Youthful reformers

History gives a clear message: Students are the harbinger of positive change. They will prevail sooner or later The student stir against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is the most recent example of students being the harbinger of positive change in the polity and society in favour of a liberal and democratic ethos. And in […]

Believe the disempowered

Mainstream media reinforces the alienation felt by people who live on the margins by ignoring them or reporting on their problems through lenses blurred with ignorance and prejudice The MEDIA’S response to the December 15  violence at Jamia Milia Islamia was no thanks to the so-called “national”, privately owned news channels located in the capital, […]

‘We stand with the youth’

Many of them have memories of the Emergency and they don’t want to see it playing out again “The Emergency then was not as bad as this, an undeclared one. They are creating a wall between people. I don’t know what they think.” Ghayasuddin, 70, stands shoulder-to-shoulder with youths and students in the biting cold […]

Beaten, bruised, pelted with stun grenades: Aligarh students recall a night of horror

The police brutality at Aligarh Muslim University on December 15 left many students severely injured At the Morison Court hostel in Aligarh Muslim University, Faizal Hasan, the former president of the AMU Students’ Union, talked agitatedly into a phone. Speaking to Shamsul Haque, AMU’s dean of students’ welfare, Hasan said angrily, “If anything happens to […]

Pleas in court

60 petitions have been filed so far, and counting The President’s ratification of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, on December 12 triggered a slew of petitions in the Supreme Court less than 12 hours later. By midday, at least a dozen petitions had been filed challenging the constitutional validity of it. The matter — almost […]

Peaceful protests, violent reaction

The police attacked university students as if war had been declared on campuses, fueling fear and panic After the government got the Citizenship Amendment Act passed by Parliament, the whole country erupted in vigorous protests. It all started with the peaceful protests at Jamia Milia Islamia, conducted by the students, which suddenly became violent, when […]

Obstacle race

Going abroad for higher studies is not that easy, the number has plunged by 21% according to statistics Richa Malik was all set to go abroad for higher studies. But her departure has been bogged down with the long procedure and regulations laid down by the Queen Mary College in the United Kingdom, alongside several […]

What Anaj Mandi tragedy shows

It’s an open secret that the capital city’s factories employ minors but the authorities pretend not to see, activists say Even as night falls on Monday, the lane leading to the North Delhi building where 43 workers were killed in a fire the previous morning is teeming with visitors, most of them trying to catch […]