More Than a Reformer, Jyotirao Phule Was an Architect of Ideas

More Than a Reformer, Jyotirao Phule Was an Architect of Ideas

More Than a Reformer, Jyotirao Phule Was an Architect of Ideas B.R. Ambedkar’s fascination with Jyotirao Phule goes beyond the fact that he considered him a guru. Ambedkar, recognising the intellectual legacy of Phule, wished to project him on the national scene. More particularly, Ambedkar may have been influenced by Phule’s radical anti-caste movements, his…

Gandhi-Ambedkar Interface . . . When Shall the Twain Meet?

Gandhi-Ambedkar Interface . . . When Shall the Twain Meet?

Gandhi-Ambedkar Interface . . . When Shall the Twain Meet? Gandhi and Ambedkar would have agreed on as many issues as they would have disagreed upon. They could not find much ground for co-operation and collaboration. In popular perception—and in the perception of many of their followers too—they remained opponents. Both indulged in verbal duels…

Fukushima: An Ongoing Global Radiological Catastrophe

Fukushima: An Ongoing Global Radiological Catastrophe

Fukushima: An Ongoing Global Radiological Catastrophe April 26 marks the 33rd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. And on March 11, the eighth anniversary passed of the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility. Both anniversaries passed mostly without comment in mainstream media circles. In spite of ongoing radiological contamination that will continue to…

Noam Chomsky and the Question of Individual Choice

Noam Chomsky and the Question of Individual Choice

Noam Chomsky and the Question of Individual Choice A broad theme that runs through everything that Noam Chomsky has written over 50 years or more is individual choice.   The choice, Chomsky was convinced early, is as compelling as it is narrow. In the 2017 book Optimism over Despair, when the political economist C.J. Polychroniou…