The tackling of the Coronavirus pandemic in India — book-ended by the announcement of a stringent lockdown in March 2020, and now an ambitious nationwide vaccination plan in January 2021 — has laid bare social, economic, religious, and cultural fault-lines across the country. Fears and restrictions compounded pre-existing challenges in a country where an estimated… Continue reading India’s Fight against a Pandemic leads to an ‘Infodemic’ Targeting Minorities and the Poor
Category: Identity & Culture
Meet Badlu Khan, a Symbol of the Syncretic India the Hindu Right Wants to Erase
The doorbell rings at 11 am, right on schedule. Delhi is still coming to terms with brutal communal violence that has left 53 people dead at last count, but Badlu Khan Nizami arrives for his weekly music class, determined not to allow the horrors of the previous week intimidate him in any way. His metro… Continue reading Meet Badlu Khan, a Symbol of the Syncretic India the Hindu Right Wants to Erase
The Clash of Civilizations-revisited.
At the end of the Cold War, political scientist Samuel Huntington who taught at Harvard University created a hypothesis. As the break up of the Soviet Union resulted in ethnic conflicts – across Central Asia and Eastern Europe most government officials and foreign policy analysts used his Clash of Civilizations as a prescient bible –… Continue reading The Clash of Civilizations-revisited.
TM Krishna, The Agent Provocateur
just one part of my interview with Carnatic vocalist, Magasaysay Award recipient and generally, agent provocateur TM Krishna - this bit on the politics of lineage and dynasty in the AIADMK "what is astounding to see, is that not only is it politically flowing towards her, but the ritualism attached to amma, is now completely… Continue reading TM Krishna, The Agent Provocateur
The Teesta River Dispute: Geopolitics, Myth and Economics.
For all interested in rivers, legends, water and food security & South Asia- my paper for the Observer Research Foundation on the Teesta river dispute. I travelled down the river from Sikkim to the Bangladesh border at the end 2011 after the agreement between India and Bangladesh on water sharing fell by the wayside of… Continue reading The Teesta River Dispute: Geopolitics, Myth and Economics.
Monk Ki Baat In Haryana Assembly: Sexist And Misogynist?
In Haryana, a controversy brewed over the Assembly's invitation to Jain monk Tarun Sagar to give an address. While much of the outrage over his speech is around him doing so in the nude, his comments were even more controversial - on the fact that religion and politics have the relationship of a husband and… Continue reading Monk Ki Baat In Haryana Assembly: Sexist And Misogynist?
As Gurgaon Drowns, Haryana Searches For Mythical River Saraswati
The project's supporters say it is about more than providing water for a parched state - it is steeped in the search for culture and heritage. Appropriately, it is not the water ministry, but the culture ministry that's in charge of it. As questions arise over whether the state government is using a Vedic legend for… Continue reading As Gurgaon Drowns, Haryana Searches For Mythical River Saraswati
Should India Have Voted For LGBT Rights At UN?
In a week when five gay Indians went to the Supreme Court seeking protection of their fundamental right to personal safety and liberty under the constitution, making the case that Section 377 violated them, they were referred to the Chief Justice of India to decide the validity of the petition. India has decided to once… Continue reading Should India Have Voted For LGBT Rights At UN?
A Tehran Diary (Outlook Magazine)
The change in Iran's capital, Tehran between my last visit in August 2012, and this May seemed dramatic in many ways. In a post sanctions world, the economy needs help, but Iran’s people are hungry for the comforts of our times—fast cars, fine foods, designer clothes and travel. Read here
With Sanctions Gone, Iran’s Contemporary Art Scene Takes Flight
Like everywhere else in the world, in Iran too, art is a reflection of society and politics of the times. Small new galleries are cropping up in Tehran's downtown cultural hub every day - reflecting the desires of a society governed by rigid religious constructs to push boundaries. They want to make the most of… Continue reading With Sanctions Gone, Iran’s Contemporary Art Scene Takes Flight
maya mirchandani 