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

We think loneliness is in our heads, but its source lies in the ruin of civil society

We look for loneliness inside our heads when its source lies all around us, in the destruction of collective life, the erosion of communal bonds, the ruin of civil society, the squeezing of public spaces. Kenan Malik ‘The hope that political action will gradually humanise industrial society has given way to a determination to survive… Read More We think loneliness is in our heads, but its source lies in the ruin of civil society

Dilip

Day 18 of Climate fast / Sonam Wangchuk on YouTube / Assam in solidarity with Ladakh

End of Day 18 of #climatefast | Kya hum baimani se vishwaguru ban sakte hain END OF DAY 18 OF #CLIMATEFAST I’m feeling bit better today. But deeply disturbed at the breach of trust that Ladakh witnessed from the Home Ministry. This disrespect for written manifestos will set the worst precedence in the nation. Already… Read More Day 18 of Climate fast / Sonam Wangchuk on YouTube / Assam in solidarity with Ladakh

Dilip

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Israeli Gaza campaign an ‘unfolding genocide’ (see AV)

NB: A welcome speech, AOC, but its too late to save America’s reputation as either liberal or a democracy. The USA is a racist and imperial plutocracy, whose main export is war and weaponry. Save your souls and save your consciences as well as you can. It’s my impression the rest of the world will… Read More Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Israeli Gaza campaign an ‘unfolding genocide’ (see AV)

Dilip

Ralph Nader: Open Letter to President Biden March 12, 2024

President Joe BidenThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20500 Re: United States aiding and abetting mass starvation and war crimes in Gaza Dear Mr. President: Willful avoidance does not exculpate your responsibility. There is no exception for the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is bound by the Geneva Conventions to provide for the health and… Read More Ralph Nader: Open Letter to President Biden March 12, 2024

Dilip

The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History with Frank Dikötter

Premiered on 10 Nov 2022 In anticipation of the opening of our upcoming exhibition, (De)constructing Ideology: The Cultural Revolution and Beyond, Frank Dikötter will present a brief history of the Cultural Revolution. Dr. Dikötter, Chair Professor at the University of Hong Kong and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, is the author of People’s Trilogy,… Read More The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History with Frank Dikötter

Dilip

Ravish Kumar: AAP ने दिखाई मनी ट्रेल, दिल्ली दफ़्तर सील / Kejriwal arrested, part: 4

पहले केजरीवाल को गिरफ्तार किया,अब उनकी पार्टी के दफ्तर को सील कर दिया गया। नेता प्रचार नहीं कर सकता और अब पार्टी भी चुनाव नहीं लड़ सकती। पार्टी का दफ्तर सील करने का क्या तुक है? दो साल से इस मामले की जांच चल रही है, क्या अब भी पार्टी का दफ्तर सील किए जाने… Read More Ravish Kumar: AAP ने दिखाई मनी ट्रेल, दिल्ली दफ़्तर सील / Kejriwal arrested, part: 4

Dilip

On fascization

Rather than debating whether today’s far right is fascist, we need to think about fascization. Focusing on language and desire enables us to understand the process of becoming fascist, even within ourselves, and thus to resist it. Pierre Zaoui If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face… Read More On fascization

Dilip

Art of extracting money from loss-making firms, and more electoral bond stories

http://www.reporters-collective.in Check out Electoral Bonds Tracker page On Thursday, as SBI reluctantly parted with unique codes that link electoral bond donors to its recipients, it laid bare the secret give-and-take relationship between the corporate world and the political parties. The Reporters’ Collective bushwhacked through hundreds of corporate documents to make sense of the donations. Though officially… Read More Art of extracting money from loss-making firms, and more electoral bond stories

Dilip

A Seamless Dystopia

What happened to the 21st-century city? Smooth City: Against Urban Perfection, Towards Collective Alternatives – BY RENE BOER this sadness is felt by so many people who find a place for themselves in a city and who know what it means to see their spaces of security, community, and openness taken away in exchange for more… Read More A Seamless Dystopia

Dilip

Patrick Lawrence: Authorized Atrocities / Late-Imperial Duplicities

GAZA casualties live statistics Israel’s lawlessness has a history that those in the West share with the apartheid state. It is remarked often enough, including in this space, that Israel’s savagery in its determination to exterminate the Palestinians of Gaza — and we had better brace for what is next on the West Bank of… Read More Patrick Lawrence: Authorized Atrocities / Late-Imperial Duplicities

Dilip