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

Opposition raises pitch on Adani issue; Congress to launch nationwide protests on Monday

Opposition parties on Sunday stepped up their attack on the Modi government over the Adani issue, with the Congress alleging that its “silence smacks of collusion”. Ahead of the party’s planned nationwide protests on Monday, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said they will pose three questions a day to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over… Read More Opposition raises pitch on Adani issue; Congress to launch nationwide protests on Monday

Dilip

Schools and universities are ground zero for America’s culture war

… there is a more foundational reason why DeSantis and the far right are attacking education: it is the means by which our young people are made into citizens. Schools and universities are laboratories of aspiration, places where young people cultivate their own capacities, expose themselves to the experiences and worldviews of others, and learn… Read More Schools and universities are ground zero for America’s culture war

Dilip

Anti-strike bill: a step toward forced labour in the UK?

Aidan McQuade Theresa May, both as home secretary and prime minister, pushed for the UK to become a global leader in the international struggle against contemporary forms of slavery. Her vision was always a blurred one, in which she somehow reconciled championing the 2015 Modern Slavery Act alongside prosecuting victims of human trafficking for the… Read More Anti-strike bill: a step toward forced labour in the UK?

Dilip

‘Only love can save those who are infected with anger.’ Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich speaks to Staffan Julén

“A feeling grew on me that people didn’t talk about the things that really matter in human lives“ First posted January 26, 2018 Belarusian journalist and author Svetlana Alexievich was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature for her work documenting the lives of Soviet and post-Soviet citizens. Her latest project, about love, is the… Read More ‘Only love can save those who are infected with anger.’ Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich speaks to Staffan Julén

Dilip

France: towards a social explosion of historic proportions!

by Yorgos Mitralias The international media may say hardly a word, but that does not mean that these days France is not being shaken by the biggest social eruption of the last several decades! In particular, on Tuesday January 31st the demonstrations against Macron’s pension reform were the most massive in the country for 30 years (a total of… Read More France: towards a social explosion of historic proportions!

Dilip

Hong Kong 47: trial of dozens in pro-democracy movement set to begin under national security laws

Group of legislators, activists and community workers are accused of holding unofficial pre-election primaries that authorities say constitutes subversion One of the most significant national security trials in the Chinese government’s crackdown on Hong Kong will begin on Monday, two years after many of the city’s most prominent government critics were first brought into custody. The case… Read More Hong Kong 47: trial of dozens in pro-democracy movement set to begin under national security laws

Dilip

Haruki Murakami: On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning

First posted October 24, 2011 According to Murakami, “1Q84” is just an amplification of one of his most popular short stories, which (in its English version) is five pages long. “Basically, it’s the same,” he told me. “A boy meets a girl. They have separated and are looking for each other. It’s a simple story. I… Read More Haruki Murakami: On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning

Dilip

Avay Shukla: A week of conspiracies, nationalism, and delusions

THE  NEW  INDIA  WHINING This last fortnight has not been a good one for the BJP or its bhaktiveers, even if we discount the irony of an autocratic despot being invited as the Chief guest at our Republic Day function. One would have expected that the wiseacres of MEA would, in between rejecting assorted documentaries… Read More Avay Shukla: A week of conspiracies, nationalism, and delusions

Dilip