CATEGORIES

'Emergency' Takeaways

In a democracy, no ruler can be granted a carte blanche, like it happened during the Emergency, but the fact remains that we also learnt some valuable lessons during this period

An Irreversible Dent

Bans and arrests then, bans and arrests now. We have come full circle, say political experts

Growing Up with INDIRA GANDHI

Gandhi's principal legacy remains the systematic replacement of institutional governance with the vicious precedents of personalised rule

The 'Invisible' Dalits

The debate over sub-categorisation of castes is likely to shape the political discourse in the upcoming state elections

Caste Census: To Conquer Or Conserve?

The caste census is generating heated debate, but even its most ardent proponents are not able to articulate a plan about how to use the resulting data

THE FATEFUL COMEDY

Actor-director Rajat Kapoor talks about adapting Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov into a Hindi play

Mad Hatter

When a leader takes off his topi and holds it in his hands while appealing for votes, it signals something extraordinary

Circle Within Circles

The caste question in Muslims.

Backward March

The Maratha reservation question may continue to mire the next government in the state

The 69% Exception

Quota within quota: lessons to be learned from Tamil Nadu

United Indifference

The perils of tweaking tribal identities

Two Nations, Two Destinies

The widely differing balance of power between the military and civilian leadership in India and Pakistan has significantly impacted democracy in the two countries

Crème de la Crème

The mainstream society thinks reservations are against right to equality. It’s high time they are seen in the context of right to justice.

Fading Folks

The recent SC ruling on sub-classification within the SC and ST categories temporarily lifted the hopes of tribal communities in Jharkhand

A 'Hypocritical' Demand?

Hindu nationalists demand the denial of reservations to Christian and Muslim tribals even as they pursue their own \"reconversion\" drive

Slicing the Pie

Distinct from quick technical solutions offered by the judiciary the Dalit-Bahujan movements have suggested new momentum and reforms in the agenda of social justice

Shifting Sands of Time

The sub-categorisation debate has taken an interesting turn after the Bharat Bandh, with different political parties and factions adopting varied stances

Syndromic Promotions

The recent SC judgement on sub-categorisation is against the constitutional mandate

"Where Is The Creamy Layer?"

In 2020-21, after the death of Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan, followed by the split in the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), people started writing political obituaries of his son Chirag Paswan. But within three years, the wheels took a different turn. He is now not only a Union Minister—his party won five MPs—but he has also already left his mark in Indian politics through his outspoken nature and political convictions. During a conversation with Outlook’s Editor Chinki Sinha and Assistant Editor Abhik Bhattacharya, he shares his views on different issues. Excerpts:

Caste Census: ✓

Carry out the caste survey objectively, carefully and sensitively, with the right spirit, so that the benefits of reservation reach the deserving beneficiaries

Criminal Amnesia

The focus may have now shifted to the Kolkata gang rape case, but questions about the sexual violence in Manipur since May 2023 remain unanswered

To Rape A Wife

Survivors of marital rape face twin hurdles: a lack of legal framework to deal with these cases and the social stigma that comes with reporting them

A City Violated

Public outburst of anger over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata has left the Mamata Banerjee government puzzled, worried

The Forest of Loss

From a legal perspective, justice appears to have been served in the 2017 Gudiya rape and murder case at Kotkhai, Himachal Pradesh. But several questions persist

Here, Nobody Speaks of the Wounds

Muhammad Iqbal Shah's 14-year-old cousin was gang-raped and murdered at Handwara town, Kupwara, in 2007. The family is still trudging along the long road to justice

She Must Have Been Afraid

The 2012 Delhi gang rape is reflective of a systematic failure to cleanse the societal malaise

The Burning Woman

UP has the highest rate of crimes against women, and the district of Unnao has seen some of the State's most gruesome cases

Naked (vs.) Justice

On March 14, 2006, Latabai and her son, six, were paraded naked in a village in Solapur. Less than six months later, four members of a Dalit family were paraded naked; mother & daughter were allegedly gang-raped

Songlines of Chambal

How do the residents of Sheikhpur Gudha, Phoolan Devi's village in Uttar Pradesh, remember her: as a survivor, a rebel, a leader?

Don't You Remember My Story?

A child gang rape survivor's 12-year long ordeal in Sikar, Rajasthan shows how calls for punishment of perpetrators don't always mean empathy for the victim