The last few years have seen yatras being organized by ‘Hindutva’ groups on various religious occasions. Yatras are part and parcel of religious activities of Hindu devotees from times immemorial. Some of the famous yatras such as Amarnath yatra, Vaishnodevi yatra, Puri rath yatra, Sabarimala yatra etc. attract large number of devotees. They form part of the larger religious faith[Read More…]
Manipur issue has been in the national headlines for the last three months. Responding to the opposition and pressure that was building up, the prime minister made a statement on the May 4 incident that he was angry with what had happened in Manipur. The point however is not in displaying anger but the state acting in a way that[Read More…]
Recent period witnessed two incidents of trolling. In the state of Telangana, Thulasi Chandu a Telugu journalist was trolled by Hindu right-wing trollers associated with saffron forces for her critic of saffron forces in her videos. Similarly, a wall street journalist Sabrina Siddiqui was trolled for her questioning of Modi on situation of minorities in India. Thulasi Chandu makes regular[Read More…]
The protests by women wrestlers Vinesh Poghat, Sakshi Malik, Anshu Malik and also male wrestler Bajrang Punia while is aimed at demanding an action against Brijbhushan Singh Sharan who used his position to demand sexual favors goes beyond that. In general, it challenges the system where men may use their positions at workplaces to demand sexual favors and in this[Read More…]
They were the best times. They were the worst times. Those were the times which was divided by an India of the Raja and the Praja. One side of an India saw the march of the monarch who carried a golden senghol in his hand in the monarch’s parliament. On the other side was the Olympic champions the gold winning[Read More…]
The recent elections in Karnataka have come as a sigh of relief to those who wish to retain the secular character of the republic. Karnataka was seen as a pathway to make entry into Southern part of India. It was seen as a Hindutva lab where communal experiments could be carried out and extended to other states. The BJP regime[Read More…]
Inspired by ‘Kashmir Files’ a new breed of films and filmmakers are on the rise. A government which wants to hide and close ‘Gujarat files’, ‘Godse files’ wants films such as ‘Kashmir files’, ‘Kerala story’, ‘Delhi files’ and ‘Razakar files’ to come out. The film titled ‘The Kerala Story’ is to be released on 5th May. The film is directed[Read More…]
The earlier article on ‘Citizen resistance in the age of Hindutva’ had mentioned different forms of resistance after 2014. These included resistance by writers & artists (Award Waapasi), Dalits (Una protest), Dalits & Student community (Rohit Vemula protests), Students & Teachers (JNU Nationalist debates), Muslims & others (Anti CAA protests), Muslim women (Anti hizab restriction protests), Journalists (Independent youtube media[Read More…]
India has witnessed growth and acceleration of Hindutva agenda from 2014 onwards. The growth of BJP, penetration of communal propaganda through social media, decline of independent media, decline of institutions, and emergence of autocrat leader who gets identified as liberator of majority has contributed to this trend. However, the acceleration of Hindutva agenda has also been equally accompanied by different[Read More…]
Recently the movie ‘Pathan’ was in the news primarily for two reasons. One was around being its supposed anti-Hindu content for usage of saffron colour in a song scene and two in the past Shahrukh Khan had made a statement about growing intolerance in the country referring to increasing incidents of lynchings. The fact that he belongs to a minority[Read More…]
An organisation which claims to work for Hinduism, Hindu unity and consolidation needs to address the discriminatory practices in religion by rising above the caste-based identities. It needs to be more reformative in nature rather than revivalist and work towards annihilating caste rather than reinforcing caste based discriminatory practices. The book by Raghuram Meghawanshi ‘I could not be a Hindu:[Read More…]
Ravish Kumar in his book ‘The Free Voice: On Democracy Culture and Nation’ critically evaluates the role being played by the media in contemporary times. Journalism in contemporary times had turned out to be uncritical of the Government and become mere mouthpieces of the Government. In a culture of fear, what is required is breaking the silence by raising uncomfortable[Read More…]
Bharat Jodo Yatra undertaken by Rahul Gandhi is receiving a popular response and large numbers are seen joining it including eminent citizens. Currently it has passed through the states of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and currently in Maharashtra. The yatra has been interpreted in different ways – as that of protecting the idea of India, building the personal[Read More…]
In the human and nature conflict debate, conservationists argue for expansion of wilderness and wildlife and those advocating tribal rights advocate for increasing access of tribal rights over land, water and forests. Forest department is often in conflict with local communities who are often seen as encroachers, while for the tribal communities’ forests are a part of their life, culture[Read More…]
Dr. Ambedkar is considered as a symbol of resistance of Dalits against caste system and who stood for annihilation of caste. On 14th October 1956, he along with 6 lakhs of his followers converted to Buddhism at Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur. As chairperson of the drafting committee of the Indian constitution, his contributions to emergence of a liberal democracy and[Read More…]
