Category Archives: Democracy

authoritarianism, Democracy, Politics, Right watch

The Missing Link – How the Great Democracy Robbery Was Conducted

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A fundamental mistake is being made by many well-meaning people with respect to the West Bengal election results, For instance, many people are comparing the votes deleted in the farcical “SIR” exercise with the loss of roughly that same amount of votes in TMC’s “final” tally. The closeness of these two figures  – 27 lakhs in the case of deletions (under the logical discrepancy category, though the actual figure should be much higher), and the decrease in TMCs vote  – still falls far short of the BJPs 2.92 crores or so. If one goes by the “final figures” provided by the ECI, the TMC got only 2.60 crores in comparison suggesting that the BJP would have won hands down, even without “SIR”.
Of course all those trying to normalize the big fraud that elections have progressively become since 2019, intentionally or innocently,  also routine resort to such so-called “final figures”. The Godi Media is the biggest player in this heist of the public mind and it has been ably playing this role this time too.

Continue reading The Missing Link – How the Great Democracy Robbery Was Conducted →

Democracy, Education, Government, Knowledge, Politics

The Making of the Apolitical Dentist: How Professional Training Erases Power and Politics : Malu Mohan

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When I joined Government Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram, in 2000, as an 18-year-old, I arrived with more confidence than clarity. I came from Government Women’s College, where politics was everywhere, in classrooms, corridors, and canteens. Like many of my peers, I leaned towards left politics, without having even a rudimentary understanding of the ideology. But I had grown up believing one thing quite firmly: in a democracy, being apolitical was not an option.

Continue reading The Making of the Apolitical Dentist: How Professional Training Erases Power and Politics : Malu Mohan →
Colonialism, Debates, Democracy, Politics

The Indian Nation State and Its Discontents: Ravindra K. Jain

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Guest post by RAVINDRA K. JAIN

ABSTRACT

The nation-state that is the Indian Union comprises a diversity of socio-cultural minorities and a ruling majority. The decoupling of nation and state highlights a contradiction rather than the integration of socio-cultural diversities and political functions of governance. This contradiction is marked by a double deficit of democracy, namely, authoritarianism and citizenship. A potted history of three phases of modern India explores the roots, symptoms and provenance of this democratic deficit in the present conjuncture.

Keywords Apologetic patriotism; nation state and state-nation; late colonial, early post colonial and Hindutva phases; nationalism and social polity; caste, class and power.

I analyse the Indian State sociologically in three phases of continuous chronological succession: A. The Late Colonial, B. The Paternal post-colonial and C. The current Hindutva. Each phase is characterized by a dual deficit: authoritarianism and citizenship. In order to elucidate the origin and perpetuation of this dual deficit, I would delve into the potted history of each phase. Continue reading The Indian Nation State and Its Discontents: Ravindra K. Jain →

authoritarianism, Culture, Debates, Democracy, Movements, Politics, Right watch

सत्य के अन्वेषी और ‘अंधेरे की आदत’ वाला समाज

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…… ‘समाजवादियों ने हिन्दू राष्ट्र को किस तरह मुमकिन बनाया ?’

..समाजवादी धारा की यह परिणति भारत की वाम शक्तियों के सामने भी कुछ सवाल निश्चित ही खड़े करती है।

अगर 60 के दशक में समाजवादी धारा के अग्रणी कांग्रेस को शिकस्त देने के लिए ‘शैतान के साथ भी हाथ मिलाने को तैयार होने’ की बात रख रहे थे, पहले उपचुनावों में और बाद में राज्य विधानसभा के चुनावों में भारतीय जनसंघ के साथ मंच साझा कर रहे थे, गठबंधन कायम कर रहे थे, उन उथल पुथल के दिनों में वाम की शक्तियों का क्या रूख था ?

क्या उन्होंने गैर कांग्रेसवाद के नाम पर संघ-भारतीय जनसंघ को वैधता दिलाने वाली सियासत का उसूली आधार पर विरोध किया या नहीं ? कहीं ऐसा तो नहीं कि अस्पष्टता के चलते या urgency के भाव के चलते मौन ही रहे ,  उसी ‘सिद्धांत’ से हमकदम चलते रहे ?

