Is our county becoming intolerant? Some of us cannot tolerate this soul searching question. But the good old adage that enjoins us to trace the poof of the pudding in its eating illumines the obvious. The way dissent and disagreement is silenced through state-sponsored mobs often chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai exhibits that there is a growing tendency to...
Being Real at the Time of Coronavirus – II
We are facing a killerati in coronavirus. We also have another cultural virus that has been afflicting us for centuries. It is the virus of caste. It has mutated over time and today it has become what we call Hindutva. Both these viruses are lethal and have killer instincts. We may regard them as two sides of the same...
Being a Goan at a Time of Hindutva
It is heartening to see that most socio-political and economic issues in Goa have become Goa-centric. This welcome change is a Goa-centric modus vivendi on the horizon. A vigorous Goa-centrism that we can notice around is indeed a fresh breath of life in our society. Several Goans have recognized the wounds inflicted on Goa by our own politicians, industrialists,...
Is the Emperor Wearing No Clothes?
The third round of the election is over. This effectively sealed votes of Goans and other Indians in the EVMs. As the EVMs and the poll bugles go silent, it is time to reflect on the great elections in our country. The wheels of our democracy were on our fingertips. Now that we have done our job, democracy will...
The Rising Totalitarian Nationalism in India
No nationalism is complete. In several ways, one can trace different hues of nationalism in India. But in recent days, the nation seems to be challenged with a totalitarian form of nationalism. Notions of nationalism and anti-nationalism have become a discourse in media, with some drawing clear lines between people, separating those who are with the nation and those...
National Education Policy: A Critical Analysis
The national educational policy (NEP) is both visionary and ambitious. Much of its success will depend on its execution. A panel chaired by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan had submitted its first draft in 2018 to the Government. The Government then opened the draft for public feedback soon after Modi 2.0 in 2019. At that time it received stiff...
Democracy, Citizenship and Nationalism in India
The students in India are agitated and are on the roads. Several campuses of higher education have witnessed explosive protests of the students. Along the growing unrest, one can trace high handed state repression of the same. Are there any lessons emerging from this student unrest? What do these protests and resistance movements tell us about Democracy and citizenship...
(Un)democratising Democracy
The eruption of the binary of national/anti-national into the public sphere of our country appears to be a way of (un)democratising our democracy. We as a nation are passing through narcissistic crises that trigger most of us to view everything that afflicts us through the prism of nationalism which itself is not national enough. We seem to have steadily...
Being Atmanirbhar and the Demand and Supply Sides of our Economy
Indian economy was already struggling before being hit by the global pandemic. Like every other country, India is fighting its war against covid-19. Social distancing, use of masks and sanitizers have become the new normal for us all. Severe lockdown imposed right at the onset of pandemic has been seen as firing in the bush before the game had...