Culture

My First Roza was in a Durga Pooja Pandal: Amir Rizvi

First Published on: June 5, 2016I don't remember when I started praying and keeping my Rozas ( the fast during Ramzan). Every child starts aping their parents and I...

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

Political Power & narrow vision demonising Muslims, destroying harmony & defaming Varkari tradition says Sant Suhas Maharaj Phadtare: Trimbakeshwar row

The dhoop arti tradition at the Trimbakeshwar mandir is being demonised by narrow vested political interests, a cruel Brahminical tradition that cannot tolerate social harmony and syncretic culture says the renowned Varkari saint-philosopher from Satara, Suhas Maharasj Phadtare

SIT to probe Muslims offering respect from steps of Trimbakeshwar in Maharashtra ?

A controversy has been created over a ritual being...

Reflections on a newly opened ‘cultural centre’ by the Ambanis in Mumbai

A walk through the newly opened Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre leaves the author with more questions than answers

Eid Mubarak: Mussalmans & a United Nation- India

First published on: 11 Nov 2016The Musalmans and a United...

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After 22 years under suspicion, Assam’s Kashem Ali declared Indian by Foreigners Tribunal

With 18 years passing between the registration of the case and service of notice, and nearly a year spent fighting to prove his citizenship, Kashem Ali finally wins legal relief with CJP’s assistance

From treating Adivasi communities to being branded an instigator: Odisha jails doctor Randall Sequeira

Arrested in a case in which his name did not figure in the original FIR, Dr Randall Sequeira faces serious criminal charges amid an intensifying crackdown on Adivasi communities resisting bauxite mining in Odisha

Nearly two decades without elections, Jamia students’ agitation forces administration to set deadline for union revival

The university has agreed to implement the students’ union constitution by May 15, 2027, and conduct elections under Lyngdoh Committee guidelines

Arunachal’s anti-dam protests intensify as arrests, militarisation and threats to press freedom fail to silence resistance

Communities resisting the proposed 11,200 MW project fear the loss of ancestral land, livelihoods and cultural heritage, with activists detained under the APUAPA

Food Security during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Need for a shift from food security to nutrition justice.

In Karnataka, during the pandemic and lockdown, mid-day meals in government schools and anganwadis under the National Food Security Act (2013) [1], shut down indefinitely [2,3] amidst growing concerns about how this would affect vulnerable communities. In spite of demands, the state government has not yet undertaken a detailed post pandemic and lockdown survey to identify the immediate and long-term interventions to address and prevent malnutrition. Several visits have been made by civil society organisations, students, nutritionists and academics to different districts of Karnataka, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and this commentary gives a broad overview of the observations made. There is a need for an in-depth quantitative and qualitative study.

Delhi SIR: Public audit finds 416 of 1,236 deleted voters still at their registered addresses

A four-day door-to-door audit in Trilokpuri found voters marked absent, shifted or dead who were still living at their registered addresses, with 47.57 lakh names missing from Delhi’s draft roll, affected voters have until October 30 to file claims

SIR’s elusive illegal immigrants: Bogey Busted but will the injustices heaped be corrected?

Barely 771 “foreign nationals” identified in Karnataka and a miniscule 1,600 in six other Indian states; yet the hysterical bogey of the “ghuspetiya” (illegal immigrant) has been used to render 130 million plus Indian without the right to vote?

2020 Delhi Riots: Delhi High Court upholds seven-year sentence for five men in 22-year old Muslim migrant worker’s death

The Court holds that failure to identify who inflicted the fatal injuries does not absolve the accused under Section 149 IPC, relying on evidence of their participation in an armed mob that assaulted the victim, Monish