An ‘Encounter’ and a Vice-Chancellor
Remembering Professor Mushirul Hasan, Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, today is also to mourn the demise of the hopelessly utopian idea of composite culture.
No Bharat Ratna for Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Please!
Every year, on the birth anniversary of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia (23 March), demands are made to the government for posthumous conferment of Bharat Ratna on Dr. Lohia. However, it would be an injustice to Lohia’s legacy if the government/ ruling class indeed conferred Bharat Ratna on Lohia.
As Farmers’ Struggle Completes 100 Days: News from Across the Country
Mahapanchayats in Madhya Pradesh; Despite intense repression, Gujarat farmers form new organisation to oppose farm laws; Padyatras, rallies taking place across the country; Farmers and workers come together to oppose privatisation of public sector banks and insurance; and more.
Lessons of Dandi March When on its 91st Anniversary, Celebration of 75th Anniversary of India’s Independence has Commenced
A reflection on the deeper dimensions of Dandi March, the significance of which endures beyond time and space.
Parleying with the Infinite: India in Beethoven’s Imagination
There are many surprising ways in which Western classical music, and more particularly the music of Beethoven, has relations with India. The name of Beethoven is also inextricably linked up with the name of someone who is inescapably present in nearly every conversation—Gandhi.
How Did a Fateful CIA Coup—Executed 55 Years Ago this February 24—Doom Much of Sub-Saharan Africa?
55 years ago on this day, the fate of Africa was irrevocably altered when the CIA sponsored a coup d’état against Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, former Prime Minister of Ghana and Pan-Africanist visionary who was voted as “Africa’s Man of the Millennium.”
Chandra Singh Garhwali: World Peace Movement Will Never Forget the Soldier Who Refused to Fire on Unarmed Protestors
He and his fellow soldiers will be always remembered for their courage and sacrifice in refusing to fire on peaceful protesters offering non-violent resistance. Thereby a new and glorious chapter was added and a new dimension was given to the history of non-violent struggles against injustice.
100 Years of Chauri Chaura: Lessons from Gandhi for Today’s India
Gandhi, Chauri Chaura, and the entire context of the Non-Cooperation Movement, present important lessons for Indians. If incidents of Indians-against-Indians violence continue, our Swaraj, as the Mahatma had warned, will “stink in our nostrils”.
Two Tweets that Rattled a Global Superpower: Indian Sovereignty and Desi Celebrity Outrage
The response to tweets by Rihanna and Greta Thunberg reveals a deep national insecurity and anxiety about India’s place in the world.
Martyr’s Day: Recalling the Values Gandhiji Stood for!
On 30 January, we would like to remember a Gandhiji which the current establishment would rather forget, namely someone who was deeply committed to the ideal of ‘political freedom’ which was not just ‘freedom from the British’ but a commitment to fundamental values and principles.