Tag: current affairs – India

Bharat Bandh Today Live Updates: Highways, rail tracks blocked; strike successful, says Rakesh Tikait / Bharat Bhushan: Time for farmers' movement to launch a political party

Normal life was hit as farmers blocked highways and squatted on railway tracks at many places on the occasion of the Bharat Bandh called on Monday against the three contentious farm laws. The bandh began at 6 am and ended at 4 pm on Monday. BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said, “Our Bharat Bandh was successful. We had… Read More Bharat Bandh Today Live Updates: Highways, rail tracks blocked; strike successful, says Rakesh Tikait / Bharat Bhushan: Time for farmers' movement to launch a political party

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Mukul Kesavan: Photobombing death and the banality of evil / Evil, framed. By SLAVENKA DRAKULIĆ

NB: India’s Prime Minister has warned the world of the threat of ‘regressive thinking.’ The  rhetorical artistry of our Great Leader is indeed admirable; although I think his camp-followers will miss the irony. The article below describes what can happen in India in the name of politically correct nationalism. And here’s another: A Grateful Nation. We… Read More Mukul Kesavan: Photobombing death and the banality of evil / Evil, framed. By SLAVENKA DRAKULIĆ

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Mundra Port: Nearly three tonnes of heroin seized at Gujarat port

Indian anti-smuggling intelligence officials have seized nearly three tonnes of heroin – reportedly worth around $2.7bn (£1.9bn) – in a major operation at a port in Gujarat state. Forensic testing is still under way to determine the exact value of the seized drugs, officials told the BBC. Two people have been arrested and several others… Read More Mundra Port: Nearly three tonnes of heroin seized at Gujarat port

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A Grateful Nation watches a Roman circus

Bharat Bhushan on the birthday gala to refurbish ‘Brand Modi’   The birthday celebrations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have metamorphosed into a three-week project of “Service and Dedication” from the single week of “Seva saptah” followed until last year. They will showcase a grateful nation thanking the prime minister for his service. The events projected as entirely… Read More A Grateful Nation watches a Roman circus

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Omair Ahmad: What would the proposed large-scale cultivation of oil palm mean to India’s ecology and economy?

The truth is that Indians have switched to palm oil not because of some great choice but merely because it has come cheap. For most people cooking their food in palm oil or some mixture thereof, the content makes little difference. It is just another vegetable oil to them. The very versatility of the oil… Read More Omair Ahmad: What would the proposed large-scale cultivation of oil palm mean to India’s ecology and economy?

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The India Forum on government propaganda; sexual violence, periodic labour, the new agricultural laws, and more

The torrent of fake news from groups sympathetic to the ruling party that flows through the Indian public discourse everyday is a phenomenon analysed by Neelanjan Sircar who writes of the ‘disinformation’ that is curated and then disseminated under centralised control to intimidate and harass critics as well as caricutarise the Muslim community. It is a year… Read More The India Forum on government propaganda; sexual violence, periodic labour, the new agricultural laws, and more

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Javed Anand: On RSS reassurances to Muslims, deeds matter more than words

NB: To this forthright letter, I would like to add just one point. What exactly is the reasoning behind all this verbiage about DNA? Does it follow that people with ‘the same DNA’ must think alike, or love one another, or even belong to the same ‘Nation’? Sometimes even twins don’t have the same DNA.… Read More Javed Anand: On RSS reassurances to Muslims, deeds matter more than words

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Javed Akhtar says he is as opposed to Muslim fundamentalists as he is to Hindu extremism

Noted film personality Javed Akhtar says he is as opposed to Muslim fundamentalists as he is to Hindu extremism, noting that he has even received death threats from Muslims because of his outspokenness. Defending his recent interview in which he drew parallels between the Taliban and Hindu extremists, he said Hindus are the most decent and… Read More Javed Akhtar says he is as opposed to Muslim fundamentalists as he is to Hindu extremism

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Sunita Viswanath: Why I feel the need to bring my Hinduism to the streets

At a gathering a couple of years ago in the Maharashtra hill station of Panchgani organised by Professor Rajmohan Gandhi, I was challenged by an angry young man: “Keep your Hinduism in your house. Why do you need to bring it into the streets?” The young man could have been a conservative Hindu offended by… Read More Sunita Viswanath: Why I feel the need to bring my Hinduism to the streets

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Bharat Bhushan – Fear factor: Corporates must resist intimidation

An alarming report by the news agency Reuters quotes corporate India to say “everyone is scared” of the Narendra Modi government and does not want to run afoul of it. It reported several industry executives claiming that “a public diatribe against two Indian business giants by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s officials and his ideological allies… Read More Bharat Bhushan – Fear factor: Corporates must resist intimidation

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