Anyone who thinks that the anti-hijab campaign is about discipline and dress code needs to have his or her head examined. And anyone who thinks it’s about the emancipation of Muslim women needs to have a frontal lobotomy without any further loss of time. For it’s clear as crystal that this is just the latest […]
GIVE THEM BACK THEIR HIJAB AND EDUCATION Read More »
Delivering his Independence Day address in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced opening the gates of Sainik Schools in every state for girls. Sainik Schools are like regular schools preparing students for their school- leaving exams except that there is a lot of emphasis on sports, physical fitness and the cultivation of other qualities necessary
Should Women Fight? Read More »
The present government at the centre is in no hurry to meet its grandly proclaimed targets. We have it on the authority of the Prime Minister himself that Acche Din have been deferred by 25 years. This year’s union budget is a ” hundred years” budget, presumably because it makes little sense for 2022. Minister
India’s Net ZERO Target Is One Too Far Mirage. Read More »
[ In medieval England a warm water bath in a tub was a luxury. So whole families would indulge in a community bath a couple of times in a month., all dipping into the same precious hot water. The kids came last, obviously, and by their turn the water in the tub was dark with
Throwing the Baba out of Bathwater. Read More »
21st February or Ekushe February in Bengali usage is an iconic day in the history of the Bengali speaking people like me. The history is worth recalling briefly. In 1948, the Government of Pakistan ordained Urdu as the sole national language for the newly formed country sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-speaking majority of East
Our Vanishing Heritage Read More »
I have for some time been convinced that Moses (of Old Testament fame ) was THE original bureaucrat. The anecdotal evidence is pretty convincing. He offered to his peoples the Promised Land, and then made them wander around in the desert for forty years. If this is not the classic bureaucratic run-around then what is
IT’S THE RULES, STUPID! Read More »
In ‘A Taste of My Life: A Memoir in Essays and Recipes’, Chitrita Banerji dives into the crunchy socio-political and interpersonal dynamics that give each of our lives texture. Nehmat Kaur 23/JAN/2022 There’s widespread derision on the internet for long personal anecdotes that precede actual recipes on food blogs. The scene is almost always one
Food as the Central Character of Our Lives Read More »
Shashank Shekhar Sinha’s ‘Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri’ catches you by the collar and takes you around familiar sites once again, leaving you with a brand new perspective. Shashank Shekhar Sinha Pan Macmillan India 299 pages; Rs 999 (Rs 427 online) Check this book out on Amazon When you first lay your hands on
Six World Heritage Sites Read More »
If you’re wondering how deep the rot has set into our society, and how autonomous the radicalisation of even the educated sections has become, you have to look no further than the open letter written by 32 assorted retired IFS officers on the 5th of this month in response to an appeal by more than
A LETTER THAT DIMINISHES THE INDIAN FOREIGN SERVICE Read More »
Very few places in India now offer you the possibility of civilised discussion between different points of view – whether on social, religious, political, and ethical matters, or in relation to economics, business, sport, fashion, the arts, media, education, science, technology, or whatever else.
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Add your own voice, by engaging with the views here – by sending in comments, stories, jokes, questions, and so on. Though only with politeness and civility, please – and only within the values and framework of the Indian Constitution which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949. The most important of those values include Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and Justice.
We look forward to hearing your view – whatever that is.
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