste people, who form the core support of Hindutva politics, when opposing the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 or the policy of reservation in educational institutions, government jobs or elected posts is why should they be held responsible for the atrocities committed[Read More…]
Written by Bobby Ramakant and Sandeep Pandey As India runs a drive for vaccination against Covid the nature reminds us about our diminutiveness by an accompanying surge in Covid cases. In 2020, India had reported the highest number of 98,795 cases in 24 hours on 17 September 2020 but now the new unfortunate peak in April 2021 is past[Read More…]
Written by Rahul Singh Rana and Sandeep Pandey The Farmers’ protests are into their fourth month now. These protests started with people from Punjab and Haryana breaking barricades and heading towards the Indian capital. As expected, these protesting farmers were met with force at several places. Undeterred by the challenging circumstances, the farmers were able to reach at the borders[Read More…]
Written by Harshvardhan Purandare and Sandeep Pandey Ahmedabad hosts a Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram, the iconic monument where values and foundation of Indian democracy evolved through decades of Freedom movement. Now the city also hosts five star Narendra Modi stadium at Motera ground, a new monument named after our seven star prime minister. One can say, Indian democracy which grew at[Read More…]
Written by Sandeep Pandey, Anandi Pandey and Kushagra Kumar In the midst of farmers’ struggle the government has celebrated the Chauri Chaura incident and glorified the families of freedom fighters involved. As part of Mahtama Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement when there was violence involving setting the police station in Chauri Chaura, near Gorakhpur, on fire killing 22 policemen as a reaction[Read More…]
Written by Sandeep Pandey and Kushagra Kumar Narendra Modi’s ascension to power brought a new phenomenon to India – cow vigilantism. Number of mob lynching incidents took place some resulting in loss of life for the victims who happened to be mostly Muslims. Dalits too took the beating. On the other hand the aggressors hardly ever got punished. In fact,[Read More…]
Written by Sandeep Pandey, Simran Kaur and Harleen Sandhu The Bhartiya Janata Party and its historical ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh have used religion in manipulating the sentiments of the masses to gain political mileage, strengthening its grassroots presence as well as skyrocketing its electoral mandate. A mosque was demolished a few decades ago to mobilize the Hindu votes in[Read More…]
Written by Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey, Kushagra Kumar The Uttar Pradesh government has brought in the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Of Religion Ordinance 2020 which is being described as a law to curb ‘love-jihad,’ to check Muslim men marrying Hindu women with the intent to convert them. The law is also supposed to check mass religious conversions. According to[Read More…]
Written by Sandeep Pandey, Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant 16.7 lakh people died in India in 2019 because of air pollution accounting for 17·8% of the total deaths in the country (source: The Lancet Planetary Health). Air pollution was the 4th leading risk factor for premature death globally, accounting for nearly 12% of all deaths, with more than 6.67 million in[Read More…]
Written by Surabhi Agarwal, Sandeep Pandey and Kushagra Kumar Sudhir Dhawale, a writer, poet, artist, perennial protestor and a Dalit leader, was arrested and jailed in mid-2018. He remains in jail charged under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and assorted Indian Penal Codes accused of instigating violence at Bhima Koregaon event on 1 Jaunary, 2018. Ironically, the UAPA sections under which[Read More…]
Written by Shobha Shukla, Bobby Ramakant and Sandeep Pandey Think about this: Should a government come up with laws to protect a corporation against liability lawsuits, or should it come up with laws to regulate corporations and empower citizens so that corporations can be held to account for any kind of abuses or exploitation? A statement made by one of[Read More…]
Written by Priyanka Preet, Sandeep Pandey, Kushagra Kumar Gautam Navlakha is a famed author, civil rights activists, human rights activist, journalist, an Editorial Consultant at the Economic and Political Weekly, probably the most internationally well known social sciences journal published out of India, the Convenor of the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir and the Secretary[Read More…]
