Atomic Veterans Were Silenced for 50 Years. Now, They’re Talking

ByJanata Backup

Atomic Veterans Were Silenced for 50 Years. Now, They’re Talking Nearly everyone who’s seen it and lived to tell the tale describes it the same way: a horrifying, otherworldly thing of ghastly beauty that has haunted their life ever since. “The colors were beautiful,” remembers a man in Morgan Knibbe’s short documentary The Atomic Soldiers….

Searching for Glimpses of Nehru in a Parochial, Post-Nehruvian India

ByJanata Backup

Searching for Glimpses of Nehru in a Parochial, Post-Nehruvian India [May 27 is the death anniversay of Jawaharlal Nehru. This article is being published courtesy The Wire.]   India was in my blood and there was much in her that instinctively thrilled me. And yet I approached her almost as an alien critic, full of…

Reassurance That Isn’t

ByJanata Backup

Reassurance That Isn’t Commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory speech, The Indian Express wrote: “In his speech in Central Hall in Parliament on Saturday, the first after being elected leader of the BJP-led NDA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck a heartening note of magnanimity. Among other things, he said the new government would make…
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Is This My Vote?

ByJanata Backup

Is This My Vote? Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are magic machines that convert candidates into representatives. This magic depends on the number of votes counted on the EVM as having been cast in favour of a candidate. Candidates and people accepting the EVM count as a representation of the people’s mandate depends on their trust…

Students from 1,600 Cities Protest Climate Change

ByJanata Backup

Students from 1,600 Cities Protest Climate Change Hundreds of thousands of students around the world walked out of their schools and colleges Friday in the latest in a series of strikes urging action to address the climate crisis. According to event organisers Fridays for Future, over 1664 cities across 125 countries registered strike actions, with…

How the BJP’s Political Narrative Filled the Holes in the NDA’s Actual Performance

ByJanata Backup

How the BJP’s Political Narrative Filled the Holes in the NDA’s Actual Performance The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—and more than that, Narendra Modi—has come back with a larger mandate than what it was given by India’s voters in 2014.   At one level, this is remarkable given the economic distress all around, which should have…

CO2 Levels Hit 415 PPM for First Time in 3 Million+ Years

ByJanata Backup

CO2 Levels Hit 415 PPM for First Time in 3 Million+ Years Atmospheric levels of carbon registered 415 parts per million over the weekend at one of the world’s key measuring stations, a concentration level researchers say has not existed in more than 3 million years—before the dawn of human history.   Taken at the…

Debate: Beware Glib Explanations for Modi’s Election Victory

ByJanata Backup

Debate: Beware Glib Explanations for Modi’s Election Victory Indian elections are preceded by predictions such as either X will win with a majority, or Y will win with a majority. If neither gets a majority they will team up with other parties. It is also possible that X or Y may get less votes than…

The Yellow Vests of France: Six Months of Struggle

ByJanata Backup

The Yellow Vests of France: Six Months of Struggle I am writing you from Montpellier, France, where I am a participant–observer in the Yellow Vest (Gilets jaunes) movement, which is still going strong after six months, despite a dearth of information in the international media.   But why should you take the time to learn…