Category Archives: Democracy

Debates, Democracy, Frontiers, Movements, Politics

Reimagining Democracy – How Serbian Students Redefined Political Imagination: Sohul Ahmed

Leave a comment

This post by SOHUL AHMED was first published in Polity Weekly, Dhaka

Image courtesy PolityWeekly Dhaka

When we heard that Serbian students and protesters succeeded in removing the long-ruling President Aleksandar Vučić, it seemed normal to us because such events are happening all over the world. Yet, the story of how they defeated him at the ballot box is one worth retelling. What truly disrupted the conventional ‘political imagination’ was how the students launched their movement, sustained its momentum over two years, and ultimately entered the election not as a traditional party, but as a unified movement. It comes as no surprise that a conflict expert and Johns Hopkins University lecturer remarked that the students from Serbia deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.

The reason why I argue that this movement and its dynamics realized a “utopian” version of democracy will become clear by the end of this piece. It all started after the collapse of a freshly renovated railway station on November 1, 2024, which killed 16 people. This tragedy triggered widespread mass mobilization because it was seen as the direct result of systemic corruption and an entrenched culture of impunity. The state machinery responded to the protesters with violence and a smear campaign. Read the full article here

Debates, Democracy, Feminism, Genders, Identities, Law, Politics, Right watch

Return of the Radical Feminist Saviours: Svati P Shah

Leave a comment

Guest post by SVATI P SHAH

On October 8, 2026, a group called ‘Women’s Declaration International India’ filed a PIL in the Indian Supreme Court which calls for further narrowing transgender legal rights, as afforded in the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 (‘Transgender Act’). The PIL takes courage from the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026 (‘Amendment Act), which removes the right of self-attested gender (as was legally affirmed in Transgender Act) and requires medical ‘evidence’ of gender identity that does not conform to sex assigned at birth. The October 8 PIL builds on language in the Amendment Act to demand the legal enshrinement, ‘protection’ of ‘biological’ women. Specific ‘prayers’ include that the Court declare ‘sex’ and ‘gender identity’ as legally distinct, declaring that Section 7/18 of the Transgender Act, which allows for administrative orders to change  gender on official documents like Aadhaar, be defined as unconstitutional, specifically excluding transgender people from access to welfare schemes with gendered quotas, overruling transgender legal recognition and the right to benefits guaranteed in the 2014 NALSA judgement, and stripping away the protection from emotional and verbal abuse by declaring a portion of Section 18(d) of the 2019 Transgender Act as unconstitutional. The PIL essentially frames transgender rights as an encroachment of the rights of women, where women are defined with respect to an extremely partial and misunderstood use of the term ‘biology.’ Continue reading Return of the Radical Feminist Saviours: Svati P Shah →

authoritarianism, Democracy, Ecology/Environment, Extractivism, Law

Condemn Illegal Arrests of Adivasi Activists in Tijimali, Odisha: CDNP, CFD and LRA

Leave a comment

The joint statement below, released on 21 October 2026, underlines the ongoing repression in Tijimali Hills in Odisha – which has now familiarly become a permanent feature of all mine-rich Adivasi areas. These areas are living under an ongoing siege simply because of the “wealth” that lies beneath and all laws there are violated with impunity every day.

Campaign to Defend Nature and People (CDNP), Citizens for Democracy (CFD), and Loktantrik Rashtranirman Abhiyan (LRA) strongly condemn the arrests of the activists Lingraj Azad, Lakshman Nayak, Hiramal Nayak, Lada Sikaka, Randall Sequiera and Naring Dei, struggling to save the Tijimali hills in Odisha from falling into the hands of corporations. We demand their immediate and unconditional release. Of these, Lingraj Azad has been in prison since 25 March 2026, and others were arrested this month. Lingraj was arrested and rearrested despite a court-granted bail. Continue reading Condemn Illegal Arrests of Adivasi Activists in Tijimali, Odisha: CDNP, CFD and LRA →

authoritarianism, Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Democracy, Politics, Right watch, Theory

भीड़ द्वारा हत्याएं/ Mob Lynching : मोहसिन शेख को किसी ने नहीं मारा – 1

Leave a comment

हिंदुत्व वर्चस्ववाद के तहत मॉब लिंचिंग के एक दशक का दस्तावेज़ीकरण करती किताब जो घटनाओं को एक परिप्रेक्ष्य में भी रखती है
भीड़ द्वारा हत्या – यह शब्द संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका के इतिहास के एक अंधकारमय दौर की तस्वीरें मन में उभारता है।

