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

Beaten to death for a traffic violation: the irredeemable brutalisation of America

NB: There are millions of decent peace loving American citizens. But there have been more mass shootings this year, even before January is complete, than in any comparable period; and now this. This kind of behavior makes one realise that the impulse toward cruelty has overtaken American state and civil society. I can only hope… Read More Beaten to death for a traffic violation: the irredeemable brutalisation of America

Dilip

Censorship, arrests, power cuts. India scrambles to block BBC documentary

By Gerry Shih, Karishma Mehrotra. and. Anant Gupta Published in: The Washington PostDate: January 25, 2023 All told, the remarkable steps taken by the government seemed to reinforce a central point of the BBC series: that the world’s largest democracy was sliding into authoritarianism under Modi, who rose to national power in 2014 and won reelection in 2019 on a Hindu nationalist… Read More Censorship, arrests, power cuts. India scrambles to block BBC documentary

Dilip

Palestinians say nine killed in Israeli raid on Jenin refugee camp

Israeli forces have killed nine Palestinians in a West Bank raid, officials in the occupied territory said, while the Israeli military said troops traded fire with Islamist militants during a “counter-terrorism operation”. The Palestinian health ministry accused Israeli forces of deliberately firing teargas inside a hospital’s paediatric ward, leaving children choking, a claim denied by… Read More Palestinians say nine killed in Israeli raid on Jenin refugee camp

Dilip

Could Trump be charged for racketeering? A Georgia prosecutor thinks so

Carlisa N. Johnson in Atlanta An Atlanta prosecutor appears ready to use the same Georgia statute to prosecute Donald Trump that she used last year to charge dozens of gang members and well-known rappers who allegedly conspired to commit violent crime. Fani Willis was elected Fulton county district attorney just days before the conclusion of the 2020 presidential… Read More Could Trump be charged for racketeering? A Georgia prosecutor thinks so

Dilip

Lingering shadow

THE THIN EDGE | The BBC documentary on Narendra Modi Ruchir Joshi The recently broadcast first part of India: The Modi Question, BBC’s documentary on Narendra Modi and the Gujarat killings of 2002, makes for curious viewing. For any Indian engaging with the news since 2002, much of the material is familiar, the ground the film explores… Read More Lingering shadow

Dilip

Lula accuses Bolsonaro of genocide against Yanomami in Amazon

Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has accused Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right administration of committing genocide against the Yanomami people of the Amazon, amid public outrage over a humanitarian catastrophe in the country’s largest Indigenous territory. Lula visited the Amazon state of Roraima on Saturday to denounce the plight of the Yanomami, whose supposedly protected… Read More Lula accuses Bolsonaro of genocide against Yanomami in Amazon

Dilip

Exotic green comet not seen since stone age returns to skies above Earth

An exotic green comet that has not passed Earth since the time of the Neanderthals has reappeared in the sky ready for its closest approach to the planet next week. Discovered last March by astronomers at the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory in California, comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was calculated to orbit the… Read More Exotic green comet not seen since stone age returns to skies above Earth

Dilip

Weavers of Banaras are forced to work for less than the minimum wage

Harsh Thakor With the goal of raising class consciousness and mobilizing the working population of Banaras, especially the weavers, a meeting was organized at the Swayamvar Vatika on behalf of the Fatima-Savitri Janasamiti. The weavers themselves openly discussed the issues related to their status and wages in the programme. Mohammad Ahmad Ansari, who toils with… Read More Weavers of Banaras are forced to work for less than the minimum wage

Dilip

Gujarat riots documentary: BBC’s motives are less clear

Bharat Bhushan The airing of part one of a BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” has raised political hackles in India. It suggests that the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi was directly responsible for the riots, which left 2,000 people dead, mostly Muslims. It has since been taken down from YouTube and other social media… Read More Gujarat riots documentary: BBC’s motives are less clear

Dilip