The Great John Pilger Passes Away
His journalism and documentaries were celebrated around the world, but to his family and friends he was simply the most amazing and loved Dad, Grandad and partner.
Freevoice
I write because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, said George Orwell. As a writer, I never kowtow to the whims and dictates of the sacred godmen or godwomen, the political bigots and hypocrites, dealers of laymen, the dishonest and self-serving intellectuals, traders of religions, the betrayers of ‘other’ Indians who eke out a living by their sweat, who are living in fear for being lynched for this and that.
Reading Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush” in New Year’s Eve
Those, on that inauguration day, who refuse to sing "carolings/ Of such ecstatic sound" of ‘Jai Shri Ram” will be punished. Wait. Whys? You already know. You learn when and how after the 2024 Lok Sabha election result.
On Holy Days
It attests to the disenchantment of the poet to the festivity of any holy day people celebrate with fire and food.
How Can I Wish You a Merry Christmas?
My country is heading towards hell for the non-Hindus. Ayodhya is gearing up to fulfill the long-cherished desire of the crores of Hindus on 22 January.
COP28 was just another milestone on the highway to hell.
IT took 28 years of UN-sponsored climate conferences for one of them to even acknowledge the primary source of the planet’s woes. That was enough for the circus that concluded in Dubai a week ago to be hailed as a landmark.
Burning the Midnight Oil
It attests to the trajectory of Indian students who face stiff competition in the shrinking Indian job market.
We are 300 Rohingya Muslims
The world labelled us ‘refugee’,
In Allah’s wide land, and sea and sky
We are pariahs,
Ways of profits for human traffickers
Columnists still relish our survival feats!
Education for Hindu Rashtra: UGC-NCERT’s Rightwing Drive
The UGC and NCERT, guided by the Hindu nationalist agenda, are striking strong contrasts to the values of our Constitution.
Against Forgetting: The need to remember the 6th of December
The business of progressive politics in this precarious time is to remember, not forget, the instrumental and ideological violence of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Cow Dung Collector
It attests to the irony we find in poor Khenti's copying the young girls who are exercising to lose weight and look smart to their bosses.