CATEGORIES

Travel Diaries: The Odisha Experience

A visit to Konark, Puri and Bhubaneswar in winter can be enriching in terms of experiencing their tradition and culture, be it in the performing arts, paintings and sculptures or handicraft items.

Shahabuddin Ahmed: Rebellious Free Spirit

The Bangladeshi painter Shahabuddin Ahmed amazes one and all with his creativity and inspires with his rebellious free spirit.

Nirbhaya Case: Of Juveniles And Justice

The passage of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015, in Parliament exposes the vulnerability of the system in the wake of a misinformed and hysterical campaign for legislative changes to punish juveniles committing heinous crimes as adults.

Rohith Vemula Suicide Case: The Death Of A Dalit Scholar

Rohith Vemula’s suicide in the University of Hyderabad brings into the open the deep-seated caste biases and discrimination against Dalit students, especially in institutions of higher education in the country.

The Union Budget's Silo-Based Approach To Health

The Union Budget uses a silo-based approach to health in complete disregard for what its own reports and data point out in terms of what is required for the nation’s health.

JNU Vs Anti-People Policies

JNU students vow to intensify the struggle for their constitutional and democratic right to criticise the government’s anti-people policies.

Health Survey Reveals Grim Picture

A survey conducted by the Women and Child Development Ministry and UNICEF in 28 States and Delhi presents a dismal picture of crucial maternal and child health indicators.

IPL Betting Scam: Price Of Greed

The action against the owners of two IPL teams that followed an inquiry into charges of betting is yet another opportunity to clean up Indian crickets Augean stables.

Death Penalty Litigation: Legal Crusaders

The death penalty litigation clinic provides legal representation and aid to death-row convicts, especially those from the economically and socially backward classes.

Caste Census: How Poor Is Poor?

The strategy of creating binaries of poor and non-poor from the household listings in the Socio Economic and Caste Census, 2011, is beset with problems of unfair exclusion and unjustified inclusion and is best avoided.

Rediscovering Pluto

Initial images and data from the NASA spacecraft New Horizons recent rendezvous with Pluto point to a surprisingly craterless mosaic of relatively ancient regions and very young places on the dwarf planet.

A Grave Humanitarian Crisis Unfolding In Yemen

A grave humanitarian tragedy unfolds in Yemen as the Saudi Arabia-led alliance backed by the U.S. continues its relentless bombing.

Return Of Social Democracy?

In the rubble of the financial crisis, pro-socialist political formations on both sides of the Atlantic attract the dispossessed.

In The Land Of Bears

The Daroji sloth bear sanctuary near Hampi in Karnataka is an ideal example of what can be done in conservation in a developing country.

India Dips A Finger In The African Pie, China Is Still Far Ahead!

India follows the West’s lead in trying to dip a deep finger in the African pie, but China is still far ahead in the race for resources in the continent.

Brexit Impact On "Emerging Markets"

Britain’s exit from the E.U. could disrupt world trade and jeopardise the process of pulling the global economy out of recession.

Running Roughshod Over Livelihoods

Developments following the “cow protection” efforts of the government and other social organisations have not only crippled an already beleaguered livestock sector but also resulted in the proliferation of stray cattle, raising serious economic and ecological concerns.

Blurring Divides

Kerala makes a silent revolution by appointing Dalits and other non-Brahmins as priests in temples.

Marching To A Different Drummer

The G20 summit in Hamburg was an occasion for public affirmations of the continued power of progressive ideas and calls for action  around issues that really matter, in the form of an alternative summit, performance art demonstrations, and marches.

End Of The Gulf dream?

Stagnating wages, rising costs of living, a growing trend of imposing restrictions on foreign workers and the declining fortunes of the Gulf itself have resulted in a decline in the number of emigrants from Kerala and a weakened remittance flow into the State.

Blundering Along

The opaque manner in which the government has handled demonetisation has fatally damaged the framework of economic governance.

The Trump Team

This is a government of fables. It is appropriate that it is led by Donald Trump, a man made more by the world of entertainment than by the world of governance.

Triple Talaq: A Monstrous Wrong On Justice Syed Mahmood

There is no Quranic sanction for triple talaq at all. Muslims of India cannot avoid or evade the stark choice that faces them. Do they want their law to be based on the Quran and the hadith or on misinterpretations by British judges? 

Caste On Top

Caste has always been important in Gujarat’s electoral politics. Now, with several social groups speaking up for their rights and against perceived injustices, caste equations have infused uncertainty into the 2017 Assembly elections.

Sweet Promise

Narendra Modi’s promise of a sweet revolution and a blue revolution to enhance the incomes of farmers and fishermen in Gujarat is an unconvincing chimera, given the allegations of environmental violation by the Adani Group’s Mundra port project.

A Losing Game

With Reliance Payment Bank, a joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited and SBI, set to begin operations in December, there is widespread concern that the new venture will cause the downslide of the country’s largest public sector bank. 

Wrecking the System

The liquidity crisis of unprecedented dimensions that the Modi government has unleashed shocks the economy, drives people to despair and ruin and threatens consequences that have not been fully fathomed yet.

All Pain for the Majority

The impact of the measures on the farming community, the poor and the lower middle classes was hugely underestimated by the political establishment, sundry pundits, the media and a large section of the untutored or sycophantic elite.

After the shock

The beating to cash-driven sectors like gold and real estate notwithstanding, Indian industry is gung-ho about the Prime Minister’s decision to derecognise notes.

BJP's Show

The Shiv Sena gets more seats in the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, but the BJP emerges the winner in the civic elections in Maharashtra.