Violence-Conflict

The gradual erasure of the words ‘Babri Masjid’ from our everyday memory actually began in 1986, when the Hindu community was granted the exclusive right to worship there. This happened without any regard ownership disputes the and illegal conversion of this mosque into a temple in 1949. This story of the dispute itself is disputable. … Continue reading What’s in a Name? The Demolition of ‘Babri Masjid’, the Name and the Mosque: Hilal Ahmed

When Hadiya Shafin shouted to the crowd that she converted voluntarily, that Shafin was her chosen husband, and that she wished to spend her life with him, some leading rationalist liberal feminists in Kerala sniggered at her: be grateful for the Indian Constitution which allows you to make a choice. This statement hid a despicable … Continue reading The Gates of Vaikuntam?

[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.

Two explanations before I begin. First – I write this in my personal capacity. In this article I represent none of the other signatories to the statement that appealed for the crowd-sourced list of sexual offenders to be withdrawn, and for complaints to be followed through institutional mechanisms (henceforward referred to as Statement). I might … Continue reading From Feminazi to Savarna Rape Apologist in 24 hours

Guest post by Nabanipa Bhattacharjee On 13 September 2017 the Union Home Ministry, following the 2015 order of the Supreme Court, decided to grant citizenship to Chakma and Hajong refugees. Victims of religious persecution in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, the predominantly Buddhist Chakmas and Hindu Hajongs began immigrating to the north eastern region … Continue reading The Bharatiya Janta Party has issues with Rohingyas – Indians don’t: Nabanipa Bhattacharjee

(This is the text of the open letter written by the eminent left cultural activist Sohail Hashmi to Com. Pinarayi Vijayan on the Hadiya case) The Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala Shri Pinarayi Vijayan 7th October, 2017 Dear Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, I write to you because I am unable to understand how the Left Front … Continue reading Defend the tradition of fighting for the oppressed: Sohail Hashmi writes to the Chief Minister of Kerala

(This is the text of the open letter from Prof. Satish Deshpande to the Chief Minister of Kerala on the Hadiya issue.

[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 eminent economist and leading development activist Prof. Amit Bhaduri, to Com. Pinarayi Vijayan]   Dear Shri.

This is a guest post by RITUPARNA SENGUPTA   Amit V Masurkar’s recently-released film Newton explores facets of Indian democracy at its most vulnerable. For these times of ‘nationalist’ bravado, this is a courageous topic.  The film is so named because it adopts for the most part, the point of view of its protagonist, Newton (Nutan) Kumar … Continue reading The Gravity of Newton : Rituparna Sengupta