2019

IMPRESSIONS
Come to think of it, everything in our country has a religious dimension to it—food, clothing, universities, hospitals, civil service, the professions like law and journalism, and even this column because its byline has a religion’s brand on it. (I gave up religion long ago. I retain my belief in God but see religion as the commercialisation of God for purposes of politics and profit.) If my name were P.L. Santosh or K. Swaraj or even Shri N, the religious-neutrality of it (…)

by Arup Maharatna
The following is a piece based on one chapter of the author’s recent book titled, The Indian Metamorphosis: Essays on its Enlightenment, Education and Society, Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
In global historical perspective, there can be no denying that a mass transformation— ideational, attitudinal, socio-cultural—in line with reasoned rationality, democratic spirit and humanistic secularism serves as a foundation of modern economic growth along with sustained (…)

The new Act... ignores the insistent demand of the country for a Declaration of Rights... A feature of the Act which has disappointed me much is the failure to do justice to the political rights of Indian women... To the Kisan delegates present here, I am glad to see in their hundreds, who represent the great agricultural proletariat of this country and to the labour delegates, this Congress owes a special duty. We have to see to their enfranchisement and to the improvement of their hard (…)

MUSINGS
Don’t know how today’s rulers can go on condemning terrorism at the various national and international forums, when they have a terror accused sitting right inside Parliament! Obviously, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur got the vital ticket to fight the elections after much calculated thought by the who’s who in the Hindutva lobbies and brigades. So now it gets absolutely ridiculous to see the same Hindutva lot condemning her poison-dripping statements! In all probability they are almost (…)

In most parts of the world farmers are in distress, soil quality is deteriorating rapidly, farm animals/birds are suffering, sustainablity is in crisis and food is less safe. The overall drift is towards high and increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the world food and farming system.
All these disturbing symptoms and trends are avoidable to a large extent. For this we need wider consensus on some broad aspects of a desirable food and farming system, and then to somehow ensure that at (…)

Academician, writer and social activist Zaheer Ali is in Conversation with Subhash Gatade about his latest book ‘Romancing With Revolution : Life and Works of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’ (Aakar Books, Delhi, 2019) and why Faiz is ‘extremely relevant in today’s India’
This is the hour of madness, this too the hour of chain and noose. You may hold the cage in your control, but you don’t command. The bright season when a flower blooms in the garden. So, what if we didn’t see it? For others-after us will (…)

by Divya Nair
Impure means result in an impure end. Hence, prince and the peasant will not be equalled by cutting off the prince’s head, nor can the process of cutting off equalise the employer and the employed. One cannot reach truth by untruth-fulness. Truthful conduct alone can reach truth. —Gandhiji
The artist of this untitled piece, K.H. Ara, was a satyagrahi who was imprisoned for his participation in the famous Salt Satyagraha. The production of salt, a dietary staple, was heavily (…)

by Ahmed Raza
The recent encounter by the Hyderabad cops during the investigation process of rape and murder of a vet doctor tempted no of question-marks on the legalities of the encounter. The inhuman, cruel and ruthless offence could not be imagined in the society; unfortunately India’s southern city Hyderabad witnessed such hideous and horrible offence allegedly by a group of four young adults resulting in distress, anguish and grief in the county. The villainous incident traumatised (…)

BOOK REVIEW
by Vishwa Nath
Women and Development: Issues and Challenges by Rekha Kaul and Anita Malhotra (eds): Elite Publishing House, New Delhi; 2018; pp. 216; Rs 995
Recently, on November 25, the world cele-brated the ‘United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women’. It reminds us that Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without ending violence against women that is against the basic tenets of humanity. At a time when we are talking (…)

by Anujaya Krishna
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (“Amendment”) passed by both Houses of Parliament recently is an epitome of discrimination, not ‘reasonable classification’. It was tabled as a “BILL further to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955”.1 The Citizenship Act, 2005 (“the Act”) is stated to be an Act to provide for the determination and acquisition of Indian citizenship.2
The Amendment makes an addition to Section 2(b)(1) of the Act as per which “...any person belonging to (…)