In the recent past the book titled ‘RSS: Breadth and Depth’ by Kannada writer Devanur Mahadeva, has been in the news. This short book sold over a lakh copy within a brief period of its publication in Kannada. It was also translated to English, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Marathi. While many points made in the book has already been told[Read More…]
The recent effort to indirectly acquire NDTV by Adani enterprises is an effort in the direction of creating another Godi media. Much of the mainstream national media is already a ‘Godi media’ and perhaps it is believed that this will put an end to independent media in the mainstream media space. Godi media can perhaps be described as an extension[Read More…]
Recently Mohammad Zubair, co-founder of fact-checking website Altnews was arrested in the name of ‘hurting religious sentiments.’ This was based on a supposed complaint on a post by Zubair in 2018. The twitter account which called for action was later deleted. The point is whether the specific post was a problem, or the role being played by altnews in fact[Read More…]
In the recent act following Nupur Sharma’s statement on Prophet Mohammad, the BJP acted against her by suspending her from Party’s membership. This was after there was reaction by Middle Eastern countries. The BJP in its statement pointed that “The BJP strongly denounces insults of any religious personalities of any religion. The BJP is also against any ideology which insults[Read More…]
Recently Amit Shah, the home minister brought up the issue of Hindi to act as a link language among people speaking different languages in states. There was also a discussion in social media between Kannada actor Sudeep and Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan. The point made by Ajay Devgan was that Hindi is a national language implying (though un-stated) that it[Read More…]
The recent period has seen a series of events, where bulldozers were used in Muslim areas. This started in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh and later in Jehangirpuri in Delhi. Both of these follow a similar pattern. The Hindu mobs enter the Muslim locations on the pretext of yatra either Ram Navami or Hanuman Jayanti. The mobs instead of going to[Read More…]
The recent years has seen increasing attacks on minorities particularly the Muslims. This seems to be aimed at achieving the BJP regimes intended aim of reducing the minority spaces in the socio-political-cultural and economic life and their engagement and participation as equal members of the nation-state. Psycho-cultural spaces: The severest form of attack has been on the psycho-cultural-spaces. In[Read More…]
The recently released movie ‘RRR’ is being received well across the country. The movie is based on two revolutionary tribal leaders namely Alluri Sitaramaraju and Komaram Bheem. While both lived in different geographies and had never met, the movie builds on the assumption of what would have happened had both lived at the same time, met and fought together. A[Read More…]
The movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ by Vivkek Agnihotri is being propagated by the BJP supporters. BJP run state governments is encouraging people to watch the movie. It is being depicted as one which shows the pains of the Kashmiri Pandits. The movie might be well made technically and actors might have lived to the characters. Commentaries on factual errors has[Read More…]
The February 5 order of Government of Karnataka banning wearing of Hijab and High court interim order restraining wearing of any form of religious attire has brought to fore the Hijab issue. While the BJP may try to show itself in progressive and modernity light, there are 3 M’s behind the move of Government of Karnataka. Karnataka has emerged as[Read More…]
Being neither a believer in gods or against believers, the existence of supernatural, gods and supernatural ultimately running the human affairs do not form part of my consciousness. Belief in supernatural also brings with it the division of this world and the other world. This world which is the human world is considered a ‘maya’ ‘an illusion’. Ultimate merging with[Read More…]
In a society divided along caste and class lines, violence against the marginalised groups either does not attract the attention of society at large or the oppression per se tends to be seen as normal. The pattern of silence is in favour of the dominant groups. There is no abnormality seen in violence perpetrated by the dominant groups either directly[Read More…]
In a society built on inequities based on class, caste, gender, race – existence of constitutional legislations for benefit of oppressed does not by itself ensure their welfare. It requires a conscious collective action by the oppressed against exploitation. It requires a change in mindset from ‘fearful’ to ‘fearless minds’. The book by Vivek Pandit titled ‘Fearless Minds’ tries to[Read More…]
I would like to be seen as someone who is down to earth, caring and kind. Just one among the people who values humans in their struggles through life and stands for justice. Hence the ideas of success which try to show lives of successful people cut off from the rest of society makes little meaning for me. Living a[Read More…]
The working conditions of labor during industrial revolution was characterized by long working hours (12-16 hour shifts), low wages, unsafe working conditions and lack of worker rights. The labor movements which arose articulated for a need to improve the conditions of labor. The demands included the need to have freedom to form association, collective bargaining, having free labor, equal pay,[Read More…]
Jason Stanley in the book titled ‘How fascism works: The politics of us and them’ describes fascist politics as characterized by ten aspects. The different headings under which it is discussed include: The mythic past, propaganda, anti-intellectual, unreality, hierarchy, victimhood, law and order, sexual anxiety, sodom and gomorrah and arbeit macht frei. The mythic past: Fascist politics seeks to build[Read More…]
