Chandan Gowda: The humanism of Siddalingaiah (1954-2021)

Poet, folklorist, orator, teacher, legislator, administrator and co-founder of the Dalit movement in Karnataka, Siddalingaiah’s many-layered engagement with the life of the state defies easy characterisation. Indispensable for a historian of contemporary morality in Karnataka, Siddalingaiah’s work is an elaboration of a rich vision of humanism. His debut book of poetry, Holey-Maadigara Haadu (The Song of… Read More Chandan Gowda: The humanism of Siddalingaiah (1954-2021)

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Hindus for Human Rights USA. Interactive conversation for young people July 10, 2021; 8:30 pm IST.

An extra-special event coming up in one week, July 10th 8:30 pm IST. Rajmohan Ji joins with Sikh American community leader Simran Jeet Singh and Indian actress Richa Chadha to engage with kids and youth. Young people in India, South Asia and the diaspora are most welcome to join. We hope you will all help us spread the word so that many kids and… Read More Hindus for Human Rights USA. Interactive conversation for young people July 10, 2021; 8:30 pm IST.

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Peter Ronald deSouza: The Intrinsic Limits of Hindutva as an Ideology of the Indian State

NB: This is an instructive article: members of the establishment who retain the slightest capacity to think rationally beyond their career interests, should read it carefully. I have argued elsewhere that ideologies have an inbuilt tendency toward implosion: the process whereby prevailing doctrines of political hegemony fail to maintain the minimal coherence required for self-perpetuation, and… Read More Peter Ronald deSouza: The Intrinsic Limits of Hindutva as an Ideology of the Indian State

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Aseem Shrivastava and Rupert Read – Does globalisation make ‘Covidisation’ inevitable?

For more than a generation of economic globalisation, to turn the old adage on its head, it seemed to many that ‘wealth is health’. In the bargain, as everything, including health, came seemingly to rest on the willing shoulders of money, huge fortunes were made and all but universally sought, in what has come to… Read More Aseem Shrivastava and Rupert Read – Does globalisation make ‘Covidisation’ inevitable?

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Rana Mitter: China’s Communist party has rewritten its own past – but the truth will surface

A new museum commemorating the history of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) opened in June in Beijing as part of the runup to the party’s 100th anniversary. Online images of its collections show reverential black-and-white photos of the dozen or so young men who gathered at the party’s founding meeting in Shanghai in 1921. Those activists, one of… Read More Rana Mitter: China’s Communist party has rewritten its own past – but the truth will surface

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Rumsfeld’s much-vaunted ‘courage’ was a smokescreen for lies, crime and death. By Richard Wolffe

It is customary, at times like these, to gloss over the failures and foibles of recently deceased officials: to paint a portrait in broad brush strokes about their achievements and qualities and public service. In the case of the newly departed Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary who led the catastrophic war in Iraq, this would be… Read More Rumsfeld’s much-vaunted ‘courage’ was a smokescreen for lies, crime and death. By Richard Wolffe

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Oxford University’s South Asian Studies Programme’s comments on Venkat Dhulipala

First posted September 12, 2018 I will open this comment with an anecdote. Some months ago, whilst exercising in the gym I visit, the senior trainer was talking politics with someone. He is a friendly individual and I normally do not converse whilst exercising. He happens to be an admirer of Narendra Modi. On this… Read More Oxford University’s South Asian Studies Programme’s comments on Venkat Dhulipala

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‘It feels good’: Kashmir folk singer’s rise from dusty street to music star

Noor Mohammad Shah had always happily lived a life of obscurity. Born in a small village in the conflict-ridden state of Kashmir in India, Shah had been introduced to the mystical world of Sufi music as a child and for decades since had made a meagre but fulfilling living singing traditional songs and performing on… Read More ‘It feels good’: Kashmir folk singer’s rise from dusty street to music star

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Bharat Bhushan: Signs of BJP central leadership weakening

The waning success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as vote-catchers may have contributed to a weakening of their leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This is suggested by the fratricidal rivalries surfacing in the BJP-ruled states. If they could brush off electoral defeats in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya… Read More Bharat Bhushan: Signs of BJP central leadership weakening

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Anil Nauriya: July 1, 2021 is the Centenary of the Dharwar Firing

Today, 1 July,  is the centenary of the police firing in Dharwar during the movement for Non-violent Non-co-operation with the Colonial Government in India 100 years ago. The firing started around 8.20 at night when non-co-operators were picketing market toddy and liquor shops. At least 42 bullets were fired, killing 3 and injuring around 39 persons.… Read More Anil Nauriya: July 1, 2021 is the Centenary of the Dharwar Firing

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