Infochange RSSShades of repression
Shantanu Kamble was charged with sedition and waging war against the state. Evidence? He wrote and sang like Gadar. The continuing arrests of cultural activists in Maharashtra outline the state’s response to anyone speaking out against systemic atrocities
Decline and fall
Is the lull in cultural activism in Maharashtra due to the rise of the right-wing and the ideological bankruptcy of the leftist and Ambedkarite political parties which backed cultural resistance post-Emergency?
Coffee shops, cricket and a pogrom
Kai Po Che cleverly supports the idea of the Indian nation as one that is secular in appearance, neoliberal in conduct and Hindu at the core, says Oishik Sircar
Triple oppression of dalit women panchayat members
Affirmative action might get dalit women into panchayats, but caste compounds the gender discrimination they face and stymies real empowerment, says Subhash Gatade 20 years after panchayati raj in India
The larger implications of the Novartis Glivec judgment
The Supreme Court judgment on the Novartis-Glivec case has gone beyond technical and legal issues and linked the question of patenting with net benefits to society. What the judgment says and what it implies has significance for patent regimes in developing countries
The cost of drugs: beyond the Supreme Court order
The Supreme Court decision denying Novartis a patent for the cancer drug imanitib has been hailed as a victory for the affordable medicines movement. But it won’t make much difference if doctors continue to prescribe expensive branded drugs, patients believe that only expensive drugs work, and the government does little to support the manufacture of affordable medicines
Turning a blind eye to cell tower radiation risks
The Maharashtra government has finally accepted that nearly half of Mumbai’s cell towers are illegal. However, the government is still not admitting the health risks posed by these towers
Impunity under AFSPA
The impunity under AFSPA of law-enforcement personnel guilty of sexual offences against women is most pronounced in the Northeast, writes KS Subramanian
Good girls don’t loiter
Walk purposefully, don’t loiter, dress modestly, take the crowded road or train, hide yourself behind a burkha....Despite all their negotiations, safety in public spaces is a big challenge for women who attend night schools in Mumbai
Waves of change in rural health
A communications initiative that has spread awareness of healthcare needs and entitlements in hundreds of villages across Gujarat and Rajasthan has had a huge impact
