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

Ashok H. Desai: How the Judiciary Defied the Government to Uphold Constitutional Values During the Emergency

The declaration proclaimed on June 25, 1975, under Article 352(1) of the constitution that a grave Emergency existed whereby the security of India was threatened by internal disturbance was the declaration of a phoney Emergency. Its real cause was the erosion of Indira Gandhi’s hold on power. The occasion to declare it on that day… Read More Ashok H. Desai: How the Judiciary Defied the Government to Uphold Constitutional Values During the Emergency

Dilip

Nayantara Sahgal speaks to Ajoy Bose: ‘We have a nightmare which is worse than the Emergency’

On June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India that lasted for 21 months. The period saw widespread human rights violations, jailing of members of the Opposition and a clampdown on press freedom. Forty three years later, journalist Ajoy Bose, author of a newly relaunched book on the Emergency, interviews Nayantara Sahgal, who… Read More Nayantara Sahgal speaks to Ajoy Bose: ‘We have a nightmare which is worse than the Emergency’

Dilip

BBC ‘Raid’:  PM Modi loses battle of perception internationally

The timing of the income tax survey by the Union government on BBC was ill- advised, and has done irreparable damage to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image as a global leader Bharat Bhushan Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have further lost the battle of perception internationally with the income tax department raiding (or as the… Read More BBC ‘Raid’:  PM Modi loses battle of perception internationally

Dilip

EMERGENCY Archive / When the Supreme Court struck down Habeas Corpus

PUCL Bulletin, June 2001 – A.D.M. Jabalpur vs Shukla Supreme Court overrules Emergency era Habeas Corpus verdict April 28th, 1976 is a day never to be forgotten by any of us Indians who love the pledges of Justice and Liberty which we gave to ourselves in the Preamble of our Constitution. It was on this day… Read More EMERGENCY Archive / When the Supreme Court struck down Habeas Corpus

Dilip

Suhas Palshikar: There are many ways India mirrors the Emergency now

Recently, Lal Krishna Advani, one of the leaders imprisoned by Indira Gandhi’s Emergency regime, rang a warning bell. He said we, as a country, are still not Emergency-proof. This could be seen as a strange statement because post-1977, many safeguards have been created in the Constitution to ensure a repeat of 1975 does not happen.… Read More Suhas Palshikar: There are many ways India mirrors the Emergency now

Dilip

Anil Nauriya: Intolerance through the years, 1934 to 1975 to 2015 / Mahatma Gandhi’s Statement on Bomb Incident June 25, 1934

INTOLERANCE THROUGH THE YEARS: 1934 to 1975 to 2015 By Anil Nauriya Day Against  Intolerance – 25 June 2015 The 25th  and 26th of  June mark  not only the declaration of  the internal  Emergency at the behest of the Indira Gandhi regime   in 1975.  June 25 is also the  day in 1934 when a lethal bomb was… Read More Anil Nauriya: Intolerance through the years, 1934 to 1975 to 2015 / Mahatma Gandhi’s Statement on Bomb Incident June 25, 1934

Dilip

Nicola Sturgeon is going. Does that mean the United Kingdom will survive?

Martin Kettle The political vultures have been circling Nicola Sturgeon for several weeks now. But her resignation as first minister and leader of the SNP still comes as a lightning bolt from a not especially threatening Scottish political sky. It is certain to trigger the biggest convulsion in Scottish politics since the independence referendum of 2014, and… Read More Nicola Sturgeon is going. Does that mean the United Kingdom will survive?

Dilip

With over 20,000 dead, can President Erdogan Survive Turkey’s Earthquake Politically?

JUAN COLE Monday’s massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in south-central Turkey, in which at least 20,000 have died — and probably tens of thousands more — has shocked that country and the world. It inescapably has political implications, with Turkish parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for mid-May. President Tayyip Recep Erdogan is facing widespread criticism for… Read More With over 20,000 dead, can President Erdogan Survive Turkey’s Earthquake Politically?

Dilip

Meaning and Melancholia: Life in the Age of Bewilderment

Christina Wilkins reviews Meaning and Melancholia: Life in the Age of Bewilderment (2018), authored by Christopher Bollas “We have changed.” (127) This simple sentence, uttered towards the end of the book, encapsulates everything psychoanalyst Christopher Bollas is trying to say in Meaning and Melancholia: Life in the Age of Bewilderment. Through an examination of the major changes of… Read More Meaning and Melancholia: Life in the Age of Bewilderment

Dilip