Modi is hell bent on building an administrative system that treats him as King

Jawhar Sircar There is no doubt that the increasing politicisation of the bureaucracy has been corroding, for quite some time, the pillars on which fair and efficient administration rest. The pains taken by the founding fathers of our constitution to protect and insulate the civil service from political interference had ensured a large degree of… Read More Modi is hell bent on building an administrative system that treats him as King

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Slavoj Žizek: Manipur is not only in India

With the new Netanyahu government, the anti-Palestinian violence (the pogrom in Huwara, the attacks on the Stella Maris Monastery in Haifa, etc.) is no longer even formally condemned by the state. To a Western European with a vague knowledge of Italian, “Manipur” automatically associates with “mani pulite” (pure hands), the big anti-corruption campaign in the… Read More Slavoj Žizek: Manipur is not only in India

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Ocean justice

Chris Armstrong ; Antje Scharenberg Treasure trove or rubbish dump? In either case, oceans are being spoiled. Concepts from ‘mare liberum’ to ‘common heritage’ don’t safeguard the blue planet’s largest frontier from escalated seabed mining, industrialised fishing and waste disposal, nor global inequality and racialized violence. Could a democratic World Ocean Authority be the answer?… Read More Ocean justice

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Leo Strauss: The Living Issues of German postwar Philosophy (1940)

Talk delivered to the Creighton Philosophical Club at Syracuse University in April 1940 Introductory remark Both the intellectual glory and the political misery of the Germans may be traced back to one and the same cause: German civilisation is considerably younger than the civilisation of the West. The Germans are, strictly speaking, less civilized than the English… Read More Leo Strauss: The Living Issues of German postwar Philosophy (1940)

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Modi Internal Crises: अच्छे दिन खत्म..अब अपनो को भी दिखने लगा है अंत ! /Amit Shah के मंत्रालय में इतना भ्रष्टाचार ?

With the publication of the Auditor General’s report, the incorruptibility of the Modi government has been called into question. Massive leakages of funds have taken place, including in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Calling in the CBI at this point is equally fraudulent, as the ministers concerned should have known something was wrong long ago.… Read More Modi Internal Crises: अच्छे दिन खत्म..अब अपनो को भी दिखने लगा है अंत ! /Amit Shah के मंत्रालय में इतना भ्रष्टाचार ?

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Safeguarding Academic Freedom Is the Bedrock of India’s Constitutional Morality

Any attempt to reimagine or recreate a constitution may fall woefully short in its objective if ‘freedoms’ are threatened and ‘unfreedoms’ are instilled by a usurper of power Deepanshu Mohan Source: The Wire In an attempt to initiate a discussion on the ‘new’ foundations of the Indian Constitution, chief economic advisor to the prime minister Bibek… Read More Safeguarding Academic Freedom Is the Bedrock of India’s Constitutional Morality

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A brilliant biography of an elusive genius

By Daniel Johnson Spinoza: Life and Legacy, by Jonathan Israel In mediaeval scholasticism, Aristotle’s reputation was such that he was usually referred to simply as “the Philosopher”. Amongst the moderns, this book makes the case for treating Baruch Spinoza (1632–77) similarly. If there is no philosopher but Spinoza, Jonathan Israel is his prophet. Spinoza: Life and… Read More A brilliant biography of an elusive genius

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‘A huge human drama’: how the revolt that began on the Gladstone plantation led to emancipation

The Demerara Rebellion of August 1823 was a pivotal event in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. While the transatlantic slave trade, the largest forced migration in human history, was outlawed by Britain in 1807, slavery continued across the colonies. Conditions were brutal in Demerara, one of three provinces that made up British Guiana,… Read More ‘A huge human drama’: how the revolt that began on the Gladstone plantation led to emancipation

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Israel to deny Palestinian-Israelis Preparation for University, in Exact Parallel to Apartheid South Africa

JUAN COLE Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – White Power nationalism in South Africa during the Apartheid period from the 1940s until the early 1990s demanded that the 20% of the population that was white control the lives of the 68% of the population that was Black. (Actually, during this era the whites declined to only… Read More Israel to deny Palestinian-Israelis Preparation for University, in Exact Parallel to Apartheid South Africa

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