Written by Nilkantha Mandal, Sandeep Pandey and Kushagra Kumar All his life he fought valiantly to defend the rights of the people belonging to marginalized sections of society who were persecuted by the State or people who would stand up for their rights and consequently were targeted by the ruling elite but in the end he paid a price for[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey, Venkatesh Narayanan and Kushagra Kumar Dr. Lubna Sarwath is a fighter. In a survey conducted by the leading South Indian daily Deccan Chronicle the residents of Hyderabad have highlighted conservation of environment as a priority issue on which they would like their Mayor to focus on and Lubna has dedicated her life to the cause of[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey,Bobby Ramakantand & Kushagra Kumar 48 years old Faisal Khan has invested his entire life to strengthen communal harmony. With the intent to maintain and promote peace and harmony between people and communities he took out countless marches not just within India but also between India and Pakistan. He can recite verses from Ramcharitmanas and from the[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Kushagra Kumar The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has now on numerous occasions claimed that the state has been rid of criminals, who have either been killed in the 125 encounter deaths that have taken place or they have got their bails cancelled and gone back to jails after he took over the reins as CM[Read More…]
Co-Written by Surabhi Agarwal & Sandeep Pandey A compassionate human being, always popular among his friends and colleagues because of his friendly nature and human sensitivity, 33-year-old Mahesh Raut, champion of the democratic rights of the marginalised Adivasi people of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra has been in prison for over 2 years now. He was arrested in connection with the violence on[Read More…]
By Atul and Sandeep Pandey Arun Ferreira is a civil rights activist and human rights lawyer. He has been behind bars since June 6, 2018, when he was arrested in connection to the Bhima Koregaon event held earlier that year. Like many other activists, he was slapped with Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, sedition and other anti-terror related offenses allegedly for[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey and Shivi Saba What purpose does a religion serve? It serves you the meaning of living a life in the right way. Lately, the sentiment around the religion in our country is undergoing transformation, religion has become a marker of character. Earlier this thinking was limited to a very small section of society but now the politics[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey and Mohini Mullick When the only cause for elation, even a smile in the morning, is news of the release of an innocent detainee with the words that his detention ‘was bad in law’, then democracy is indeed staring at its nadir. Priyanka Gandhi called Kafeel after his release. We would have liked to call the judges[Read More…]
Co-Written by Peehu Pardeshi and Sandeep Pandey It is unusual for a bright young scholar like Amrendra Narayan, with a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from Mississippi State University, preceded and followed by research stints at Indian Institutes of Technology at Kanpur and Mumbai, respectively, to go and work at a relatively little known Veer Kunwar Singh University in a small[Read More…]
Co-Written by Tenzin Tsundue and Sandeep Pandey India has a cancerous wound around its Himalayan neck and this has been literally a pain in the neck ever since India’s humiliating defeat during the Chinese invasion of India in 1962. The recent Galwan Valley massacre only added salt to the wound. It has come to this because when China invaded the[Read More…]
Co-Written by Atul and Sandeep Pandey Rona Wilson is a prison rights activist who has been in jail since April 2018 and denied bail several times. The Pune Police raided his home in Delhi on April 17, 2018, and arrested him subsequently for his alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon violence in January that year. A few months later, the[Read More…]
In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic threat a raging debate is going on at present regarding the holding of the Joint Entrance Examination Mains, the preliminary examination required to be cleared for admission to prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and other engineering and technology institutions, during 1-6 September, 2020, by the National Testing Agency, in which 8,58,273 candidates are to[Read More…]
One would wonder why after such a show of triumphalism at the foundation laying ceremony of grand Ram temple on 5th August in Ayodhya the Uttar Pradesh government would stoop so low to put a lock outside the Aam Admi Party office in Lucknow. What makes it feel insecure? After all, AAP is an outsider in UP politics. The[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey, Shreekumar, Shiva Shankar, R. Ramachandran, Lubna Sarwath, Mansee Bal Bhargava and Rajeev Yadav Equality, Liberty and Justice lay the foundation of Indian Constitution for the citizens of India. Beyond the Indian Constitution document’s explicit mention of it, a real picture on the ground is different and that a large section of the communities are implicitly treated[Read More…]
Co-Written by Arundhati Dhuru and Sandeep Pandey Ram has been described as Maryada Purushottam, the most virtuous among men. He left his kingdom merely because he didn’t want to hurt the sentiments of his step mother and went on a 14 years exile. It was not in his character to enter into a dispute. He had to enter into a[Read More…]
