Folk songs fuel anti-Rhea storm

The depiction of Bengali women as evil temptresses goes back to colonial times, when migrant workers from what is now Bihar went to work in Calcutta. This is the subtext of the attacks on Rhea Chakraborty and her role in late Sushant Singh Rajput’s life The online abuse of women of any region or community […]

What nudity reveals

A few episodes of my tryst with public nudity in Europe–contrary to expectations, it’s not lewd or perverse Sketching people in the nude for the last 15 years —more than 500 men and women, rather indiscriminately, from all walks of life—makes me believe that nudity is the most potent way of self-assertion. I also like […]

Kuno Park awaits its king 

Even after rulings from the apex court and threat to the lion population in Gir, political drama is preventing their relocation to Kuno National Park On 10 August, the eve of World Lion Day, a webinar was organised by the Central Zoo Authority, in which Chief Wildlife Warden Shyamal Tikadar was a speaker along with […]

NAKED TRUTH: Did a mother’s illustration against sexism go too far?

When a Kerala activist uploaded a video of her children painting on her bare body, it raised quite a storm on social media as well as in the courtroom. Questions of morality and legality are still looking for answers A mother has been charged and arrested under various sections of the Protection of Children from […]

Preventable crime

When a murderer who was released early due to ‘good behaviour’ raped and tortured a minor girl, it exposed flaws in the rehabilitation programme in our prison system  In the first week of August, a minor girl child was raped and tortured in Delhi’s Peeragarhi area of Paschim Vihar. The accused had reportedly come with […]

HC cautions reporters

In the Delhi Riots case, media reports on police’s ‘Hindu resentment’ order are against its spirit, says the Delhi HC The Delhi High Court today observed that reports by “electronic/ print media” on an order issued by the special commissioner of police (crime) Praveer Ranjan, dated July 8, was against the order’s “letter and spirit”. […]

Depressives also smile

The regressive coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by a section of Indian TV news channels highlights the pressing need for improving conversations around mental health ‘Look at these pictures, he’s smiling, playing with his dog, there is no sign of depression on his face…’ ‘He was an extremely bright person, may have gotten upset but […]

Policy or fantasy?

The NEP 2020 aims to restructure the school education system by extending it to children under six For the Indian state, kids are like Pokemon. Its education policy used to be “gotta catch ‘em all”. Now, as laid out in the National Education Policy 2020, the goal is “gotta catch ‘em young”. Because, as I […]