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BAPS, the Eiffel Tower and the curious silence on secularism
I was a little surprised to see how some of those whom I respect for taking a firm stand on patriarchal issues reacted to the manner in which they...
The arbitrary detention of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya: A call for justice
The appeal by the Palestinian Embassy in New Delhi has called on all Indians to support and join the call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya; advocating for the protection of Palestinian healthcare workers, hospitals, ambulances, and medical facilities in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The Battle of Belonging: Why India’s Passport Controversy Matters
A passport is undeniably a travel document, but it is also the republic’s assurance of belonging and sovereign protection in moments of crisis. Reducing it to mere travel facilitation strips it of its civic meaning, since passports are issued not to transients but to members of a political community.
Rajasthan: From Giral to Islampur, how locals are contesting development and historical identity
The author traces similarities of people’s mobilisations in Giral, Barmer and Islampur, Jhunjunu wherein both involve local communities asserting agency against decisions made elsewhere. In Giral, villagers have been robustly protesting the “benefits from mineral extraction in the name of development,” while in Islampur, residents have been questioning the communal (read majoriatrian moves to re-name and thereby, re-define a region’s identity
Disenfranchisement route to Majoritarian Rule: Political Logic of SIR
The idea of India as a state-nation (in contra-distinction...
Centre escalates action against Satluj, refers film to high-level committee after ordering OTT takedown
Invoking Section 69A of the IT Act, the Centre has ordered Satluj offline pending further review under the IT Rules
SIR 2025-2026: A backdoor exercise to bring in the NRC?
The unholy haste behind the ECI’s moves, pushed by...
SIR 2025-26: Dismantling the very Idea of India?
In this first part of a recent lecture, erudite...
From Punjab ’95 to Satluj: When cinema becomes a battlefield over history, memory and censorship
From demands for 127 cuts to a sudden removal from ZEE5 just days after release, Punjab '95 has become a defining case study of the constitutional promise of free expression
To a living Saint, now dead five years: Meeting to commemorate July 5
July 5, 2026 marks the fifth anniversary of Father Stan Swamy, who’s death in judicial custody in Maharashtra has been condemned for the institutional murder that it was; the 84 year old activist priest, who died of maltreatment by the prison authorities in Mumbai after suffering from the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic was an activist priest remembered for his path-brteaking work among Adivasis in Jharkand
Satluj: A film encountered
The writer writes; Jaswant Singh Khalra never carried a gun. His weapons were documents, persistence and moral courage. He asked a simple question: Where have all the sons of Punjab gone? This is what the film recounts and why it threatens the Indian state
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Rule of Law
‘Subjective Satisfaction’ Cannot Be Built On Conjecture: Allahabad HC quashes NSA detention of Akriti Chaudhary
The Court finds no material linking Chaudhary to the violence that erupted after her arrest, finds the Section 130 BNSS notice prima facie prepared retrospectively, warns that unchecked bureaucratic power could turn Uttar Pradesh into an “Orwellian Dystopia”
India
Penguin’s Shenanigans
Penguin has repeatedly crossed the line between due diligence and outright censorship. Small publishers, who have a lot more to lose, seem to have more of a spine.
Communalism
Four decade-long misogyny of a law academic? Tahir Mahmood’s defence of Manusmriti echoes in his criticism of the 1985 Shah Bano verdict
The author argues that the positions of the legal scholar, Prof. Tahir Mahmood over forty years --defending the Manusmriti in 2026 and his opposition to maintenance for Muslim women at the time of the Shah Bano verdict in 1985 –reveal a cohesive, conservative worldview that normalises gender hierarchy under the guise of legal protectionism.
Media
Press bodies condemn alleged assault on women journalists at Saket Police Station, seek inquiry and action
Press Club of India, NWMI, Editors Guild of India and other journalists' organisations demand an independent and impartial investigation after Shaheen Khan and Nafisa Khan alleged assault during and after their detention by Delhi Police
Gender and Sexuality
Jauhar & the Politics of Distraction: How the Right and so-called liberals often complement each other
The selectiveness of medieval Muslim or medieval Rajput history in contestation is not just deliberate effort to alienate these two communities but is also a Brahmanical viewpoint that refuses to subject Peshwa or Maratha history to a similar brand of selectivity