Co-Written by Supriya Joshi, Vishal Kumar and Sandeep Pandey India is one the most religiously and ethnically diverse nations of the world. It has a syncretic culture and people have learned to live together respecting each other’s beliefs. However, in the recent past, communal politics has been used extensively for mobilizing voters. This has led to extreme communal polarisation and[Read More…]
In 2018, Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, earlier known as Professor Guru Das Agrawal when he used to teach at Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, wrote four letters to the Prime Minister when he went on a fast for 112 days demanding a law for conservation of Ganga before he succumbed on 11th October at All Indian Institute of Medical[Read More…]
Co-Written by Surabhi Agarwal, Lubna Sarwath and Sandeep Pandey Disregarding Ravi Chopra’s Recommendations on the Chardham Project Will Destroy the Already Fragile and Threatened Ecology of the Himalayan Region The ecologically sensitive citizens had barely recovered from the excruciating death of Professor G.D. Agrawal aka Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, who gave up his life after a 112 days of fasting[Read More…]
Co-Written by Anurag Singh and Sandeep Pandey Atma-nirbhar (self-reliant) India must perform on several fronts in order to vindicate itself on its adopted path in the current economic crisis coupled with crippling pandemic, two of which are Education and Employment. As a matter of considerable advantage, two recent historic social legislations offer a means to overcome the times of crisis[Read More…]
Co-Written by Atul and Sandeep Pandey Professor Sudha Bharadwaj has been in jail since August 2018. She was taken into police custody on 26 August 2018 on suspicion of being involved in Maoist terror activities after Republic TV claimed that she had allegedly written a letter to Maoists and was conspiring to create public disorder and unrest in India. The[Read More…]
Co-Written by Shivangini Piplani and Sandeep Pandey ‘Madam, Jhooth nahi bolenge, ‘1500 pada hai, hum 75 aadmi ek truck me aae the (Madam, I’ll not lie, we came back in Rs. 1,500 per head, 75 of us packed in one turck),’ Ram Kishore confessed to the first writer when she called him up in his village Dalkheda in Unnao District[Read More…]
Co-Written by Surabhi Agarwal and Sandeep Pandey The renowned Telugu poet and political activist Varavara Rao has been in police custody since 18 November 2018. The charges against him are: waging war against the state, conspiring to overthrow the government and plotting the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Varavara Rao is one of India’s foremost intellectuals who has inspired[Read More…]
Co-Written by Atul and Sandeep Pandey Akhil Gogoi-a peasant leader and Right to Information activist from Assam has been in jail since December 2019. His crime is that he exercised his fundamental right of speech and expression by protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The police took him in custody on December 12, 2019, and since then he has been[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Kushagra Kumar One of the writers of this article is reminded of an incident, when he was teaching at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar which was then functioning from a campus in Chandkheda in Ahmedabad. On 16 December, 2011, a dog picked up a 2 months old boy child Akash who was lying on ground[Read More…]
The Governor of Nagaland R.N. Ravi has written a scathing letter to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio alleging complete collapse of law and order and unwillingness of the elected government to resist several armed groups indulging in extortion and violence. Ravi has revealed that some of these groups are running their ‘governments,’ illegally levying taxes on items from salt to construction[Read More…]
Co-Written by Atul and Sandeep Pandey British left India in August 1947 but left many of their draconian laws here as a colonial legacy. Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code 1860, i.e., the law of sedition is one such law. British Government of India had inserted it in the penal code in the late 19th century to curb anti-colonial[Read More…]
Co-Written by by Simran Kaur, Vasundhra Kaul, Varsha Sharma and Sandeep Pandey While the entire world faced the threat of the coronavirus, India was witness to a peculiar phenomenon. Hundreds of migrant workers poured into the streets, despite explicit warnings -and passionate appeals- by the Prime Minister to stay indoors. India saw numerous deaths during this time, many of which[Read More…]
Co-Written by Atul and Sandeep Pandey The COVID 19 lockdown in India has witnessed an unfathomable scale of internal migration, displacement, tragedies, and human sufferings not seen since the time of partition 70 years ago. The haphazard manner in which the government implemented the lockdown resulted in absolute chaos when crores were forced by cruel circumstances to go back to[Read More…]
Co-Written by Gary Frase and Sandeep Pandey In United States and India today dark, demonic spirits seem to be gaining power. The murder of George Floyd by a policeman on 25 May, 2020, in Minneapolis has ignited an explosion of pent up anger over wide-spread racism and hatred that has for too long led to lynching of black people with[Read More…]
