India calling itself Bharat fulfills Pakistan’s age-old wish

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

India, voice for the poor, clears slums as G20 draws near

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

Ashokan Edicts

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

Modi-Adani Nexus: बीजेपी की नोटबंदी

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

Casting Them Out

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

Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The current talk of decolonisation is about an exclusionary political agenda

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

क्या है अदाणी-OCCRP की कहानी | The Adani-OCCRP Saga. Ravish Kumar

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

Adani family secretly invested in own shares, documents suggest / Adani’s reject allegations

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