क्या हमारे लिए यह आत्मपरीक्षण का विषय होना नहीं चाहिए कि आपातकाल के बाद जिन जयप्रकाश नारायण को दूसरा महात्मा कहा गया था, यहां तक कि आपातकालविरोधी संघर्ष को ‘दूसरी आज़ादी’ के नाम से महिमामंडित किया गया था, जिसने एक तरह से पहली दफा राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ को वैधता दिलायी, नयी  स्वीकृति प्रदान की और केन्द्रीय मंत्रिमंडल में भी स्थान दिलवाया, उस जयप्रकाश नारायण को लेकर कम्युनिस्टों का रूख क्यों बहुत अस्पष्ट रहा ?

किसी परिघटना को समझने में हमारी भूल हो सकती है, किसी व्यक्ति-संगठन की असलियत जानने में हम गड़बड़ी कर सकते हैं, लेकिन यह बात समझ से परे है कि राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ, उसके पीछे की फासीवादी प्रेरणाएं या स्वाधीनतापूर्व आन्दोलन तथा स्वाधीनता के बाद के आंदोलनों में उनकी निरंतर विवादास्पद भूमिका पर विस्तार से तथ्य पेश किए जाते रहने के बावजूद बाद के दिनों में क्या फौरी राजनीतिक लाभ के नाम पर उसके आनुषंगिक संगठनों के साथ जुड़ने से परहेज करने में प्रगतिशील ताकतें, वाम की शक्तियां सचेत रह पायीं ?.. ( Read the full text here : https://nayapath.in/seekers-of-truth-by-subhash-gatade/)

Capitalism, Debates, Democracy, Movements, Violence/Conflict

‘Our wages were stolen and we forced a correction’ – NOIDA workers: Anumeha Yadav

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Guest post by ANUMEHA YADAV

NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh: At 8 am, an hour before factories would start work. Maina Devi* waited for her company bus on the sidewalk next to a large warehouse in Phase 2 of Noida’s industrial area.

Way to NOIDA SEZ, image Anumeha Yadav/The Migration Story

It had been a week since she and hundreds of workers from multiple factories on the borders of Delhi stopped work for four days protesting low wages and difficult work conditions. Several factories still had visible damages. Amid the continued police presence, fresh notices on factory gates reassuring workers of revised wages, Devi was heading to work, her thumb in a fresh bandage.

Maina Devi before rushing off to work, image Anumeha Yadav/ The Migration Story

Continue reading ‘Our wages were stolen and we forced a correction’ – NOIDA workers: Anumeha Yadav →

Capitalism, Culture, Debates, Democracy, Government, Politics

‘India, China and the New World Order : Is the Onus on India to Change and Adapt?’ – Chandran Nair

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https://youtu.be/zwuv8g-SP5s

Democracy Dialogues Series 43

Organised by New Socialist Initiative

Theme : 

‘India, China and the New World Order : Is the Onus on India to Change and Adapt?’

Speaker :
Chandran Nair
Author, Thinker and Political Analyst
Founder and CEO of the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT)

Abstract:
In a conversational and interactive mode, the speaker will broadly be covering the following aspects of the theme:

1. Neighbourhood, Geopolitics, New World Order – The troubled relations between the two Asian giants have, by now, a history of several decades. In India, the constraints of domestic politics (largely flowing from liberal democracy and competitive electoral politics) appear to make it difficult for the Indian rulers to serve India’s strategic interests and to formulate an appropriate foreign policy. How should India deal with the strategic challenges arising from the emerging New World Order?

2. Political Economy for India – India is often projected to emerge as the next economic powerhouse of the world, but the facts on ground pose many challenges. The path to export-led growth as traversed by China appears to be closed for India. Furthermore, a strong State that can guide and force private capital to work in national interest is impossible in the liberal democratic and capitalist India. How to visualize a political economy suitable for India?

3. Woes of Liberal Democracy – Competitive electoral politics often activates the social, religious and sectarian fault lines of Indian society. It has, for example, paved the ground for the rise of the Hindutva forces. What can be done about such challenges thrown up by liberal democracy?

4. Civilizational Discourse – China and India are often cited as the two glorious and largest ancient civilizations. China is cited as the civilizational state that has managed to tame modernity for its own ends. How can India accomplish something similar in its own way?

