The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate should know that national pride lies in not wanting the world to look at India in admiration. It lies in making your country a better place for its citizens. The man who hopes to be India’s next prime minister is talking about national pride. It will be built on the […]
Narendra Modi should make real promises, solve real issues Read More »
Caught in a shadowy time between tradition and globalisation, post liberalised India’s fascination for godmen continues. My first instinct was to laugh. Only in India would a seer dream of a long dead king telling him about buried gold. Only in India would this be taken seriously enough to send the Archaeological Survey of India
India’s enduring fascination with godmen Read More »
The national conversation, dominated by temples, toilets, has no patience for stories of Dalit women who face humiliation daily. Given the measly media coverage, their stories cause no outrage. The national conversation, dominated by temples, toilets, has no patience for stories of Dalit women who face humiliation daily. Given the measly media coverage, their stories
At stake is the dignity of Dalit women Read More »
Now that Rahul Gandhi has termed the ordinance on convicted lawmakers ‘nonsense’, it is pretty much dead in the water. What remains to be seen is whether the government will follow through by also withdrawing the Bill. A few days from now we will witness that annual ritual known as Gandhi Jayanti when politicians trot
Voters will be watching Read More »
So what changes now? Now that four convicts in the Delhi gang rape case have been sentenced to death will your daughter be able to take a bus from a late evening film show without worrying about making it safely home? So what changes now? Now that four convicts in the Delhi gang-rape case have
No going back from here Read More »
The most basic human act of one person telling another ‘I feel your pain,’ seems singularly absent in the landscape of Indian political-speak across parties and ideology. Nine days after 23 school children died and another 24 were hospitalised after eating a school lunch contaminated with pesticide, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar finally decided to
Never having to say sorry Read More »
The juvenile justice system needs many changes to reflect social reality. This is what worries me. Three years or two years or how so ever many months from now, the juvenile who at 17 years and six months of age gang-raped, brutalised and eventually killed a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in December will walk free. We
They’re not minor offences Read More »
A State can make it mandatory to look after the elderly. But what about emotional care? In the sepia-tinted narrative, the parents grow old, earn their place of respect and have hordes of dutiful, loving children and grandchildren worship at their feet. The Grand Indian Family is alive, well and happy. The golden years are
Make them feel relevant Read More »
Despite numerous attacks, there are no street protests demanding justice for the victims of acid violence. No campaigns for the basic demand for the ban of acid sales. Speaking in a clear, sing-song tone, Laxmi says she cannot forget that day on April 22, 2005 when acid was thrown on her face. The man who
A life of pain and penury Read More »
In India we are leap years away from giving women a just work environment. The unlamentable fall of Phaneesh Murthy should have been a clear signal of zero tolerance by managements towards sexual harassment. The collective tut-tutting by the IT industry — ‘message to all leaders in business’, ‘right decision’ etc — should have come
An inconvenient truth 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 »