Recovering the Spirit of the Rowlatt Satyagraha, 100 Years Later

Recovering the Spirit of the Rowlatt Satyagraha, 100 Years Later The leaders of our major (and minor) political parties are currently crisscrossing the country in search of votes. Exactly a 100 years ago, in the spring of 1919, another leader was also touring different parts of India. It was four years since Mohandas K. Gandhi…

Book Release: “The RSS: A Menace to India”

Book Release: “The RSS: A Menace to India” Scholar, lawyer and author Abdul Ghafoor Noorani’s latest book The RSS: A Menace to India, published by Leftword Books, was released in New Delhi on April 2, 2019. It’s a well written, comprehensive, research-intensive deep-dive book about one of India’s biggest and most secretive organisations.   Speaking…

India under Narendra Modi: A Throwback to the Germany of the 1930s?

India under Narendra Modi: A Throwback to the Germany of the 1930s? As a boy, the German novelist Max von der Grun heard the news of Hitler becoming the Reich Chancellor over the radio on 30 January, 1933 . Two days later, he and his family listened to Hitler speaking to the nation, again over…

Climate Catastrophe and Extinction Rebellion

Climate Catastrophe and Extinction Rebellion The British-based group Extinction Rebellion has called for nonviolent acts of civil disobedience on April 15 (2019) in capitals around the world to reverse our “one-way track to extinction.” This talk was given by Paul Street in Chicago, USA, some days ago in the background of this global call for…

Writers, Scientists, Filmmakers, Theatre Artists Appeal to Vote Out Hate Politics

Writers, Scientists, Filmmakers, Theatre Artists Appeal to Vote Out Hate Politics Hundreds of writers, theatre artists, scientists and filmmakers have issued appeals stressing that the coming elections are crucial for the future of our country, the spectre of fascism looms over the country, and appealing to the people of the country to vote against inequality,…

Tosepan: Resistance and Renewal in Mexico

Tosepan: Resistance and Renewal in Mexico Since the mid-1980s, Mexico has been a poster child for globalisation. Through free trade treaties and structural adjustment policies imposed by international financial institutions, the country has been “liberalised”—opened up to unfettered corporate investment and imports— to an extent matched by few other countries. Though the North American Free Trade…

Raghuram Rajan Says Capitalism is ‘Under Serious Threat’

Raghuram Rajan Says Capitalism is ‘Under Serious Threat’ Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday warned that capitalism is under “serious threat” of a “revolt” as the economic and political system has stopped providing for the people, especially after the 2008 global financial meltdown.   Mr. Rajan, now a professor at the University of Chicago,…

Tosepan: Resistance and Renewal in Mexico

Tosepan: Resistance and Renewal in Mexico Since the mid-1980s, Mexico has been a poster child for globalisation. Through free trade treaties and structural adjustment policies imposed by international financial institutions, the country has been “liberalised”—opened up to unfettered corporate investment and imports— to an extent matched by few other countries. Though the North American Free Trade…

Current Threats to the Constitution

Current Threats to the Constitution This is the text of the Krishna Bharadwaj Memorial Lecture, delivered by Prashant Bhushan at Jawaharlal Nehru University on March 14, 2019.   Sixty nine years ago, we framed a constitution and founded a republic. The foundations of this republic are a democratically governed society with various fundamental rights guaranteed…