Category: Uncategorized
-
Episode 20: Periyar: The Life and Times of an Iconoclast: In conversation with A. R. Venkatachalapathy and Karthick Ram Manoharan
Why is Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Naicker, who passed away over half a century ago, still a controversial yet unavoidable and crucial figure in Tamil Nadu? While this year marks 100 years of the Self-Respect Movement, initiated by Periyar, he was also labelled anti-national, anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmin, and anti-Dalit, generating extreme hate and accusations. Who was Periyar?…
-
Every vote counts?
Sometimes even just ‘1’ vote will matter a lot. Based on Assembly elections data from 1962 till now (taken from TCPD), 7 MLAs won with a margin of only ‘1’ vote. It means 7 people who could have become MLAs did not because someone from their kith and kin would not have taken voting very…
-
Two tall-tales on B.R. Ambedkar
Myth making is an integral part of political science and politics, especially when it comes to immortalising famous personalities. To keep the memories of notable people alive, we share stories about them, and their remarkable messages and acts. Sometimes we create stories and myths about them. Though those tall tales are not real, they have…
-
Wit and Humour of Rajaji
One of the greatest tragedies for the disciplines of history and political science in India is the fact that we have less biographies about the people we study about. What we have are (a) hagiographies that are uncritical and hero-worshipping in their content and bizarre in their prose, (b) good and quality biographies focusing only…
-
P V Narasimha Rao and India’s Foreign Policy
While his economic contributions are well recognised, P V Narasimha Rao’s role in reorienting India’s foreign policy is undermined. During his tenure, P V Narasimha Rao was committed to responding to global challenges by reorienting the foreign policy of India based on national interest and bringing several shifts in India’s foreign policy amid unfavourable domestic…
-
Archives: Charan Singh: Chronology of major events
1902 Born on 23 December in village Nurpur, Meerut district. 1923 Received his BSc from Agra College, Agra. 1925 Received his MA from Agra College. Married to Smt Gayatri Devi on 5 June 1925 1926 Received his LLB from Meerut College, Meerut, Agra University. 1928 Practiced law in Ghaziabad. 1929 Joined the Indian National Congress…
-
P.V. Narasimha Rao: Three Snippets
Now that the Bharat Ratna is conferred, Narasimha Rao will be greatly talked about, his politics, his role in the 1991 Economic reforms, and how the Congress party tried to erase his legacy. But three things less spoken about Rao, the man behind all the politics has greatly amazed me. Polyglot and Scholar: Rao knew…
-
Open Letter to the United Nations Secretary-General and President of the World Bank-Setting Serious Goals to Combat Inequality
Dear Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and President of the World Bank Ajay Banga, RE: Setting serious goals to combat inequality As a group of economists and leaders in the fight against extreme inequalities from around the world, we write to request your leadership towards ensuring that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals…
-
Archives: To a Rag and Bone Boy by Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy (Translated by Rowena Hill)
In someone’s shed in someone else’s arms the boy has slept; he gets up at dawn, kicks the laggard beside him, slings a sack-bag over his shoulder, and out he goes into lanes and filthy alleys. He comes to a corporation dump, stands with clasped hands as if discovering a treasure, turns and wades in;…
rishvanth.com 