‘Where They Burn Books, They Will Burn Men as Well’ It had been a balmy early-summer day in Berlin, but by late afternoon, storm clouds started gathering overhead. As evening fell, a slight drizzle set in, forcing many Berliners to stay indoors. Yet, groups of young women and men—more men than women—started converging on the…
The Retrial of Godse: Forgetting the Facts I imagine you believe that he was for the most part adored; in fact he was hated and he is still hated today. Hatred is still alive in India and he died of it. But the simple fact that he lived according to his own law—which was ascetic…
Nayantara Sahgal (91) is a renowned Indian writer, and winner of the 1986 Sahitya Akademi Award. She returned her award in October 2015, to protest the “growing intolerance” in the country and silence from institutions like the Sahitya Akademi. She was to inaugurate the 92nd Marathi Sahitya Sammelan on January 11, 2019, but the organisers…
Correlation is not causation—but it’s really hard to set aside the fact that India’s ruling party has empowered a clutch of people to vocalise their pseudoscientific beliefs without fear of ridicule, leave alone consequence. When you hear a person in any kind of leadership position utter unscientific, ahistorical nonsense, you used to be able to…
Allegations of interference in major institutions have been the big news of late. The ongoing fracas in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has got out of hand, with the two top officials in the chain of command accusing each other of corruption. The recent pronouncements in the Supreme Court do not promise an early…
Narendra Modi is Actually the Accidental PM 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…
The Ease of Killing a Policeman in Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh A warning shot has been fired. The bullet that killed inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in Bulandshahr carries a chilling message for every policeman and policewoman across the nation: don’t mess with the Hindutva warrior, he is armed with a gun. And this is New…
Bernie Sanders to Launch International Progressive Front Against the Far-Right United States Left-leaning politician Bernie Sanders, and former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis have announced the formation of an international progressive movement. The initiative, announced in October, is set to combat the rise of an “authoritarian axis” and “The Movement,” a far-right nationalist front with…
Statement Condemning Attack on Classical Musical Expression A number of prominent artists and performers, former judges and bureaucrats, academicians, social activists, public intellectuals, journalists and other concerned citizens from various walks of life, have released a statement condemning the attacks on south Indian musicians for performing interfaith music at classical music concerts. The full…
Fasting Saints Could Become a Curse for Politics of Hindutva 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…
दिल्लीत सुरु असलेल्या शेतकरी आंदोलनाच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर या लहान पुस्तिकेचे प्रकाशन लोकायत मार्फत करण्यात आले आहे. शेतकरी आंदोलन आणि त्यातल्या मागण्या या केवळ शेतकऱ्यांपुरत्याच नसून विविध अंगांनी सर्व सामान्य जनतेच्या हिताच्या आहेत, याबाबत मांडणी करणारी ही पुस्तिका!