Why India Can’t Innovate
Right now, we are too distracted to innovate. And too invested in keeping people distracted. Who needs innovation when you can manufacture quick public outrage as and when needed?
India Comments on Treatment of Hindus in Bangladesh But Must Know its Treatment of Muslims has Repercussions: Debapriya Bhattacharya
Bangladeshis believe that New Delhi bears collateral responsibility for sustaining Sheikh Hasina’s rule, says the distinguished Bangladeshi economist.
Row Over Urdu; Supreme Court Judgement on Urdu – 3 Articles
‘Urdu’s Exile Diminishes Indian Pluralism’; ‘Row over Urdu and a Tale of Two Non-Hindi Knowing Prime Ministers of India’; and: ‘Supreme Court Verdict Allowing Urdu Signage Reaffirms that India is a Multilingual Democracy’.
Forgetting Nellie: Forty Two Years and Counting
In February 1983, in one of the nation’s bloodiest pogroms, over 2000 Bengali-Muslims were killed in the wake of the Assam agitation. What happened in Nellie continues to reverberate in the everyday persecution of Indian Muslims. Nellie, more than a memory, stays with us as a metaphor. Preserving its memory is an assertion of itself.
Eid: Celebrating Unity Amidst Pain – 3 Articles
‘A Lunch on Eid’; ‘In Pain Yet Unbroken: Eid at Sambhal’; and: ‘An Iftar at Hazrat Nizamuddin’s Dargah, a Date with History’.
Aurangzeb’s Afterlife and the Chhaava-fication of Indian History
Aurangzeb, who died in 1707, and his rather modest grave, have become the subject of heated debate, tensions and even an excuse for violence in 2025. A discussion with historian Dr Ruchika Sharma and author Parvati Sharma about the Mughal ruler’s life and policies, and the growth of propaganda claiming to be history.
From Bodh Gaya to Mumbai, Protests to ‘Free’ Buddhist Temple Gather Steam
An agitation demanding the end of ‘Brahmin control’ over the Mahabodhi temple has struck a chord in Maharashtra and other states.
‘Go Back to Kashmir’: Facing Hate Intimidation & Assault, Kashmiri Traders Live and Work in Terror in India
Kashmiri traders, mainly those selling shawls in different Indian states, are encountering increasing hostility, violence and harassment as the calls for boycotting Muslims and their businesses and trade by Hindu rightwing groups have become more prevalent.
Saluting Zakia Jafri; Remembering the Gujarat Carnage 2002
On 1 February 2025, Zakiaben was called to her eternal reward. In her death, the people of India have lost a great soul. She suffered much since that fateful day, when her dear husband Ehsan Jafri was brutally murdered. Since then, she fought relentlessly for justice not merely for herself but all women and other victims of an unjust and violent system.
Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code – 3 Articles
The Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand promotes state control in personal relationships, including marriages, divorces, matrimonial disputes, and live-in relationships, as well as in matters of succession and inheritance. Also: ‘Live-in Relationships and the War Against Women’s Agency’; and: ‘Why This Live-In Couple is Taking on Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code’.