A new book by the first woman high court chief justice offers insights into the causes affecting women today. At the sprightly age of 84, Leila Seth is busy planning her schedule. There are literary seminars to attend, talks to be given to schoolchildren, a book that has just been launched and, yes, already, another book to […]
Leila Seth: Words like justice Read More »
At this point, Haryana is poised for change, not just in government but for a new deal and a new direction for its women. It certainly deserves a chief minister who is more empathetic and better informed. Not one who sounds like an echo chamber of the khap panchayats in his state. At this point,
A fresh elections and a new result; yet Haryana seems to be stuck right where it was Read More »
By placing the onus on individual participation, Narendra Modi is challenging every citizen. Can we actually stop to pick up and clean up our own mess. In the darkened Goa multiplex, the cheers and whistles from the audience are what usually follow when Salman Khan rips his shirt off on screen. But the whistle and
Time to clean up your act Read More »
A festival tells those who are not of our religious persuasion who we are and what moves us. Why do we fast or dance. Religion at its best embraces, not excludes which is precisely why we need to invite and not dis-invite those who don’t practice our beliefs. If the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has its
Many degrees of separation Read More »
As a heaving, aspirational India expands its cities and towns, space for walking seems to shrink proportionately. It’s a lesson that is being learned the hard way as nature brutally reasserts its supremacy. In the middle of a mall-obsessed, real estate-hungry Singapore, I am rambling through a rain-forest. Located within the Botanic Gardens, this unexpected
Start off on the right foot: Walk and reach out Read More »
Love jihad propaganda inflames communal passions and leads to hardening stands in an already polarised environment, made more fragile by social media and viral rumours. News reports on national shooter Tara Shahdeo’s marriage to Ranjeet Singh Kohli, or Rakibul Hasan Khan to use his real name, do not make for easy reading. According to Shahdeo,
Cool tempers and ask: where is the evidence for love jihad Read More »
Narendra Modi has a chance to lead, even change, the nation’s discourse. Right now, we are ripe for a thousand unspoken conversations: Secularism, inclusiveness, development, gender, poverty. But instead of a dialogue we have competitive shrillness. There is a great noise around Narendra Modi’s silence since the 60-odd days that he has been prime minister.
Modi has a chance to change India’s discourse, but for that he must speak Read More »
Lowering the age of juveniles will take into account the reality of a changed India where crimes against women are on the rise. It will not, however, stop them unless we first create an environment of zero-tolerance. Mumbai’s Juvenile Justice Board has packed off the two underage rapists of a photojournalist and a telephone operator
India’s cavalier attitude towards crimes against women Read More »
Few other budgets in recent memory have been quite as sweeping in terms of its reference to women and gender. The comparison was inevitable: Rs.200 crore for a statue of Sardar Patel, but only Rs.100 crore for the girl child through a Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao awareness campaign, which will include courses on gender mainstreaming in school curricula. “NDA
Budget 2014: A cautious start on gender inclusivity Read More »
We need to stop apologising and start acknowledging that English is now our language, adding to a rich profusion of the languages we already own. Narendra Modi’s address in English at the recent PSLV launch at Sriharikota has, predictably, led to some raised eyebrows. A political decision, say some. He wanted to show the world
English is Indian: Kindly adjust Read More »
Through the 1980s when dowry deaths were routinely passed off as kitchen accidents, Satya Rani Chadha was the face of the anti-dowry movement. To a generation of connected, social media-savvy users, Satya Rani Chadha will not be a familiar name. But this was the name that launched the anti-dowry movement in Delhi and across India.
Satya Rani Chadha: The face of India’s anti-dowry movement Read More »
The Ambassador symbolised a time when austerity was not just a cool statement of minimalism but also a necessity… Like the shared tiffin of long train journeys, the Amby was accommodating, stretchable and comforting. I doubt there was any serious lamentation over a quiet announcement last month by Hindustan Motors that it was ceasing production
It is the end of the road Read More »