Speaker :
Chandran Nair is the founder and CEO of the Global Institute for Tomorrow, an independent Pan-Asian think tank that explores the dynamic relationship among business, society, and the state, as well as the rules governing global capitalism

Nair was born in Malaysia, he studied chemical engineering in the UK, at 28, he joined the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, later earned a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Bangkok.

He has authored / co authored many books, here is a representative list of his publications : Understanding China : Governance, Socio-Economics, Global Influence (2026) ;  Dismantling Global White Privilege : Equity for a Post-Western World (2022) ; The Sustainable State: The Future of Government, Economy, and Society (2018) ; Consumptionomics: Asia’s Role in Reshaping Capitalism and Saving the Planet  (2011) ;  

He is also the creator of The Other Hundred, a non-profit global photo journalism initiative to present a counterpoint to media consensus on some of today’s most important issues.

Chandran was chairman of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in Asia Pacific until 2004, establishing the company as Asia’s leading environmental consultancy.

Chandran has served as Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. He is a Member of the Executive Committee of The Club of Rome and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

authoritarianism, Democracy, Education, Feminism, Politics, Right watch

Principal’s endorsement of Women’s Reservation Bill on a party platform unacceptable: Statement by LSR students

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Public statement by LSR students

The students of Lady Shri Ram College for Women—a large number of them filling the area outside auditorium, the corridor, the entire staircase and many even outside under the sun—started the protest not because we are against the Women’s Reservation Bill, but because the video of the Principal of the college was posted on the BJP4India official Instagram page. As a college that touts that it is apolitical and does not allow students to organise political events, the students found this extremely hypocritical. In the 15 minutes of the claimed “transparent dialogue” that happened yesterday, we were told by the Principal that she recorded the video for the Ministry of Women and Child Development and that it was posted on the BJP4India page without her consent. On further questions about if she contacted the page regarding it being posted without her consent, she said, “No”. Continue reading Principal’s endorsement of Women’s Reservation Bill on a party platform unacceptable: Statement by LSR students →

authoritarianism, Debates, Democracy, Government, Media politics, Politics, Theory

India in the World – Mostly Through Lens of Iran War – Ravi Sinha

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Theme :India in the World – Mostly Through Lens of Iran War

Speaker : Ravi Sinha

Abstract :
The unipolar world that came into existence at the end of the Cold War is on the way out and a new world order, potentially a multipolar one, is in the offing. This epochal change, as evidenced in the miraculous rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia on the world stage, appears to have gained acceleration with the war in West Asia in which the Iranian nation has handed an astonishingly courageous response to the aggressors. A broad framework to understand this epochal transition was presented in a study group by Comrade Ravi Sinha

Part 1 of this video contains the basic presentation followed by further elaboration of the argument in the Q/A session in Part 2.
New Socialist Initiative (NSI)

Culture, Debates, Democracy, Right watch

‘सत्य को बयां करने के रास्ते की मुश्किलों के बारे में’ क्या लेखक सचेत और सक्रिय हैं?

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(जनवादी लेखक संघ, दिल्ली के 10 वें राज्य सम्मेलन (4 अप्रैल 2026)  में प्रस्तुत वक्तव्य का संशोधित एवं विस्तारित रूप, सम्मेलन के विचार सत्र का फोकस था : हमारा समय और लेखक की भूमिका)

प्रस्तावना

हम एक नाजु़क वक्त़ से गुजर रहे हैं।

कोई भी प्रबुद्ध व्यक्ति – जो न्याय, अमन और बराबरी की चाहत रखता हो, समूची मानवता को तरक्की के रास्ते पर ले जाना चाहता हो, यह दावा नहीं कर सकता कि उनमें से किसी ने भी इस बात का तसव्वुर भी किया होगा कि 21 वीं सदी की तीसरी दहाई में हम ऐसे दौर से रूबरू होंगे।

एक ऐसा दौर जहां हम और वे की सियासत उरूज पर दिख रही है, आबादी के अच्छे खासे हिस्से को अमनुष्य घोषित करना, दीमक, कीड़ों, मकौड़ों की श्रेणी में शुमार करना एक सम्मानित उद्यम में रूपांतरित हुआ है। नागरिक शुद्धता की कवायदों के जरिए – अवांछितों को, अधर्मियों को, असहमतों को -गणतंत्र के दायरों से भी बाहर सरहद पार मुल्कों के बियाबान में ढकेल देने की मुहिमों पर इन्साफ के रखवाले कहे गए संस्थानों से भी मुहर लग रही है।