Bharat Gandhi alias Vishwatma is author of number of books including ‘Rediscovering Democracy.’ His booklet ‘Bring Votership, Remove Poverty,’ has been published seven times. He is the leader of Voters Party International and originally belongs to Janupur, Uttar Pradesh. He is known for advocating a monthly votership or pension of around Rs. 6,000 per month (according to 2016 rates) for[Read More…]
Co-Written by Abhay Jain and Sandeep Pandey Unable to resolve its border disputes with Pakistan and China, India has now managed to create a dispute with Nepal in the process of building a road to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet through areas which are claimed by Nepal. History has taught us that such disputes will require disproportionate attention and resources and[Read More…]
CO-Written by Surabhi Agarwal, Shobha Shukla, Bobby Ramakant and Sandeep Pandey It is becoming increasingly obvious that the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic over the last 3 months has failed on almost every front. Not only has the government been unsuccessful in containing the exponential spread of the disease but has through its actions given rise to one of[Read More…]
Co-Written by Vidushi Prajapati, Ekta Tomar and Sandeep Pandey What is the obligation of an academic community, especially in a law school, when sanitation workers on campus who have been working since its inception in 2008, are removed by the National Law University, Delhi, on the pretext of changing the contractor as required by an audit objection? Since the workers[Read More…]
Co-Written by Atul and Sandeep Pandey This is a matter of concern because the current policies of Goverment of India have pulverised the polity in Jammu and Kashmir and the recovery of a healthy democracy appears to have a remote chance here. That this should happen in world’s largest democracy with institutions of governance completely failing the people of J&K[Read More…]
Co-Written by Vijaya Ramachandran and Sandeep Pandey Lockdown in the wake of coronavirus threat has seriously affected the livelihood options for the migrant workers and daily wage earners. While the government has announced that they will be given free ration, even if they are not linked with local Fair Price Shop part of the Public Distribution System, which is the[Read More…]
Co-Written by Arundhati Dhuru and Sandeep Pandey All the narratives of a progressing nation, Rajiv Gandhi’s ‘marching into the 21st century,’ Atal Behari Vajpayee’s ‘shining India,’ A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s ‘providing urban amenities in rural areas,’ Manmohan Singh’s achievement of 8-9% Gross Domestic Product growth rates and Narendra Modi’s ‘smart cities’ have crumbled in the wake of national level migrant workers’[Read More…]
Co-Written by Surabhi Agarwal, Sandeep Pandey and Shreekumar At a time when there can be no mass mobilisations or street protests, and when so many people are distressed, anxious and distracted by the unprecedented challenges our country is facing due to the COVID-19 crisis, the government’s actions against activists, journalists, intellectuals and Muslims appear to be calculated and insidious. Needlessly[Read More…]
Dr Sandeep Pandey, Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant Mahatma Gandhi’s talisman is perhaps the best guiding light to reform the public health system in the wake of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: “I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test- “Recall the face of the[Read More…]
Co-Written by I.D. Khajuria and Sandeep Pandey As the humans stayed inside for close to a month and a half since the announcement of lockdown in the wake of coronavirus threat, most people observe that life seems to have start breathing in nature. The air is fresh, trees look more green and rivers are cleaner. It is a further and[Read More…]
Co-Written by Bobby Ramakant, Shobha Shukla and Sandeep Pandey Along with measures to cut the chain of transmission of corona virus (such as lockdown, social distancing, masks), it is indeed important to find those who are positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), isolate them and provide them with best possible medical care as needed. It appears that government is facing shortage[Read More…]
Co-Written by Bobby Ramakant, Surabhi Agarwal and Sandeep Pandey Ram Shankar met with a fatal hit-and-run accident in rural area of Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh on 16 April, 2020 and was referred by the District Hospital to Trauma Centre of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow. He could not be admitted there and was referred to nearby Balrampur[Read More…]
The Bhartiya Janata Party led government in India has a penchant for doing things in a ‘surgical strike’ manner, a much publicised military operation they carried out against Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out demonetisation in November 2016 at a few hours notice leaving the common citizens stranded with Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes which had suddenly become[Read More…]
Co-Written by Varsha Sharma and Sandeep Pandey The coronavirus crisis lockdown has made one thing very clear that food is the single most important thing that human beings need. Life can go on without internet connections or mobile phones but not without food. While the economy was totally shutdown the only people who were allowed to freely move about were[Read More…]
