After August 5, 2019, with the onset of a more aggressive Kashmir policy aimed at ‘integrating’ Jammu & Kashmir with mainstream India, the prospects of Naga peace seem almost non-existent Bharat Bhushan Every August 14, the sky‑blue Naga flag with the Star of Bethlehem and rainbow unfurls, as armed cadre parade and recall Naga history, marking Naga Independence… Read More Naga Independence Day, India’s missed opportunity
Bharat Bhushan With little in the Gen-Z campaign that the Modi government could turn against it, a State-ordered take down of content seemed the only option to limit reputational damage How women protesters became targets after the Jantar Mantar protest Bharat Bhushan A highly curated image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the supreme leader of… Read More Why Gen‑Z’s satire will outpace State control
Fear evaporates as India’s youth confront State power on streets. There were 152 paper leaks in the last 10 years with zero convictions Bharat Bhushan Pan India protests against the events of July 20 have marked a significant shift in Indian politics, moribund for 12 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What began as a narrow protest about examination… Read More Bharat Bhushan: Exam anger becomes a political reckoning
By defending devotees rather than attacking the temple, the Opposition is turning the Hindutva milestone of the temple’s construction into an emotive anti-corruption narrative.. While the RSS tirelessly preaches that public behaviour, conduct, and character (chaal, chalan aur charitra) should be spotless, their behaviour in Ayodhya has been derelict, their conduct malfeasant, and their character dishonourable. Bharat… Read More Devotion to Deception: Ram temple theft scandal could redraw UP politics
Sutlej’s message is that a ‘cash-for-kill’ does not eliminate militancy, it end up killing innocents and spreading militancy. It makes criminals out of security force personnel Bharat Bhushan The allure of banned films often achieves the opposite of its intent. That is precisely what is happening with Satluj, pulled down by the government after 48 hours after it released… Read More The Forbidden View: ‘Satluj’ chases truth of Punjab’s bounty killings
A constitutional problem arises when religious authorities effectively dictate what laws to enact and in formulating State policy Bharat Bhushan On June 15, when the Akal Takht ordered all Sikh legislators across party lines and Punjab’s Sikh Cabinet ministers to physically appear before it, 78 MLAs and nine ministers complied. They were reprimanded for passing the controversial anti-sacrilege… Read More Constitution’s silent retreat as Punjab’s lawmakers genuflect before Akal Takht
NB: There have already been six student suicide cases like this one, in Nagpur. Lakhs of young Indians have seen their labours go to waste. It’s not just corruption and cynicism that affects our ruling establishment, but criminal irresponsibility. What a shame and tragedy. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased students. Students… Read More Political parties must find common cause with youth, worker protests
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s obiter dicta in a case before him described some unemployed youngsters as “cockroaches”, some of whom go on to “become” (sic) the media, social media, RTI activists, and start “attacking the system”. — PTI Bharat Bhushan Notwithstanding the denial, it is important to note that metaphors that dehumanise any… Read More From The Bench To Barbs: ‘Cockroach’ Slur On Critics
The lesson to be learnt, however, is that when parties offload their institutional memory and political judgement to an outsourced consultant, they can come to grief Bharat Bhushan The resounding defeats of parties advised by political consultants in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu may not spell their end, but their role will now be more… Read More West Bengal, Tamil Nadu show limits of political consulting
By implementing 27 per cent reservation for the OBCs in government jobs, V.P. Singh tangibly helped the intended beneficiaries. Mr Modi’s move was defeated before it could create even a single beneficiary. V.P. Singh lost power despite Mandal but changed the political terrain of India for good. Mr Modi’s gambit has changed nothing structurally Bharat… Read More Was Women’s Quota Modi’s Failed Mandal Moment?
After the truth-shower 