अब यह इतिहास का हिस्सा है कि 1877 और 1950 के बीच, श्वेत वर्चस्ववादी गिरोहों ने 4,000 अफ्रीकी अमेरिकियों की हत्या कर दी, जबकि सरकार और पुलिस ने दूसरी ओर देखना जारी रखा।

किसी को भी यह पूर्वाभास नहीं था कि संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका, जो स्वयं को ‘सबसे मज़बूत’ लोकतंत्र के रूप में अपने आप को प्रस्तुत करता है, द्वारा भीड़ के हाथों हत्या की अपनी बर्बर प्रथा को अंततः छोड़ दिए जाने के लगभग आठ दशक बाद, ‘सबसे बड़े’ लोकतंत्र – भारत – में इस खूनी प्रथा की फिर से वापसी होगी।
इस प्रकार की खुद इंसाफ का दावा करनेवाली हिंसा के पीड़ितों के बारे में कोई आधिकारिक आँकड़े उपलब्ध नहीं हैं।

सरकार ने आज तक ऐसे किसी भी रेकॉर्ड को तैयार करने से इनकार किया है, न ही ऐसे मामलों में न्यायिक प्रक्रिया के तहत फैसलों में तेज़ी लाने के लिए कुछ विशेष अदालतों के अंतर्गत अलग कानून बनाने का विचार उसके विचार-विमर्श में सामने आया है। कथित तौर पर इसका आधार यह भ्रामक दलील है कि हिंसा के एक रूप के तौर पर भीड़ द्वारा हत्या को भारतीय दंड संहिता में शामिल नहीं किया गया है और यह सब उन स्पष्ट आँकड़ों के बावजूद है जो दिखाते हैं कि धार्मिक अल्पसंख्यकों, समाज के सामाजिक रूप से हाशिए पर पड़े वर्गों और महिलाओं को लक्षित कर  की गयी घृणा-हत्याओं में 21वीं सदी के दूसरे दशक में अचानक उछाल आया है, जिसका संबंध भारत की राजनीति और समाज में बहुसंख्यकवादी ताकतों के उदय से है।

[ Read the complete article published here in three parts : https://janchowk.com/a-book-that-documents-a-decade-of-mob-lynching-under-the-aegis-of-hindutva-supremacism-while-also-placing-these-events-within-a-broader-perspective/

भीड़ द्वारा हत्याएँ: राज्य और अपराधियों के बीच सिम्फनी – II https://janchowk.com/mob-killings-a-symphony-between-the-state-and-criminals-ii/;

भीड़ द्वारा हत्या : भारत के रूपांतरण की पड़ताल-III https://janchowk.com/mob-lynching-an-examination-of-indias-transformationiii/]

Debates, Democracy, Movements, Politics

इक्कीसवीं सदी के जनांदोलनों के आईने में ‘राजनीति’ और ‘सियासत’

Leave a comment

25 सितम्बर को बीकानेर प्रौढ़ शिक्षण समिति में डॉ छगन मोहता स्मृति व्याख्यान का यह परिवर्धित व संशोधित रूप यहाँ पेश है। दुनिया भर में जनांदोलनों के ताज़ा विस्फ़ोट के दौर में इसे इस उम्मीद से भी साझा कर रहे हैं कि पाठकों से भी शायद कुछ फ़ीडबैक मिले।

पिछली सदी में अस्सी की दहाई के आख़िरी बरसों में उस वक़्त के समाजवादी देशों में हमने जनांदोलनों का ऐसा ज्वार देखा था जिसके फलस्वरूप समूचे पूर्वी यूरोप और सोवियत संघ में राज्य-निर्भर समाजवाद का क़िला चरमरा कर ढह गया था। इस में कोई शक़ नहीं कि राज्य-समाजवाद की बनावट में कई ख़ामियाँ थीं मगर उन जन उभारों को उस ज़माने में पश्चिम के राजनीतिक सिद्धांतकारों ने जिस तरह पढ़ा वह ग़ौरतलब है। अमरीका के दक्षिणपंथी रैंड कॉर्पोरेशन के बुद्धिजीवी फ्रांसिस फुकुयामा ने तो समाजवाद के पतन के बाद की दुनिया में ‘इतिहास के अंत’ का ऐलान तक कर दिया था। ज़ाहिर है ‘इतिहास का अंत’ जैसे पदों का हमारे नज़दीक़ कोई मानी नहीं होता क्योंकि हमारे यहाँ तो काल अनादि-अनंत है, उसे शाश्वत के रूप में देखा जाता है। फुकुयामा का यह उद्घोष हेगेल के दर्शन से आता है, खुद जिसकी बुनियाद ईसाइयत के काल-तसव्वुर से आती है जहाँ आदम और हव्वा के जन्नत से निकाले जाने से ‘इतिहासगत’ या ऐतिहासिक काल की शुरुआत होती है।