Co-Written by Praveen Srivastava, Anand Mathew, Joseph Nitilal and Sandeep Pandey With lockdown extended and little relaxation in some essential services, the plights of poor are not going to reduce for sure. Lakhs of migrant labourers are struck in metro cities, far away from their homes. The concern which government demonstrated in arranging buses to send 1,800 pilgrims from Haridwar[Read More…]
The coronavirus threat has forced governments to impose a disruptive change in our life styles, which may seem very inconvenient and irritating to us in the present circumstances, but it may be worth considering to continue with some of these changes in the interest of society, economy and environment. The modern economy involved unnecessary travel, both long term long distance[Read More…]
Before the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register dharna at Ghata Ghar was symbolically withdrawn on 23 March morning, I happened to visit the dharna site on 21 March evening with the purpose of sitting their with my spinning wheel or Charkha in support of the women. Immediately the police arrived and wanted me to[Read More…]
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind has written an article on coronavirus reminding us that we are merely biological organisms, dependent on other organisms for survival and that humankind’s craving to control nature and exploit all its resources for profit can be wiped out in a stroke by a miniscule organism. Further he reminds us that our ancestors used[Read More…]
The Prime Minister had declared from the Ram Lila ground before the Delhi elections that there are no detention centres in the country in the context of nation wide anti-Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens protests. But there were media reports of temporary detention centres being run in various jails of Assam and a permanent one being constructed[Read More…]
On January 26, Republic Day, 2020, while protests simmered against Citizenship Amendment Act and National Regiser of citizens throughout India, a dozen North American cities also witnessed historic protests. Indian Embassies have been witness to protests in the past. But this time it was different. In Washington D.C., 800 Indian Americans, many of whom had driven hours from neighbouring states,[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Rajendran Narayanan The decision on 5th August, 2019 to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A and division and downgrading of State of J&K into two Union Territories J&K and Ladakh was taken in a most undemocratic manner without consulting a single person of J&K. The State Assembly is not in existence for 18 months now. There[Read More…]
Educational Institutions are meant to be places of learning and authorities managing them are expected to provide a liberal space where diversity of ideas can exist. Of course, this ideal is present at very few places but Jawaharlal Nehru University, before the Modi government came to power was one such place of international standing in India. It was comparable to[Read More…]
Co-Written by Rajendran Narayanan and Sandeep Pandey “Jab har saans mein bandook dikhe toh baccha kaise bekhauf rahe?” (How can a child be fearless when she sees a gun in every breath?) remarked Anwar, a gardener from Srinagar, when asked about the situation in Kashmir.On 30 November, 2019, a walk through an iron gate in a quiet neighbourhood of Srinagar[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Anandi Pandey At New Delhi’s Jamia Millia University if one visits the library it may appear as if a pitched battle was fought here. Almost all glasses have been broken by tear gas shells or stun grenades and furniture has been vandalised. And this was in response to some peaceful protests outside the library. Although[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Arundhati Dhuru It was heartening to hear Narendra Modi praise Imran Khan for facilitating the opening of 4.7 km corridor so that Sikh pilgrims from India could visit the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan, after a mostly anti-Pakistan narrative first during the general elections and then after the decision related to Jammu and[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey, Yugal Kishore Shashtri and Lubna Sarwath With the exception of few, every leader of political or social importance is making an appeal to the common people to maintain peace and communal harmony in the wake of Supreme Court judgement in the Ram Janambhumi-Babri Masjid case as part of which the entire 2.77 acres of disputed land[Read More…]
By Sandeep, Babloo Loitongbam and Meera Sanghamitra Thuingaleng Muivah, the supreme leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) says that Nagaland may be weaker in material sense but it is strong in politics. No wonder, the organisation which started of as an insurgent group was able to engage Government of India in a process of dialogue for 22[Read More…]
by Sandeep Pandey and Meera Sanghamitra The Nagas claim that their leader Phizo never signed any instrument of accession with India like the other 562 princely states and Nagaland or Nagalim, as they prefer to call their land, was never part of India either with consent or by conquest. Nagas are proud of their unique history in which they have[Read More…]
