I do not own a television set. And I gave up on prime time news shows a long time ago. But the last few days awakened me to the pandemonium that passes off as news nowadays. News channels ran lengthy segments around the tragic death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, subjected his former partner and … More It’s too late for television news to redeem itself
I saw Priya Ramani for the first time today. The woman who took on the establishment. There she was, in flesh and blood, standing in the witness box in court 203 at Rouse Avenue District Court, to prove that she did not cause damage to MJ Akbar’s reputation — the man who had sexually harassed … More My defence is the truth: Priya Ramani
These children counted, loudly, One, two, three… nine and ten. With each number, they stood up, And then sat down, Balancing themselves on a railing at the edge of an underpass. A railing that may not have seen itself utilised this way before. Their mother waited for them. Impatiently. But they had … More Once upon a time
A little girl zoomed past me, on a bright pink bicycle slightly small for her. I don’t know whether it was the bicycle or her matching pink clothes that made me stop her. “I am Aaliya,” she said. “I am waiting for my father.” She volunteered the information. The grade 2 … More The little girl who loved her bicycle
New Delhi: Abusive remarks on clothes and bodies, sexuality, character and marital lives – the 2019 Lok Sabha elections saw male politicians attack their female counterparts with comments that had little to do with their work, and a lot with their “womanhood”. When West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, during an election campaign at Raghunathpur … More Being a woman in a man’s world
They killed a 14-year-old terrorist in Kashmir today. Mudasir Rashid Parray was his name. Now, he is just another number, An addition to the 223 terrorists killed in 2018 — the highest in 8 years. They killed a 14-year-old terrorist today. A teenager, who till August, studied in a school, Attended classes with kids who … More The 14-year-old “terrorist”
New Delhi: How do we define “insiders and outsiders”? Why do we categorise people as “us and them”? Who belongs and who is the other? These are some of the questions that authors Taslima Nasrin and Chinmay Tumbe, ambassador Rajiv Dogra and social activist Harsh Mander addressed in a conversation on migration and exile with … More The forgotten people of exile
New Delhi: There is a “blizzard of hate sweeping through the world” with countries experiencing a rise in intolerance and violence, said rights activist Harsh Mander as he talked to French researcher Sarah Perret and Norwegian author Olav Ofstad about global conflicts and “culturally right-leaning” political leaders at the fourth edition of Times Lit Fest. … More Blizzard of hate sweeping through the world
There are rumours about a man who recently “quit” my organisation. People are whispering that the poor guy was “forced” to quit over unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct. He was invisible; he could not have harassed anyone; maybe the complainant was vengeful, people have said. The action against him was exceptionally harsh, a few colleagues … More To the man whose career I “destroyed”
I am 26. I am a woman. I have a name. A voice. A view and sometimes, opinions. These opinions often don’t make sense to others. Sometimes, in retrospect, they don’t make sense even to me. When I walked into office today, there was a buzz. And it was unusual. The buzz was generated by … More Why are women angry?
Reverberations 