Culture

Hegemony: Kerala’s Bharatapuzha as a political stage

Unlike the North Indian Kumbh, the Bharatapuzha by contrast has never functioned as a Pan-Hindu pilgrimage centre. It has no historical association with mass ritual bathing, no priestly networks that regulate sacred time, and no inherited mythological mandate that binds the river to cyclical purification rites. The introduction of the Maha Magha Mahotsavam is a clear cultural imposition by Hindutva

Restore Maharashtra State Urdu Sahitya Academy: Rahman Abbas’ appeal to CM Thackeray

One of India’s well-known fiction writers writes an open letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister to request the resumption of the Urdu Academy free of any political or religious influence.

Festivals: Occasions for spreading communal harmony in India

India's Tryst With Destiny has been overwrought with the legacy of violent bloodshed and communal disharmony of Partition, leaving behind scars which we have neither been able to completely comprehend, nor heal, to this day.

Delhi’s pre-Mughal mosques wallow in neglect

Like the other structures, the mosques of the pre-Mughal era lie forlorn and in benign neglect with little to no upkeep

Hindi literature and journalism will always remember the rich contributions of Manglesh Dabral

A poet and editor who was the voice of the marginalised

The preservation of a pandemic: Art under quarantine

Museums, zoos and galleries around the world are calling on people to document their Covid-19 lockdown experience

Khan Saheb in Kashi

Ustad Bismillah Khan, 1916–2006. In the Ustad’s shehnai lies the note of reason

How ‘Bura na maano Holi hai’ has undermined the consent of women in India

From casually normalizing abuse to giving Holi a communal colour by targeting minority women, the festival has become more of a nightmare than a celebration

Holi: Poetry, syncretism, and dilemmas

While many people (including the Prime Minister) are declaring that they would not celebrate Holi this year due to COVID-19; the good, bad, and ugly that colour Holi celebrations in India still mandate discussion.

Rohith Vemula March: The Caste Turn for Student Delhites?

First published on February 23, 2016Rohith Vemula gives them...

Punjab’s Robinhood Dulla Bhatti: Why Lohri is celebrated

Every Lohri, Punjabis sing the songs of Dulla Bhatti and build a bonfire for the community. The story behind this is complex, endearing, and dates back to the legend of India’s very own Robinhood.

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Data is real, true wealth: SC issues notice in yet another plea challenging DPDP Act; highlights privacy concerns

This petition, filed by journalist Geeta Seshu, along with the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) that also challenges the constitutional validity of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 will now be heard with other petitions filed in the matter by Reporter’s Collective, Nitin Sethi and Venkatesh Nayak, on March 23

Religious Freedom: How the USCIRF continues to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC)

For another year running, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its 2026 Annual Report, has in strong recommendations, urged the US government to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), “for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA)”

USCIRF’s Call for Sanctions on the RSS Is a Major Moral and Political Marker

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its 2026 Annual Report, has apart from continuing to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), also recommended targeted sanctions against the RSS; this is a first.

Draconian Law!

Evicted, Accused, and Deleted: The shrinking space for Muslim citizenship

From migrant workers and small vendors to university classrooms and electoral rolls, the architecture of suspicion –for the Indian Muslim--now stretches across everyday life

Union government revokes Sonam Wangchuk’s detention under NSA after nearly six months!

Move comes days before Supreme Court hearing in habeas corpus petition filed by his wife; Ladakh activist had been detained following September 2025 protests over statehood and Sixth Schedule protections

Allahabad High Court orders 24/7 armed protection for Bareilly Muslim man allegedly prevented from offering namaz at home

Summoning the district magistrate and SSP of Bareilly, the Allahabad High Court said any violence against the petitioner or his property would be presumed to have occurred at the instance of the State, as the case raises serious concerns over interference with religious prayers inside private property

35 civil society groups oppose Maharashtra’s proposed anti-conversion law, warn of threat to women’s autonomy and constitutional freedoms

Coalition, which also included CJP who is the lead petitioner on challenge to anti-conversion laws in SC, demands draft bill be made public, calls for consultations and legislative scrutiny; says existing criminal law already addresses coercion