‘Intolerance’ – there’s no denying that it exists in India at present, but then it is no surprise that the very same intolerance is missing on the fronts where it is needed the most. India needs to be intolerant towards minority suppression There was a time when the previous[Read More…]
These words by Mahatma Gandhi, the epitome of truth and non-violence, have lost their meaning in today’s time. The Father of the Nation, who adorns the postage stamps, and whom the nation only reminisces on 2nd October or 30th January, never would have thought that the India of his dreams,[Read More…]
Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, adapted from novel by the same name by Jay Asher has generated much debate and controversy since it has been aired. The series is based on 13 tapes by Hannah Baker that she records before committing suicide. Each tape holds one person responsible and the[Read More…]
Kolkata and Bengal saw the true face of BJP yesterday. In an apparent show of strength, they had announced a Lalbazar Abhijan, the political agenda purpose of which was never made clear (Why Lalbazar? Tea with the Commissioner perhaps). What was clear from the bellicose language of their leaders was[Read More…]
After a long wait of 6 years, Bhola and Sarita had their first child and they named her, Jyoti. In just three months of her existence, Jyoti had become the lifeline for the couple. Their mundane life in Birgaon village of Jamtara district in Jharkhand, had suddenly turned lively. Things[Read More…]
If Jesus Christ were alive today he would have been over 2000 years old. But he isn’t alive. He was crucified, even if he were not, he would not have been living anyway; reason being, human beings don’t live that long. How do we know this? It is scientifically proven,[Read More…]
Many are infuriated by the Army’s decision to honour Major Leetul Gogoi. Hordes of people are still exercised over Major Gogoi’s actions. They all seem to know his decision was wrong, but nobody is pondering over the other options he had. Soldiers live at the bleeding edges of morality. That[Read More…]
The Sangh Parivar excels in camouflaging. The ruling dispensation basically thrives upon promoting intolerance emanating out of exploiting identity based societal fault lines. The mandate it won in 2014 was a vote for the chimera of ‘development’ and aspirational pandering rather than identity based mobilization. After winning the elections that[Read More…]
India needs to put itself in high gear on the road to information sovereignty, or it may trail further behind in the race for dwindling global resources. I see a strange paradox in front of me. The world has never been this safe – the end of the Cold War[Read More…]
In India, one in two people defecate in the open, making India a country with the dubious distinction of having the largest number of people defecate in the open in the world, at more than 564 million (UNICEF report). The rural-urban divide is most pronounced in this case with about[Read More…]
Having always thought of myself as a ‘daddy’s girl’, I began to realise my mother’s impact on my personality once I reached my early twenties. Having come out of the turbulent adolescent years when nothing she said seemed right, her advice and views slowly started making sense. The penultimate realisation[Read More…]
Can you please wear green colour on Thursday and wear this particular gemstone on this finger because your janampatri says it would help you? Also getting totally exasperated when she sees me not following her instructions but yet letting me be. In the same breath, telling me how tired I[Read More…]
preeI remember it as if it was yesterday. I was 11 years old, in the sixth grade. My class teacher said I was the devil’s child and if I didn’t change immediately, I would be condemned forever. Always impervious to the hullabaloo amongst teachers and nuns every time I was[Read More…]
Talaq, no matter which side of the political spectrum one comes from, is against the basic right to equality, and right to life and dignity. However, to say that Islamic Jurisprudence is totally arbitrary in matters of divorce would be overreaching. In the other form of Triple Talaq which is[Read More…]
The recently concluded by-polls for the Srinagar Parliamentary seat in Jammu and Kashmir saw a voter turnout of 7.1%, 8 deaths and hundreds injured in the ensuing violence. The re-polls saw an even more miserable turnout of hardly 2%. This abstention by the citizens of Srinagar is akin to an[Read More…]
“Rape, is the most heinous form of murder. A murder victim dies just once. A rape victim dies every day till she is alive.” These lines were told to me by a Psychology student who was working first-hand among Rape victims for her Doctoral thesis about 20 years back. I[Read More…]
Can a media outlet survive on sound alone? Or would that just be Image, signifying nothing? What makes a long-term brand and how sustainable is it, beyond the first 100 days? These are some of the initial questions that confront anybody attempting to understand the launch of Republic. That it[Read More…]
Till date, eight journalists, two netizens, and one media assistant have been killed in various incidents in connection with their journalistic work. There are more statistics: 193 journalists are imprisoned while 166 netizens are behind bars, with a total of ten media assistants serving time in prison. The report is[Read More…]
Two kinds of people die at regular intervals in Kashmir – soldiers and militants. The militants are driven by hatred fed by religion, with no other aim than to destroy, kill, and maim. The soldiers are driven by the duty to their profession of arms – to protect, to nurture,[Read More…]
As a child, I have seen the “Mot”, an oxen-pulled leather bucket used for irrigating the fields when pumping-sets was rare and the tube well was still unheard of. The Mot was made either of cow or bullock hide. It was continuously dipped in the well and we drank from[Read More…]
“Musalman o hindu hain do, ek, magar, unka pyala, Ek, magar, unka madiralaya, ek , magar, unki hala, Dono rehte ek na jab tak masjid mandir mein jaate, Bair badhate masjid mandir mel karati madhushal ।” Many of us, poetry lovers, have enjoyed these lines of “Madhushala” sung by Manna[Read More…]
This is no regular blog. This is an intervention. A serious one at that. You really need to stop. Stop whatever you have been doing all this while and think for a second what have we become? And, what are we trying to become in the future? A few years[Read More…]
Women’s empowerment by far is one the most vexed issues in any nation. However developed or underdeveloped, liberal or conservative a nation may be, the difficulty with empowering women is a challenge that cannot simply be tackled by any government by fiscal and legal provisions like in the case of[Read More…]
“A stone pelter is pelting stones for his nation.” Farooq Abdullah “Indian government should resume talks with Pakistan or be ready to lose Kashmir.” Farooq Abdullah “Valley is losing faith in Indian Democracy.” Karan Thapar It has become a fashion for the elite intellectuals of India to lambast every policy[Read More…]
Millennials, or the generation Y, following the generation X can largely be defined as the generation born from the early 1980s to early 2000s. In other words the millennials are today’s adults. India with its largest youth population enjoys a great demographic dividend that puts it at enviable position of[Read More…]