Mahatma Gandhi’s spectacles are being used as an emblem for Government of India’s sanitation campaign Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Even though Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangha, the ideological parent of ruling Bhartiya Janata Party, abhors Gandhi’s ideology, yet Narendra Modi has decided to use Gandhi as a symbol for his drive for cleanliness. First he knows that Gandhi is the only truly mass[Read More…]
A National Alliance of People’s Movements delegation was detained at Srinagar airport on the morning of 4th October, 2019 by the District administration of Badgam and then sent back to Delhi. Individual notices in the name of three activists issued by District Magistrate of Badgam say that there was an apprehension that these activists would organise a protest in Srinagar[Read More…]
by Anurag Bhaskar and Sandeep Pandey The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) is considered to be one of the most reputed academic institutes of the country. IIMs are the most sought after institutions by students trying to get admission into a two year management programme. Among the several IIMs, IIM Ahmedabad has developed itself into a very fine institution with evolved[Read More…]
In Mahatma Gandhi’s lifetime climate change or threat to environment was not yet a perceived problem. Therefore it is no surprise that there is no explicit mention of it in Gandhi’s concerns. Yet his entire worldview was environment friendly. Protection of environment or non-destruction of nature was in-built in his philosophy. He expected his most ardent followers, especially the ones[Read More…]
by Zia Mian, Abdul H. Nayyar, Sandeep Pandey, M. V. Ramana On September 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This appearance will come at a time of great concern about the increasingly hostile relationship between their two countries. At the heart of[Read More…]
When the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah was absent in Parliament on the day when the state’s fate was being decided on 5 August, 2019, the Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Parliament that he had chosen on his own will not to come to the Parliament. He even went to the extent of saying that[Read More…]
On 20th August, 2019 Indian Express e-paper carried an unusual advertisement by the Northern India Textiles Mills Association about Indian Spinning Industry facing a huge crisis. The spinning mills are incurring huge loses, they are not in a position to buy Indian cotton, livelihood of 10 crores people, directly or indirectly, dependent on textile industry and a larger number of[Read More…]
It is well known that Mahatma Gandhi began his meetings with a all faith prayer – reciting portions from various religious texts. Gandhi was a firm believer in the idea of communal harmony. From his childhood as he used to nurse his father, he got an opportunity to listen to his father’s friends, belonging to different religions including Islam and[Read More…]
The Standing Committee on Defence, 2017-18 of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha highlights the idea of Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured). The Committee expressed concern over the import content of equipments produced and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ordnance Factories and Defence Public Sector Undertakings because of the dependence it creates for military hardware on foreign suppliers.[Read More…]
In an unprecedented move to fulfill its manifestoed promises, the Central Government has, through a Presidential Order, rendered Article 370 of the Indian Constitution inoperative ipso facto. While the frenzy of netizens has hailed it as a firm footing towards full integration of the state of Jammu & Kashmir into the Union of India, certain legal infirmities could pose a[Read More…]
Co-Written by Rahul Pandey and Sandeep Pandey In a single stroke of decisions, the Indian government has revoked Articles 370 and 35A, bifurcated J&K into J&K and Ladakh, and reduced their status to Union Territories. While there are questions about the legal soundness of these decisions, their moral illegitimacy lies in the fact that none of the stakeholders in J&K[Read More…]
There could not have been a better choice than Ravish Kumar for this year’s Magsaysay Award. Ravish has demonstrated exemplary courage in questioning the sectarian, communal, jingoistic and irrational politics which has dominated the narrative in this country over the last five years when one by one most of the saner voices were made to disappear, some made compromises or[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Sanjay Singh A fact to which the press, and by extension the public, did not pay much attention was when Narendra Modi, serving Chief Minister of Gujarat, came to New Delhi in 2014 to take oath as Prime Minister, he used Adani’s aircraft. The implication of it only now dawns on us as Adani emerges[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Praveen Srivastava Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, Professor of Education Economics at University College London and President of City Montessori School Lucknow has critiqued the New Education Policy in an article published in Times of India on 24 June, 2019. She has identified poor school and teacher accountability as the main cause of learning crisis in public[Read More…]
