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

YANN PHILIPPIN – Sale of French Rafale jet fighters to India: how a state scandal was buried

In 2016 France and India signed a 7.8-billion-euro deal for the purchase of 36 Rafale jet fighters made by French defence group Dassault. Mediapart can reveal that, alongside this controversial deal, Dassault also agreed to pay one million euros to a middleman who is now under investigation in India in connection with another defence deal.… Read More YANN PHILIPPIN – Sale of French Rafale jet fighters to India: how a state scandal was buried

Dilip

From colonialism to Covid: Viet Thanh Nguyen on the rise of anti-Asian violence

American exceptionalism pretends that it has nothing to do with European-style colonialism. But the US is a colonising country. The difference is that Americans call their colonialism “the American Dream”. American mythology casts white settler violence as “regenerative”, versus the “degenerative” violence of Native peoples, enslaved black people, and their descendants. In this mythology, a black… Read More From colonialism to Covid: Viet Thanh Nguyen on the rise of anti-Asian violence

Dilip

SGPC Passes Resolution Against RSS for 'Trying To Make' India a Hindu Rashtra

Amritsar: Strongly opposing the move to suppress minorities in India, including the Sikhs, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex body controlling gurdwaras, passed a resolution condemning the alleged moves made by the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) to make the country a “Hindu rashtra”. It also called on the Central government to work for the… Read More SGPC Passes Resolution Against RSS for 'Trying To Make' India a Hindu Rashtra

Dilip

Soutik Biswas: Coronavirus update: India is facing a 'severe, intensive' second wave

“The virus seems to have become more transmissible in the second wave. We are admitting entire families who are infected. We are also seeing a lot of young people, aged below 40, getting sick,” says Dr Kalantri. India’s tally of recorded coronavirus cases exceeds 12 million, the third-highest in the world behind the US and… Read More Soutik Biswas: Coronavirus update: India is facing a 'severe, intensive' second wave

Dilip

Priti Patel’s war on the UK’s last nomads. By Luke Smith

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently making its way through parliament attacks the very existence of Britain’s last nomadic communities, namely Romany Gypsies (like me), Irish Travellers and Scottish Travellers. Over the years, Conservative government policies have shut down sites and accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers nationwide, leading to a massive shortage. Now,… Read More Priti Patel’s war on the UK’s last nomads. By Luke Smith

Dilip

Black Executives in the USA Pressure Corporations To Oppose Racist Voter Suppression

On Wednesday, dozens of prominent Black business executives released a joint statement condemning the wave of voter suppression measures in states across the U.S. and calling on major corporations to publicly oppose them. The statement, coordinated by Merck CEO Ken Frazier, former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and the Black Economic Alliance, was signed by… Read More Black Executives in the USA Pressure Corporations To Oppose Racist Voter Suppression

Dilip

Majid Sheikh – Harking Back: Lahore’s ancient slave trade and the Aleppo connection

For centuries trade of exotic Eastern goods reached the markets of the Mediterranean Europe, Africa and Turkey. The very first ‘product’ – if we can call it that – were the slaves of the Punjab. Besides some gold, the most profitable product in the loot of the Turkish-Afghan invader, Mahmud of Ghazni, were slaves. In… Read More Majid Sheikh – Harking Back: Lahore’s ancient slave trade and the Aleppo connection

Dilip

Mukul Kesavan: An Ashoka for our time / Navneet Sharma & Prakrati Bhargava: No space for liberal education

First posted March 29, 2021 NB: The authorities of a self-respecting university or college are expected to defend their staff and students. That was the case, anyway, when I was a student over 50 years ago. But Ashoka’s Founders were so infuriated by Professor Mehta’s criticisms of the Modi government that they not only pushed him… Read More Mukul Kesavan: An Ashoka for our time / Navneet Sharma & Prakrati Bhargava: No space for liberal education

Dilip

India’s News Upstarts Challenged Modi. New Rules Could Tame Them. By Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar

Online portals have practiced aggressive journalism in a mostly compliant media landscape. But trolls and the government could now be empowered to stop them. India’s prime minister has cultivated and cowed large parts of the country’s normally raucous news media in recent years as part of a broader campaign against dissent. One group remains untamed: A relatively new generation… Read More India’s News Upstarts Challenged Modi. New Rules Could Tame Them. By Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar

Dilip