Chanchal Kumar The concept behind Bigg Boss is simple, and the title is borrowed from the George Orwell novel 1984. A group of random (mostly) savarna celebrities inhabit a house for a short and fixed period of time, wherein they are expected to interact with each other, follow certain rules and perform “tasks”. …
Buddhist Outlook on Gender Identities as a Delusion
Dr Amritpal Kaur Identities are culturally located historical formations, open to reinterpretation and dispute. They are culturally, socially and psychologically constructed delusions that tend to reinforce a state of emotionalism on the human self. Nationality, religion, class, caste, race, gender and all are intrinsically responsible for defining the boundaries of human identity. Most of the …
Meeting You
Chanchal Kumar “Tumko maine bataya AK called me? He is releasing his second book at India Habitat Centre and he wants me to read at the event. Unkey doosre poet friends will read their poems too.”“So talented boy! Kab hai ye?”“Next week. Sunday, 7th.”“Arrey yaar!”“Kya?”“Uss din hamara welcome party hai, Arunachal Bhawan mei. I …
Understanding Tribal Culture: The Perspective from Within
Balaka Chattaraj The terms Tribe and Adivasi have been historically misinterpreted in academia. The Tribal and Adivasi culture have always been explained and argued from the colonial standpoint and caste epistemology. The two popular epistemologies have always painted Tribes and Adivasis in one particular manner, first as savage and second as under-developed. The caste …
Liberal narrative and Afghanistan
Vinith Kumar These last few weeks have been about the Taliban. But it hasn’t really been about them. The reports, the end of the war, the exit of the American forces, the tragic images from the Kabul airport, all of these things were about the Taliban, but also not one of them were really about …
We the People: Expanding the Idea of Democracy – Part 3
Pranav Jeevan P People normally blame democracy by saying it is not a good model of governance citing the issues that plague our country like poverty, corruption, unemployment and under-development. They believe that we are facing these issues because we are a functioning democracy and somehow it is the democratic process which is causing this …
Indian Ethical Thought And Its Discontents: Shenanigans Of The Great International Shashi Tharoor
Umar Nizarudeen I am also surprised at the praise for this book from a sensible social science scholar like Neera Chandhoke, in another review. Caste-blind scholarship which draws a quick distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva is forcing the Congress of Rahul Gandhi to own Hinduism, as a strategy to bring the Congress back to …
Art of the Oppressed: Politics of Existence
B. Prabakaran Why does Sarpatta hold an important place in Tamil film history? It not only has convincing arguments for Dalits and women but also raises questions against dominant images and ideas. A Tamil film, Unnal Mudiyum Thambi (‘you can do it brother’), released 33 years ago was directed by a prominent dialogue writer-cum-director …
Future. India. Dalit.
Anu Ramdas This article was written for the Society of Future Studies a member of the Swiss Academy for Humanities and Social Sciences and was published in their journal edition of 01/21 which focussed on The Future of India. ‘Unborn time’ feels like a good description for the ubiquitously used concept of future, it …