2023

With the suggestion by former minister and senior Congressman Prof. B. K. Chandrashekar recently for a Standing Committee consisting of heads of premier institutions like the IISC, the IIM, Bangalore, and the National Law School of India University for the selection of Vice Chancellors to the public universities in the State, the debate over the issue of appointment of VCs should acquire prominence again. It is highly desirable that the Government of Karnataka takes a serious look at the (…)

August 20, 2023
Six clear pathways to help India become more democratic and secular and counter the religious polarisation of politics.
Less than a year out from a general election, India is in a political flux.
The nation is dominated by populist, religiously polarised communal politics instead of being the secular, democratic and inclusive republic imagined in its constitution.
Indian society is governed in a largely majoritarian way — where there is little room for minority needs (…)

In the run up to the next round of assembly elections followed immediately thereafter by the countrywide Lok Sabha polls, scheduled for early next year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking a cue from its unchallenged supremo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started drumming up the bogey of wooing Pasmanda Muslims and Muslim women.
Some time back addressing a rally in Bhopal Modi publicly beat his breast on the “exploitation of Pasmanda Muslims” by the upper caste Muslims and (…)

We fought for freedom but they decided, our land, our very own homeland would be divided. No one knows of the mayhem and madness that did descend; take this as my testament: the knives at the nape of necks, the rapes of women, their jumping into wells, followed by blood-thirsty yells.
The people sleep-walked with their belongings, then just dropped them, unable to carry further; mothers abandoned their babies hoping they would find them again; a line drawn, had torn and turned our world (…)

.[The following message from a Pakistani Citizen has circulated on WhatsApp groups in the past 24 hours. It is being reproduced here in public interest]
India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft making a soft landing close to the South Pole region of moon, is a momentous event for which India deserves heartfelt felicitations and compliments. As a neighbor, I am happy and proud of India’s achievement and join the Indian people in their moment of joy and celebration. I hope that we can begin to (…)

August 21, 2023
by Abdullah Zahid with Beena Sarwar
After the first Minority Rights March days before attacks on the Christian community, protestors gather again in Karachi to reiterate demands to end violence in the name of religion
“Manzoor Masih – will be remembered!… The Christians of Shanti Nagar – will be remembered!… Rimsha Masih – will be remembered!… ”
Activist and dancer Sheema Kermani led the chanting, evoking the names of a long list of Pakistani Christian individuals and (…)

August 17, 2023
This is not the first time in my life. I was locked up under Brezhnev, beaten and threatened with death under Yeltsin. And now it’s the second arrest under Putin. Those in power change, but the tradition of putting political opponents behind bars, alas, remains. But the willingness of many people to make sacrifices for their beliefs, for freedom and social rights remains unchanged.
I think that the current arrest can be considered a recognition of the political (…)

by William Morris
My friends, I want you to look into the relations of Art to Commerce, using the latter word to express what is generally meant by it; namely, that system of competition in the market which is indeed the only form which most people now-a-days suppose that Commerce can take.
Now whereas there have been times in the world’s history when Art held the supremacy over Commerce; when Art was a good deal, and Commerce, as we understand the word, was a very little; so now on the (…)

https://wgonifis.net/2023/08/20/statement-on-the-rejection-of-police-permission-for-we20-peoples-summit-on-day-3/
Statement on the Rejection of Police Permission for We20 Peoples’ Summit on Day 3
ON AUGUST 20, 2023
New Delhi, 20.08.23: The Delhi Police has declined permission to continue the We20 Peoples’ Summit at the HKS Surjit Bhawan this morning through a letter on the Day 3 of the Summit. We are shocked that we need to have “permission” to practice democracy.
This comes after (…)