इस खत़रनाक समय को अलग-अलग ढंग से परिभाषित किया जा रहा है। 

कोई कहता है कि यह ऐसा दौर है जब यह प्रतीत हो रहा है कि समूचा समाज एक उन्मादी खुशी के साथ एक गर्त में जा रहा है और उसे इस बात का कोई इल्म भी नहीं है।

मेरे एक मित्र – जो एक प्रख्यात मार्क्सवादी  विचारक हैं – कहते हैं, यह ऐसा दौर है जब समाज को गोया अंधेरे की आदत हो गयी है, मद्धिम सी रौशनी से भी उसकी आंखें चुंधिया जाती हैं। ( Read the full text here : https://janchowk.com/is-the-author-aware-ofand-actively-engaged-withthe-difficulties-inherent-in-the-path-of-articulating-the-truth/)

Democracy, Education, Everyday Life, Movements, Right watch

Deified Bodies, Diminished Rights – A Critical Anatomy of the ‘Divyang’ Discourse: Viraj Kafle

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Guest Post by VIRAJ KAFLE 

The landscape of disability rights in India underwent a seismic shift on December 27, 2015, not through a legislative amendment or a landmark judicial decree, but via a radio broadcast. During his Mann Ki Baat program, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that the term viklang be replaced with divyang. While ostensibly a move to alter societal mindsets and reduce stigma, this nomenclature shift signaled a profound reorientation of the state’s relationship with its disabled citizenry. This declaration of “divinity” arrived a full year before the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act of 2016 was actually passed, effectively setting a paternalistic tone for the rights-based framework that followed.

By invoking “divinity” to describe physical or sensory impairments, the discourse moved disability from a hard-won, rights-based framework into a deified, body-focused model that prioritizes symbolic elevation over material accessibility. As disability activist Nidhi Goyal has argued, this is merely a new way to tell the disabled they are “not normal”—moving them from “abnormal” to “supernormal,” but never simply equal. It is generally accepted that to be disabled is to be “disabled by society,” yet the divyang narrative replaces this political recognition with an abject surrender to divinity that reflects a forced consent of the disabled to their own marginalization. Continue reading Deified Bodies, Diminished Rights – A Critical Anatomy of the ‘Divyang’ Discourse: Viraj Kafle →

authoritarianism, Culture, Debates, Democracy, Right watch

RSS at 100: Caste, Savarkar, and the real roots of RSS | The Federal

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Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay speaks with Subhash Gatade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpgQi1LaRgo

In The Federal’s ‘RSS at 100’ series, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay speaks with Subhash Gatade, author of Godse’s Children and Modinama, about the deeper social roots of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Gatade argues that the RSS must be understood not just through Hindu-Muslim politics, but through the caste churn in Maharashtra, the challenge posed by Jyotiba Phule’s anti-caste movement, and the predominance of Brahmin leadership within the organisation. The discussion also examines Savarkar’s influence, Golwalkar’s ideology, the RSS-Hindu Mahasabha relationship, and the strategic shift towards ‘inclusive Hindutva’ in later decades.

Debates, Democracy, Feminism, Government, Law

Zero Tolerance or Restorative Justice? Althea responds to ZeTo

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The ZeTo campaign organisers responded to Althea’s concerns expressed in an earlier post. We are delighted by and thankful for their willingness to dialogue, for we do believe that such an exchange of views is absolutely necessary for common ground to evolve on this issue, precisely because our readings of the political and social present in Kerala, are different.

Continue reading Zero Tolerance or Restorative Justice? Althea responds to ZeTo →
Debates, Democracy, Feminism, Left watch, Sexual Violence

Zero Tolerance, Democratic Responsibility, and the Question of Feminist Praxis: MJ Vijayan

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Guest post by MJ Vijayan

The recent statement issued by members of the Althea Feminist Friendship Collective on the forthcoming Zero Tolerance (ZeTo) campaign in Kerala[1] deserves a serious and thoughtful response. I hope it will not be taken as a hostile document. Far from that, it is, in many ways, an anxious one – anxious about the state, about punitive excess, about the global history of ‘zero tolerance’ policies and campaigns, and about the risk of reinforcing authoritarian or brahminical patriarchies in the name of justice.

