Founding Editor: Daya Varma (1929-2015)
Editors: Vinod Mubayi (New York) and Raza Mir (New Jersey).
Editorial Board: Ram Puniyani and Irfan Engineer (Mumbai); Pervez Hoodbhoy (Islamabad); Dolores Chew (Montreal); Vamsi Vakulabharanam (Amherst); Ajay Bhardwaj (Vancouver).
Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
EDITORIAL: CULT OF PERSONALITY BOOMS AS THE COUNTRY SINKS INTO A MORASS OF AUTHORITARIANISM AND REPRESSION
Vinod Mubayi
His picture is literally everywhere. On bus stops, railroad stations, airports, even on the back of airplane seats, not to mention vaccine cards, ration cards, and God knows what else. Big Brother is not only watching you; he is also your only succor. Few leaders in recent memory and certainly not in India have had as supersized an ego as to have a 100,000-seat sports stadium named after them while alive and in office. So, the Modi cult of personality on the lines of 20th century authoritarian leaders like Hitler or Stalin is not just blooming; it is booming.
Read more…WHITEWASHING CASTE: HOW INDIAN IMMIGRANTS USED RELIGION AND CASTE TO NATURALISE AS WHITE IN THE US
Hardeep Dhillon
ON 6 SEPTEMBER 1915, 22-year-old Kala Bagai arrived at Angel Island aboard the SS Korea with her husband and three sons. Kala carried a material archive of her life in her luggage: gold ornaments, a portrait of herself, a sky-blue silk sari reserved for special occasions. Kala had carefully chosen the valuables, knowing her husband, Vaishno Das Bagai, intended to establish a home in the United States.
Read more…SRI LANKA IS CALM AGAIN. THAT DOESN’T MEAN THINGS ARE ANY BETTER
Mujib Mashal and Skandha Gunasekara
On the surface, calm has returned to Sri Lanka since the South Asian nation plunged into political chaos and virtual bankruptcy last summer. Gone are the fuel lines that snaked for blocks; a seaside expanse that had been the site of a monthslong protest encampment was resplendent over the holidays with Christmas lights and carnival rides.
Read more…AURAT, AZADI: FEMINISM AND ITS FUTURE IN PAKISTAN
An interview with Ismat Shahjahan on the dynamics and contestations in Pakistan’s growing feminist movement.
Read more…CHRISTOPHE JAFFRELOT ON 2002 GUJARAT RIOTS: ‘THE GHOSTS HAVE NEVER LEFT ME’
Anupama Katakam
Jaffrelot was one of those the BBC interviewed for the documentary “India: The Modi Question”.
Read more…HOW GAUTAM ADANI MADE (AND COULD LOSE) A $147 BILLION FORTUNE
Stacy Meichtry
AHMEDABAD, India—Gautam Adani is ubiquitous in this country.
His name is plastered on roadside billboards and on the airports and shipping docks he operates. His power plants light Mumbai office towers and irrigate rural fields, fueled by coal he imports from mines as far away as Australia. He recently expanded into defense and media.
Read more…DOES PATHAAN’S PHENOMENAL SUCCESS MARK THE START OF A PUSHBACK AGAINST HATE?
Shuma Raha
The verdict was out on the very day of its release. Pathaan, the Shah Rukh Khan starrer, was set to be a blockbuster. And so it is – in the first week after it hit the theatres, the film has grossed over Rs 600 crore worldwide, and over Rs 300 crore in the domestic market.
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