I have been reading with interest the exchange between Aditya Nigam and Satish Deshpande on the AAP’s strategy of avoiding ‘politics’ – or rather, distancing itself mostly from the polarised ideological debates while making small moves to shape for itself a space, arguably fuzzy, in the hegemonic discourse of Hindu. I am also witness to … Continue reading Thoughts on the AAP’s Hindu Gestures from Kerala’s History →
As we in Kerala gear up for the long struggle that can cease only when the evil of Hindutva is finally uprooted from India and Kerala, and only after the toxins that it has spewed is wiped clean from the hearts and souls of our brethren, my only request is: please do not forget Allen … Continue reading Do not Forget Allen and Twaha as we fight the U-r-b-a-n N-a-z-i →
Two massive calamities, tremendous losses, continuing signs of serious ecological destruction impending — yet all we Malayalis seem to have produced in response: two reports, and even more frenzied strategic calculation. There is little doubt that the disasters happened in the first place at least partially because of the latter, but there seems to be … Continue reading Two Reports and Many Strategic Agents: Post-Disaster Thinking in Kerala →
Yesterday’s high drama at Sabarimala told us quite a lot about the games that politicians play in Kerala. Rehana Fatima, a young woman activist who decided to take the challenge (it is now a challenge, since the trekking path to the shrine is in effect controlled by Hindutva goons heaping verbal abuse, threatening open violence, … Continue reading Rehana Fatima and the Goons: A comment on the good-cop-bad-cop game that’s on in Kerala →
Dear Comrade I write to you as a citizen, so unlike the many eulogies and appeals you have received recently, this will not be sugar-coated. You have received much praise, which is indeed well-deserved. But most of us have done, and are still doing, our duty well, but there is no need to indulge in … More Restore Our Vision of the Future: A Letter to the Kerala Chief Minister
Today morning, The Hindu reported a decision of the Communist-led Kerala government: “The State Cabinet on Thursday decided to appoint a consultancy firm to guide in the post-floods reconstruction. The Cabinet is understood to have decided to appoint KPMG as its consultants on the subject.” KPMG? The one involved in the ‘economic reconstruction’ of Iraq? … Continue reading KPMG?
Kerala is the land of my birth, and my life is intertwined closely and inseparably with the lives of all fellow-Malayalis. I will respect and remember this truth and will never think of my life as totally unrelated to nature, my neighbours, and the government that we elect to rule us. I vow to … Continue reading A National Pledge for Kerala after the Great Deluge of 2018
[This is the text of the open letter to the Chief Minister of Kerala from the celebrated Tamil poet Rajathi Salma, a leading literary and activist voice from South India whose writing has often revealed the pain and poignancy of women’s unfreedoms and the denial of a creative life of choice to them.
[A version of this letter has also been sent to Com. MC Josephine, Chairperson, Kerala State Women’s Commission] To The Chief Minister Kerala Dear Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan We write to you as individuals and organizations who are part of the women’s movement to express our outrage and concern regarding the dangerous implications of Hadiya’s … Continue reading End the isolation and imprisonment of Hadiya: Feminists write to the Chief Minister of Kerala
[This is the text of the open letter written by the eminent poet and public intellectual K Satchidanandan to Com. Pinarayi Vijayan] Dear Sir, I am writing this letter to you in total despair and with utmost concern. You must by now have come to know that Hadia, who had converted to Islam and … Continue reading Help us resist the Hindutva thought-machine: K Satchidanandan writes to the Chief Minister of Kerala