Standing at 597 feet And being declared the tallest statue I felt I could feel pride and watch the beautiful things around However, find it to be only a misfortune As I watch miles and miles away from me I can only see the suffering and pain around The pain created by those Who have only tried to build[Read More…]
Covid pandemic will remain an important chapter in India’s history. This is not only for the public health challenge it caused but it also brought out the deeply hidden flaws, biases, prejudices of the state and society. It was a mirror reflection of the state and society we are living in. The book by Harsh Mander titled “Locking down the[Read More…]
Identity politics cannot subsume real politics. Hindutva built on Hindu identity cannot stop emergence of a challenge built on solidarity of the oppressed classes. Mandir Masjid can polarize and keep the people divided in the name of Hindu Muslim. But the challenge can come from somewhere else (Sikhs), though not on the basis of identity. Challenge can come from anywhere[Read More…]
India is witnessing the farmer protests which is being described as the largest protest in history. Delhi has become the epicenter of the protests with protests by farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh. About 1.2 million farmers are said to have thronged to the capital or in Singhur border along with about 96 thousand tractors. About 500 farm[Read More…]
The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in a recent interview to Vivek a hindi Magazine said that most Muslims are very contended in India. A space has been created for them. And that anyone staying in India has to accept Hindu superiority. The theory of Hindu superiority, demand for other religious groups to subordinate oneself to the dominance of Hindu religion[Read More…]
For generations have we suffered Without any meaningful change in our lives Humiliation and oppression Which has seen no end The world has changed And adopted equality as its universal value Yet a world divided on caste Continues to be the world determined by you An oppressed population rising up Is the thing you do not want A population living[Read More…]
When the demolishers go scot-free And a demolition is celebrated When the inflictors are adored And the victims are hated Where violence is celebrated In the name of the majority And resistance is suppressed In the name of minority Where marginal lives are crushed And upper lives uplifted Where highs only rise further high Where lows only dip further low[Read More…]
You change the meaning of violence To mean that your violence is non-violent And those who question your violence Are the perpetrators of the actual violence If you define your violence as non-violent And those who question your violence as violence Your non-violence has a violent nature And questioning of your violence has a non-violent nature The foundation you want[Read More…]
I can’t breath Allow me to breath Not just because I want to live But because I have every right to live Stop me from taking breath Just because I belong to a different colour Colour does not make me any lesser of a person Who cannot have even a liberty to breath My forefathers have fought Just[Read More…]
Covid 19 has brought migrant crises to the forefront. While migrants had always faced challenges, this has only become more visible now. This also presents with an opportunity to look back at the immediate implications of the crises, draw lessons from the same and to develop a migrant inclusive policy in urban areas. Implications Loss of Trust: The news reports[Read More…]
In the Post-COVID situation, the issue of migrant workers has come to the forefront. While on the one hand, it provides an opportunity to reflect and correct, on the other hand it also brings out the deeply held biases in Government decisions. While Migrants go on to build a city, they never form part of mental frame of the decision[Read More…]
The announcement of lockdown on March 24, 2020 as a preventive step for spread of Corona brought to the forefront the issue of migrant workers. The migrant workers were left with four hours in which they had to take action. Millions of migrant workers were struck in their host states. They had come from home states in search of employment[Read More…]
Name of the Book: Borders of an Epidemic: Covid 19 and Migrant Workers Name of the Publisher: Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group (CRG), Kolkata Editor: Ranabir Samadar Year of Publication: 2020 COVID 19 is a major health challenge the country is currently witnessing. As on 29th April 2020, India is said to have 31,332 COVID cases and seen 1,008 COVID deaths.[Read More…]
Between my stomach and your hands You choose to select your hands And leave my stomach aside By prioritising your scarcity over my scarcity When my stomach cries for food You choose to convert my food into your sanitiser And convince me that this is what I need it at this point of time And not something which I really[Read More…]
Allow us to go home At a time when we are stuck in your cities Neither continuing here for earning livelihood by staying Nor getting a privilege to practice your set norms With economic activities coming to a halt And stoppage of all the work and no means to earn We are least motivated to stay back And want to[Read More…]
We look for a shelter to stay A transportation to move us back Food to eat and water to drink As any humans of this world We receive mass spray of disinfectants on our bodies And chemical spray on our individual bodies Reducing us to mere pests and insects in this world When we merely expected a more humane[Read More…]
We the abandoned people of this world Out there walking miles to our villages With none in your cities to protect us During these times of lockdown We built your houses We constructed your offices We built your shopping malls We produced in your factories We built your cities from the scratch We served your needs in your[Read More…]
