Just three weeks ago, on the way to the polling station we saw a single, half-eaten myna bird lying in the road. Neither of us mentioned it;the air was already so heavy that day.I no longer trust omens and portents:just…
Comments closedMaybe you remember a class 5 teacher, who beat students, sometimes evenleaving bruises, and how he would tell all the parents at Parent Teacher Meetingshow much it hurt him to have to discipline unruly children, and how the parents—even, perhaps,…
Comments closedWhen right wing thugsattack members of a religious minority in broad daylightin a nation’s capitalwhile the police look onor join in the attacks,that is not a ‘riot’,that is a pogrom. And when armed men in uniformforce their way into homes,…
Comments closed-for Modi, Trump and the rest of us Modi says to Trump:We have a lot in common—we both build big walls. Trump says to Modi:True, my friend, but don’t forget,my wall is bigger! What neither one knows:United, we’ll break walls,…
Comments closedWhy not? It’s always better when our neighbors prosper. Also, Bangladesh zindabad, and Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka… In fact, why not just say,saara jahaan zindabad? What are we afraid of? Let’s say it together: Long live all the peopleand creatures…
Comments closed-after Jeet Thayil First, remember, your job has little to do with homes, and much to do with security. You’ll have to choose: security for whom? If you choose security for the powerful and rich,expect to remain powerful and rich;throw…
Comments closedSometimes as you drift off you feel your chest tighten; your ears ring and your lungs won’t fill, like you’ve been shut in a cold, dark vault, or you are shackled and shivering in a cell somewhere in Kashmir or…
Comments closedI dreamt that, nearing his end,my father wrote the story of his lifein the language of his grandmother. I don’t understand the words,he told me, but I think you will find it useful someday— it has something to do with…
Comments closedThe Delhi smoke is thicktonight, my love— but here on this wide road,the wind is cool. Remember how it used to taste, you say— like burning plastic, fear, and diesel fuel. This year, there is a new scent in the…
Comments closedIn UP last year, 93,000 people applied for 62 government jobs— jobs that required a Class 5 education and bicycle riding skills; of the applicants, 3,700 held PhD’s, and 20,000 held post graduate degrees. You have read many stories like…
Comments closedThis time, my barber does not lower his voice as he announces:They fed us hatred for weeks, and a few do like the taste of that,but most of us know it won’t fill your belly—the broom has swept Delhi again!…
Comments closedYou tell me that you’re always sad;you want to run away, but ask,How can I run from myself? I want to say you’re not alone; lakhs, no crores are asking questions just like this— all over the worldrich and poor…
Comments closedYes, there have been many disappointments.No, Ola and Uber were not defeated.In spite of what you see as good intentions,you feel the broom gave up too soon, retreated.And who will find good jobs for those in need?No one I know…
Comments closedIt is difficult to remember when it was or could be, but theAugust sun was low, the air was clear and damp, and the roadswere still, except for the rattle and ring of cycles and bells. Wewere walking through narrow…
Comments closedIn your dream, thin corpses hang in a cold, dark room. Strong men come and silently slit them open— they are harvesting handfuls of organs or pearls. As you tell me this, news of another Jamia shooting and more election…
Comments closed-for Shadab Najar In the video, it all moves so fast,but when the frame freezes,some things become clear. We see a boy or young man,mouth wide, as if he is smiling as he shouts— in his right hand, a pistol;it…
Comments closed‘A girl, as part of the play’s dialogue, spoke of beating anyone who would ever dare ask her for her documents with a chappal’. -The Wire The Emperor has no clothes:every child knows the story;our rulers have also learned it—they…
Comments closedI’m dreaming seditious dreams,I’m singing a seditious song!I’m loving my neighbors,don’t care where they’re from—let’s abolish all checkpoints and borders…as we sing a seditious song! I’m dreaming seditious dreams,I’m singing a seditious song!I’m praying for freedomfrom fear and from want—let’s…
Comments closedMeanwhile in the capital, the CM speaks at a town hall about unemployment,the price of onions, and the danger of Hindu spies from Pakistan. He does not mention the possibilitythat torture, custodial rape, and preventative detention of citizens and politicians…
Comments closedThere are some who give off an evil glow,no matter what colour clothes they wear. In a state just a bus ride from here,a leader shouts promises of revenge; what he says quietly, we can only guess.I have not been…
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