Author: Dilip

I'm a scholar, writer and teacher; and my blog is designed for intellectual exploration. It carries no advertisements and requires no cash subscription

‘Enough material’: Court charges BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in sexual abuse case

A Delhi court today framed sexual harassment charges against BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a case lodged by women wrestlers, observing there was “sufficient evidence” against him. ********************************** Apoorva Mandhani: Judge Loya’s Confidants Died Mysterious Deaths Constitutional principles go for a toss in the criminal law… Read More ‘Enough material’: Court charges BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in sexual abuse case

Dilip

Hilary Mantell: Springtime for Robespierre

First posted August 29, 2013 Robespierre  Edited by Colin Haydon and William DoyleReviewed by Hilary Mantell In the two years following the taking of the Bastille, he pursued an impeccably liberal and far-sighted agenda. He spoke for manhood suffrage and against a property qualification for voters; against slavery; in support of civil rights for Jews; against capital punishment; and… Read More Hilary Mantell: Springtime for Robespierre

Dilip

Corporate Business and the Financing of Political Parties

Corporate business financing of politics in India goes back decades. The court ruling on the electoral bonds scheme is not going to end this business-politics nexus. We can only hope that the nexus can be nudged in the direction of greater transparency so that voters can make more informed choices. JAGDEEP S. CHHOKARThe recent judgement of the… Read More Corporate Business and the Financing of Political Parties

Dilip

Top Israeli Arms Maker Unwittingly Reveals Its Largest Foreign Customer: India

Avi Scharf India is the largest foreign customer of Israeli defense giant Israel Aerospace Industries, the company revealed in its 2023 annual report based on a Haaretz analysis of company statements from recent years. According to the annual report, sales to India came in at $953 million last year, about a quarter of the company’s… Read More Top Israeli Arms Maker Unwittingly Reveals Its Largest Foreign Customer: India

Dilip

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging

NB: The Iranian regime is a tyrannical theocracy, which permits no criticism, no deviation from so-called divinely sanctioned modes of behaviour. To punish people with flogging and imprisonment for speaking truth about corruption is itself a criminal act. It should never be forgotten that the regime’s leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa for the execution… Read More Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging

Dilip

‘We can’t defeat nature but we can be climate-resilient’: how plant roots can help stop landslides

Thanks to soil bioengineering in a village in north India, a submerged road was accessible in less than one week, according to officials by Charu Bahri On 14 August 2023, heavy rainfall in north India triggered flash floods and landslides, devastating the region. Kishori Lal, the sarpanch (head) of the Kothi Gehri village in the Himalayan… Read More ‘We can’t defeat nature but we can be climate-resilient’: how plant roots can help stop landslides

Dilip

There’s one thing standing in the way of a ceasefire: Netanyahu’s refusal to compromise

Simon Tisdall The latest twists and turns in negotiations to end the war in Gaza appear labyrinthine and confusing. But it’s really not that complicated. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, must compromise on the outstanding details of the proposed ceasefire deal and Hamas’s weekend counter-offer – and immediately halt Israel’s criminal bombing of Gaza and reckless military incursions… Read More There’s one thing standing in the way of a ceasefire: Netanyahu’s refusal to compromise

Dilip

Anne Lamott on love, sobriety and reaching 70: ‘All I’ve learned, I’ve learned because the abyss swallowed me’

I feel about Christians the way everybody feels about Christians. I love what Gandhi said, that he loved Christ, but it was Christians he had a problem with, and that’s totally how I feel about it. Katherine Rowland Your book launched last month and the next day you celebrated your 70th birthday. Does that number carry… Read More Anne Lamott on love, sobriety and reaching 70: ‘All I’ve learned, I’ve learned because the abyss swallowed me’

Dilip