By Cedric Prakash SJ When on 5 July 2021, the fascist regime of India, killed Jesuit Fr. Stan Swamy, they succeeded only in destroying the frail body of an 84-year-old Catholic Priest. Today, three years after that fateful day, the Spirit of Stan Swamy lives on. Millions of people: the Adivasis and the Dalits, the […]
FRANKLY SPICY by EFFKAY Well, butter my toasted buns and call me a Buddha! The saga of Ram Bahadur Bomjan, Nepal’s very own “Buddha Boy,” has reached a spicy climax, and it’s not the sort of zen-like enlightenment you’d expect. Instead, it’s more like a soggy soufflé that’s caved in on itself. Back in 2005, […]
A Comedy of Delays Oh, the drama! Fourteen years have flown by, and suddenly, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has an epiphany. “Prosecute Arundhati Roy under UAPA,” he declares, undoubtedly while clutching a copy of the Indian Penal Code. One can only wonder what took so long. Did someone misplace the file behind a […]
Thailand is poised to become the first nation in Southeast Asia to legalise same-sex marriage after the Senate approved a marriage equality bill on Tuesday, 18 June. The bill’s passage is heralded as a monumental step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in the region. The Senate voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bill, with 130 senators […]
As a sweltering Patna waits in desperation for some cooling showers, so do folks in civil society and social action long for the next national Census. That mundane yet essential national headcount. One might wonder why the 2021 Census has been delayed so long it’s starting to feel like waiting for Godot. The answer, dear […]
Eighty years ago, Harold Terens first set foot in Normandy as a young U.S. Army Air Forces corporal, not long after D-Day. His mission was to help transport German prisoners and freed American POWs to England, a somber task in the wake of the bloody beach landings where many of his friends had fallen. Fast […]
New Delhi—Meltdown Madness Ensues During these past seven days, India’s capital, New Delhi, has taken centre stage in a real-life horror show: a record-breaking heatwave that’s turned the city into an inferno. With daytime temperatures flirting with 120 degrees Fahrenheit and nighttime temps barely dipping below 90, the city is cooking, and not in a […]
This isn’t a rant about the undeniable fact that the Indian media landscape is dominated by a few powerful conglomerates, many of which have notable connections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But let’s get that out of the way first. Reliance Industries Limited has a significant presence in Indian media through its subsidiary, Network18. […]
In a recent court session, the Supreme Court of India challenged the central government’s assertion of having no control over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in state-level investigations. The court questioned who else could authorize the premier investigative agency to conduct probes in states. During the hearing of an original suit filed by the […]
In a shocking incident near Chennai, a transgender woman fell victim to a brutal assault after being mistaken for a child kidnapper by a gang of men. The incident occurred in Pammal, where the victim was allegedly stripped half-naked, tied to a pole, and mercilessly beaten by the assailants. The victim, employed at an IT […]
In the quiet lanes of J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru, resides a woman whose life story reads like a captivating movie script. At 72 years old, Dr. Prema Dhanraj, recently honored with the Padma Shri award, has transformed her personal tragedy into a mission of hope and healing for burn survivors who have lost all hope. Dr. […]
On 8 January 2024, Bilkis Bano stood vindicated! Her relentless quest for truth and justice met with triumph, as the Supreme Court of India, quashed the Gujarat Government’s decision to allow premature release of convicts in the gangrape case where she was the victim; a heinous, brutal crime which took place during the Gujarat carnage of […]
