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

Iranian intellectual calls on opposition to unite as he is again sent to prison

One of Iran’s foremost public intellectuals and critics of the Iranian regime was taken to prison in handcuffs on Saturday to start serving a five-year sentence. Majid Tavakoli, who has a three-year-old child, was found guilty of spreading propaganda against the state. His dispatch to jail had been deferred for three weeks, but security officials… Read More Iranian intellectual calls on opposition to unite as he is again sent to prison

Dilip

Orwellian nightmares: What I learned about today’s rage culture from rewriting 1984

At the time I was reimagining this scene, I spent much of my day on Twitter. It was early 2021, and everyone there was chronically angry. People communicated by jeering, trading insults, hectoring, flinging accusations… It was like being in an abusive relationship with everyone in the world. Sandra Newman A few years ago, I… Read More Orwellian nightmares: What I learned about today’s rage culture from rewriting 1984

Dilip

Hamas’s attack will be remembered as Israeli intelligence failure for the ages

Peter Beaumont Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, will be remembered as an intelligence failure for the ages. In the space of several hours, dozens of Gaza militants broke through the border fence into southern Israel, surprising local military positions. Gunmen kidnapped and murdered Israelis in the southern border… Read More Hamas’s attack will be remembered as Israeli intelligence failure for the ages

Dilip

Nobel Peace Prize won by Narges Mohammadi for fight against the oppression of women in Iran

Her brave struggle has come with tremendous personal costs. Altogether, the regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison, and 154 lashes The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for “her fight against the oppression of women… Read More Nobel Peace Prize won by Narges Mohammadi for fight against the oppression of women in Iran

Dilip

Report Reveals Stark Disparities in India’s Labour Market Based on Caste, Gender, and Religion

The largest earnings gap is based on gender, with women reporting earnings at only 40% of those of men in self-employment, followed by 64% of men in casual wage jobs, and 76% of men in regular wage jobs. Social identity plays a significant role in determining the type of employment a person is likely to… Read More Report Reveals Stark Disparities in India’s Labour Market Based on Caste, Gender, and Religion

Dilip

Against the Illusion of Separateness: Pablo Neruda’s Beautiful Nobel Acceptance Speech. By Maria Popova

NB: I post this as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 154th birthday. DS First posted December 31, 2018 “There is no insurmountable solitude. All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence in order to reach forth… Read More Against the Illusion of Separateness: Pablo Neruda’s Beautiful Nobel Acceptance Speech. By Maria Popova

Dilip

Original letter from Columbus announcing ‘discovery’ of America goes on sale

Donna Ferguson In 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote a letter that would change the landscape of the modern world. “I sailed to the Indies with the fleet that the illustrious King and Queen, our sovereigns, gave me, where I discovered a great many islands, inhabited by numberless people,” he wrote after his return to Europe to royal treasurer… Read More Original letter from Columbus announcing ‘discovery’ of America goes on sale

Dilip

Modi vs Trudeau

Indian responses to Trudeau’s allegations have ranged from furious official denial to online trolls celebrating this new willingness to take out India’s enemies Mukul Kesavan The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a suburb of Vancouver has caused a nervous breakdown in Indo-Canadian relations. Justin Trudeau’s very public suggestion that the Indian State was complicit… Read More Modi vs Trudeau

Dilip