Unsolicited thoughts from an elder citizen

Questions, observations, suggestions. The addressees should be able to recognise themselves अहंकार व्यक्ति के अज्ञान और मूर्खता का परिचायक  है : गीता (३ / २७) The spectacle is the guardian of sleep: Guy Debord Good is self-existent, evil is not. It is like a parasite living in and around good. It will die of itself when… Read More Unsolicited thoughts from an elder citizen

Trump is no outlaw, just a grubby, sad criminal

NB: Sure, that’s what Trump is, a failing mafiosi. Meanwhile Biden has just completed abetting the murder of over 128,000 Palestinians (killed, maimed or missing), which includes over 10,000 murdered children. Many children who are still alive are amputees, (after operations conducted without anaesthesia); traumatised for life, and orphaned. Had a tiny fraction of these… Read More Trump is no outlaw, just a grubby, sad criminal

विचारधारा का संकट

 जनमत कभी विचारधारा विहीन नहीं हो सकता लेकिन हमारे अंदर दार्शनिक साहस न हो तो हम खुद को नष्ट कर लेंगे दिलीप सिमियन This essay first appeared in Outlook magazine on April 11, under the title The Crisis of Ideology क्या हम उस युग में पहुंच चुके हैं जिसमें विचारधारा का अंत हो चुका है?… Read More विचारधारा का संकट

खुदा हाफ़िज़

Ø  दिलीप सिमियन कई साल पहले, 1990 के दशक के मध्य में मैं एम्सटर्डम में था और एक दोस्त के घर रात्रि भोजन करने के बाद एक टैक्सी से लौट रहा था. टैक्सी में बैठने के बाद पता चला कि टैक्सी ड्राइवर एक भारतीय प्रवासी था. या मुझे ऐसा लगा. मैंने उससे इस बारे में पूछा तो… Read More खुदा हाफ़िज़

Ravish Kumar: आपके पास सत्ता है पर ताकत नहीं.. बहुतों को डराया जा सकता है.. उस डर का आप क्या करेंगे जिससे आप खुद डरे हुए हैं..

A few simple but deeply philosophical sentences by one of India’s most outspoken journalists. Ravish stands out, but there are many other courageous reporters, and we must be grateful to them all. Listen to his talk here, it was delivered yesterday. He uses the word talkhi to describe the atmosphere sought to be created and… Read More Ravish Kumar: आपके पास सत्ता है पर ताकत नहीं.. बहुतों को डराया जा सकता है.. उस डर का आप क्या करेंगे जिससे आप खुद डरे हुए हैं..

Stand Up, Say No

NB: The title of this post is inspired by a lecture on Gandhi’s ideal of resistance to oppression, delivered by my old friend Professor Bhagwan Josh. Please find below some words of advice to student protestors in the context of the global resistance to genocide. They are also relevant to all of us who resist… Read More Stand Up, Say No

In Gaza Protest, Columbia Students Occupy Hamilton Hall, Site of Historic 1968 Takeover

GAZA casualties, live statistics NB: Nothing is ever repeated with precision, but American imperialism and its proxies (to use a favourite phrase of their Orwellian media) has been rampaging through the world for many decades after the end of the World War. Vietnam, Chile, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the endless war on the Palestinian population, are… Read More In Gaza Protest, Columbia Students Occupy Hamilton Hall, Site of Historic 1968 Takeover

The Palestine Exception to Academic Freedom Must Go

GAZA casualties, live statistics NB: Last November, the Harvard Law Review refused to carry an already accepted piece on genocide in Gaza by a Palestinian scholar; without any explanation. The editor, HLR President Apsara Iyer, wrote to the author of the piece, that the decision was ‘not based on your identity or viewpoint.’ Perhaps it was… Read More The Palestine Exception to Academic Freedom Must Go

29 Maoists killed in Bastar – What must India do to prevent their replacement?

NB: The author of this thoughtful article is to be congratulated for doing his research. He ends thus “To address the problem, India needs to do something infinitely more difficult than killing Maoists: Giving Adivasis some justice.” The sabotage of justice in India has been unfolding as a recurrent nightmare for decades, and it concerns… Read More 29 Maoists killed in Bastar – What must India do to prevent their replacement?