A Minority Within a Minority in Independent India
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A Minority Within a Minority in Independent India

Once upon a time, in 1947 India made a famous tryst with destiny. Although, for many it’s just a 72-year period but for me, a member of minority within a minority, it’s a long, long time. One can debate, whether to call us the minority or the second largest majority. Still, I don’t care, because…

India’s Withering Public Employment

India’s Withering Public Employment

While the neoliberal focus has been on attempts to “shrink the state” on the grounds of corruption and inefficiency, sensible people have long recognised that high levels of public employment tend to be associated with better quality of life for people in a society. After all, the essential public services, from infrastructure to amenities, security…

India’s Real Economy Tanking
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India’s Real Economy Tanking

Suddenly, it seems like everything is shrinking in India: Our capacity for tolerance and diversity, the space for democratic expression and dissent—and now, economic growth. The warning signs have reached a point where they cannot be ignored any longer, and more people, including prominent business leaders, are speaking out. Yet, at least overtly, the government…

The Article 370 Amendments: Key Legal Issues
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The Article 370 Amendments: Key Legal Issues

In this post, I will attempt to break down the constitutional changes to Article 370, and highlight some key legal issues surrounding them. In essence, to understand what has happened today, there are three important documents. At the heart of everything is Presidential Order C.O. 272, which constitutes the basis for everything that follows. The…

Thousands Pledge to Join Global Climate Strike on September 20

Thousands Pledge to Join Global Climate Strike on September 20

Organisers behind the global climate strike movement—from teenage students to adults who have fought for climate action for decades—have called on all people who want to halt the climate crisis to join the worldwide action on September 20. 350.org, one of dozens of international, national, and local groups organising the strike, announced on August 20…

Statement on Kashmir
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Statement on Kashmir

Statement on Kashmir Gandhi Peace Foundation Having listened to the debates on Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister’s address to the nation, and having watched subsequent developments in Kashmir, we as citizens of India inspired by the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi feel compelled to state that the government…

Remembering George Orwell, the Socialist

Remembering George Orwell, the Socialist

To most readers, George Orwell (June 25, 1903–January 21, 1950) remains the author of Nineteen Eighty-four and Animal Farm, Stalinism’s most trenchant critic and champion of liberal democracy. Essentially, this view is not wrong, except that his most-read fiction provides us with only a fragmented perspective on Orwell’s moral and intellectual universe. The popular view,…