Co-Written by Basant Rawat, Kausharali Saiyed & Sandeep Pandey Indian Muslims are a deprived community with very low participation in the functioning of the world’s largest parliamentary democracy. This despite the fact that followers of Islam in India are the single largest minority- they’re about 17.22 crores, i.e., 14.2 % of total population of the country, according to the 2011[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and B. Ramakrishna Raju It appears that finally it is here. Soon after Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal said in a press conference that there are no plans to privatise railways, either now or ever, it has been revealed that government is thinking of inviting private operators to run passenger trains on low congestion and[Read More…]
Sanjay Tula and his wife Tula Sanjay are products of Jayaprakash Narayan’s total revolution movement in the ‘70s. They live in Mehsana, Gujarat and run a small organization called Vishwagram which hosts less than 20 children picked up from railway platforms. However, Sanjay is leading a silent peace initiative in Jammu and Kashmir which may never produce any macro level[Read More…]
The freedom struggle of this country has witnessed a band of youth inspired by a zeal willing to put their lives at stake. Number of them were arrested, tried in court and executed by the British. Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Thakur Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri, Shivaram Rajguru, Sukhdev Thapar, Jatindra Nath Das are common[Read More…]
In 2011 Swami Nigmanand died on the 115th day of his fast against illegal mining in Haridwar. Matri Sadan, the ashram with which he was associated alleges that he was killed by poisoning in the hospital at the behest of a mining mafia. Swami Gokulanand, who sat on first fast organised by Matri Sadan along with Swami Nigmanand in 1998,[Read More…]
I went to participate in a candle light homage paying event at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s statue organised by about 200 dalit students on Hazratganj main crossing in Lucknow on 16 February, 2019 evening, two days after the dastardly terrorist act in Pulwana, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 37 Central Reserve Polica Forces’ personnel was killed. While the condolence meeting by[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Rahul Pandey Narendra Modi’s ascension to power was accompanied with jubilation and expectation. His supporters were expecting an end to era of corruption and initiation of good governance which was described as Achche Din. His party’s adherence to idea of nationalism was believed to make India a vibrant country and guide India to be a[Read More…]
Professor G.D. Agrawal, formerly of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and known as Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand since 2011, died on 11 October, 2018 on the 112th day of his fast, demanding a law for conservation of river Ganga, at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh. 40 years old Sant Gopal Das inspired by Professor Agrawal also sat on[Read More…]
Anupam Kher’s film ‘Accidental Prime Minister’ has targeted Dr. Manmohan Singh who served for two terms and may be again acceptable for the job if his party regains power. But his tormentor Narendra Modi seems to be out of breath even before his first term is over. Disillusionment with him is so widespread and deep that people of India may[Read More…]
A saint is one who can give some inner peace by his/her voice. This will happen only when s(he) will talk about love and harmony. Morari Bapu is one saint who has been conveying the message of love, peace, harmony, fraternity, etc. Today when a number of saffron clad figures with aggressive posture, spewing venom, fanning hatred to polarise voters[Read More…]
First the Bhartiya Janata Party led government in Delhi was very enthusiastic about conducting the National Register of Citizens exercise in Assam on the premise that this process will identify all the illegal migrants from Bangladesh who entered Assam after 24 March, 1971, the date of creation on Bangladesh, who could then be sent back to Bangladesh. The assumption was[Read More…]
Former Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Professor Guru Das Agrawal, who became an ascetic in 2011 at the age of 79 years and came to be known as Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, died on 11 October, 2018 on the 112th day of his fast, demanding a law for conservation of river Ganga, at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh.[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey, Lubna Sarwath and Gurumoorthy M. Whether it was a slightly high dose of Potassium at the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences at Rishikesh which ultimately caused cardiac arrest or deliberate neglect by the government over 112 days of fast-unto-death to demand a law for conservation of Ganga by Professor Guru Das Agrawal turned Swami Sanand,[Read More…]
