Politics & Society
Sayan Bhattacharya

‘I can be your hero, baby’

Jhinuk’s grandmother, much to her annoyance, fails to fathom what was extraordinary about what she had done. She had only come to the rescue of a woman being molested. Isn’t that what a human being supposed to do? Just because

Politics & Society
Saswat Pattanayak

Burma: A Country in Exile

Aung San Suu Kyi has been rightfully recognised as a champion of nonviolence, democracy and free speech, but her celebrity stature has unfortunately overshadowed the revolutionary legacies of Burmese politics. At a time when the unabated political imprisonment of her

Politics & Society
Paranjoy Guhathakurta

India in a state of Anarchy

The word “anarchy” means different things to different people. It is believed that the word originated from the ancient Greek word anarchia which literally means “absence of a leader”. As a political expression, anarchy can imply two diametrically opposite points

Jai Bhim in the times of Jai Ho and Jai Shri Ram

Remember, Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory? Or any one of those fascinating childhood visits to the biscuit factory or to the hand-woven carpet workshop? So, here’s your golden ticket to visit the critical, reflective workshop where ideas, issues, events

Politics & Society
Saswat Pattanayak

Jai Bhim in the times of Jai Ho and Jai Shri Ram

Remember, Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory? Or any one of those fascinating childhood visits to the biscuit factory or to the hand-woven carpet workshop? So, here’s your golden ticket to visit the critical, reflective workshop where ideas, issues, events

jyotiba phule
Politics & Society
Mukherjee P.

A Gardener in the Wasteland: A review

It is needless to say that this work must be in your bookshelves and that you should buy more than one personal copy and gift to others. Having said this, the book stops short of being the single most important

Politics & Society
Panini Anand

The Scream of the Ants

Gordhan Balai is a dalit from Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. In a state, where pagdi (turban) is identified with pride, dignity and tradition, Gordhan’s pagdi was snatched by some goons from the Gurjar community and thrown into a flaming tandoor.

Politics & Society
Paranjoy Guhathakurta

The fall of the Queen, is it?

Mayawati, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has come to epitomise empowerment of dalits, the lowest segment of India’s caste hierarchy. What explains her humiliating electoral defeat? Was it her vanity that distanced her from large sections of the country’s

Politics & Society
Mukherjee P.

VINA MAZUMDAR: THE Rolling Stone

Towards the end of 1974, the Indian government released an important document. Entitled (space needed)Towards Equality: The Report of the Committee on the Status of Women, it was the first post-independence attempt to judge how women had fared in the

Politics & Society
Amit Sengupta

Mahasweta Devi: Sabar Katha

In the aftermath of the Naxalbari uprising, the young female protagonist in the epical ‘Hajaar Chaurishir Ma’ comes out of prison, tortured, brutalised and marginalised, her lover killed by the police, many of her comrades murdered in cold blood, others