Tag: communalism

What History Really Tells Us About Hindu-Muslim Relations

Supposedly irrefutable evidence of division is said to lie in the Muslims over the last 1,000 years having victimised the Hindus, treating them as enslaved. Romila Thapar explains why historians question this theory The following is the text of the C.D. Deshmukh Lecture delivered by Romila Thapar on January 14, 2023, at the India International… Read More What History Really Tells Us About Hindu-Muslim Relations

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‘Unforgivable Institutional Amnesia’: Retired HC Judge Slams Judiciary’s Handling of Communal Disputes

Senior advocate and retired Delhi High Court judge S. Muralidhar said that the courts have failed to uphold constitutional values in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition. Senior advocate and retired Delhi high court judge S. Muralidhar has delivered a sharp indictment of the judiciary’s handling of communal disputes, warning that the courts have… Read More ‘Unforgivable Institutional Amnesia’: Retired HC Judge Slams Judiciary’s Handling of Communal Disputes

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The Caravan archive: Malegaon Acquittals, NIA’s Decline, and Sangh Parivar Terror Links

Welcome to The Backdrop, a selection of fine narrative journalism from The Caravan to put the news in context. The Independence Day Sale is now live. Last week, a special National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai acquitted Pragya Singh Thakur, a former member of parliament from the Bhartiya Janata Party, and six others in the… Read More The Caravan archive: Malegaon Acquittals, NIA’s Decline, and Sangh Parivar Terror Links

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In Gurugram’s ‘Holding Centres’, Men Say They Are Detained Just for Speaking Bengali

Amidst the ongoing crackdown on suspected foreign nationals from Bangladesh, hundreds of Bengali and Assamese migrants have been detained and kept in what the Gurugram police call “holding centres”.  Alishan Jafri and Shruti Sharma Gurugram: On July 19, Hafizur Sheikh (41) had finished his shift as a cleaner outside a liquor store in Gurugram when he was stopped… Read More In Gurugram’s ‘Holding Centres’, Men Say They Are Detained Just for Speaking Bengali

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There is a quiet and visible crisis in higher education in India that runs deep: Deepak Nayyar

There is a quiet crisis in higher education in India that runs deep, distinguished academician and former Chief Economic Advisor Deepak Nayyar said here on Wednesday (July 9, 2025), delivering the 2025 B.G. Deshmukh Lecture on ‘The Crisis of Higher Education in India: Disturbing Present and Worrisome Future’. Holding the Narendra Modi government responsible for… Read More There is a quiet and visible crisis in higher education in India that runs deep: Deepak Nayyar

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India’s Social Regression Under Modi’s Eleven Years May Not Be Mendable

While much has been written about the Modi regime’s economic failures and diplomatic missteps, the most insidious damage lies elsewhere – in the corrosion of India’s socio-cultural fabric. Anand Teltumbde on the experience of being in jail for 31 months in the Bhima Koregaon case Anand Teltumbde There was a short-lived euphoria last month when… Read More India’s Social Regression Under Modi’s Eleven Years May Not Be Mendable

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You can oppose Israel’s policies without killing Jewish people

NB: Most of what this author writes is rational and humane. The violent attacks on Jewish Americans simply for being Jews is a horrible crime. The concepts of collective guilt and the inter-generational transfer of guilt are poisonous doctrines. Antisemitism is one of these, and began as a Christian form of bigotry. Its roots lie… Read More You can oppose Israel’s policies without killing Jewish people

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A wake-up call

Our democratic and secular fabric has frayed, our economic progress has stalled. The gap between China and India is now so large that the phrase, ‘Chindia’, has dropped out of circulation Ramachandra Guha India and Pakistan were born at the same time, cut from the cloth of the same Empire. They inherited a common political,… Read More A wake-up call

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