Despite its limitations, Indian Democracy has been a successful experiment in a country which was driven by challenges of its times. Unlike many newly liberated countries, where military dictatorships or theocratic bent regimes had taken over, Indian democracy allowed for parliamentary democracy with multi-party system to prevail. While India was still driven by parochial caste, race and religious identities, dominance[Read More…]
The recent attack on students and teachers at JNU by right-wing goons associated with Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) exposes the threat being felt by the BJP. The party which believes in an ideology of exclusion and hardly pays attention to the real concerns affecting people, JNU is a nightmare. JNU is seen as troublesome in building their agenda of[Read More…]
India is witnessing a set of massive protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). These protests do offer a ray of hope of preserving and protecting the idea of ‘secular’ India. What the parliament sought to undo to the constitution through the majoritarian numbers is sought to be redone by the mass protests. A regime which is bent on bringing[Read More…]
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). With this India moves one more step further towards ‘Hindu Rashtra’ an anti-thesis to the idea of India. For citizenship by naturalization, a stay of 11 years was sufficient to acquire citizenship. This did not have a religious dimension to it. The current bill allows non-muslims from[Read More…]
The movement of Students along with other Universities and Institutes of Excellence in the country do raise questions on the importance of Public Education. Education in India has always received a low priority with only about 3% of the National Budget spent on Education. Even within this, there is a lot of inequity with IITs, IIMs receiving the larger share[Read More…]
The Ayodhya Judgement to hand over the disputed land for construction of Ram temple and providing alternative land to Muslims for construction of Mosque is being welcomed not only by the Sangh Parivar but also the parties which claim to be secular. This includes Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Telugu Desam Party. This is being[Read More…]
The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in recent Vijay Dashami speech pointed out that ‘Lynching’ is a ‘Western concept’ and alien to India. It has its origins in Bible and that ‘lynching’ is being used to defame India. He was in a denial mode for the criticism being raised on incidents of ‘lynchings’ in India. It does not really matter whether[Read More…]
The Prime Minister in the recent event in Houston ‘Howdy Modi’ went on to state that everything is fine and all is well in the country. This was stated in eight different languages to put across the point. The statement only goes on to show how defining the ‘wellness’ of a Nation has changed in the current times. A country’s[Read More…]
The liberation of humanity is dependent on raising above immediate ‘identities’. The identities may be that of caste, class, religion, region, race, gender, ethnicity, language etc. However, it becomes a challenge in a society where differences and unequal relationship based on these factors already exist in society. Those subjected to oppression on the basis of caste, class, religion, region, race,[Read More…]
The emotional journey between hope and fear has come to an end with the fear triumphing. There was the hope that the forces of divisive nature and hatred would be defeated. And the forces of solidarity and harmony would win over. There was the fear that the divisive forces would come back and haunt the country for another five years.[Read More…]
The mark of last five years has been to make consistently inconsistent and unscientific statements. The difference between science and non-science has been reduced. Exploration of truth through investigation of natural, social and economic phenomenon, understanding the basic laws of science and social processes has been done away with. This is being replaced by an imaginative truth which does not[Read More…]
Ache din denied Antinational population widened Banks weakened Bethi Bachao Beti Padao undermined Beef discourse brought in to shape discourse on food habits Bhakt culture promoted Big corporates let out – malya and modi Black Money brought in and 15 lakh deposited to Bank account Casteist (manuwadi) forces brought in Chowkidaar of rich and powerful created Communal incidents created Constitution[Read More…]
A-Z Reasons – Why No to Vote for Modi in 2019 Letter Reasons A Anti-Minority-Dalit-Women-Working Class – The BJP / RSS displays a clear Anti-Dalit-Minority-Working Class attitude as reflected in its policies and ideological leanings. B Big Brother – This is a government run by Mota Bhai (Big Brother), an unconstitutional figure who in connivance with another Big Brother (Prime[Read More…]
Book: Shadow Armies: Fringe organizations and Foot soldiers of Hindutva Author: Dhirendra K. Jha Publisher: Juggernaut Year of Publication: 2017 While Hindutva is usually associated with Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and its associated organizations, there are a range of Hindutva groups operating across the country. There is no recorded data on number of such groups. About 175 of[Read More…]
The election results in Kairana bye elections comes as a welcome development. The ideological investment made into the constituency to create a myth of the Hindu exodus due to criminal Muslim activities did not pay the electoral dividends. This is despite the Modi, Adityanath and Amit Shah Combine at the helm of campaigning and all out efforts to polarise. Neither[Read More…]