Those anxieties are not frivolous. Feminist history teaches us to be wary of state power. Yet feminist history also teaches us that structures do not shift without public contestation, moral clarity, and organised political pressure.

As a cis male articulating within feminist and progressive left traditions, I do so with caution. I am conscious that feminism is not my intellectual inheritance to define. It is a movement and epistemology built by women and gender minorities through struggle, often against men like me. Yet it is precisely because feminism is not merely identity but political practice that it demands engagement across genders, including critical engagement. Continue reading Zero Tolerance, Democratic Responsibility, and the Question of Feminist Praxis: MJ Vijayan →

Debates, Democracy, Feminism, Government, Law, Left watch

Response to the Zero Tolerance Campaign against Sexual Violence in Kerala: Althea Women ‘s Friendship

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Althea supports DrAsha Achy Joseph’s efforts to oppose the shielding of powerful men so that they may get away with the most egregious sexual violence and harassment.


  However, we are wary of the implications of ‘zero tolerance’, given its ambiguous global history. Zero tolerance is not the same as “ending gender-based violence.” It can very quickly devolve into a superficial checkbox for institutions that sounds good on paper and in theory.

Continue reading Response to the Zero Tolerance Campaign against Sexual Violence in Kerala: Althea Women ‘s Friendship →
Democracy, Government, Identities, Movements, Politics

Bangladesh in Transition – Understanding Election in the Aftermath of the July Uprising : Sohul Ahmed

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Guest post by SOHUL AHMED

[We bring for our readers, this essay by Sohul Ahmed, which details the context and background of the recently held Bangladesh election. Though a cacophony of voices from the Right to the Left in India had already pronounced their  shared judgement of an “Islamic takeover” of Bangladesh via the July Uprising, what this essay details the extremely significant political process through which the July Charter was formulated, signed on to by 33 parties, and how the most orderly and peaceful election was held in the country just two weeks ago.  This article rebuts the general impression created by this Right-Left propaganda in India that supreme chaos reigns in Bangladesh. Since this article was written, a new government has been formed with a Hindu  and a Chakma-Buddhist face each, in the cabinet. The main Islamic party has been trounced in the elections. So much for all the doomsday prophesies about post-July Bangladesh. That does not mean everything is fine – and Ahmed explains the complications that still exist. – AN]

Bangladesh elections, representational image, courtesy Reuters/ BBC

Bangladesh stands at a crucial juncture in its political transition following the July Uprising. The country witnessed its national election almost one and a half years after the ousting of Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic regime – an election widely regarded as one of the most consequential moments in the country’s political history. Our characterization of this election as “crucial” or even “historic” has deep roots in Bangladesh’s recent electoral experience. Continue reading Bangladesh in Transition – Understanding Election in the Aftermath of the July Uprising : Sohul Ahmed →

Democracy, Movements, Politics

Bangladesh Beyond the Ballot – The Struggle Begins Now: Sohul Ahmed

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We are reproducing an article written by SOHUL AHMED on the eve of the Bangladesh elections, earlier published in Bengali in Prothom Alo, Dhaka. The English version was published in Ahmed’s Substack, yesterday, 12 February. A researcher on genocide and democratic politics, Sohul Ahmed is already familiar to Kafila readers. We publish this piece here because it helps us understand the current elections as but a moment in the larger process of transformation unleashed by the July Uprising of 2024.  An important reason for publishing this piece here is because Bangladesh’s difficult struggle for democratic transition holds significant lessons for us – in our struggles in the times to come. – AN

Image courtesy Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

After fifteen years of autocratic rule, Bangladesh is re-entering an electoral phase. This election is significant for two primary reasons: first, it reactivates a stagnant electoral process and initiates a transition toward a competitive system; and second, it seeks to establish a sustainable political settlement that institutionalizes this process.

