Safeguarding Academic Freedom Is the Bedrock of India’s Constitutional Morality

Any attempt to reimagine or recreate a constitution may fall woefully short in its objective if ‘freedoms’ are threatened and ‘unfreedoms’ are instilled by a usurper of power Deepanshu Mohan Source: The Wire In an attempt to initiate a discussion on the ‘new’ foundations of the Indian Constitution, chief economic advisor to the prime minister Bibek… Read More Safeguarding Academic Freedom Is the Bedrock of India’s Constitutional Morality

Israel to deny Palestinian-Israelis Preparation for University, in Exact Parallel to Apartheid South Africa

JUAN COLE Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – White Power nationalism in South Africa during the Apartheid period from the 1940s until the early 1990s demanded that the 20% of the population that was white control the lives of the 68% of the population that was Black. (Actually, during this era the whites declined to only… Read More Israel to deny Palestinian-Israelis Preparation for University, in Exact Parallel to Apartheid South Africa

Famed Iranian director sentenced to prison over Cannes Film Festival screening

Famed Iranian director Saeed Roustaee has been sentenced to six months in prison, according to local reports, after presenting his most-recent film at the Cannes International Film Festival last year. Roustaee screened the film “Leila’s Brothers,” a movie about a family in Tehran trying to make ends meet, in competition for the Palme d’Or, the… Read More Famed Iranian director sentenced to prison over Cannes Film Festival screening

Manipur to Mewat: Empowering the mob, disempowering the State

The shift in nomenclature from Amrit Kaal to Kartavya Kaal has been marked by a complete dereliction of duty by the country’s top political leadership Sushant Singh From Manipur to Mewat, Narendra Modi’s new India doesn’t portray a pretty picture. It is a holy mess. The shift in nomenclature from Amrit Kaal (auspicious period) to… Read More Manipur to Mewat: Empowering the mob, disempowering the State

Trump is doomed

By BRIAN KAREM Finally. Donald Trump’s depravities are laid bare for all to see in a court of law. With the latest felony indictments handed down by a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury, former president Donald John Trump is accused of leading the “Fulton 19” — a loose assemblage of accused criminals also known as… Read More Trump is doomed

Ahead of the 2024 Elections, the BJP-RSS Is Setting the Ideological Stage

Anand K. Sahay To understand the direction in which the country is being propelled by the powers that be, we should consider the recent no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha (August 8-10, 2023) not in isolation, but in the context of the happenings of the past fortnight or so, and a likely scenario for… Read More Ahead of the 2024 Elections, the BJP-RSS Is Setting the Ideological Stage

Donald Trump indicted in Georgia 2020 election subversion probe

The 13 charges against Trump himself include racketeering, forgery and perjury. NB: Despite my severe misgivings about the American polity, I must acknowledge its deep rooted acceptance of the concept of accountability. No one should be above the law, even Presidents and ex Presidents. It is a concept that has singularly failed to take root… Read More Donald Trump indicted in Georgia 2020 election subversion probe

What the 2023 Monsoon Session of Parliament Tells Us About the State of Governance

Deepanshu Mohan Waves of parliamentary theatrics define the disjointed operative functionalities of Indian democracy.  For watchers and observers of session proceedings, repetitive adjournments, an ecosystem of chaos, protests in and outside the chambers of the house, bias and favouritism among House speakers against opposition party parliamentarians have all become a part of an unusual norm.… Read More What the 2023 Monsoon Session of Parliament Tells Us About the State of Governance

Kautilya’s observations on the causes of discontent in a polity

Impoverishment, greed, and disaffection, he says, are engendered when the king: 1/ ignores the good [people] and favours the wicked; 2/ causes harm by new unrighteous practices; 3/ neglects the observation of the proper and righteous practices; 4/ suppresses dharma and propagates adharma; 5/ does what ought not to be done and fails to do… Read More Kautilya’s observations on the causes of discontent in a polity