At times, one really does not know whether to laugh or worry when listening to Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy speak about history. For a man occupying the highest elected office in a State whose very identity is inseparable from the traumatic events of 1947–48, a little more familiarity with history would surely not…
Today’s warfare is “High Tech” warfare. Its outcomes are dependent on qualitative superiority in the full spectrum of warfare; but not based on 3:1 quantitative/numerical armed forces superiority of bygone days. Compelling imperative is to understand the many faces of “High Tech Warfare”, if one wants to sustain enduring peace. For peace promotes progress, prosperity…
High-sounding platitudes have been invoked by both Xi Jinping and Modi in the statements issued after the bi-lateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. The two leaders expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question proceeding from the political perspective of their overall bilateral relations and the…
The tragic collapse of a multi-storeyed building in Delhi’s Satyaniketan area, reportedly killing five people, should not be treated merely as another urban accident that will disappear from public memory after a few days of political blame-game. It must instead become a serious wake-up call for governments, civic authorities and educational institutions across the country….
Beyond Patriarchy and Matriarchy: The Case for Equality If Parts I to III of this series have established anything, it is that the story of patriarchy is neither as simple nor as universal as it is often made out to be. Human societies have evolved through remarkably different arrangements of family, inheritance, authority and gender…
From Female Foeticide to the New Civilising Mission Consider the modern trope of “female foeticide”. Today, it is routinely presented as another exhibit in the prosecution of timeless Indian patriarchy. But the history of sex selection in India contains an inconvenient Western dimension that is often missing from the narrative. India’s post-Independence population-control machinery received…
Sabarimala, Sati and the Civilising Mission Ranjana Kumari has for years argued for women’s right to worship at Sabarimala. In an earlier interview, she specifically invoked a woman’s right to offer prayers at the temple. In 2016, she argued that judicial rulings opening temples to women should extend to other temples, explicitly including the Ayyappa…
From Father God to Hindu Patriarchy Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale became a feminist icon in the West because its nightmare was instantly recognisable: Christian patriarchy carried to its dystopian conclusion. Male religious authority controls women, scripture provides the sanction, and the female body becomes territory over which Church and State exercise power. Western feminism…
The gloves are off, with political rivals indulging in increasingly cheap allegations and personal barbs against one another. But beyond the political slugfest, what are the realities, particularly regarding the performance of the Prime Ministers who have shaped independent India? After all, India’s present status in the comity of nations has been profoundly influenced by…
Politics often reveals more through the words chosen in a moment of confrontation than through carefully drafted speeches. When a former Union Home Minister publicly embraces a phrase that the Prime Minister uses to describe an ideological challenge to the State, the remark deserves more than a passing political response. It deserves scrutiny. That is…
