Gandhi for Today
On the occasion of the 66th anniversary of Gandhiji's martyrdom on January 30 this year, we offer our sincere homage to his abiding memory by reproducing from his writings and utterances at the fag end...
View ArticleWhither India?
The day our country observed its first Republic Day by adopting the Constitution of free India and proclaiming itself as a Republic, our first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, in a message to the nation on...
View ArticleBapu Asaram Episode — Need for Wider and Transparent Investigation
The Bapu Asaram episode has distressed and disturbed a very large number of people, and it is extremely important for truth and justice to prevail in this case. No one, no matter how resourceful and...
View ArticleCommunal Disturbances in Sitamarhi, 1992
A phone call from the District Magistrate about 8.30 in the morning on October 7 (?), 1992 startled me. I was informed from the other end that communal troubles on account of the Durga Puja immersion...
View ArticleSupplying Heat to the Pressure-cooker of Life
BOOK REVIEWThe following is a book review sent to us by the reviewer from Lahore for publication in this journal.The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto; Penguin Viking; pages: 231; Price: Rs...
View ArticleLook Before the Devil Leaps on You: A Lesson for Uncle Sam
by SREEKUTTY MOHANDAS“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures,” said Emerson. And sometimes fiction confirms certain facts. An interesting conversation between Sir Thomas More and Will Roper in...
View ArticleIndian Maids and Indian Spies Move to US and Vanish — to Live Happily Ever After
IMPRESSIONSIn one corner Devyani Khobragade, aglow with disarmingly oversize smiles. In the other, Preet Barrara, collector of celebrity heads as hunting trophies. The unequal match is so smartly...
View ArticleMany Faces of the Syrian ‘Peace Process'
The New York Times report that President Barack Obama is planning a visit to Riyadh in another six-seven weeks from now, towards the end of March, signals an American move to mollify the Saudi feelings...
View ArticleWill the Muslims become a Vote-bank for AAP?
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did not succeed in the Muslim majority constituencies in the recently held Delhi Assembly elections even though the AAP leadership tried hard, even monetarily, in this...
View ArticleNeo-liberalism and Kejriwal
by ARUN SRIVASTAVADelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the self-proclaimed liberal socialist, is the new symbol of the petit bourgeoisie, in the back-ground of John Keynes' economic theory, for the...
View ArticleTribute to Pete Seger
TRIBUTEPete Seeger, 94, the legendary US folk singer, passed away at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital on January 27, 2014. A week earlier he was admitted there as he was suffering from ailments...
View ArticleIt's Politics, Mr President
President Pranab Mukherjee has been making speeches verging on politics from Day One. He has been commenting on the problems confronting the nation as if he is presiding over the affairs of the...
View ArticleEvolution of Political Corruption
FROM N.C.'S WRITINGSIn just about a year's time, we shall be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the country's independence when power was transferred from the unwilling hands of the British rulers...
View ArticleOf Tea and Dynasty
All my life I have regarded a few things as highly as tea. Back in America during the seventies I recall persuading a clutch of American friends to switch from instant coffee to tea if they were...
View ArticleThe Anarchic Drift
Over the past few weeks we have faced the classic moral dilemma, when to obey one ethical imperative was to transgress another. There were several test cases. One was the Congress Vice-President's...
View ArticleMoral Panic in India
by L.K. SHARMATransitions and disruptions are changing relations between generations, between genders, between classes and between religious groups. It is not just a simple conflict between tradition...
View ArticleAAP High Command Allows No Dissent
The following piece, giving the reasons behind the resignation of retired diplomat Madhu Bhaduri from Aam Aadmi Party (of which she was a founder member), is being reproduced, with due acknowledgement,...
View Article'Tactical Unity of the Orthodox': Who is Smiling Over The Judgement on...
The recent judgement by the Supreme Court which has recriminalised homosexuality might have baffled a broad section of peace and justice- loving people but it has definitely emboldened many a...
View ArticleOutrage over a Death in the Capital
In the midst of repeated disruptions that have made transaction of business in both the Houses impossible during the ongoing extended winter session of Parliament, there has been one silver-lining. The...
View ArticleTribal Women and Customary Law: A Focus on the Santal Tribe
by Ivy Imogene HansdakThe recent incident in Birbhum, West Bengal —where a 20-year old Santal girl was allegedly gang-raped by over ten men of her own village on the orders of a tribal court for...
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