Kerala

At a media interaction on 26 October, the Malayali actor-turned-politician tried to turn his reel-life into real life. Once known mainly for his cine-avatar as the perpetually-angry, elite-justice hungry, thoroughly-misogynist ‘hero’ characters (yes, despite some better roles), Mr Gopi behaved with unbelievable condescension towards a woman journalist who asked him a question. Instead of answering … Continue reading Surviving the Suresh Gopis and their Gender-Insults →

When I read the Supreme Court Bench’s disappointing judgment on same-sex marriage, it was a line from Lalithambika Antharjanam’s autobiography that came to my mind. Remembering her youthful struggles against the barbaric oppression of women in the traditional Malayala brahmin caste, she wrote: “Never had my heart trembled so hard than when I placed my … Continue reading Same Sex Marriage, Welfarism and the Indian Supreme Court: Thoughts from Kerala →

On 3 October, the homes and offices of over one hundred journalists and researchers across India were raided by the Delhi Police, which is under the jurisdiction of the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs. During this ‘act of sheer harassment and intimidation’, as the Committee to Protect Journalists called it, the Delhi Police raided and […]

Today someone who is an absolute darling of the post-socialist oligarchy in Kerala and their army of hanger-ons told me, without a tinge of irony, with the most endearing innocence, that they were not celebrated at all in Kerala. That they were excluded from circles that praised and glorified the work of many other authors. … Continue reading Turning a Blind Eye: Power and the Intellectual in Kerala Today →

   In the light of the above history it seems no surprise at all that mainstream feminists in Kerala do not seem to need a critique of the punitive state at all. Nor are they really troubled by the withdrawal of the welfare state or its perversion, even in matters that crucially affect women and … Continue reading Carceral Feminism and the Punitive State: Why I am not with the Mob — 3 →

I have never been a carceral feminist anytime in my life. Right now, there is a massive tide of abuse and misrepresentation of non-carceral feminism in Kerala, so much so that any suggestion of solutions to the problem of sexual harassment outside the framework of the state is immediately dubbed anti-woman and anti-feminist. Carceral feminists … Continue reading Carceral Feminism and the Punitive State: Why I am not with the Mob — 1 →

Two of India’s most beautiful regions where thousands of people go to watch and feel the wonders of nature are suffering because of the extremely disastrous rains and floods subsequently. Well, the pain that the rains brought to Kerala and now in Uttarakhand is warning to all of us. It’s nature’s warning to us to mend our ways. Nobody would[Read More...]

Women who migrated to the Wangjia community participate in local activities at the community centre in Tongren City, Guizhou Province, April 2021. Confounding news comes from the flagship World Economic Outlook report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The report highlights many of the pressing issues facing our planet: disruptions in the global supply chain, […]

To the Kerala Government which assumed power on 20.05.2021 In 2018 when Kerala was struck by the worst ever flood of the century, beyond and above the tragedy and catastrophic consequences were raised many questions and suggestions about how this small State should be rebuilt. In 2021 a month ago before we queued up before the polling booths the same[Read More...]

My tribute to Kerala’s irreplaceable K R Gouri Amma. The brightest bolt of lightning that illuminated the dark skies of twentieth century Kerala. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/kr-gouri-amma-death-k…