Society

Articles on society, largely focussed on India, published on The India Forum.

The Remaking of the United States by Donald Trump

Donald Trump has exploited America’s deep divisions to upend its national identity. Fascism often slips in quietly—it thrives on emotional fervour rather than rational debate, eroding moral order…
▶14-May-2025
Shibashis Chatterjee

Amendments to Restrict Creating New Waqfs

The new waqf law is worrying because it grants unchecked administrative power without any clear standards for fair action. It applies unevenly across religions and provides a potentially biased…
▶11-May-2025
M. R. Shamshad

Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code: Excessive Bureaucracy, Few Rights

The Uttarakhand law may violate privacy and religious freedoms by imposing controls on marriage, live-ins, and divorce – measures that can disproportionately burden women and inter-faith couples.…
▶29-Apr-2025
Aarti Mundkur

What Do Muslims Want from Politics?

Muslim representation in politics cannot simplistically be reduced to quantifying their legislative presence. We need to pay heed to the internal diversity in the community and what members perceive…
▶29-Apr-2025
Hilal Ahmed

Government’s Presumptive Claim on Waqf Properties

The Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2025 has been challenged on constitutional grounds. In the first of a series of articles examining important issues raised by the amendment, a discussion here on the…
▶24-Apr-2025
M. R. Shamshad

What Can We Expect of International Law?

International law, rather than dictate state actions, persuades states to develop publicly defensible legal and moral positions, and in the process, generates accountability.
▶23-Apr-2025
Raag Yadava

The Public Hindu Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages are now more than mere religious acts: they are vast moving spectacles where scale becomes proof of sanctity. The call to become part of a moment eternal yet fleeting draws in devotees to…
▶17-Apr-2025
Amitanshu Verma

Caste and Careers: Limited Mobility Over Three Generations

Does caste still dictate occupation and occupational mobility? A socio-economic survey in Uttar Pradesh reveals that aside from modest Dalit upward mobility, the occupational gap between upper-caste…
▶09-Apr-2025
Rukmi Pradeep, Srinivas Goli

King Ludd in the 21st Century

Trump seeks to disrupt the old order with policies that he promises will reverse the fall in labour's share of the American pie. But these inchoate actions also threaten the size of the pie. The…
▶06-Apr-2025
Parikshit Ghosh

Unshackle Local Governments from Bureaucratic Control

State panchayati raj acts empower bureaucrats to suspend or dismiss elected representatives of local governments, and supersede or dissolve the bodies themselves. Such powers must be scrapped, and…
▶27-Mar-2025
Sunil Kumar