The Social Experience of Heat: Urban Life in the Indian Anthropocene

Climate change has upset time-honed ways of coping with heat. The new way of keeping cool is impossible without dispossession, devastation, and pollution in distant regions. ▶13-Jun-2022
Amita Baviskar

July 1, 2022

The Social Experience of Heat; The Smoke and Mirrors of Casteism in the US; The New Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan Debate; and more

A Fresh Spike in Farmer Suicides in Punjab

Since 2015, there has been a sharp rise in farmer suicides in Punjab. Farmers in the state borrow large loans at high interest rates; some of which is used for consumption. According to official data…
▶30-Jun-2022
Shweta Saini, Siraj Hussain, Pulkit Khatri

Talking Elephants into Slavery

The vocabularies used to describe temple elephants in Kerala as majestic and sacred animals erase their natural histories and the brutality of their enslavement.
▶29-Jun-2022
Krishnanunni Hari

Shrayana Bhattacharya speaks on film icons and intimacy

We speak with Shrayana Bhattacharya about what film icons can tell us about intimacy and women's independence.
▶29-Jun-2022
Shrayana Bhattacharya

Central Bank Digital Currency

A central bank digital currency is a new form of money unlike any of its previous manifestations. The ability of individuals and businesses to hold and make electronic payments using a CBDC will have…
▶29-Jun-2022
Kaushik Jayaram, Herbert Poenisch

Loud Mouths and Invisible Tails: The New Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan Debate

There is growing conviction that the nation, language, and religion are one. Hindi ideologues see only Hindi as authentically Indian and Hindu. The current rhetoric is reminiscent of the 'Hindi-…
▶23-Jun-2022
Vedita Cowaloosur

Higher Judiciary Needs to Take More Suo Motu Action

The higher judiciary must proactively exercise its powers to intervene suo motu to deal with a spate of incidents that rip the country's social and communal fabric.
▶22-Jun-2022
M. A. Kalam
Review

Colonial Roots of the Climate Crisis

The climate crisis can only be understood by centring the role colonialism played in naturalising a violent ideology of modernity and progress.
▶22-Jun-2022
Deepti Chatti

Bulldozing Indian Democracy, Israeli-Style

India’s punitive demolitions bear striking resemblance to Israel’s tactics against Palestinians. The tragedy is that a significant chunk of the majority in India is delighted.
▶21-Jun-2022
Angshuman Choudhury
Essay

Do We Know What has Happened to Poverty since 2011-12?

The government's lack of respect for national surveys on consumption has meant that the door has been opened to preparation of unofficial estimates on poverty made on questionable assumptions.…
▶16-Jun-2022
Himanshu

Rise of the Regional Blockbuster

Southern blockbusters have a star playing a man of the masses, spectacular action and song and dance sequences, magnificent sets, and computer-generated imagery. Whether or not they make a profit,…
▶14-Jun-2022
S.V. Srinivas