HARTOSH SINGH BAL The transformation of the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sikhs embodies the problems the community faces in a climate where the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s worldview prevails in the country. The story begins with a photo the Bharatiya Janata Party would once display with great pride, of a turbaned Modi disguised as… Read More Sikhs are the proverbial bone stuck in the RSS’s gullet
How legal frameworks are being used to throttle free speech and the media…The dangerous beauty of this framework is that each bill touches upon only certain key aspects that may be crucial for freedom of speech, but, together, they constitute a gargantuan web that is difficult to escape. ANANT NATH On 10 November 2023, the… Read More Drowning Voices
How an amoral technocracy powers Modi’s India… For the engineers of Bengaluru and their allies in neoliberal think tanks, the BJP’s Hindutva politics is the necessary condition to put their designs to work. In 2023, this ideology has become the common sense of how India should be governed, shared by all major political forces in… Read More The Bangalore Ideology
Fahad Shah, whose case was a symbol of harassment of region’s media, says he has different outlook after months behind bars Aakash Hassan During his more than 600 days behind bars, Fahad Shah, a Kashmiri journalist, had begun to lose hope that he would ever see freedom again. It was in February last year that… Read More ‘Jail crushes you slowly’: Kashmiri journalist reflects on prison ordeal
Bharat Bhushan The indictment by US agencies of Indian criminal Nikhil Gupta for plotting the murder of Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on behalf of an Indian government agent may cause the unravelling of a macho narrative being prepared for the general election of 2024. The unfortunate events may have emerged from the virile foreign… Read More Has the fallout from the Pannun incident really been capped? Brazen overreach backfires for India
Bharat Bhushan The United States has clearly put the squeeze on the Narendra Modi government with the filing of an indictment in New York of murder-for-hire charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta (a.k.a. Nick). He is accused of participating in a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen in New York City, widely believed to be Sikh separatist… Read More India’s reckless cowboys
Bharat Bhushan India’s notion of being a Vishwaguru is turning hollow as India continues to be at odds with the countries of the Global South on Israel’s war on Palestinians in Gaza. India did not vote with the Global South on the UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It has also refused… Read More Vishwaguru in search of disciples
NB: This a damn shame, even worse is that it has been going on for decades; and despite promises by the police and various administrations to educate the public and punish the offenders, nothing changes. Calling people chinki‘s and prostitutes because of the way they look is racist and misogynist. Those politicians who go on… Read More ‘What’s your rate’. Northeast women still have it bad in Delhi. Nothing has changed in 9 years
Bharat Bhushan The government has denied that there are requests by Israel to export 100,000 Indians to replace Palestinian workers. Glossing over such reports, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said the government was not aware of any specific requests and if taken up, the initiative would be a “long-term” issue. Yet, India… Read More Unworkable: Swapping Palestinian workers with Indians
In a disquieting turn of events, a video featuring Devendra Pratap Singh Tomar, the son of BJP stalwart Narendra Singh Tomar, has triggered a political maelstrom. The video, now viral, has ignited an intense debate among the political echelons and could potentially be a pivot in the impending 2024 elections. Unveiling the Scandal The video… Read More Viral Video Scandal Involving BJP Leader’s Son Sparks Political Controversy
After the truth-shower 