CATEGORIES

In The Name Of Andal

A reference to the Srivaishnavite poet-saint-goddess perceived as derogatory in an article by the celebrated poet-lyricist Vairamuthu published in a Tamil daily sparks protests and fundamentalist Hindutva forces exploit the issue for political gain.

Trump, Year One

The anger against Donald Trump was evident in this year’s Women’s March too, but it is unlikely to translate into votes for the Democrats in the midterm elections.

Spectacle Sans Substance

Union Budget 2018-19 turns out to be an exercise that carries forward the use of hyperbole on which the Narendra Modi regime rests. Two major welfare measures, minimum support price for farmers and health care for the poor, have been announced with fanfare but with no plan to implement them as policy. 

Train Of Neglect

Jaitley’s Budget offers little to railway passengers or businesses and is marked by a singular failure to address the deep faults in the system that have a critical bearing on safety. 

Intense Battle

Meghalaya is all set to witness a close contest between the ruling Congress and a BJP-regional parties combine.

Back To The Booth

Kenyans are hoping for the best in the presidential election that has been scheduled for October 17 after the Supreme Court nullified the election that was held in August because of electoral irregularities.

Legal Challenges

When the government declared high-denomination currency notes as not being legal tender in 1978, it did so through an Ordinance.In contrast, the November 8 and subsequent notifications came without any legislative support.

Solider of Socialism

Fidel Castro, who defended the values of the revolution that he led in his country and extended his moral and material support to the forces of progress wherever they found themselves up against dictatorship and imperialism, walks into history.

Blundering Along

The opaque manner in which the government has handled demonetisation has fatally damaged the framework of economic governance.

The Trump Team

This is a government of fables. It is appropriate that it is led by Donald Trump, a man made more by the world of entertainment than by the world of governance.

Triple Talaq: A Monstrous Wrong On Justice Syed Mahmood

There is no Quranic sanction for triple talaq at all. Muslims of India cannot avoid or evade the stark choice that faces them. Do they want their law to be based on the Quran and the hadith or on misinterpretations by British judges? 

Killing Poverty

Malnutrition-related deaths in Palghar in Maharashtra are a pointer to the lack of employment and welfare measures for tribal people to keep the wolf from the door.

The TB burden

Poverty, income inequality and undernutrition are some of the factors responsible for the high incidence of tuberculosis cases, and migration of patients poses a serious challenge to health care providers.

Kudankulam Ready for More

The foundation laying work for reactor units three and four has begun and talks for units five and six are under way. 

Taste of Her Own Medicine

Mamata Banerjee’s administration faces an agitation against land acquisition that has disturbing parallels with the Nandigram and Singur agitations which turned around her plummeting political fortunes 10 years ago.

Running Roughshod Over Livelihoods

Developments following the “cow protection” efforts of the government and other social organisations have not only crippled an already beleaguered livestock sector but also resulted in the proliferation of stray cattle, raising serious economic and ecological concerns.

Blurring Divides

Kerala makes a silent revolution by appointing Dalits and other non-Brahmins as priests in temples.

Marching To A Different Drummer

The G20 summit in Hamburg was an occasion for public affirmations of the continued power of progressive ideas and calls for action  around issues that really matter, in the form of an alternative summit, performance art demonstrations, and marches.

End Of The Gulf dream?

Stagnating wages, rising costs of living, a growing trend of imposing restrictions on foreign workers and the declining fortunes of the Gulf itself have resulted in a decline in the number of emigrants from Kerala and a weakened remittance flow into the State.

Promise of dignity

The new Mental Health Care Bill is more humane in its approach than previous laws and has provisions that give the mentally ill a degree of autonomy.

Out Of The Four Walls

Care for the mentally ill should look beyond the “madhouse” and towards inclusive communities with a place for persons with psychosocial disabilities. BY RADHIKA ALKAZI AND AMBA SALELKAR.

Ghosts of the Past

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives to find a solution to the Kashmir unrest may have little effect in the absence of a concrete plan to restore the Kashmiri people’s faith in New Delhi.

Misadventure in Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting a losing battle in Yemen, and Riyadh’s own economic problems make a long-running war there unsustainable.

Ambedkarites And The Left Should Come Together 

Interview with Dalit leader and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani.

Narrative Battles

Competing historical narratives about the Anglo-Maratha battle at Bhima Koregaon may have ensured that the memory of the 200-year-old battle remains permanently disputed, but they have also led to a renewed self-assertion by Dalit communities.

Insidious Fault Lines

Behind the apparent Maratha-Dalit rift in the Koregaon Bhima clashes lies a more sinister mobilisation by Hindutva fringe groups that tap into Maratha grievances.

Threat From Within

Vacancies in the Central Information Commission, the backlog of applications and the attempts to weaken the RTI Act raise fresh concerns about the government’s commitment to transparency.

Struggling For A New Status

The demand of Lingayats for a separate religious tag, delinked from the Veerashaiva Hindu faith, is shrouded in political intrigue. Even as Hindutva’s aggressive adherents find themselves in a dilemma, the Congress hopes to gain electorally from fuelling the demand.

The Chimpanzee Lady

Jane Goodall, whose pioneering work on chimpanzee behaviour gave primatology a new direction, calls for urgent measures to save the planet and its wildlife.

crucial steps

the chief minister declares all the 32 districts of tamil nadu drought affected and announces a relief package. opposition parties welcome the announcement but want transparency in spending the funds.