I am reminded of a conversation years ago with Pakistan’s defence attaché in London, who later became the Director-General (Analysis) in the Inter-Services Intelligence. I got a call from Brigadier Javed Alam asking what I was doing then. I responded that I was working on my doctoral thesis and a chapter titled ‘threat perception in… Read More India calling itself Bharat fulfills Pakistan’s age-old wish
The government justified the demolitions by saying the structures are “illegal” and has said it intends to rehome some of the affected communities. But activists have questioned the timing, claiming instead that the demolitions are part of a “beautification” project – a campaign to rid the city of its beggars and slums – to impress… Read More India, voice for the poor, clears slums as G20 draws near
Ashoka University’s treatment of Sabyasachi Das for his working paper on possible voter suppression in Indian elections has focused attention on the future of elite private universities in India Mukul Kesavan Ashoka University’s (henceforth Ashoka) treatment of Sabyasachi Das after he uploaded a working paper that touched on possible voter suppression in Indian elections has… Read More Ashokan Edicts
NB: The link between India’s political and economic life is explained well in this reporter’s report on th latest revelations of the OCCRP. Behind the mask of Hindutva, sections of the Indian corporate business houieses have taken over the regulatory institutions of the Indian state. The BJP/RSS have become their willing collaborators, hence they have… Read More Modi-Adani Nexus: बीजेपी की नोटबंदी
The RSS… is aware that Hindu–Muslim couples are only acting out the oldest impulse of our species—the pairing off of two persons attracted to each other. This impulse is not easily curbed. It resurfaces in even the most difficult of circumstances. This means that its prevention requires the constant threat of violence, which can only… Read More Casting Them Out
Current decolonisation project drips with resentment. It conflates modernity merely with colonialism. To see the insidiousness of this project, just ask this question: What should be the terms on which citizens relate to each other? “Decolonise!” This imperative seems to be the ideological flavour of the moment. It is behind the calls to restructure education,… Read More Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The current talk of decolonisation is about an exclusionary political agenda
NB: An important comment. For the Adani group to focus on George Soros is a bit of antisemitic propaganda, similar to the language used by Trump Republicans, who also attack Soros regularly. Soros’ Open Society foundation is only one among 21 donors, which include governments. Readers should check the OCCRP portal. Cries of ‘anti-national’ do… Read More क्या है अदाणी-OCCRP की कहानी | The Adani-OCCRP Saga. Ravish Kumar
Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi and Simon Goodley in London A billionaire Indian family with close ties to the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, secretly invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the Indian stock market, buying its own shares, newly disclosed documents suggest. According to offshore financial records seen by the Guardian, associates of the Adani family may have… Read More Adani family secretly invested in own shares, documents suggest / Adani’s reject allegations
First posted November 10, 2013 NB: Fascist political speech may be summarised in three words: affirmation, repetition and contagion. They spread lies and practice deceit as a matter of habit. Truth is whatever is convenient for serving their interests. More than anything else, it is the onslaught on the human mind that is the most dangerous feature of totalitarian… Read More Modi says Congress committed ‘sin’ of partition / The Non-politics of the RSS
Bharat Bhushan Merely calling a special session of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, a demand by both Meitei civil society organisations and the Opposition Congress Party, is unlikely to chart a path to peace in Manipur. The frailty of the legislative process, problems in the government’s proposed resettlement programme and its failure to discipline armed Meiti… Read More Why peace and stability remain elusive in Manipur
After the truth-shower 