Continue reading इक्कीसवीं सदी के जनांदोलनों के आईने में ‘राजनीति’ और ‘सियासत’ →
authoritarianism, Democracy, Movements, State Terror

Undeclared AFSPA-like Regime in the Capital: CFD, PUCL, Jan Hastakshep Condemn Crackdown on People’s Agitation Demanding CEC’s Resignation

Leave a comment

Following is a statement jointly issued by CFD, PUCL and Jan Hastakshep

The developments in Delhi and elsewhere in the country expose a disturbing pattern of repression. Citizens asserting their democratic right to question arbitrary state power and to organize protests have been met with force, intimidation and sweeping restrictions.

A report in The Indian Express (23 September 2026) raised serious allegations about unilateral decisions by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, without consultation with the other two Election Commissioners. Concerns over the exclusion of eligible voters led to demands for his resignation. Instead of answering these allegations and restoring public confidence, the Union Government and ruling party defended the CEC while the state machinery was deployed to contain the agitation.

Delhi was turned into a security fortress. Reports cited the deployment of around 23,000 personnel of the Central forces to assist Delhi Police, including five all-women paramilitary companies; multiple barricades; cancellation of 245 Delhi-bound trains; closure of 45 Metro stations; and internet restrictions in and around Jantar Mantar. On 9 October, police reportedly raided activists’ and students’ homes and detained people. On 10 October, nearly 7,000 citizens, including lawyers, were reportedly detained in Delhi. Continue reading Undeclared AFSPA-like Regime in the Capital: CFD, PUCL, Jan Hastakshep Condemn Crackdown on People’s Agitation Demanding CEC’s Resignation →

Debates, Democracy, Education

Letter to UGC on safeguarding established procedures of curriculum-making in Central Universities

Leave a comment

Issued by academics, teachers and concerned members of the academic community, on an initiative by Democratic Teachers’ Initiative

We, the undersigned, wish to draw your attention to an email communication issued by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, to the Registrars of several Central Universities on 27 September 2026, marked “Urgent” and seeking comments and information concerning courses and prescribed readings.

The email refers to a communication received from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and seeks comments from the concerned universities on an anonymous post on X, along with details of the number of students enrolled in the courses mentioned in that post. The X post listed readings from the curricula of different universities, including major works by B.R. Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule, E.V. Ramasamy Periyar, Gail Omvedt, Sharmila Rege, Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, Uma Chakravarti and other scholars. Continue reading Letter to UGC on safeguarding established procedures of curriculum-making in Central Universities →

authoritarianism, Culture, Debates, Democracy, Government, Law, Right watch

Nobody Killed Mohsin Sheikh!

Leave a comment

A Close Look at Mob Lynching in India: A Record, 2014–2024

……nearly eight decades after the “strongest” democracy, namely the US, had finally abandoned its barbaric practice of lynching, the “largest” democracy, namely India, would revive this gruesome practice.

There are no official figures on the victims of this form of vigilantism.

To date, the government has refused to undertake any such record-keeping. Nor has the idea of enacting a separate law to expedite judicial verdicts in such cases through special courts gained traction in government deliberations. This inaction is supposedly justified by the specious argument that “lynching”, as a distinct form of violence, is not specifically covered by the Indian Penal Code. This is despite the obvious fact that such targeted hate killings of religious minorities, socially marginalised sections of society, women, and others have witnessed a sudden surge in the second decade of the 21st century. This trend is linked to the rise of majoritarian forces in India’s polity and society..

[ Read the full report here : https://countercurrents.org/2026/10/nobody-killed-mohsin-sheikh-a-close-look-at-mob-lynching-in-india-a-record-2014-2024/].

