On Mother’s Day, spare a thought for the sufferings of millions of women. Tomorrow I will not be gifting my mother either flowers or a card. No spa treatment. No manicure-pedicure. Like all the other 364 days this year, I will call her, perhaps pop in to fill her medicine box, make sure she has […]
A card cannot say it all Read More »
Elections in India are not decided by Twitter trends or ‘likes’ on Facebook. Thanks to Twitter, I’ve now learned a new word: Feku. Even as Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi addressed meetings in New Delhi, the first at the FICCI Ladies Organisation and the second at CNN-IBN’s Think India festival, the hashtag, ‘Feku’ (boaster, teller
The stage’s virtually set Read More »
We must say ‘no’ to insensitive advertisements featuring women. If we are to change the way the industry sees women, then that change comes from the effectiveness of the industry to regulate itself. The ad you won’t be seeing has led to outrage, the sacking of senior advertising executives and an apology by a Ford
Revoke this ‘creative licence’ Read More »
Hand on heart, how many of you cheered, or at least felt a bit relieved when you woke up to news of the death of Ram Singh, one of the principal accused in the Delhi December 16 gang-rape case? Hand on heart, how many of you cheered, or at least felt a bit relieved when
It’s our system on trial Read More »
They might inspire fear, but the boards also bring parents closer to children. From the corner of my eye, I spy my daughter waving out to the dog, again. Normally, this wouldn’t set me off on a state of panic. But with just a day to go before the Board exams start, this is no
On board the exam express Read More »
Our failure to protest loudly enough makes us complicit with weak governance. It’s a silence that threatens democratic ideas and places every citizen, regardless of ideology, at peril. The right to be offended is now an all-inclusive Indian sport that unites citizens from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir, Jaipur to Kolkata, women, Dalits, Muslim, Hindus. The
Quiet in times of intolerance Read More »
In the small room they call home, the family of the girl known as Delhi’s Brave heart is trying to come to terms with its loss. Already there is no evidence that she lived here only a month ago. In the small room they call home, the family of the girl known as Delhi’s Braveheart
There’s no closure for them Read More »
The things are changing: Gender issues are now a part of mainstream discourse. Just over a month ago would you have imagined thousands, men as well as women, marching in protest against rape? Just over a month ago would you have imagined that an online petition could cancel a New Year concert by a hugely
Finally, the glass is half full Read More »
A terrible thing happened to a girl who was trying to get back home after a movie. To not respond or speak or rage or demand change would make us less than human. How many went to bed that night with the same questions? What kind of human does this to another? How could they
A tipping point for change Read More »
A memorial is not just about building the tallest, biggest, grandest statue. On the day before his death anniversary, BSP head Mayawati was disrupting Parliament to press for a memorial to Bhim Rao Ambedkar. The government was scheduled to make an announcement at noon. “Why not now?” she asked as members of her party rushed
Roosting place for pigeons Read More »
In death, people have ceased to be objective about late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. The life-size effigies strung up on lamp-posts were terrifying – at least to a child. In the late sixties/early seventies, they symbolised the South Indians who the Shiv Sena was determined to drive out of Bombay, as the city was
He has had the last laugh Read More »