Dhrubo Jyoti

My son’s killers trying to prove he wasn’t Dalit: Rohith Vemula’s mother

Govt will soon propose a substitute to pellet guns, Rajnath says in Srinagar

Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday the government will propose a substitute to pellet guns in a few days following widespread criticism of the crowd-control device that has left thousands of Kashmiris blind in the current unrest.

A censor inside me: Perumal Murugan is back with 200 new poems

At the release of his new collection of poems in Delhi, the Tamil writer says he will revise his earlier work and revise the text, if necessary

VK Singh victimised me, imposed ‘illegal’ ban: Army chief Dalbir Singh

Dalbir Singh told the Supreme Court in an affidavit that VK Singh victimised him with the sole purpose of “denying” him promotion to the appointment of army commander. This is the first time a serving army chief has publicly attacked one of his predecessors.

US ambassador apologises to Shah Rukh for detention, SRK says thank you

The United States ambassador to India, Richard Verma, apologised on Friday to actor Shah Rukh Khan for his brief detention at the Los Angeles airport that sparked outrage in India.

Progressive Modi? The PM speaks on transgenders, Dalits and Kashmir

The prime minister has sprung a surprise indicates to the world that he is alert to mounting international criticism of his administration as a tech-savvy but culturally intolerant regime that is hostile to minorities and dissent.

Activists in India are up in arms over the new transgender bill. Here’s why

Activists and lawyers have complained that the transgender rights bill encourages corruption, is full of provisions open to abuse and directly opposes the spirit of a 2014 Supreme Court verdict that recognized the third gender and called for a raft of rights and measures for transpersons.

The Cursed Child: Harry deserves much better than this uninspired rehash

One always knew a published script would never fill the void of a full-length text, especially for a world one has grown up with. But for a book billed as the eighth story in the series – the script has little original story.

Pokemon Go shouldn’t end up being another casualty in the nation of bans

My first experience with ban came when I was 12 years old. I was obsessed with what was known then as “trump cards” – playing cards with details of popular WWE wrestlers on the flip side.

Manual scavenging is worse than slavery, says Wilson

Dominant castes violating law, govt has to uphold democracy: Bezwada Wilson

Eradicating manual scavenging should be India’s top priority as the caste-based practice is worse than slavery and will destroy BR Ambedkar’s dream of an equal society, Magsaysay award winner Bezwada Wilson said on Wednesday.

LGBT film in Kerala refused certification for ‘insulting’ Hinduism

The director of a Malayalam film, Ka Bodyscapes, based on the LGBT and feminist movements in Kerala has alleged that his film was denied certification as it “insulted and humiliated” Hindu religion.

Ambedkar-inspired Kabali is a film for our times, Rajini’s best in years

Kabali is, by far, Rajinikanth’s best work for the way it portrays him -- a superstar who is vulnerable, acts his age, takes wrong decisions and is saved by a woman. What also works for him is its Dalit resurgence sub-context.

TN to Gujarat: Pattern of impunity in cases of crimes against Dalit people

The thrashing of four Dalit men by alleged cow vigilantes in Gujarat has triggered a fresh round of tug-of-war between political parties to claim the lucrative vote bank ahead of crucial state polls next year.

Qandeel Baloch: The model who outraged and titillated Pakistan

Qandeel Baloch: The model who outraged and titillated Pakistan

Before she was killed by her brother to protect “family honour”, 25-year-old Qandeel Baloch had become somewhat of an icon in Pakistan, inspiring and shocking the conservative nation in equal measure.

Sultan is a hit: Sound and fury over Salman comment signifies nothing

People seem to have lost their fire for women’s rights and are back at the theatres cheering the same man they professed to hate.

Strong state, weak will: India’s deafening silence on UN resolution on LGBT

Silence on UN resolution suggests the government views the violation of LGBT people’s rights as not an important-enough issue.

Grieve for Orlando, Mr Prime Minister, but don’t forget LGBT Indians

If you’re sincere about your prayers for the Orlando victims, maybe you will tweet a message of support for the millions of similar LGBT people back home.

These Dalit students are challenging how caste is viewed

Dalit Bahujan students are questioning our heroes, festivals, cultural icons, writers, and challenging the way caste is viewed using alternative readings of culture.

Why censor Udta Punjab? Everyone will end up watching it anyway

The controversy surrounding Udta Punjab has dominated headlines since it was first leaked that the censor board was seeking multiple cuts in the film that revolves around the northern state’s drug problem.

Mamata’s massive Bengal victory is the death of the gentleman in Kolkata

After Thursday’s election results, Mamata Banerjee has replaced the bhadralok -- scholars and bureaucrats and bright doctoral students who would congregate and talk about the world around themselves -- as Bengal’s biggest cultural export.

Kerala student rape: Stop comparisons and start working against caste

But a disproportionate amount of attention has been fixed on the gory details of the case: The student was brutally gang-raped, she had 30 injuries on her body, her intestines were ripped out. Newspapers and social media are calling her #Nirbhaya2, a reference to the 2012 gang rape of a medical student in Delhi that triggered massive protests in the Capital and inspired changes in India’s rape law.

Why govt sprung into action at NIT Srinagar but ignored Hyd stand-off

At NIT, the outpouring of support and empathy comes because the students targeted were ‘Indian’, ‘non-Kashmiris’ who were shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai and waving the Tricolour in the face of alleged ‘anti-national’ slogans by Kashmiri pupils.

RSS flip-flop over homosexuality shows only its uniform has changed

The RSS has shown once again that all it is interested in is a cosmetic change, not the true freedom and liberation of people.

Stop the selfies: PM Modi, walk the talk on women empowerment

India’s goal should not be to have a day when women parliamentarians speak but to have so many female MPs that women can speak every day. The proof of Modi’s commitment to women’s empowerment is in the pudding of greater substantive effort, not selfies.

Sorry Smriti Irani but scholar Rohith Vemula was a hero, not a child

This is a ploy, a careful and calculated one, to strip one of the most politically-charged events of our times of its power.

I have been like this only: Why India cannot afford an OP Sharma

Delhi BJP legislator Om Prakash Sharma has a short riposte to anyone accusing him of thrashing lawyers, teachers and students out of a local court: He thought they were anti-national.

No matter what SC decides, India’s on its way to embracing LGBT rights

Tuesday’s hearing showed that whatever the court decides in the months to come, the world outside had decisively changed, for a more inclusive, welcoming and less-discriminatory society. The LGBT movement has grown far beyond the case, and the grip of the law grows weaker every day.

Death as a Dalit: What Rohith Vemula’s suicide tells about India

Most of us think of caste oppression through the lens of the “outdated” practice of untouchability, violent caste clashes in the distant countryside and in lavish biopics on the silver screen. But caste is alive in our homes and streets.