2017

In 2016 this writer published a collection of commentaries on the ongoing state of the Republic titled, recklessly it may seem, Idea of India Hard to Beat: Republic Resilient.
The central speculation in that volume was that whereas it was unlikely now that Capitalism would inevitably breed its own slayer, another sort of inevitability could be asserted in the Indian context, namely, that, however circumstances might discourage, it could be argued that no government, be it from the Right or (…)

by Mridula Mukherjee
The celebrations of the seventieth anniversary of Independence Day and the seventyfifth anniversary of the ‘Quit India’ Movement, within the same week, have brought with them a welcome focus and debate in the public domain on the core values that define the Indian Republic. Political leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to the democratic vision of the freedom struggle. The Prime Minister has included communalism as one of the scourges that need to be made to ‘Quit (…)

Nationalist ruler’s loyal forefathers were ‘unsolicited’ British collaborators honoured with Royal Salute
I was overwhelmed on reading in The Calcutta Gazette, 1858 that the East India Company bestowed an extraordinary distinction upon an Indian feudal lord for his “unsolicited” support against the sepoys during the mutiny in Central and Berar Provinces, a fact, perhaps, scarcely known to the public. The issue, if and ever focused, is exposed to be erased from books in the face of (…)

For a child to be born into a staunch Gandhian family and to have grown into boyhood in the strict disciplinary ambience of an ashram run on Gandhian principles to have embraced Marxism and become a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI) in his late teens was a revolution in his personal life. Ours was a family of freedom fighters. My uncle, Satish Chandra Das Gupta, was known as the Gandhi of Bengal. Both my parents took part in the freedom movement. My mother, Suniti (…)

How do you conjure up a scenario: no states, no nations, only a vast ocean of humanity! It may sound amazing - not easy to comprehend; yet, look inward. Blind self-love fascinates, but excludes, blurring vision beyond borders; a closed identity, its magnetic pull gravitating, jams the wings of flight to take off into the universe. Try to see peaks from the foothills. A huge wall of height stands, blocking your searching eyesight; from a distance they outline a wondrous panorama on the (…)

by Sudipto Mukhopadhyay
The ongoing protest on Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s writings and the debates over their legitimacy (to the claim of an accolade from the Sahitya Academy) and authenticity (in representing the Santhali community) lead us to ponder over a few things which are integral to the study of Indian writing in English today. We believe one has the right to write and one surely has the right to protest. But the methods could be put at stake for our discussion here.
Herein, one (…)

BOOK REVIEW
Whispers of War: An Afghan Freedom Fighter’s Account of the Soviet Invasion by Masood Khalili; Sage Publications, New Delhi; 2017; 275 pages; Price: Rs 495 (paperback).
Afghanistan’s Ambassador Masood Khalili is a born story-teller. This writer, whom he helped in the 1990s with information and insights in order to co-author two books, should know.
Even at the recent launch of his book, Whispers of War: An Afghan Freedom Fighter’s Account of the Soviet Invasion, he told an (…)

TRIBUTE
N.V.K. Murthy was born on August 16, 1925 in Hyderabad. He received a baccalaureate degree in English literature from Maharaja’s College in Mysore. In August 1942, while a still a student at Maharaja’s College, he joined the ‘Quit India’ Movement for freedom against British colonial rule, and was imprisoned. Later, he received a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Indiana University in Bloomington, USA.
During his illustrious career in India he was the Head of the Department (…)

EDITORIAL
Today, August 9, 2017, happens to be the seventyfifth anniversary of the ‘Quit India’ movement also known as the August Revolution that, alongwith the Azad Hind Fauj’s daring exploits in South-East Asia right up to the borders of North-East India, eventually led to the British withdrawal from the ‘Jewel in the imperial Crown’ within five years, that is, by mid-August 1947 thereby ensuring transfer of power to its subjects—Indians in India and Pakistanis in Pakistan.
It is good (…)

To the Prime Minister of India, Chief Ministers of the States, and Lieutenant-Governors of the Union Territories,
We are a group of Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces who have spent our careers working for the security of our country. Collectively, our group holds no affiliation with any single political party, our only common commitment being to the Constitution of India.
It saddens us to write this letter, but current events in India have compelled us to register our dismay at the (…)