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)

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

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

Jadavpur University ragging row: A failure to safeguard higher education institutions

Despite official campaigns against the practice, ragging has never been an issue in campus politics. Far less does it figure in the larger political arena, where ideological debates are similarly oblivious to gender discrimination, hate crimes, all generated by the same psychopathology of violence linked to the exercise of power Supriya Chaudhuri On the night… Read More Jadavpur University ragging row: A failure to safeguard higher education institutions

Manipur to Mewat: Empowering the mob, disempowering the State

The shift in nomenclature from Amrit Kaal to Kartavya Kaal has been marked by a complete dereliction of duty by the country’s top political leadership Sushant Singh From Manipur to Mewat, Narendra Modi’s new India doesn’t portray a pretty picture. It is a holy mess. The shift in nomenclature from Amrit Kaal (auspicious period) to… Read More Manipur to Mewat: Empowering the mob, disempowering the State

David Bergman: As Bangladesh court reaffirms Islam as state religion, secularism hangs on to a contradiction

First posted April 01, 2016 NB: This issue relates to the centuries-old debate about civil religion, a matter dealt with extensively by Ronald Beiner in his excellent book Civil Religion: a Dialogue in the History of Political Philosophy. After 1789, nationalism emerged as an alternative civic religion and patriotism became a political form of prayer. So zealotry… Read More David Bergman: As Bangladesh court reaffirms Islam as state religion, secularism hangs on to a contradiction

Ahead of the 2024 Elections, the BJP-RSS Is Setting the Ideological Stage

Anand K. Sahay To understand the direction in which the country is being propelled by the powers that be, we should consider the recent no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha (August 8-10, 2023) not in isolation, but in the context of the happenings of the past fortnight or so, and a likely scenario for… Read More Ahead of the 2024 Elections, the BJP-RSS Is Setting the Ideological Stage

NRI Businessman Seeded Idea of Corporatising Agriculture

http://www.reporters-collective.in Picture this: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during an election rally in the remote corner of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, speaks about his dream of doubling farmers’ income by 2022. A BJP-friendly NRI businessman sitting in the US with no background in farming or agriculture has a brain wave. He writes a letter with a… Read More NRI Businessman Seeded Idea of Corporatising Agriculture

Vilification of Assam Rifles is a calculated move for revenge

The connivance of the state and Union government in letting the violence spiral out of control and not adequately utilising the available instruments of the central government, especially the Army and the Assam Rifles, seems deliberate, irresponsible and extremely dangerous in terms of national security.  LT GENERAL PRAKASH MENON The Assam Rifles is a central paramilitary force… Read More Vilification of Assam Rifles is a calculated move for revenge