Culture

UP’s syncretic warrior cults facing Hindutva challenge

Be it the attack on the Gogamedi shrine in the Hanumangarh district of northern Rajasthan or the Neja Mela in the Sambhal district of western Uttar Pradesh, Hindutva’s systemic attack on India’s syncretic traditions, past and present, reveals its rigid and Brahmanical ideological orientation: imposition of a strictly hierarchical, exclusionary and structured notion of faith and practice

Government a threat to Indian legacy, education, jobs: Gandhian institute taken over, residents evicted, bulldozer to follow

On Saturday, over 500 police men entered the campus of Sarva Seva Sangh, Varanasi, forcefully evicted residents, threw books and furniture out in the rain, employees too were left jobless and homeless; civil suit pending in court

Is anyone listening? Two creative works that transform personal tragedies into powerful political statements

This article delves into the artistic narratives of dissent and personal journeys of Mari Selvaraj's 'Maamannan' and Nisha Abdulla's 'We Push the Sky'.

Artists & Intellectuals must appeal to the Good: Joy Sengupta, theatre-film actor

Culture will always be a personal struggle of communicating what is inherently essential in the hope that progressive aesthetics shared through different mediums awaken a mass, wider consciousness

Breaking silences makes civilisations heal: theatre director, Sunil Shanbag

In this thought-provoking essay, the theatre director producer of 45 years explores multiple worlds, political, artistic and personal

Art must mirror an urgent need, the personal and the political: Asmit Pathare

In this powerful essay of self-expression, theatre and film director, Asmit Pathare explores the challenging world of a young artist challenged by deep schisms in society, driven deeper by a politics that thrives on division and repression.

Lord Ram, in my sixth letter I appeal to your diverse forms

This is the sixth letter in a series: the writer's point is to emphasise the importance of diverse perspectives, critical thinking, and open discourse when portraying Lord Ram and discussing his significance in Hindu culture. The writer criticises the limited perspective in a recently released film and contrasts it with the nuanced portrayal in the Sanskrit play "Uttara Rama Charita." The writer advocates for embracing multiple interpretations of Lord Ram's character, highlighting the dangers of dogmatism and the need for inclusive dialogue to safeguard societal harmony and progress.

Chokhamela’s Bhakti: the past transforms into a radical present

A poet-philosopher of an inclusive tradition, Chokhamela experienced the bitter exclusion of caste, yet persisted in his questioning spirituality, adding to the rich variety in this centuries’old tradition, the Warkari (Varkari) devotional movement of Maharashtra

Muslim bullied at Madina for his Indian Islamic practice

Noticing a thread tied around the old man’s wrist, the protagonist, Shaikh Muzaffar Madni, ridiculed the practice and said it was a “non-Muslim practice” he had imbibed

Hindu temple faces backlash for demanding removal of Kazi Nazrul Islam’s picture from dance institute’s program

After this decision backfires, an apology was issued, the chief of the temple authorities said it was a “wrong guess” on their part

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India Economic & Social Justice Report 2025: First-ever study measures constitutional justice across union and state governments, have they delivered?

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