Four Indian intellectuals who were murdered for their ideas (2013-2017)

Narendra Dabholkar (1945-2013) ‘Remember Gandhi. Remember what we did to him’: last threat to Narendra Dabholkar PUNE: Well-known rationalist and anti-superstition crusader Narendra Dabholkar was on Tuesday shot dead by two unidentified assailants while on a morning walk near Omkareshwar temple here. The 67-year-old activist was shot from close range and died on the spot. Police said the… Read More Four Indian intellectuals who were murdered for their ideas (2013-2017)

Socrates: If the whole is ailing the part cannot be well / Kautilya: Disaffection among Subjects / Darkness at noon, felled by the judiciary

The Sophists taught, rather publicly, that the summit of happiness is to combine the appearance of justice with actual injustice: G. A. McBrayer; On the origin of the Idea of Natural Right; in Brill’s Companion to Leo Strauss, 2005; p 44 Actor Ashutosh Rana की आवाज में Poet Aalok Shrivastav की ये Hindi Ghazal “that… Read More Socrates: If the whole is ailing the part cannot be well / Kautilya: Disaffection among Subjects / Darkness at noon, felled by the judiciary

High Court of Jammu & Kashmir upholds Sanjay Tickoo’s petition for protection of religious places and castigates communal versions of nationalism

First posted October 10, 2013 NB: The operative aspect of this case may be seen in the highlighted part of para 1 (emphasis added). It is well-known that a large number of temples all over the Kashmir Valley have been desecrated and/or abandoned. According to Sanjay Tickoo, President of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti the figure runs into… Read More High Court of Jammu & Kashmir upholds Sanjay Tickoo’s petition for protection of religious places and castigates communal versions of nationalism

Turkey should face international court over Yazidi genocide, report says

Turkey should face charges in front of the international court of justice for being complicit in acts of genocide against the Yazidi people, while Syria and Iraq failed in their duty to prevent the killings, an investigation endorsed by British human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy has said. The groundbreaking report, compiled by a group of prominent… Read More Turkey should face international court over Yazidi genocide, report says

Kamini Jaiswal: SC order on Zakia Jafri's appeal 'illegal, unconstitutional and violates every tenet of law' / Eminent Citizens Write To CJI to clarify Zakia Jafri judgment

Calling the Supreme Court order on Zakia Jafri’s petition a “wonderful piece of literature”, senior SC lawyer Kamini Jaiswal on Tuesday said the judgment is “completely illegal, unconstitutional and violates every tenet of law and fundamental rights”… https://www.deccanherald.com/national/sc-order-on-zakia-jafris-appeal-illegal-unconstitutional-and-violates-every-tenet-of-law-1122315.html ‘Heaven Help Us if SC Judges Intended Setalvad’s Arrest’: Justice Lokur Eminent Citizens Write To CJI To… Read More Kamini Jaiswal: SC order on Zakia Jafri's appeal 'illegal, unconstitutional and violates every tenet of law' / Eminent Citizens Write To CJI to clarify Zakia Jafri judgment

From Theresa May to Priti Patel – a decade of cruelty. By Kamila Shamsie

In 2001, the Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah published By the Sea, the story of Saleh Omar, a man who arrives at Gatwick airport as a refugee. The border official he speaks to says his parents also came to Britain as refugees, “But my parents are European, they have a right, they’re part of the family.”… Read More From Theresa May to Priti Patel – a decade of cruelty. By Kamila Shamsie

Hindu College history professor booked for post on Gyanvapi ‘Shivling’ / Teachers, students demand immediate release of associate professor Ratan Lal

A Delhi University professor has been booked for an allegedly objectionable social media post on the claims of a ‘Shivling’ being found at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. Ratan Lal, an associate professor of history at the Hindu College, has been booked under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion,… Read More Hindu College history professor booked for post on Gyanvapi ‘Shivling’ / Teachers, students demand immediate release of associate professor Ratan Lal

Coffin carrying veteran journalist's body shown falling as Israeli police beat mourners with batons / Shireen Abu Aqleh: press freedom under attack

There was unrest in Jerusalem Friday as thousands attended the burial of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead two days earlier while reporting on a military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin. Mourners had marched from Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate to Mount Zion cemetery. They were met with violence at the St.… Read More Coffin carrying veteran journalist's body shown falling as Israeli police beat mourners with batons / Shireen Abu Aqleh: press freedom under attack

P. B. Mehta: With eyes wide open, we’re hurtling into an abyss / In Jahangirpuri, bulldozers leave trail of despair

 Anyone who has ever genuinely immersed themselves in Ramcharitmanas will recognise the singular poignancy of one moment in the Sundarkand where Hanuman meets Sita. Until that point the story is hurtling towards disaster. Sita has been abducted. Ram is distraught and unsure of himself. But the moment Hanuman meets Sita is the point at which… Read More P. B. Mehta: With eyes wide open, we’re hurtling into an abyss / In Jahangirpuri, bulldozers leave trail of despair

Under Myanmar’s junta, art has become an act of resistance

A bold new exhibition by a young Myanmar artist challenges people not to turn away from dead babies and brutalised women in conflict zones overlooked by the world’s media. The London show, ‘Please Enjoy Our Tragedies’, is by Sai, a multimedia artist who blocks out his last name for security reasons. Some of Sai’s work will… Read More Under Myanmar’s junta, art has become an act of resistance