Co-Written by Medha Patkar and Sandeep Pandey The legendary Professor Guru Das Agrawal, who got promoted from a Lecturer directly to Professor at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur after having finished his Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley in two years and laid the foundation of India’s anti-pollution regimen as the first Member-Secretary of Central Pollution[Read More…]
Co-Written By Swami Agnivesh and Sandeep Pandey There was major police action against Sudha Bhardwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Varvara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira on 28 August, 2018. Before this police arrested Professor Shoma Sen, Adocate Sudhir Gadling, Sudhir Dhawle, Mahesh Raut and Rona Wilson on 6 June. Even before this Dr. Binayak Sen, Soni Sori, Ajay T.G., Professor G.N.[Read More…]
86 years old Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand is on a fast unto death since 22 June, 2018 in Haridwar demanding a law for conservation of river Ganga but the Central government has not taken a step to convince him to give up his fast. This raises question on the intention of government. It appears that the government is deliberately ignoring[Read More…]
86 years old Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand sat on an indefinite fast in Haridwar on 22 June, 2018 to demand making a law on conservation of river Ganga. Nobody came to see him from the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvnation. He was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Haridwar but continued his fast there[Read More…]
The India Pakistan Friendship and Peace March from Ahmedabad to Nada Bet during 19 to 29 June, 2018 concluded successfully even though Ahmedabad Police detained the marchers for about 3 hours at the beginning as soon as it started from Gandhi Ashram and Border Security Force didn’t give permission to the march at the fag end from Nadeshwari Mata Mandir[Read More…]
Co-Written by Sandeep Pandey and Bobby Ramakant (Written on the occasion of India Pakistan Friendship and Peace March, 19 to 30 June, 2018, Ahmedabad to Nada Bet) After a hiatus in the movement for global nuclear disarmament it is heartening to note that there are some positive developments over the last couple of years. The United Nations General Assembly passed[Read More…]
In 1947 India was divided by the foreign rulers by playing a game of divide and rule to which the religious fundamentalists fell prey. India and Pakistan since then have a checkered history and uneasy relationship sometimes climaxing in wars and violent conflagrations. While the governments prefer to maintain adversarial relationship, which now sustains certain vested interests on both sides,[Read More…]
2500 people urge Chief Minister of Karnataka to protect farmers, pastoralists and Dalits from Supreme injustice 
Our Global Water Crisis 
3.5 Million March Across France Opposing Macron’s Pension Reform 
Election Commission of India must question the presence political nominees on BEL’s and ECIL’s Boards 
Ihan Omar Introduces Legislation to Combat Islamophobia 
Narendra Modi’s Cricket Coup 
The Big Picture And The Small 
Prophesies, Then and Now – My Life at World’s End 
How the Cuban Government and Its People Collaborated on the Family Code 
Stop Criminalizing Journalism and Human Rights Activism: Release Irfan Mehraj and Parvez Khurram 
Politics of Bhagat Singh’s trial 
The Tragedy of Footpaths: Impressions of a Pedestrian in Bangalore 
Altruism exists in nature, Reciprocal altruism in humans 
U.S. Trying To Cover Up Its Role In Nord Stream Sabotage, Says Seymour Hersh 
Open Letter To Rahul Gandhi, Indian National Congress Party 
Future Scenarios in Ukraine 
West Sends Depleted Uranium Weapons to Ukraine: MEP to Warmongers – “You Make Me Sick!” 
Sri Lanka’s unconvincing response to Universal Periodic Review’s forthright findings 
Kisan Mahapanchayat stages massive rally in Delhi 
The betrayers of Julian Assange 
The Truth About Our Failure to Curb Carbon Emissions 
They’re liars, Mexico’s President on U.S. 
Grameena Pedala Sangham, Telangana State conference, is an important mile-stone 
Imperial Visits: US Emissaries in the Pacific Enough is enough. Restore parliament 
Disgrace at the New York Times 
‘Israel is (Not) Back to Africa’: How African Countries are Challenging Israeli Plot on the Continent 
A Highway to Peace or a Highway to Hell? The Vast Power of the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex 
Accelerating Change on United Nations World Water Day 2023 
Defence Daredevilry 
Selling One’s Soul – The betrayal of Christ and Constitution 
Climate Crisis Has Caused Increasingly Irreversible Losses, Says UN Report 
Yarrow Mamout Masjid Dedicated at Georgetown University 
Adolf Hitler, Carl Orff & Sophie Scholl 
Algeria’s Gas vs. Rightwing Ideology: Will Italy Change Its Position on Jerusalem? 
From Balloons to AUKUS: The War Drive Against China 
Paul Keating’s criticism of Australia’s AUKUS deal is damming but not “astonishing”, – in fact, timely! 
In memory of 20th anniversary of the Iraq War 
CBI investigation against Harsh Mandar’s NGO is nothing but travesty of justice 
Concept of Gram Swaraj (‘Village Self-Reliance’) and Its Increasing Relevance for Our Times 
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…]
