Monthly Archives: April 2020

The Accidental Autocrat

In 1953, C. Rajagopalachari, chief minister of the erstwhile Madras State brought in the Modified Scheme of Elementary Education. It turned out to be his undoing. D. Veeraraghavan’s MPhil dissertation, edited and annotated, with an introduction by A.R. Venkatachalapathy as Half a Day for Caste?, offers a unique account of the fallout of the law and the pedagogy behind it. Here’s Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s foreword to the book: Rajaji was conservative. That, to borrow a part-phrase he coined[...]

Ambedkar and Communism

In 2017, we published a book titled India and Communism (also available in Hindi). Written by B.R. Ambedkar, it contained two finished chapters from an incomplete manuscript for a book which he would have called by that name. It offers insights into what he thought about communism. In his introduction to the volume, Anand Teltumbde discusses what is contained in the two chapters and what the rest of the book is about: […] Ambedkar spoke out about his reservations on Marxism. If he had comp[...]

‘The ruling elites have boycotted humanity’

The following is a transcript of an interview with Vijay Prashad for Covid-19 Chronicles broadcast on April 6, 2020. Frank Barat (FB): People are talking about ‘before’ and ‘after’ coronavirus. But many are saying they can’t wait to go back to ‘normal’. But in a recent newsletter of the Tricontinental Institute, you say: ‘We won’t go back to normal, because normal was the problem’. Can you tell us what you meant? Vijay Prashad (VP): The pandemic is an occasion to think [...]

सफ़दर के शुरुआती साल

सफ़दर हाश्मी एक जानी-मानी हस्ती थे। पर शायद आप रज्जू से परिचित नहीं हैं। उसका स्वभाव कैसा था? उसे पढ़ने-लिखने का शौक़ कैसे हुआ? और उसके सेन्स ऑफ़ ह्यूमर का स्रोत क्या था? सफ़दर के जन्मदिन पर, सुधन्वा द[...]

Defiance in the Rubble

Over 2,000 killed, over four times as many wounded, according to official figures; infrastructure destroyed, including—lest one forgets—schools and hospitals. All in (and for) a tiny piece of land. But if ever a personality trait described a nation, resilience would fit Palestine. Here’s Max Blumenthal’s account of one aspect of the aftermath of the 2014 Israeli assault on Gaza, taken from the chapter ‘Defiance in the Rubble’ in The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza. On Augu[...]