Capitalism, Culture, Debates, Democracy, Knowledge, Language, Literature

क्या विश्व पुस्तक मेला बड़े प्रकाशकों और हिन्दू धार्मिक जमातों को सुपुर्द किया जा रहा है ?

Leave a comment

अगले मेले में स्टॉल लगाने का शुल्क और बढ़ा , हिन्दी और अन्य भारतीय भाषाओँ की स्टॉल की संख्या और घटेगी

( Photo courtesy : https://vikalpvimarsh.in/)

..दिल्ली से लेकर किसी भी शहर में नेशनल बुक ट्रस्ट द्वारा आयोजित होने वाले मेलों में चमक-दमक बढ़ रही है, प्रधानमंत्री के कटआउट के साथ सेल्फी पाॅईंट्स की तादाद भी बढ़ रही है, प्रवेश मुफत करने के चलते मेले में पहुंचनेवालों की तादाद भी बढ़ रही है। मगर बारीकी से गौर करें तो पाएंगे कि मेले का स्वरूप रफ्ता-रफ्ता बदला जा रहा है।

यह अकारण नहीं कि ‘प्रकाशन में एकाधिकार की नीतियां वापस लेने’ तथा ‘पठन-पाठन की संस्कृति और विविधता पर हमलों’ पर चिंतित सरोकार संपन्न लेखक, पत्रकार, रचनाकार और प्रबुद्ध पाठक ही नहीं, मेले में नियमित पहुंचनेवाले भी पुस्तक मेले के इस बदलते स्वरूप से चिंतित हैं और उनका आकलन है कि अगर यह सिलसिला जारी रहा तो यह ‘समाप्त हो जाएगा’।.. ( Read the complete article here :http://epaper.navjivanindia.com//imageview_4233_112614409_4_71_04-10-2026_i_1_sf.html)

Culture, Democracy, Feminism, Genders, Politics

Political-Emotional Architecture of Bharosa – From Kitchen to Street: Rashid Ali

Leave a comment

Guest post by RASHID ALI

The word ‘Bharosa’ feels far too ordinary to demand serious analytical scrutiny. Yet, North Indian social life is entirely entangled in its everyday usage. It anchors everything from marketplace haggling to deep emotional intimacies, structuring how people negotiate dependence, heavy obligations, faith and expectation. Recently, protesting students in Delhi threw a sharp new light on the word ‘Bharosa’ with a viral slogan: ‘Ek chai do samosa/Mard zat ka kya Bharosa’ (One cup tea, two samosas/ can men ever be trusted?). Had Roland Barthes been raised in a North Indian milieu, ‘Bharosa’ would likely have emerged as a foundational concept in his semiotic arsenal in the ‘Image, Music, Text.’

While linguists trace the word to its Persian roots, ‘Bharosa’ has actually migrated through the messy, overlapping realities of both Sanskrit and Persianate cosmopolises. In doing so, it has taken on a vibrant social life that can’t be contained by a single religion, language, caste or gender. Today, competing ideological camps use ‘Bharosa’ to define inclusivity and exclusivity. Left-wing discourse, for example, ties ‘Bharosa’ directly to the fragile contracts between democracy, revolutionary hope and the bourgeois state. Conversely, Hindutva politics leverages the vocabulary of trust to forge shared goals within its own defined enclave, while explicitly painting specific identities as outsiders. The nation-state itself operates on this exact axis, repetitively bordering on the citizens it trusts and it doesn’t. Continue reading Political-Emotional Architecture of Bharosa – From Kitchen to Street: Rashid Ali →

authoritarianism, Democracy, Politics, Right watch, Scams

CFD Demands Repeal of SIR, Resignation of the CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Leave a comment

Following is a statement issued by Citizens for Democracy demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the Repeal of SIR in its entirety.

