Jorg Haider. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons Jorg Haider, a far-right Austrian politician who died in 2008, is largely forgotten. It is also forgotten that merely two decades ago, he was considered a very dangerous man in Europe, whose ascent to power had prompted rare European Union unity aimed to thwart his ambitions. Twice elected as … Continue reading Jorg Haider to Geert Wilders : Far-right Normalised in Europe →
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 →
This evening I walked in the gaudily-lit main streets of Thiruvananthapuram among the crowds gaping at the show that is on, under the name of Keraleeyam or the Essence of Kerala. Not everyone is impressed. The auto-rickshaw driver, a longtime CPM loyalist, said that it was like emptying the granary leaving no seed to sow. … Continue reading Keraleeyam, Or Narcissus Laughing →
The first week of the coming month of November will witness a huge public festival in Kerala organized by the ruling power through the government called ‘Keraleeyam‘. It begins on 1 November, celebrated every year as the ‘Kerala Piravi Dinam’ or the day of Kerala’s birth, marking the amalgamation of the three Malayalam-speaking regions into … Continue reading Recalling Jimutavahana: Reflections on ‘Keraleeyam’ →
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 →
An unlikely phantom seemed to hover over me as I hung around the Government Women’s College at Thiruvananthapuram where this year’s Annual Conference of Indian Association of Women’s Studies was on last week.
Dear friends and colleagues I write this letter to you as a dissident feminist who leads a beleagured life under what can only be described in George Orwell’s words from 1984: the majoritarian post-socialist oligarchy that presently rules Kerala.
Dear friends, colleagues, welcome to Thiruadaanipuram! Please do not wonder if I got the spelling of Thiruvananthapuram wrong; do remember that the motto of the ambitious middle class here, as everywhere, is odunna pattikkum oru muzham munbe, which means: ‘if the dog is running, throw the stick even further’ so that running dog and flying … Continue reading To the IAWS Delegates to the Annual Conference, 2023: Welcome to Thiruadaanipuram →
The following paper is a detailed examination of the current turmoil in the North-East in its historical context. It has been prepared by a team of activists from different communities of the North-East and is intended for wider discussion and dissemination. First released on June 1, 2023 by North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) … Continue reading On the current turmoil in Manipur – what we need to know and what we need to do: NEFIS →
For some time, we have known this in Kerala, and I have written about it too. But it is important to keep writing about it. Because the image of the benevolent state in Kerala conceals too much. In fact, a worrying Kerala Story is precisely that of a widening range of insecurities about Muslims, from … Continue reading A Left that Specialises in Shape-Shifting →