The current Government came to power with the slogans of ‘Ache Din’ and ‘Sabka saath, Sabka vikas’ in which promises of better days and an inclusive model of development was promised. Lot of public relations exercises through advertisements, interviews in government favouring news channels tried to project its ‘development’ orientation. In reality, the travel made thus far shows a different[Read More…]
Book: Cellars of the Inferno: Confessions of an RSS Pracharak Publisher: Chintha Publications Author: Sudheesh Minni Pages: 122 RSS has been critiqued for long for its divisive and fascist ideology. Its role in spreading hatred, communal violence, killings – arson and loot, blasts has been pointed out by critics. However, the attempt of RSS to project itself as a cultural[Read More…]
Rape as a means of political subjugation has not been new in the country. It has always existed in politically sensitive areas. Incidents of rape as a political tool keep getting reported by human rights groups from the conflict prone areas in the country – whether in North-east or in Kashmir or Chhattisgarh. Rape has always been used as a[Read More…]
The ‘Ram’ of worship and devotion signified by ‘Ram Ram’ gives way to Ram of hatred depicted by ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on Rama Navami. Depicting just a trailer of ‘Acche Din’, it shows the direction of the real movie of ‘New India’. The raw material of festivals of religious nature gets converted into finished manufactured products of communal violence. Ram[Read More…]
The deeply hidden social perceptions on ‘other’ based on class, caste, gender, religion, region and race find its expression in the form of opinions expressed in day to day social interactions. One often comes across opinions which reflect these deeply held biases. These deeply held biases are socially transferred on the basis of one’s own social position in terms of[Read More…]
The saffron forces find their foothold in North-eastern states in recent elections to Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. This new found sense of power pushes them towards acts of vandalism of statues. It starts with Lenin in Tripura. This is later followed by Periyar Rama Swamy in Tamilnadu and Ambedkar in Uttar Pradesh. There can be no doubt that ideological differences[Read More…]
The last few months has seen open threats by Karni sena towards release of the movie ‘Padmavati’. They indulged in destroying film equipments, torching the movie, burning the poster sets at the time of making of the movie and announcing gifts for physically injuring Bhansali and Deepika Padukone. Recently violence was also seen in five states – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana,[Read More…]
Recently, there was violence in Maharashtra on 1st January 2018 as persons carrying saffron flags attacked people at Bhima Koregaon. In the violence a person died, many injured and vehicles were damaged. The propaganda by rightwing media is to attribute the violence to ‘instigating speeches’ by younger activists who had gathered. The saffron attempt at depicting violence in Bhima Koregaon[Read More…]
The recent elections in Gujarat no doubt brought back BJP into power once again. But however, their influence has certainly declined. Going beyond the electoral results, a major development is the emergence of alternative voices which questioned a fake and make believe model called ‘Gujarat Model’. These alternative voices broke the dominant narrative which tried to project Gujarat as a[Read More…]
India in the past few years has seen ‘self-styled’ cultural soldiers out there to defend the culture of India. They may operate in many names ‘Ram Sena’, ‘Hindu Sena’ or ‘Karni Sena’. Their stated aim is to protect ‘culture’, ‘morality’ from the negative cultural influences of the west or other religions. This they seek to undertake in the name of[Read More…]
Recently the Hindu Mahasabha built a temple of Godse, the killer of Gandhiji, in Gwalior. An idol of Godse was installed. This was inaugurated on 15th November commemorating 68 years since he was hanged. This was natural for the Hindutva fringe groups who glorify Hindu fanatics. Since the advent of the present Government into power, a process which has been[Read More…]
Gujarat till now had been projected as a unique model of development, which needs to be replicated in all other places. The Prime Minister in his speeches during election campaigns in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections in other states had sought to state that he would turn the country and other states into Gujarat. Gujarat was emulated as[Read More…]
A claim often made by the Government is that India is emerging as a strong nation. Military alliance with powerful nations is shown as a sign of this growing strength. Growing alliance with United States, Israel and more vocal stand against Pakistan and China is cited as reason for the same. Defining strength is often dictated in the ‘militaristic’ sense,[Read More…]
India’s saffron wing finally seems to be losing the war in Social Media. The foothold it had achieved in social media appears to be ending. Social Media had played an important role in widening its support base among sections of the middle class and youth. It had built up a cadre of supporters ideologically in line with the saffron forces.[Read More…]
In the recent past, Government of India has tried to construct an argument that Rohingyas are a security threat to the Nation. Home Ministry has tried to indicate that Rohingyas pose security challenge and are recruited by terror groups. This point has been used to state that they need to be deported. RSS chief Mohan Bagawat the ideological mouthpiece of[Read More…]
One of the English phrases says that “Pen is mightier than the sword”. The attempt by sword to put down pen is purely a result of fear that Pen has created. Starting from Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh, the series of attempts to put an end to their lives is a result of this fear. Each of them had[Read More…]
