If we are to talk about apologies with any degree of honesty, then there’s plenty to be remorseful about in post Independent India. It’s not a foreign colonial power, but our own governments that also owe us a range of apologies. Nobody is owed an apology more than the Dalits and the women of this […]
It’s not just the British, but our govts also owe us a range of apologies Read More »
Politicians in India have rarely been forthcoming about their health, taking refuge in the argument that they are entitled to their privacy. Do we as citizens have the right to know? In hindsight, we know that at the time of Independence, Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam MA Jinnah had advanced tuberculosis and died just over a year later
The lack of transparency about Jayalalithaa’s health is worrying Read More »
On June 24, a software engineer Swathi was attacked by a man with a knife in Chennai. As she lay bleeding, not one commuter came forward to help. Partly it’s a reluctance to get involved in a long-drawn legal process including police questioning and court appearances. Partly it’s a fear that intervention could lead to
No law can bridge the gap of basic decency Read More »
The failure of the Supreme Court to recognise just how damaging criminal defamation is to free speech is only the latest in a series of assaults. The point about free speech that has been reiterated more than once is that it necessarily includes the right to cause offence. The newest controversy to erupt over free
Offended? No matter. Ignore and move on Read More »
I have five questions in the wake of the national outrage following the death of Shaktiman the police horse: 1. Would we have given a damn had politicians not been involved? Forget for a second that last month’s protest near the Dehradun Assembly was led by BJP legislator Ganesh Joshi. What if it had been
Five questions after the death of Shaktiman Read More »
The injection of religious symbolism into the idea of India is deliberate, and dangerous. The sons of Bharat Mata have put their love on public display and it is not a pretty sight. At the Patiala House district court, men in black shout Bharat Mata Ki Jai as they assault journalists, students, teachers and even
We have reached a place of ugly, triumphant majoritarianism Read More »
Rohith Vemula was not just any son. He was a Dalit son, and to ignore his caste is to ignore the significance of his life and death. We did not flinch at the news that an eight-year-old Dalit boy had his arm amputated after he was thrown into a sugarcane crusher for ‘not working properly’
Rohith’s death: India must have conversation on apartheid against Dalits Read More »
The arrest of a comedian sends a clear message: Religion is out of bounds. Given the volatility of mob sentiment, perhaps a place to start would be for the Supreme Court to draw a line between religion and politics. We might make a tentative beginning with simply scrapping sections in law that today have become
Kiku’s arrest sends a clear message: Religion is out of bounds Read More »
Hardik Patel’s agitation is not about just quotas but about re-examining a system that has over the years been used conveniently by political parties to further vote banks. Liberalisation’s children now want more. No government, leave alone one that came to power on the promise of development and ‘achche din’, can afford to ignore them.
Patel stir: Need to re-examine a system that nurtures vote banks Read More »
Several incidents in the last few months show that though the country is celebrating its 69th Independence Day, it still has miles to go to achieve real freedom from many challenges. The only problem is that the list seems to be growing every single day. Independence Day is a good a day to reflect on
I-Day musings: Still miles to go before true freedom Read More »
If defamation is to be decriminalized, then civil remedies and financial compensation for the loss of individual reputations must be strengthened. If defamation is to be decriminalised, then civil remedies and financial compensation for the loss of individual reputations must be strengthened. Would you have ever imagined that the BJP’s Subramanian Swamy, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi
Decriminalise defamation but protect individual reputation Read More »
The sari will endure because when we Indian women want to dress up, when we attend weddings or festivals, when we want to feel special, the inevitable garment of choice is the sari. We are not the generation of our grandmothers and mothers who wore only saris (yes, even on the beach, alas), but our
A never-ending love affair with saris Read More »