The upcoming election serves as both a national vote and a referendum. Far more than a simple contest for power, it is a fight to reclaim the essential democratic entry points lost over the past fifteen years. By functioning as a referendum, this process seeks a mandate for the structural reforms and political settlements necessary to build a truly democratic foundation for the country. Continue reading Bangladesh Beyond the Ballot – The Struggle Begins Now: Sohul Ahmed →

Centre watch, Culture, Debates, Democracy, Right watch

हिन्दुत्व वर्चस्ववाद :  अतीत का गंधाता कुआं 

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“आर एस एस – काया और माया” की समीक्षा

धर्मान्ध लोग – जो हंसना भूल गए हैं, रोना भूल गए हैं, और करूणा भूल गए हैं – ऐसे ‘इन्सान’ हैं जो एटम बम से भी ज्यादा ख़तरनाक हैं

– पी लंकेश के काॅलम ‘कहां मैं भूल न जाउं’ से

(पेज 6, ‘आर एस एस – काया और माया’ से)

…कन्नड भाषा के अग्रणी साहित्यकार एवं सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता देवनूर महादेव की हिन्दी में प्रकाशित ताज़ा किताब ‘राष्ट्रीय  स्वयंसेवक संघ – काया और माया’ ( आर एस एस – आलू मत्तू अगला ‘ नाम से मूल कन्नड़ में प्रकाशित किताब का हिंदी अनुवाद है ) इस मामले में एक नया पत्थर गाड़ती प्रतीत होती है। जैसा कि सभी जानते हैं वर्ष 2022 में मूल कन्नड में प्रकाशित इस किताब ने हाल के समय में बिक्री का रेर्कार्ड कायम किया है, वह न केवल कन्नड, तेलूगू, मराठी, अंग्रेजी, हिन्दी में प्रकाशित  हुई है बल्कि इस किताब को काॅपीराइट से मुक्त करके और लोगों को प्रकाशन की छूट देकर संघ के असली स्वरूप को जन-जन तक पहुंचाने में किताब ने वितरण के मामले में और किताब या संघ के बारे में चर्चा होने के मामले में एक किस्म का मील का प्रत्थर कायम किया है। कन्नड़ और तेलुगु में इसकी एक लाख से भी अधिक प्रतियां बिकी हैं और अन्य जुबानों में दसियों हज़ार से अधिक प्रतियां।   

ध्यान रहे कि जिस बेबाकी से देवनूर महादेव ने संघ के बारे में लिखा है, उतनी साफगोई बहुत कम लोग दिखा पाते है। किताब की भूमिका ही इस बात को उजागर करती है, आप लिखते हैं :

‘.. आर एस एस इस देश को कहां ले जाने की कोशिश कर रहा है ? इस संगठन के बारे में आम धारणा और इस संगठन के असली चाल-चरित्र के बीच फर्क क्या है ? इस सवालों पर जनमानस को जागृत  करने’ / पेज 23-24/ के लिए यह किताब लिखी गयी है। भारतीय लोककथाओं में चर्चित मायावी की कथा के बहाने जिसकी जान सात समुंदर पार किसी तोते में समायी होती है, जो बहुरूपिया है और मानवलोक में तरह तरह की ज्यादतियां करता है और उसका कोई कुछ बिगाड़ नहीं पाता क्योंकि जान ‘तोते के रूप में गुफा में सुरक्षित है’ वह संघ की असलियत जानने और उजागर करने के लिए ‘आर एस एस के अतीत के बदबूदार कुएं में ’ ( पेज 23) झांकने के लिए निकले हैं और दिखाई दिए ‘भयावह दृश्य ‘ / (पेज 24 ) का एक अंश किताब के रूप में सामने ला रहे हैं ।.. [ Read the full review here :https://janchowk.com/review-of-rss-kaya-aur-maya-hindutva-supremacism-a-stinking-well-of-the-past/]

Culture, Democracy, Education, Everyday Life, Knowledge, Politics, Right watch

Pedagogical Reflections on Silence in the Classroom: Rekha* and Rahul*

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Guest post by  Rekha and Rahul (pseudonyms).

Two early-career teachers in private universities in India reflect on what has quietly transformed in their classrooms over the last few years, as they trace the rise of a new norm of ‘silence’. Their reflections ask what it means to teach in the intimate classroom space as it begins to mirror the shrinking democratic space and what forms of care, courage and pedagogy might keep the classroom thinking in these changing times. 

