“...the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavoured,… Continue reading Responding to Covid: A case for strengthening decentralisation
I have been sitting on this article for a few weeks now and have been using Manto’s retort that the story will write itself as a valid excuse to not write. In reality, I have not known where to start, but I found inspiration while watching Newton. For the uninitiated, the film is about an… Continue reading Development Shevlopment
Rohith Vemula, one of the five Dalit PhD Research Scholars suspended by the University of Hyderabad (UOH) under circumstances that can be best described as reeking of casteist authoritarianism, committed suicide day before yesterday. His suicide note contains these heartbreaking lines “My birth is my fatal accident. I can never recover from my childhood loneliness.… Continue reading Our Collective Conscience
This is everything on the table: I grew up in the '90s in a middle class, urban, educated family in Bangalore. This is not to say that my parents were rich. My father had lost both his parents by the age of 26, and he worked hard to stay standing on his two feet. I… Continue reading Left, Right, Left: Marching to the Beat of Ideology
I have the first thirty seconds of introduction to a new person, more often than not, well-rehearsed by now. I pronounce my name the way it was intended, receive a blank look, smile and say "Call me Molly." They ask, “Are you from Kolkata?” "No," I say, "I’m from Siliguri," *wait for three seconds* "…… Continue reading Gorkhaland and the Curse of Political Invisibility
“Boys will be boys”- this line of reason (or the lack of it), has rattled the nerve of sane people all over the world. From the most gruesome rapes to daily instances of sexual harassment, all is excused through this rather preposterous explanation. The implicit rationale behind this is that there is nothing that can… Continue reading On Cows and Patriarchy
September 28, 2015 Dear Smt. Smriti Irani, Honourable HRD Minister (Government of India), I write this letter in response to the public announcement made by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD Ministry), requesting all the Members of Parliament (MPs) to work to achieve 100% literacy by March, 2016, in one chosen village from their… Continue reading An Open Letter to Smt. Smriti Irani
India is a sovereign country that will soon turn 68 years old and, like all good grandparents of similar age, after a lifetime of hard work, can look forward to nagging its grandchildren about marriage and whether or not they’re eating properly. Unfortunately, things are far more complex (and also India is a country, guys)… Continue reading Log Kya Kahenge: The Indian Phenomenon
Walter White, the iconic anti-hero of Breaking Bad, is most famous for one particular line: “Say my name.” It was this astonishing display of arrogance and vanity that served as one of the major checkpoints in White’s transformation from an average Joe to crime kingpin Heisenberg. One could be forgiven for drawing parallels between his… Continue reading WARNING: This Article May Offend You
Following the President’s nod for the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, which penalises the slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks, as well as the possession of beef (5 years jail sentence and Rs.10,000 fine), the government is now seeking to set a restriction on thongs and other types of lingerie. Determined to exude influence on… Continue reading Breaking News: Maharashtra Government seeks to set guidelines on type of underwear to be worn
THE GLASS ELEVATOR 