The cat is out of the bag. It is confirmed, what the world already knew, that the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar is Modi’s man. The CEC worked for the benefit of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, manipulated elections, all by himself. Gyanesh Kumar obediently followed orders of his political bosses, the Modi-Shah duo. He let loose carnage on voters lists in the name of SIR and disenfranchised 13 crore voters across the country. He ignored 14 dissenting notes in the last 10 months written by his brother Election Commissioners Shri Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Shri Vivek Joshi, and did everything that these two men thought was unauthorized and illegal. Continue reading CFD Demands Repeal of SIR, Resignation of the CEC Gyanesh Kumar →

authoritarianism, Capitalism, Democracy, Development, Ecology/Environment, Movements

End Intimidation of Bhanu Tatak, Ebo Mili, Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum and the Siang People’s Movement: NAPM, NACEJ & All India Rivers Forum

Leave a comment

We publish below a statement jointly issued by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ) and All-India Rivers’ Forum (AIRF), “expressing solidarity with the people of Arunachal Pradesh, who are resisting the forcible imposition of multiple mega-dam projects on their ancestral lands, rivers and forests.” The statement also expresses solidarity “with the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) and environmental lawyers and activists Bhanu Tatak and Ebo Mili, who have stood firmly with affected communities in their struggles to save their lands, forests and cultures. ” The statement goes on to say:

We see the recent case registered by CBI against Ms. Bhanu Tatak, as part of the series of repressive measures by the Government over years, to quell the democratic resistance by the indigenous communities and farmers.

Siang Dam Protests Representational image, Courtesy NorthEast Live

The FIR by CBI against Bhanu, which alleges violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA), is a means of intimidating, discrediting and weakening a peaceful people’s movement. We salute the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum Youth Wing (SIFFYW) that has resolutely stood with Bhanu, in the face of intimidation and divisive tactics of the Government, calling her true daughter of the Abor land. Continue reading End Intimidation of Bhanu Tatak, Ebo Mili, Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum and the Siang People’s Movement: NAPM, NACEJ & All India Rivers Forum →

Culture, Debates, Democracy, Movements, Religion

Is the Transformation of Public Festivals into Public Nuisance Our Destiny ?

Leave a comment

Two recent news reports capture the contrast at the heart of a significant issue. Solapur is headed into its second year running without DJs at its Ganesh immersions, with the police commissioner crediting the decision to meetings with stakeholders and support from the mandals themselves. Meanwhile, reports on this year’s Kanwar Yatra described assaults, vandalism, intimidation and an increasingly aggressive campaign over what people may eat or sell, with Muslims and meat sellers paying much of the price.

One festival is learning restraint; the other is turning coercive. ( Read the complete article here : https://kashmirtimes.com/opinion/comment-articles/is-the-transformation-of-public-festivals-into-public-nuisance-our-destiny)

authoritarianism, Democracy, Politics, Right watch

In West Bengal Ritabrata Banerjee, Sudip Banerjee are Celebrating Centenary of the Responsive Cooperation Party: Barnali Mukherji

Leave a comment
Guest post by BARNALI MUKHERJI
[In this post Barnali Mukherjee looks back at a moment of history in the politics of the Hindutva Right and its enablers – and draws parallels with the current state of the TMC rebels and discusses what this might mean for the antifascist struggle.]

Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee, Image courtesy The Week

At a time when 14/15 crore citizens of this country stand on the brink of losing their voting rights, the opposition is yet to call a nationwide general strike or coordinated action. The RSS wants to bring back the British-era rule where one could remain a “citizen” without enjoying the right to vote. But the question is, how meaningful can the struggle against fascism be if the opposition fails to also vocalize a demand for the legal immunity of public representatives?
Fascism is, by definition, an anti-vote ideology. To enforce a policy centered around “one country, one-two-or at best three industrialists,” the fascists must reduce its reliance on the masses. Thus, they are anti-vote and anti-peoples-representation. Exploiting the inherent limitations of parliamentary democracy, the fascists aim to establish a system that is effectively voteless and parliament-less. Rendering public representation irrelevant is embedded within our country’s Constitution itself—an advantage the BJP is exploiting.

Continue reading In West Bengal Ritabrata Banerjee, Sudip Banerjee are Celebrating Centenary of the Responsive Cooperation Party: Barnali Mukherji →

Democracy, Education, Movements, Politics

Cockroach Janata Party – Social Base, Caste and Social Justice: Pramod Ranjan

1 Comment

Guest post by PRAMOD RANJAN

Ambedkar portrait at CJP protest
Ambedkar portrait at CJP protest, Image courtesy Karma Bhutia/PTI and Frontline

Few have noted that India’s much-discussed Gen Z student movement was started by young people from Bahujan communities. ‘Bahujan’ is a broad socio-political term for historically marginalised communities. The founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Abhijeet Dipke, comes from a Dalit family. Bahujan communities were also prominently represented among the organisation’s early office-bearers. Many young Sikhs and Muslims, including Mohammad Junaid, played important supporting roles in the movement. Young people from dwija, or traditionally ‘twice-born’ upper-caste, backgrounds joined later as office-bearers. Continue reading Cockroach Janata Party – Social Base, Caste and Social Justice: Pramod Ranjan →

Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Democracy, Right watch, Theory

‘चरित्र-निर्माण की सदी’?

