Turned Out You Were Just Like Us
English translation of Pakistani poet, human-rights activist and feminist, Fahmida Riaz, oft-quoted nazm, “Tum bilkul hum jaise nikle”.
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Voices Behind the Veil: The Human Cost of Karnataka’s Hijab Ban
Death threats, lost friendships and a bleak academic future — victims of Karnataka’s hijab ban continue to suffer.
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India’s Post-Truth Phase: Why a Free Digital Space Is a Threat to the Govt
The project to change the memory of the history of a nation is a big one. Hate-filled prime-time TV debates and WhatsApp messages with a singular focus on anything that divides Indians on religious lines are finding a perfect resonance in official statements and actions.
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Communalism | Education | Employment | Fascism | Indian Economy | Indian Politics | Online Blog | Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Crisis Caused by Majoritarianism, Authoritarianism and Minority Bashing Offers Lessons for India
The deeper reasons behind the Sri Lankan crisis are Sinhalese Buddhist majoritarianism, authoritarianism of the Gotabaya regime, violent targeting of minorities, brutal methods adopted to curb press freedom and deliberate curbing of the culture of scrutiny of public policies.
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With Fact & Faith, a Growing Band of Concerned Citizens Battles Hate Speech in India
As journalists face punitive action for fact-checking and reporting hate speech by those allied with India’s ruling party, citizens are stepping into the breach, taking enormous risks to document rising instances of hate speech and hate crimes in the country.
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‘Despite the Darkness, There Remain Pegs of Hope’: An Open Letter to Zakia Jafri
‘For a common Indian like me, you are the embodiment of courage and strength. You give me hope because your pursuance of justice, despite the odds, has been exemplary.’; Also – ‘The Hard Hearted State’ by Sankara Narayanan.
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New Ferment in Anti-RSS Discourse in South India
New anti-caste writers and film-makers are setting a radical agenda in mass culture in Karnataka and beyond. Will their challenge to Hindutva hegemony travel north?
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Why Votaries of Population Imbalance are Wrong About Muslim Growth Rate
Current demographic trends do not threaten national well-being, nor is the Muslim population exploding. The annual gung-ho about population explosion is political, not factual. It is a ploy to shroud the failure of the governments on the socio-economic front.
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Why Uddhav Thackeray Must Chart Sena Course Based on Inclusivity
If Uddhav Thackeray is able to broaden the ideological base of the Shiv Sena, it can help the party register electoral successes and start another era of inclusive politics. This of course means that Thackeray must walk on the razor’s edge, never tilting towards nativism and away from inclusivity.
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Loud Mouths and Invisible Tails: The New Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan Debate
There is growing conviction that the nation, language, and religion are one. Hindi ideologues see only Hindi as authentically Indian and Hindu. The current rhetoric is reminiscent of the ‘Hindi-wallahs’ in the early 20th century.
