For An Informed Ambedkar Age
Umar Nizar One fine morning, I was answering the call of nature, like any `Swachch’ citizen of a sacred land, in the designated toilet of a JNU hostel, where I was residing at that time. Imagine my astonishment, on being accosted by a fellow hosteler who, while brushing his teeth, and foaming at the mouth,was …
Umar Nizar In a televised debate in Australia, Žižek ’s vehement defense of Julian Assange was stymied by an opponent’s counter argument that some of Assange’s actions endangered the lives of US and allied personnel on the ground. Žižek ’s last stand, against this ultimate riposte, was that though it might have won the argument …
Umar Nizar Nearing Thiruvananthapuram, the road bends, entering the city, as a vein enters the heart. The bus moves along the curve with its load of human destinies. People nap inside, in the secure snugness of their seats. For those who are awake, it seems like an age. The tarmac is slipping away under …
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 …
Umar Nizarudeen Fahadh Faasil, the Malayalam film actor has come into national as well as global limelight, much more than any other actor from Kerala has ever managed to do before. From his heterodox acting style, body language and physique to an unconventional choice of roles, Fahadh Faasil has helped break stale notions of …
Umar Nizar Grief manifested in ways that felt like anything but grief; grief obliterated all feelings but grief, grief made a twin wear the same shirt for days on end to preserve the morning on which the dead were still living; grief made a twin peel stars off the ceiling and lie in bed …
Umar Nizar “Where do coconut trees go When their roots are declared illegal”. -Ajmal Khan, `Mappila Verses’ Poetry as a tool of resistance has been wielded by personas ranging from the Hebraic to the Hellenic, from Moses to Kabir. Poet, sociologist and educator, Ajmal Khan in his debut collection of verse, creates a poetic/proto history …
Umar Nizar The musician AR Rahman has recently been castigated in certain circles for speaking out strongly against a lobby working against him in Bollywood. This has caught many by surprise. The huge fan following of the Academy Award-winning composer commanded has not really translated into popular support. The politics of music and the …
Umar Nizar The brutal murder of P. Jeyaraj and his son Beniks in police custody in Sathankulam in Tamil Nadu invokes the Nirbhaya case in its brutality, the only difference in this case being that the perpetrators were policemen. The atrocious and horrific nature of the torture and the brutalities inflicted upon the victims …