Somnath Pati “It has an affirmation of life, a triumphing, agreeable sensation in life, and that to draw up a lawbook such as Manu means to permit oneself to get the upper hand, to become perfect, to be ambitious of the highest art of living.” – Friedrich Nietzsche (attributed) Finding Manu’s verses “inspiring” and acting …
What happened to the ‘Silent Revolution’ in Uttar Pradesh?
Nirban Ray & Om Prakash Mahato There have been mainly two approaches by means of which the politics of North India in general and Uttar Pradesh in particular is analyzed. These two approaches or analysis, although based on different methodologies or diverse case studies, their fundamental aim is to understand and explore the politics of …
Is division and bloodbath evident in Bengal: A brief note on the demand for a separate Koch-Kamatapur state in North Bengal
Nirban Ray On June 7th, the Chief of the banned armed outfit Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO) warned Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee before her visit to North Bengal that – “Mamata Banerjee should not come to Koch-Kamatapur. She cannot interfere or oppose the formation of Koch-Kamatapur state. The situation will be horrible if force is applied. …
Statement of Solidarity for Dr. Maroona Murmu from the Faculty of Presidency University
We, the undersigned teachers of Presidency University, Kolkata, are shocked to know about the recent attacks on Dr. Maroona Murmu, Associate Professor of History, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Dr. Murmu is an accomplished scholar, an activist, and an intellectual. She is an important voice of our time insofar as she regularly writes and speaks about the …
Why Identity politics must win in the upcoming JNUSU election?
Nirban Ray Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who is being forcefully portrayed as the Father of Prime Minister Modi’s New India after the 2019 electoral victory of BJP, has conceptualized his idea of India, a Hindu Rashtra by means of three disjointed but intertwined narrative of Indian life and civilization. First, Savarkar talks about a singular …
The Spectre of Miyah Poetry and fate of Assamese Nationalism
Nirban Ray A spectre is haunting Assamese nationalism – the spectre of Miyah poetry. But this spectre is nothing new to the journey that Assamese nationalism has been through. In truth, Miyah poetry is haunting Assamese nationalist consciousness not because the Assamese nationalist middle class have never seen, heard languages different than Assamese, but …
Requiem for a dream: Upcoming 2019 election and the making of an Indian Empire
Nirban Ray As the 2019 parliamentary election of India is coming near, the idea of India at the same time is becoming more precious. The supposed to be organically antagonistic, oppositional forces – BJP and Congress, the major players of the game of electoral democracy, is coming as it always had been, to a …
‘Why we have come here to die?’
Veeravenghai Vinith Kumar This article does not presume to produce any new, ground-breaking insight. It is only a reflection of my disagreements with a film that has, for some reason received a lot of appreciation for its portrayal of the incidents that surrounded PhD scholar, Rohith Vemula’s death. The film in question is titled ‘We …
Statement by concerned Academics and Public Intellectuals following the Court Sentence on the EFLU Defamation case
[via Susie Tharu] We the undersigned wish to express our grave concern over the fact that five senior students of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), who were raising the issue of discrimination against SC and ST students in the EFLU’s Department of German, have on 13/12/2016 been charged with defamation of a …