Tag: Dilip’s notes and articles

Khuda Hafiz

NB: This essay has just been published in the latest issue of Outlook magazine. Happy Easter. DS Many years ago, in the mid 1990’s, I had occasion to hire a cab in Amsterdam. It was after dinner at a friends’ place. Once inside the cab it turned out the driver was an Indian immigrant. Or… Read More Khuda Hafiz

Dilip

Jogendranath Mandal hoped for Dalit-Muslim unity in Pakistan. He’s remembered as a ‘villain’

NB: Those of us who see the events of the late 1940’s in black and white terms ought to study the complexity of historical events as well as of the views of the actors in those events. Some may be surprised to read B. R. Ambedkar’s views on the transfer of population on a communal… Read More Jogendranath Mandal hoped for Dalit-Muslim unity in Pakistan. He’s remembered as a ‘villain’

Dilip

Where Are the ‘Don Quixotes’ of Indian Academia?

NB: Anyone concerned about the intellectual health of their country should recall what Mao’s regime did to China’s academic life under the so-called Cultural Revolution in the late 1960’s. This was Mao Zedong’s motivated assault on academics, intellectuals and on his critics in the Communist Party leadership. Professor Frank Dikotter’s research study of this momentous… Read More Where Are the ‘Don Quixotes’ of Indian Academia?

Dilip

Ravish Kumar: अरुण गोयल का चुनाव आयोग से इस्तीफ़ा | Arun Goel resigns from the Election Commission

बीजेपी का संपर्कवाद संविधानवाद पर हावी हो गया है। विपक्ष में परिवारवाद और बीजेपी का संपर्कवाद। आप देख नहीं पा रहे हैं लेकिन आपकी नाक के नीचे संस्थाओं के घाव का मवाद सड़कों पर बहने लगा है। अरुण गोयल का चुनाव आयोग से इस्तीफ़ा | Arun Goel resigns from the EC NB: A theme that… Read More Ravish Kumar: अरुण गोयल का चुनाव आयोग से इस्तीफ़ा | Arun Goel resigns from the Election Commission

Dilip

If Biden loses in November, don’t blame voters who are angry over Gaza

There is not a single university left. The health system has basically collapsed. 1.9 million people have been forcibly displaced. The UN has said 100,000 people in Gaza have been killed, injured, or are missing. And Biden seems to think so little of the devastation that he seems to think it is appropriate to weigh in on a ceasefire while… Read More If Biden loses in November, don’t blame voters who are angry over Gaza

Dilip

Calicut professor booked for Facebook post praising Godse. (Withdraw the case)

NB: Much as I dislike the political tradition which celebrates the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi; I disagree with the habit of taking police action against persons like Dr Shaija. Isn’t hatred for Gandhiji and celebration of his murderer a widespread stance in India? What exactly does the professor mean by “proud of Godse for saving… Read More Calicut professor booked for Facebook post praising Godse. (Withdraw the case)

Dilip

Bifurcation point: More than 800 Western officials sign scathing criticism of Gaza policy

GAZA casualties live statistics NB: The only thing I disagree with in this otherwise courageous statement is this: “Our governments’ current policies weaken their moral standing and undermine their ability to stand up for freedom, justice, and human rights globally.” I’ve commented on these issues many times but readers could see this and this. The… Read More Bifurcation point: More than 800 Western officials sign scathing criticism of Gaza policy

Dilip

The zeitgeist is changing. A strange, romantic backlash to the tech era looms

NB: The rebellion against reason, the cults of nostalgia or particularity are not new, these ways of thought have been with us a long time; and are a consequence of the divorce of reason from goodness, virtue, beauty and justice. Romanticism is a consequence of the elevation of scientific reason to a status above the… Read More The zeitgeist is changing. A strange, romantic backlash to the tech era looms

Dilip