Leave a comment

…

आरएसएस कैसे धीरे–धीरे अपने ही इतिहास को फिर से लिखने की कोशिश कर रहा है

…

एक सदी बीत गयी जब राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ नाम से हिन्दुओं के संगठन (इसके बजाए इसे ‘हिन्दू पुरुषों‘ का संगठन कहना वाजिब होगा क्योंकि इसमें हिन्दू महिलाओं को प्रवेश नहीं मिल सकता) की नींव पड़ी , जब नागपुर में डॉक्टर हेडगेवार , उनके राजनीतिक मार्गदर्शक डॉ बी एस मुंजे और विनायक दामोदर सावरकर के भाई बाबाराव सावरकर तथा अन्य दो सहयोगियों ने संघ की स्थापना की।  पिछले ही साल उसके निर्माण की सदी मनाई गयी थी।  

आज संघ अपनी कामयाबी के उरूज़ पर कहा जा सकता है , जबकि उसके आनुषंगिक संगठन भारतीय जनता पार्टी के हाथों में सत्ता की बागडोर है, और उसके अन्य सहयोगी जमातों के कारिंदे देश के अग्रणी संस्थाओं को नियंत्रित कर रहे हैं; हालाँकि यह भी उतना ही सही है कि उसके निर्माण, उसके संचालन और उसकी भूमिका को लेकर वह हमेशा विवादों में रहा है। पिछले दिनों कर्नाटक के गृहमंत्री प्रियंक खड़गे ने आरएसएस के पंजीकरण, उसके द्वारा किये जा रहे अकूत धनसंग्रह और उसके हिसाब किताब के जब बात उठायी, तब ये सवाल फिर ज़िंदा हो गए। 

शिक्षा संस्थानों के पाठ्यक्रमों में संघ के प्रभाव में लाये जा रहे बदलावों के बारे में अक्सर बात होती है, मगर इसी क़िस्म की कवायद में संघ अपने अतीत को लेकर भी सक्रिय है – यह बात ज़्यादा लोग नहीं जानते। Read the full article here : https://nayapath.in/how-is-the-rss-trying-to-write-its-own-history-again-subhash-gatade/]

authoritarianism, Democracy, Feminism, Movements, Politics, Right watch

The Enemy is Inside the Home – young women and Hindu Rashtra at Jantar Mantar

1 Comment

When police fire pellet guns and AK 47s at unarmed protesters on the streets of cities, that’s when you know for sure that India is an integral part of Kashmir and the North Eastern states.

Also the other way round. One big happy parivar.

But of course now we are no longer talking about the devastated landscape of education in India, nor about the police violence unleashed on young unarmed  people protesting exam leaks and perversions of the education system. No, finally – finally – we have come to the real debate as a nation.

Abusive, sexually explicit language against men in power by the protesters, in posters and social media reels and memes.

Correction – by [young female, middle class] protesters. They were not the only ones using their creativity to do this, but they are the ones in the glare of the nation’s spotlight. Continue reading The Enemy is Inside the Home – young women and Hindu Rashtra at Jantar Mantar →

authoritarianism, Debates, Democracy, Movements, Right watch

Cockroach after Kafka – Power after Powerlessness: Alok Ranjan

Leave a comment

Guest post by ALOK RANJAN

Crowds ahead of the 20th March to Parliament, image courtesy The Hindu

In an essay in Kafila, after the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in 2025, I had reflected on a sentiment of betrayal on social media. Then I had faintly wondered whether that sentiment could transform the online sphere towards a positive political role away from its propaganda function. After a year, an online wave fueled a political euphoria on the streets of Delhi and many other cities over a deeper systemic betrayal of the youth. The virtual and the physical spheres erupted in sync, enjoying an expression of resentment. Continue reading Cockroach after Kafka – Power after Powerlessness: Alok Ranjan →

authoritarianism, Democracy, Education, Movements

Open Letter From Concerned Citizens to Police and Security Forces at Jantar Mantar

