Memoir: Prahlad Kakar and Dilip Simeon: A Friendship in the Shadow of the Naxals

An excerpt from Adman Madman by Rupangi Sharma and Prahlad Kakar NB: Prahlad and I go back sixty-three years, so he is among the few l can classify as chaddi dost. I first saw him in knickers and hairy legs when his mum, a friend of my parents, brought him to the Sainik School Kunjpura… Read More Memoir: Prahlad Kakar and Dilip Simeon: A Friendship in the Shadow of the Naxals

A Controversial ‘Book Launch’ and Delhi University’s Descent Into Party Propaganda

The name of the book clearly suggests that it is part of a glorification drive for Modi. We need to ask whether it is appropriate to use university resources for this campaign. Apoorvanand The vice-chancellor (VC) of Delhi University, Yogesh Singh, last week exhorted the audience at a program in the conference hall of the university to think about giving… Read More A Controversial ‘Book Launch’ and Delhi University’s Descent Into Party Propaganda

Young people are abandoning democracy for dictators. I can understand their despair

Fascism in power in the 1930s brought the world to genocidal war. But memories have faded, as has the stigma attached to the far-right – and that’s dangerous… Democracy under capitalism has always been heavily curtailed by corporate interests and plutocrats who have enjoyed far greater power than the average voter. When capitalism falls into… Read More Young people are abandoning democracy for dictators. I can understand their despair

Israel’s Scholasticide and the Irrelevance of US Politics: 11,923 Palestinian Students didn’t Go Back to School this Fall because Israel Killed them

Juan Cole Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Palestinian Ministry of Education released a report this week detailing that 11,923 students in Gaza have been killed by Israel’s total war in the past year. In addition, 19,199 have been wounded, many with life-altering injuries. A physician working in Gaza last summer reported to HRW, “We are talking about… Read More Israel’s Scholasticide and the Irrelevance of US Politics: 11,923 Palestinian Students didn’t Go Back to School this Fall because Israel Killed them

Far-right governments seek to cut billions of euros from research in Europe

Anti-immigration parties are pushing policies that are hostile or indifferent towards science. David Matthews A surge in far-right parties entering governments across Europe is raising concerns for science. The parties, whose focus is typically immigration, care little about research, say policy experts. In the Netherlands — where the Party for Freedom (PVV), led by the… Read More Far-right governments seek to cut billions of euros from research in Europe

‘Education of hatred’: Killing of Japanese boy sparks soul searching in China over rising nationalism

A rare statement issued last week by dozens of Chinese people living in Japan condemned the assault and called for reflections on the “underlying causes.” “The extreme nationalist hate education against Japan has been prevalent in China for a long time. It has obscured some Chinese people’s understanding of Japan, and even indulged ignorance and evil,” the statement… Read More ‘Education of hatred’: Killing of Japanese boy sparks soul searching in China over rising nationalism