The long dark tea time of the soul

If we recognize food, health, education and dignified labour as basic human rights, there is a role of state in each of these areas. These rights have to be guaranteed not in selected physical locations, but in every inch of the country wherever there are social rural or urban structures. No matter where an individual lives in the country, he/she must have affordable (and if possible free) access to schools and hospitals.

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A number of film personalities have signed a petition demanding the gag order placed on Raj Thackeray be lifted, and affirming their support for his campaign. Some bloggers have also supported this call, in the name of freedom of speech. The logic is “if he wants to make an ass of himself, the state should [...]

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The story of Sunil and DGS Society, Plot No 6, Sector 22, Dwarka, New Delhi (011 42804054)
While I was away in the US between the months of september to november 2007, two things changed in the suburb of Dwarka, New Delhi. Big Bazaar opened its nth retail store in the new ambience mall off NH24. [...]

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Blogbharti, on its anniversary has started a spotlight series, featuring essays from the Indian bloggers. Read on my essay, on the need to recognize education as a fundamental right in India, stronger government role and need for strict regulation on the private
education sector. Market is not a solution to guarantee human rights, state is the [...]

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Anoop Sahaanoopsaha_AT_gmail_dot_com
Responding to a petition filed by Nandini Sundar and Ramchandra Guha, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Chhattisgarh government asking them to explain the rationale behind Salwa Judum. However the article in The Hindu quotes the Supreme Court bench as saying, “What is wrong in arming the local people to counter [...]

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Although confirmation bias, or the inability to see facts that contradict one’s preconceived ideas, is not treated as a serious defect in individual cognition, it can produce very significant errors in perception. Like the fact that many people take credence in the weekly horoscope by simply recognizing the parts that fit their case and ignoring [...]

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On this 40th anniversary of the Naxalbari uprising, I dedicate this post to

the santhal peasants who raided the farms of the zamindars in Naxalbari to break the shackles of a thousand years of slavery
the students, labourers, farmers, social activists, writers, poets, journalists, professionals who were branded as naxalites and silenced by the state
the victims of [...]

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Indian army’s The famous Indian paramilitary unit naga batallion is in Chhattisgarh. To flush out the naxalites, as they say. And of course, they have not been successful in doing that in last two years.
But this post is about a bengali shopkeeper in Dornapal, who was shot dead by jawans of Indian army on 17th [...]

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“Ami nirdosh, aamake ora mere phelche (I am innocent, they are killing me)”, this was one of the last sentences, and possibly the dying declaration of the first Indian to be sent to the gallows in 21st century. Amid widespread public debate, hysterical frenzy, Dhananjoy Chatterjee, 44, rapist and murderer, was hanged nearly two [...]

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