The RBI has come out with its Annual Report 2016-17. The report says that 98.96% of the demonetized notes have returned to the banking system. Of the 15.44 lakh crores worth of currency in circulation in the form of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, 15.28 lakh crores has returned back. This is in contrast to the argument put forth[Read More…]
The conviction of Ram Rahim and the judgement to put him behind bars should ideally be welcomed by all sections of Society. But what cause worry are the incidents of violence which took place in support of Ram Rahim when he was convicted of the crime. These do raise questions as to whether Society finds it acceptable if crime is[Read More…]
With 2022 occurring regularly in the speeches of the Prime Minister, it is important to look into what it meant. The Prime Minister vowed that by 2022, the poor shall have pucca houses, access to electricity, healthcare, sanitation and education, doubling of farmer’s income, expanded opportunities for the youth and women and India being free from communalism, casteism and terrorism.[Read More…]
To the believers in reactionary ideologies, one’s position in life or social identity based on social background in life is the primary determinant of one’s political beliefs. This is true to some extent, but beliefs in more progressive ideologies or political beliefs can enable one to break away from this pattern is a reality. It has to do with a[Read More…]
The science of Climate Change has come to be well established. Predictive models indicate its dangers to the existence and survival of the future generations. While future technologies can arrest the dangers and reduce the pace of increase of atmospheric CO2, it has already crossed the alarm level of 408 PPM much above the acceptable limit of 350 PPM. Yet[Read More…]
Increasing control of economic and political elite in influencing national decisions and their usage of threats against those who question them are proving to be a threat to Indian Democracy. Voices of Dissent who keep a check on unquestionable exercise of power and control exercised by forces of economic and political power are being curtailed. Critical media and socially conscious[Read More…]
The DNA of New India is being redesigned. Genetic Engineering for a new India is being undertaken. This new India legitimises the usage of mob violence by Lynchers. The new India creates an environment where lynchers are assured that they have unprecedented freedom to undertake their actions. They will never be punished for their actions, even if they are criticised[Read More…]
The game of cricket is the most popular sport in India. It evokes a variety of emotions among the audiences – from extreme forms of happiness, excitement to disappointment. Based on audience connect with the teams, these extreme forms of expressions are at display. From an era where international cricket (between nations) was the most popular, a shift has occurred[Read More…]
Does benefit for the people and the planet conflict with each other? This is the question which arises when one looks atcurrent state of debate between environment and people. An environmental program can have beneficial effects in addressing climate change. Plantation based climate change interventions aims to increase the tree coverage both within and outside forests, villages, roads and riverside.[Read More…]
The Hindutva winds of Gorakhpur are being stopped by Dalit walls in Saharanpur. The wind had attained significant force through installation of Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. This is being stalled by Dalit led Bhim Army at Saharanpur. Goraknath has been a center of Political activity, particularly the Hindutva brand of politics. Gorakhpur has attained the[Read More…]
While fake news industry has existed in some form or other in the past too, the rise of BJP into power has coincided with the disproportionate growth of fake news industry. What makes it alarming is these fake news sites are closely connected to BJP IT cell. They are on a continuous run to produce fake news which is used[Read More…]
In the recent past, one has witnessed violence being increasingly inflicted by actors such as Gau Rakshaks, Anti Romeo squads and Hindu Yuva Vahini. Violence by Hindu senas, Ram senas, Bajrang dal was always there. These are extra-constitutional actors aiming to impose a culture through usage of physical violence. Under the current National regime and State regimes in BJP ruled[Read More…]
For the proponents of Hindu Rashtra, the University and Academic spaces acquire importance for the propagation of the concept of Hindu Rashtra. Rather than treating them as spaces to foster critical thinking, they are seen as spaces to manufacture and condition a ‘Hindu mind’ in its Communal Avataar. These spaces are seen merely as extensions of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS)[Read More…]
India is truly on the move. It is a move in the direction of a ‘New India’. If the name of a ‘New India’ provides the image of something in the direction of modern, hi-tech, advanced, progressive then it is time to think back. Yes the new India would be modern in terms of amenities for few but with supremacy[Read More…]
Following the talk of Áche Din’, India of the past two and half years saw a series of events. It saw the eagerness of the state to push the Hindutva agenda. Efforts in the direction of picking and punishing those opposed to the agenda were undertaken. Similarly those wedded to RSS ideology saw a garlanding. In the process several sections[Read More…]
Democracy has been described as a system ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’. India boasts itself to be the largest democracy in the world. It is pointed that it is the people’s choice which ultimately matters in a Democracy. It is true that India continues to have regular elections. People continue to make choices of their[Read More…]