I

In the last half a decade, i’ve felt my classroom in a private Indian university change in ways that are hard to capture through the usual metrics. The checklist  is enviable: i retain full freedom to design courses, assign authors i want and structure electives around questions that matter to me.  And yet, in one of the courses while teaching Margaret Canovan’s piece on ‘Two Faces of Democracy’, i realised what had changed. There is a subtle paradox: the formal freedoms of the private university remain in place, but the informal ecology of the classrooms has altered. 

Continue reading Pedagogical Reflections on Silence in the Classroom: Rekha* and Rahul* →

Violence/Conflict, Empire/ Imperialism, Movements, Feminism, Democracy

Support the Rojava Revolution, Condemn Syrian Interim Government’s and IS Offensive: Kurdish Women’s Foreign Relations Office

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We are publishing this statement by the KURDISH WOMEN’S FOREIGN RELATIONS OFFICE in support of the valiant struggle of the Rojava Revolution to defend itself.

Rojava Revolutionaries, image courtesy ‘Women Defend Rojava’ (womendefendrojava.net)

The Syrian Interim Government under interim president al-Shaara, has declared war on the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and its achievements for women. Since 6 January, the situation in the region has been escalating. After militias of the so-called Syrian Interim Government launched a military attack on predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo, forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to flee and committing brutal massacres, they turned their attacks towards northern and eastern Syria, surrounding them on all sides. Through a genocidal campaign of destruction against the Kurdish people – especially women – the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, a democratic project based on women’s liberation, grassroots democracy, ecology, and pluralism, is now under threat of destruction.

These attacks represent a massive escalation of systematic violence against women and their hard-won rights. Jihadist groups driven by a deeply misogynistic and patriarchal mindset are targeting, killing, kidnapping and subjecting women to sexual violence. In doing so, they are terrorising women as a means of destroying entire communities. In recent days, we have received horrific videos and reports from the region showing women’s bodies being deliberately desecrated by being thrown from houses and mutilated. Continue reading Support the Rojava Revolution, Condemn Syrian Interim Government’s and IS Offensive: Kurdish Women’s Foreign Relations Office →

authoritarianism, Centre watch, Debates, Democracy, Politics

SIR must be stopped until reconsidered and reworked – Jury report on public hearing in Delhi

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A National Convention on Defending Universal Adult Franchise, convened by Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), took place at the Constitution Club, New Delhi, on 20 December, 2025. At this National Convention, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out by the Election Commission of India in different states of India was discussed. About two hundred persons, including many witnesses, attended the Convention and were part of the audience. We post below the report of the jury

 Conclusion of the jury:

After hearing the testimonies, the jury is of the view that the revision of electoral rolls is being carried out hastily and sometimes carelessly. The possibility of mass disenfranchisement is, therefore, real and ominous. It is imperative for the process to be fair and accurate; all eligible voters must be duly registered and should be able to exercise their right to vote. To fulfil these basic requirements, the SIR process needs to be reconsidered and reworked, and until that is done, in the interim, it must be stopped.

Jury members:  Justice Madan Lokur (Retd.), Justice A.K. Patnaik (Retd.), Ms. Pamela Philipose, Dr. Jean Drèze, Prof. Nivedita Menon (Retd.)

Report of the jury

At the National Convention, we as members of the jury heard Continue reading SIR must be stopped until reconsidered and reworked – Jury report on public hearing in Delhi →

authoritarianism, Democracy, Ecology/Environment, Government

Deal With the Problem, Not the Activists; Control Polluters, Not Those Demanding Accountability! – NACEJ

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The National Alliance for Climate and Environmental Justice (NACEJ) strongly condemns the raids, searches, and intimidation of climate activists Harjeet Singh and Sanjay Vashisht by Indian enforcement agencies.

Recent actions by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and allied agencies—reportedly based on alleged violations of foreign exchange regulations, vague claims of threats to “energy security,” and unsubstantiated intelligence inputs—have been carried out without transparency or disclosure of credible evidence. Public reporting indicates reliance on anonymous official briefings, rumoured intelligence reports, and speculative allegations, with officials unwilling to come on record. Continue reading Deal With the Problem, Not the Activists; Control Polluters, Not Those Demanding Accountability! – NACEJ →