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

Charlie Faulkner: 'Shot at by both sides': Families flee as Taliban battles for territory in Kandahar

Qayoom and his family were among 10,000 families pushed out of their homes as government and Taliban forces battled for territory in southern Afghanistan last month. Qayoom found his new home was to be a couple of large sheets propped up over cold, bare earth, a shelter among many others in a camp for internally displaced people… Read More Charlie Faulkner: 'Shot at by both sides': Families flee as Taliban battles for territory in Kandahar

Dilip

Bethan McKernan: Turkey's mobsters step out of shadows and into public sphere

After decades in hiding, in prison or keeping low profile, players from a bloody period in the country’s history are now seen as ‘folk idols’ by the Turkish right. At first glance, the photograph of two smartly dressed older Turkish men, posing for the camera in an office filled with flags, could be of any… Read More Bethan McKernan: Turkey's mobsters step out of shadows and into public sphere

Dilip

‘Citizens can’t be jailed for disagreeing with state policies’: Top quotes from Disha Ravi’s bail order / Rajmohan Gandhi: Just Who Is Spoiling India's Image? A View From The US

NB: It comes as a relief for many Indians, not just that this innocent young woman has been granted bail, but that the judicial conscience is still alive, as evident in the appropriate remarks by this Additional Sessions Judge. What remains of deep concern is why and how our police has been allowed to get… Read More ‘Citizens can’t be jailed for disagreeing with state policies’: Top quotes from Disha Ravi’s bail order / Rajmohan Gandhi: Just Who Is Spoiling India's Image? A View From The US

Dilip

Indian Medical Association demands explanation from Union Health Minister for ‘promoting’ Patanjali’s Coronil

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday hit out at the “blatant lie of WHO certification” made by Panjali Ayurved for its Coronil tablet, which the company claims is an evidence-based medicine to fight Covid-19, and demanded an explanation from Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, in whose presence the medicine was launched. Patanjali Ayurved Ltd founder… Read More Indian Medical Association demands explanation from Union Health Minister for ‘promoting’ Patanjali’s Coronil

Dilip

Geetanjali Gayatri: Agitation against farm laws turns the spotlight on Punjabi women

History is replete with stories of their heroism because valour runs in the Punjabi blood. But, unfortunately, so does patriarchy. And, there is absolutely no dearth of ghastly tales of honour killing, of female foeticide, of subjugation of the fairer sex and worse. These, however, are dark alleys and just not the place to be… Read More Geetanjali Gayatri: Agitation against farm laws turns the spotlight on Punjabi women

Dilip

Deathbed Letter From Former Cop Claims NYPD, FBI Helped Kill Malcolm X

A letter shared by the family of a deceased former New York police officer alleges that the officer, the New York City Police Department and the FBI played a role in the murder of the powerful civil rights leader Malcolm X. The outspoken antiracism activist and former spokesman for the Nation of Islam died on… Read More Deathbed Letter From Former Cop Claims NYPD, FBI Helped Kill Malcolm X

Dilip

Petition against publishing giants suing SciHub & LibGen

Three publishing giants – Elseiver, Wiley, and American Chemical Society – have recently filed a lawsuit in India to block SciHub and LibGen, which are widely used portals that provide free access to academic articles, many of which lie behind expensive paywalls. Millions of students in India and other countries use these digital libraries to… Read More Petition against publishing giants suing SciHub & LibGen

Dilip

Mitali Saran – Standing your ground: A toolkit

India, 2021: JNU is tukde-tukde gang, Kashmiris are terrorists, Muslims are traitors, liberals are communists, communists are anti-national, dissent is sedition, intellectuals are urban naxals, Congress supporters are slaves, the elite opposition is the Khan Market gang, protesters are andolanjeevis, human rights are Western propaganda, activists are anti-development, journalists are presstitutes, dissent is sedition, critics… Read More Mitali Saran – Standing your ground: A toolkit

Dilip

“Where is the working class? It’s all over the world today”: Jairus Banaji in conversation with Sheetal Chhabria and Andrew Liu

The following conversation took place in December 2020. On the occasion of Jairus Banaji’s latest publication, A Brief History of Commercial Capitalism, Sheetal Chhabria and Andrew B. Liu spoke to contextualize his work within a multi-decade trajectory of history, theory, and labor organization, across Europe and Asia. We noted the particular significance of an original intervention… Read More “Where is the working class? It’s all over the world today”: Jairus Banaji in conversation with Sheetal Chhabria and Andrew Liu

Dilip

Roger Sollenberger: What caused the Texas disaster? Decades of Republican deregulation: "Laissez-faire run amok"

NB: Contemporary conservative thought has a tendency to equate all social control, or even the hint of such control, as ‘communism’. Hence the antipathy toward activists such as Greta Thunberg, who simply asked for urgent measures to control damage to the environment. Note this paragraph from the article below: “The fight against climate change in… Read More Roger Sollenberger: What caused the Texas disaster? Decades of Republican deregulation: "Laissez-faire run amok"

Dilip