Gorge Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty Four depicts a situation of extreme state power in which the super state is controlled by a privileged few of the Inner Party. It is overseen by Big Brother who enjoys intense cult of personality. In this state there is omnipresent government surveillance. The government persecutes those with independent thinking which is considered as thought[Read More…]
The recent attacks on Gurmehar Kaur by Internet Trolls firstly, for her criticism of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) violence at Ramjas College and secondly, for her expression of anti war sentiments through the Video made by her last year point to the aggressiveness of forces of hyper nationalism to put down alternative viewpoints. In this hyper nationalism, any dissent[Read More…]
Communal violence is not new in India. This has existed all along. Despite India adopting the word ‘Secular’ in its constitution, religious tolerance yet remains a dream. Individuals, communal organisations, political parties have in some form or the other played a role in perpetrating communal violence all along. Adoption of ‘Secularism’ has not resulted in a communal free behaviour among[Read More…]
News related to encounters is quite common, particularly from conflict prone areas in the country. These often get reported from areas such as Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Assam and Manipur. Sometimes the news related to encounters become controversial. There is an official version which describes these as ‘genuine encounters’. On the other side, human rights organizations based on certain factual errors[Read More…]
President Donald Trump you have placed restrictions on entry of immigrants from seven Muslim countries in your executive order dated 27th January, 2017. You have placed restrictions in the name of security of American citizens and protecting them from the threat of terrorism. The concern for security of American citizens is welcome. So also is the case of being concerned[Read More…]
Latin America is a witness to experiments by leftward leaning heads of states particularly in Venezuela, Bolivia and Equador. These are often seen as anti-US, anti-market, autocratic and have been demonized in the western media. These shifts happened after growing discontent with devastating effects of neoliberal policies in these countries. New leaders such as Hugo Chavez, Evo Molares and Rafael[Read More…]
Name of the Book: I am a Troll: Inside the secret world of the BJPs digital army Author: Swati Chaturvedi Publisher: Juggernaut Books An earlier article titled ‘Saffron heads with Neutral masks: Spreading disharmony through Social Media’ argued that the Social media spaces are being increasingly used by right wing groups to promote messages of hatred, bigotry and fanaticism. It[Read More…]
A recent controversy that has erupted is over the construction of 192 metre Shivaji Statue. There has been divided opinion on having such an expensive statue worth Rs. 3,600 crores. Critics are opposing it from four different perspectives. The first one is in relation to excessive costs, the second one from the opportunity cost undergone which could have been used[Read More…]
A fanatic slogan by Hindu fundamentalist group reads “garv se kaho hum hindu hai” (say with proudness that I am a Hindu). Such a sloganeering transforms a religious identity from a set of emotion based on ‘bhakti’ towards ‘supreme’ to that of an inflated ego of ‘religious supremacy’ based on a proud religious identity with ‘hatred’ for others. Displaying ‘chest[Read More…]
Never before has a decision of the Government shown negative effect on people so early as the current move to demonetize. A narrative has been built on its supposed benefits. The decision has been hailed by the supporters as a master stroke, a surgical strike which will end the reign of Black Money and establish the supremacy of White Money.[Read More…]
The ban on NDTV India is one more effort by the Government in crushing independent reporting. At a time when there is serious attempt being made to make the media either to toe the government line or face harassment, the attempt is only to make the media toe the line of the government. It is a definite attempt at placing[Read More…]
A recent version of displaying nationalism is the call to boycott Chinese products. The appeal would have acquired nationalistic sense if it would have been guided by the desire to protect the local producers and workers in India. But the call for boycott is only because of Chinese position on Kashmir. Using the same logic, will the same nationalism be[Read More…]
An idea of ‘Nationalism’ propagated by Bollywood has come to hit it back. Bollywood has loads of films, which try to depict ‘Nationalism’ through Pakistan bashing and Army glorification. It also depicts India as a peaceful country but a sufferer and victim of sponsored terrorism from outside. Films such as Roja, Zameen, Sarfarosh, Gadar, Diljale and Agent Vinod have instances[Read More…]
Indian Democracy has ample examples of progressive policies not being able to meet people’s aspirations due to systemic inadequacies, implementation shortages and loopholes being misused by economic elite to dilute the process. Scheduled Tribes and other Forest dwellers act (2006) is one such legislation. The act was passed after prolonged people’s struggles for recognition of Adivasi and Forest dwellers[Read More…]
The decision of Indian Motion Pictures Association (IMPA) to ban Pakistani artists and technicians from working in India is a reflection of politics preceding art. The implications could go beyond and may widen the Indo-Pakistan cultural contacts. The more widening of the divide between the two, the better it serves the communal agenda of the Hindutva brigade.
