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

Express editorial: Troubling questions about law and order in the Kashmir Valley

The killing of yet another Kashmiri Pandit in Budgam district of Kashmir Valley is a disturbing development, and further evidence that the J&K administration has been unable to prevent such targeted killings. Last month, a Kashmiri Pandit was injured when militants shot at him in Kulgam. Before that, another killing shook a small Rajput community… Read More Express editorial: Troubling questions about law and order in the Kashmir Valley

Dilip

Father Stan Swamy To Posthumously Receive Human Rights Honorary Award At Geneva Today

Father Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist from Jharkhand who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case and died in July 2021, will get a “special, posthumous homage” at the Martin Ennals Award in Geneva on Thursday. The award is widely regarded as the Nobel Prize for human rights defenders. The winners… Read More Father Stan Swamy To Posthumously Receive Human Rights Honorary Award At Geneva Today

Dilip

Philosophy’s gentle giant Joseph Raz was one of the most important theorists of our age. By Jeremy Waldron

Joseph Raz, a commanding figure in modern legal philosophy, died in London on 2 May aged 83. He was one of three or four philosophers who made towering contributions to our theoretical understanding of law. The others were Hans Kelsen (1881-1973), HLA Hart (1907-92) and Ronald Dworkin (1931-2013). They are all gone now. Analytic jurisprudence… Read More Philosophy’s gentle giant Joseph Raz was one of the most important theorists of our age. By Jeremy Waldron

Dilip

Three nations that experienced mass shootings did something about it / Multiple people dead in shooting on Tulsa hospital campus / America is steeped in violence. And the roots of that violence go deep

The US has 57 times as many school shootings as other G7 countries combined A man – almost always a man – commonly with no criminal history and no diagnosis of mental illness, armed with a lawfully obtained semiautomatic ‘assault’ weapon, kills and injures a large number of innocents in a place they imagined to… Read More Three nations that experienced mass shootings did something about it / Multiple people dead in shooting on Tulsa hospital campus / America is steeped in violence. And the roots of that violence go deep

Dilip

Dánae Vílchez: Nicaraguan government outlaws feminist groups serving vulnerable people

NB: It seems there’s no difference between the totalitarian fantasies of ‘leftist’ and ‘rightist’ governments. DS Dozens of feminist groups in Nicaragua that provide crucial support to vulnerable women have been labelled “foreign agents” and outlawed by the government, meaning they can no longer operate. Reproductive healthcare services, shelters for survivors of gender violence, and… Read More Dánae Vílchez: Nicaraguan government outlaws feminist groups serving vulnerable people

Dilip

Olexandra Povoroznyk: Tsars, spies and colonialism

Colourful onion-domed churches capped with sparkling snow, seductive spies in lavish mink coats, dancing bears, strong-willed revolutionaries…we see these tropes everywhere. They feature in Netflix shows such as Shadow and Bone, in Marvel blockbusters, gritty Cold War-inspired thrillers, and children’s animated films like Anastasia. Western pop-culture’s fascination with Russia – or, rather, with a simplified… Read More Olexandra Povoroznyk: Tsars, spies and colonialism

Dilip

Rohini Hensman: Political Dimensions of the Crisis in Sri Lanka

Suppression of democracy; brutal majoritarianism and minority extremism in Sri Lanka are worth noting by concerned Indians. The following is a transcript provided by the author of her talk at a recent panel discussion.  The panel discussion may be viewed at: What’s Happening in Sri Lanka?  [Why did these self-professed [Sri Lankan] left leaders betray socialist principles in… Read More Rohini Hensman: Political Dimensions of the Crisis in Sri Lanka

Dilip

Chris Hedges: How to Defeat the Billionaire Class

Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant and the Socialist Alternative (SA) party have, for nearly a decade, waged one of the most effective battles against the city’s moneyed elites. She and the SA have adopted a series of unorthodox methods to fight the ruling oligarchs and, in that confrontation, exposed the Democratic Party leadership as craven… Read More Chris Hedges: How to Defeat the Billionaire Class

Dilip

If speaking against Savarkar is antinational, then put me in jail: Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao

“BJP is saying that if anyone speaks against Veer Savarkar then he is an anti-national. Yes, I am saying I am speaking against him. If I am anti-national arrest me and put me behind bars,” he added.  In a letter to the director of Salarjung museum in Hyderabad, Rao said that the name of former… Read More If speaking against Savarkar is antinational, then put me in jail: Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao

Dilip