Leave a comment

Published below is an open letter to the police and security forces who were at the Jantar Mantar on Jul 20, 2026 and brutally attacked protesters, has been written in 16 languages by over 1800 concerned citizens across the country including students, teachers, parents of students, artists, social workers, homemakers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, software professionals, activists, traders, journalists and others. The signatories include Ratna Pathak Shah, Naseeruddin Shah, Kavitha Lankesh, Shabnam Hashmi, Vanita Mukherjee, Radha Kumar, Aditya Nigam, Jayati Ghosh, J Devika, Anuradha Kapoor, Devashish Makhija, Mohan Rao, Keval Arora, Meera Sanghamitra, Flavia Agnes, Sudha Bharadwaj, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Nisha Abdulla, Sumantra Ghosal, Nimi Ravindran, Cynthia Stephen, Sudha N, Kirtana Kumar, Devashish Makhija, Anita Cheria, Laxmi Murthy, Nisha Gulur, Bela Bhatia, Pankaj Rishi Kumar, Madhu Bhushan, Irawati Karnik, Arundhati Ghosh and so many others across various professions. The signatories condemn the police for violently attacking the peaceful student protesters urging them to recognize that the demand of the protesters seeking fair and corruption-free education impacts the lives of the children of the police as well. It calls on the police to refuse unethical orders, citing historical and global examples of security forces who chose conscience over command. Finally, it appeals to the officers’ humanity and shared struggles, asking them to protect citizens’ rights rather than serve as tools of state repression.

Open Letter from Concerned Citizens to the Police and Security Forces at Jantar Mantar, Delhi on July 20, 2026

Letters should start with a ‘dear’. But how can we write that for you after having witnessed the videos of your brutal attack on the student protesters at Jantar Mantar? As we watched the bones shatter, the skin rupture, the blood ooze and bodies fall we wondered whether you, holding up those lathis and bringing them down on the young people with such ferocity, were in your senses. Because if you were, how could you not see the faces of your own brothers, sisters, and children among the thousands who had gathered from across the length and breadth of this country at its capital seeking justice, demanding an education free of corruption and a future free of uncertainties! Video after video showed us how right next to you men in plain clothes wielded state sanctioned lathis, threw stones and beat up protesters till children as young as ten or eleven were screaming in pain. And you who have taken oaths to protect this country’s citizens went on a rampage on peaceful demonstrators shattering both your promise and our trust. Continue reading Open Letter From Concerned Citizens to Police and Security Forces at Jantar Mantar →

Democracy, Education, Everyday Life, Government, Movements, Politics, Right watch

When Vermin Stare Back – Cockroach Janta Party and the Possibility of Reversal: Viraj Kafle

Leave a comment

This is a guest post by VIRAJ  KAFLE

For years, a particular grammar was offered to the young.

It taught them to recognise an internal enemy — Muslims, left activists, social justice advocates, critics of the regime — and to treat their presence as contamination by measuring them against a narrow standard of productivity and usefulness. This grammar operated by sorting populations according to their perceived contribution to a narrowly defined productive order. It marked as contaminants those bodies and capacities that appeared to drain resources, require adjustments, or fail to generate efficient returns.

What was once directed primarily at designated communities has now begun to expand. Continue reading When Vermin Stare Back – Cockroach Janta Party and the Possibility of Reversal: Viraj Kafle →

authoritarianism, Democracy, Development, Ecology/Environment, Movements

Condemn the Displacement of the people of Ken-Betwa Interlinking: CDNP

Leave a comment

We are publishing below a statement by the Campaign to Defend Nature and People (CDNP) condemning the attacks on the adivasis right to life and demanding cancellation of the project which will only benefit the political-contractor lobby. It also demands that the government compensate the people, and implement decentralized alternatives to make Bundelkhand water-secure, and also protect nature and livelihoods  – AN

Ken-Betwa Chita andolan, image courtesy India Today

As the Chita Andolan [funeral-pure movement] of people protesting against their displacement by the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project enters its 12th day, Campaign to Defend Nature and People (CDNP) expresses its solidarity with them. We condemn the interlinked illegalities and injustices that the Ken-Betwa project has become. This is evident in the clearance given to a project that is devoid of rationale, through a deeply flawed process, and its implementation through illegal coercive displacement. Continue reading Condemn the Displacement of the people of Ken-Betwa Interlinking: CDNP →