Indian Army conducts surgical strikes. The Government thumps its chest. The media debates that this is the way to respond. The media channels compete debating this issue and try to increase their TRP ratings. Discussions get carried out on how skillfully the surgical strikes were carried out and comparisons made with similar strikes by Israel and United States.The urban middle[Read More…]
Noam Chomsky had coined the term ‘Manufacturing consent’ to refer to the role played by Media in creating system supportive propaganda function. The purpose of propaganda is to indoctrinate human minds to think in a particular manner through imposing necessary illusions. The five filters which enable this is through control of ownership of media owned by corporations, revenues of media[Read More…]
The Dalit march from Ahmedabad to Una has emerged as an important social revolt of the Dalits in Gujarat.This mass up-surgence is challenging the very base of the caste system. It is questioning the logic of division of work based on clean and unclean tasks among upper castes and Dalits respectively. On the basis of this division of labor, traditionally[Read More…]
The Prime Minister came out with statements condemning the act of Cow vigilante groups. By stating that most of self styled cow protectors are anti-social elements, he tried to create a dichotomy that there are fake and real protectors. Fake protectors are into anti social activities, resort to violence, and ignore important issues such as cow deaths due to consumption[Read More…]
My Dear Indians, in my last speech I had shared my dream of a Saffron India and a Corporate India. Let me continue on this further and emphasise that these remain my primary goals and I would never compromise on these. During 2014 elections, I had said that I would replicate Gujarat model. I only meant that this would be[Read More…]
The lesson on Cow is a popular lesson among School children. If School Children were asked to recite an essay on Cow in present times, it would go like this: Cow is a sacred animal for some Hindus. Cow is our new national animal. This is not yet made official. But our Government led by Sri. Narendra Modi ji has made[Read More…]
Nationalism by itself may not be a bad word depending on who defines it. Though it may not be the highest form of progressive political identity, it still has progressive, liberal and plural content to it. For the right wing in India, it remains a single nation. Nationalism for it has little to do with the values that emerged from[Read More…]
My Dear Indians. Let me express my mann ki baat. Let me express how my heart beats for India. Let me express the dream and vision I have for India. Whether I am asleep or awake, what drives me is how to make India into a Saffron India and a Corporate India. Let me convey how deeply I am committed[Read More…]
Irom Sharmila’s decision to end her fast is a welcome step. This would be the end her 16 year long non-violent resistance against a violent state. She had started her fast following the shooting of 10 Manipuris at a Bus stand in 2000. One cannot get a better image of resistance, opposition and struggle than the one displayed by Irom[Read More…]
It has now become a pattern for RSS to disown its own actions which emanate from its divisive Hindutva mindset. The RSS plays the game of association and disassociation. It associates with masses and its own saffron network and spreads hatred through multiple ways till an event occurs. It continues to promote a divisive mindset till then. However, as protests[Read More…]
For the mainstream Indian mindset on Kashmir, the land called Kashmir is an Indian property which should be protected and remain with India at any cost. The use of military is to protect this property. For them it is assumed this property might be grabbed away by the indigenous Kashmiris who are inspired by a neighboring country. It is never[Read More…]
For the popular Indian imagination on Kashmir across India, the land Kashmir acquires more importance than the people Kashmiri. That is how while the land gets adored for its natural beauty, the people Kashmiris are less appreciated. While the travelogues in media start showing the beauty of the land, the same media when it comes to political reporting constructs[Read More…]
The Brexit verdict brings out the weakness of the concept of European Union. It raises questions whether integration based on the concept of common markets and free flow of capital and goods, services and people can be transformative for all the social classes. Whether integration based on supremacy of finance capital and markets and designed at promoting their profitability at[Read More…]
The recent report produced by John Chilcot to look into UK role in US led invasion exposes the hollowness of such actions by allied forces. Some of the key highlights of the report are that a) UK chose to join the invasion before peaceful options had been exhausted; b) Blair deliberately exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein; c) There[Read More…]
Rana Ayub requires a high appreciation for bringing the book to the public domain. With an idealism to bring out the truth of Gujarat, the courage shown is highly appreciable. This is particularly more in an environment where publishing houses backed out from publishing the book and she had to do self-publishing.
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My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
