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

Michael Azar: Transcending ‘the absurd drama – the legacy of Franz Fanon

Frantz Fanon’s impact is as important today as it was when he wrote The Wretched of the Earth, a political work that assesses violence, both of colonists and activists. Glänta commemorates the psychiatrist and political philosopher’s life and work, highlighting his influence on postcolonial theory and anti-racism, in an interview with historian Michael Azar. Frantz… Read More Michael Azar: Transcending ‘the absurd drama – the legacy of Franz Fanon

Dilip

Church leaders condemn attacks on Christians in Karnataka / A Week Since Attack On Karnataka Church, No Arrests, Vigilantes Roam Freely / Catholic school in Madhya Pradesh vandalised

SHILLONG, Dec 5: Following the concerted attacks on churches, nuns and priests and the forcible entry of Hindu right wing activists into places of worship in different parts of the country, the Archbishop of Shillong, Rev. Victor Lyngdoh on Sunday strongly condemned the attacks against Christians as unwarranted. It may be mentioned that recently a… Read More Church leaders condemn attacks on Christians in Karnataka / A Week Since Attack On Karnataka Church, No Arrests, Vigilantes Roam Freely / Catholic school in Madhya Pradesh vandalised

Dilip

Her dream to teach English in Japan ended with a lesson for the country. By Emiko Jozuka

As a child, Wishma Rathnayake was fascinated with “Oshin,” a popular 1980s’ television drama about a young girl who rises from poverty to head a Japanese supermarket chain. Urged by her father to emulate her hero, Rathnayake started learning Japanese with a dream of one day moving to Japan from the small Sri Lankan town of Gampaha,… Read More Her dream to teach English in Japan ended with a lesson for the country. By Emiko Jozuka

Dilip

Africa alerted the world to Omicron. Why are we now the pariahs? By Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija

The advent of the Omicron variant has given us a glimpse of an alternative future in which, had the Sars-CoV-2 virus been initially identified in Africa in early 2020, the world would have maybe locked Africa away. There would have been no emergency funding for vaccine development, limited global attention, and Africa would have become known as… Read More Africa alerted the world to Omicron. Why are we now the pariahs? By Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija

Dilip

A green paradox: Deforesting the Amazon for wind energy

Balsa wood is used in Europe, and also more intensively in China, as a component in the construction of the blades of wind turbines. Already-installed wind turbines, with blades that stretch to 80 metres, can cover an area of approximately 21,000 square metres, which is equivalent to about three football pitches. More recent wind turbine designs can… Read More A green paradox: Deforesting the Amazon for wind energy

Dilip

US ‘dark money’ groups spend millions overseas in support of campaigns to limit or ban rights for women and LGBTQ people

US conservative groups behind a Supreme Court legal battle that could shape the future of American abortion rights have spent at least $28m around the world between 2016 and 2019 on campaigns against women’s and LGBT rights, openDemocracy reveals today. They have also received almost $100m from 2016 to 2020 from anonymous donors, funnelled through two leading US charities… Read More US ‘dark money’ groups spend millions overseas in support of campaigns to limit or ban rights for women and LGBTQ people

Dilip

Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes: The forgotten oil ads that told us climate change was nothing

Since the 1980s, fossil fuel firms have run ads touting climate denial messages – many of which they’d now like us to forget. Here’s our visual guide. Why is meaningful action to avert the climate crisis proving so difficult? It is, at least in part, because of ads. The fossil fuel industry has perpetrated a… Read More Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes: The forgotten oil ads that told us climate change was nothing

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Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, Subhrajit Sen: In anticipation of India’s largest coal mining project (Photos)

With India’s largest coal mining project slated to come up in West Bengal, approximately 21,000 people will need to be relocated and rehabilitated. The government aims to make the Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsinga coal block a model project with sensitive land acquisition and appropriate compensation. The local people, however, are anxious and uncertain of the transition as their… Read More Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, Subhrajit Sen: In anticipation of India’s largest coal mining project (Photos)

Dilip

Bhima Koregaon case: Bombay HC grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, but declines the same to eight other accused

By Sabah Gurmat & Paras Nath Singh    THE Bombay High Court, on Wednesday, allowed the default bail plea of lawyer and trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj in the Elgar Parishad (Bhima Koregaon) case under Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code read with Section 43D(2) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. While granting bail… Read More Bhima Koregaon case: Bombay HC grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, but declines the same to eight other accused

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US is world’s biggest plastic polluter // Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of

The advent of cheap, versatile plastics has created “a global scale deluge of plastic waste seemingly everywhere we look”, the report states, with the US a leading contributor of disposable plastics that ends up entangling and choking marine life, harming ecosystems and bringing harmful pollution up through the food chain. Plastic waste has increased sharply… Read More US is world’s biggest plastic polluter // Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of

Dilip