Until his death in 2003, Bhishma Sahni was one of India’s most renowned Hindi language authors and playwrites. His 1974 controversial and popular novel ‘Tamas’ (Darkness) won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975 and in 1987 was made into a television series for the national channel Doordarshan. Sahni wrote about the exodus of Hindus and […]
Arab Spring Rolls Into Fundamentalism
(CHAKRA) Independence to India did not change the political system in one important respect. Much colonial legislation remains intact. Most notorious is the Police Act of 1864 which was designed to quell dissent by unruly subjects rather than provide a public service. In fact the very idea of public ‘service’ is an anachronism in India […]
Why this Kolaveri Di vs. Team Anna, Ramdev and 2G Scam
By Dhanush Kumar (CHAKRA) As many nations in the Middle East were busy with the ‘Arab spring’, India also found itself occupied with nationwide anti-corruption protests. New faces and heroes emerged into the spotlight with names like Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev making daily headlines. We also confronted emerging government scandals and accusations such as the ‘2G […]