#Analysis

Feb 23, 2021
8 min

The Question of Cyber Sovereignty

India’s pursuit of cyber sovereignty will likely define the next decade. The ban of Tik Tok along with 59 other Chinese-made applications is likely the first step in what is going to be a decade long process of asserting Indian Cyber Sovereignty. While the immediate prompt for the ban was to impose costs on China for its intrusions in Ladakh and elsewhere, the action was later followed by another ban on 43 other Chinese-made applications, then a tiff with Twitter over Freedom

Feb 20, 2021
9 min

Unravelling Backdoor appointments, the struggle of PSC rankholders and what ails Kerala Politics

The issue of ‘backdoor appointments’ to government and public sector jobs have animated politics in the state. What is the reality of the situation? A meme based on the question of ‘seniority’ at death from the film. In the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking, one of the sub-plots involve Sai Kumar arriving in Kochi to take up a job offered to him on compassionate grounds after his father died in a fire. Unfortunately, he finds his appointment blocked (yet again) by a lady

Jan 7, 2021
5 min

Neopatrimonialism in India: the case of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

Francis Fukuyama, the renowned political scientist notes in his book ‘Political Order and Political Decay’ that many Sub-Saharan African nations have devolved into ‘Neopatrimonialism’. This refers to a modern State that “while maintaining outward characteristics of a modern State… and pretentious of impersonality, the actual operation of the government remains at core a matter of sharing state resources [with supporters of the ruling dispensation]”. In simpler terms, a State

Dec 22, 2020
12 min

The Great Red Resurgence

An Analysis of the 2020 Kerala Local Body Elections A jubilant Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan with other LDF leaders: Communist Party of India State Secratery Kanam Rajendran, CPI Leader Panniyan Raveendran, Former State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and other LDF leaders including Jose K Mani are visible. (Credits: TNM) The results of the Local Body Elections in Kerala have undoubtedly shocked everyone, including the Left Democratic Front who emerged as the overwhelming vi

Dec 14, 2020
4 min

Can HR & CE Departments be secular?

No, they cannot. On the recent decision of the Karnataka High Court to dismiss two petitions challenging the appointment of two non-Hindus in the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department. The Karnataka High Court recently dismissed two petitions challenging the appointment of Non-Hindus in the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Karnataka. The first petition sought to restrain a Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim from entering the Mahalingeshwara T

Dec 12, 2020
5 min

The Inevitable Death of Two Front Politics in Kerala

K. Karunakaran (UDF) and E.K. Naynar (LDF) who were the scions of the two fronts in the 1980s and 1990s. Since the Assembly elections in 1982, prompted by the resignation of K. Karunakaran, Kerala has experienced Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF) rule one after another. This ‘settled’ nature of politics has meant that vote shares vary only slightly among the two fronts, with the major constituents of the LDF and UDF staying intact. While factions

Sep 20, 2020
5 min

Communist Green, Gold and Red

Communist Green (Chromolaena odorata) an invasive plant species, seen in Road sides of Kerala The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been struggling with its political narrative in Kerala since the Sabarimala debacle of the 2018 issue and the disastrous results of the 2019 Lok Sabha Election. After admitting the Sabarimala debacle in May 2019, a controversy broke out over a rape accusation against Binoy Kodiyeri, the son of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the CPI(M) Kerala General

Jun 30, 2020
2 min

The Great Indian Cyber wall?

The Government’s decision to block 59 ‘Chinese’ applications in India has prompted an assorted set of responses. The ban comes on the heels of the continued build up of Indian and Chinese Forces in Ladakh. The direct consequences of the ban on apps as a response to the threat to territorial integrity notwithstanding, it prompts the question of sovereignty in cyberspace or internet sovereignty. This question of “cyberspace sovereignty should be considered in the context of Th

May 29, 2020
3 min

China: A paper tiger? [Guest Post]

China has recently heightened its rhetoric against Taiwan and has moved against Hong Kong’s autonomy, while initiating a standoff against India. What explains these moves? Is China and the Chinese President Xi Jinping as strong as they appear? Rohit writes. Written by Rohit79564935 Xi Jinping recently asked the Chinese Army to be ready for worst-case scenario. China has an old habit of trying to rake up foreign affairs, national security and create war like hysteria to distra

May 25, 2020
3 min

Streaming Platforms v. Cinemas: Winners & Losers in a Pandemic

Written by Aishwarya Ajayan & Ananth Krishna The decision by the producers of seven films, including those of major Bollywood release Gulabo Sitabo, to release the films digitally sparked pushback from the Multiplex chains. This points to the lasting effects that the COVID-19 pandemic might have on the film industry.The film industry is under great duress due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, so much so that it has its own Wikipedia article. Film production has almost in its entiret

Apr 4, 2020
2 min

Regarding Disaster Relief Fund allotment to Kerala

A brand new controversy has broken out regarding the allocation of disaster relief funds to States in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The problematic issue seems to be the ‘paltry’ ₹157 crore Kerala has received, despite having a high number of cases. However, this allocation was not made today but was made as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission Report tabled in the Parliament on 1st February 2020. The ₹157 crore Kerala received is the first installment

Mar 16, 2020
4 min

Lucifer – Realpolitik in a Superstar film

Lucifer, the Malayalam political action starring Mohanlal, has all the elements of a masala blockbuster (as it became the biggest earning film of all time in Malayalam), but it has a lot of political (and biblical) references. While I am not fit to interpret the biblical references, I cannot let the political references go by without any comment. [If you haven’t watched the movie, nothing below will make sense to you] *SPOILER ALERT* read the plot if you haven’t seen the film

Jun 30, 2019
5 min

Analysing the 2019 Kerala Lok Sabha results

The 2019 General elections witnessed the incumbent dispensation being re-elected with a larger majority, a first for a non-Congress Government that completed its full term. The BJP won 303 seats, and the NDA won 353 seats in Toto. The Congress was able to marginally improve their performance, but it did experience a 0.03% loss in vote share while gaining an extra eight seats. The best performance for the Congress was in Kerala, where the Congress-led United Democratic Front(

Mar 30, 2019
3 min

The level of public discourse in India

It is a by word that gets quoted often, whenever an insolent or uncivil remark is made by a Politician, to say that this is a “new low in public discourse” in India. “Public Discourse” is a favorite term for the intelligentsia, meant to indicate the general topics or themes that they are themselves are discussing, which in many cases those from the rest of the country can sparsely relate to. They look down from their Ivory towers and snobbishly complain about the “state of p

Sep 23, 2018
4 min

Bad law and Democracy

A still from the film Gandhi (1982) “There are unjust laws as there are unjust men” ~ from the film Gandhi (1982) Background:This article on the Volokh Conspiracy, titled ‘Why we shouldn’t “just enforce the law'”. I Enacting and enforcing law is the primary reason for the existence of the state. The state itself is a mechanism that human society has ‘evolved’ to ensure societal growth and progress. The State is therefore a servant to societal needs and wants. A state which is

Jul 22, 2018
3 min

Reagan and Obama, on the same side.

It’s not a sight that we see often, but the Conservative Icon and the Liberal favorite fall on the same side of one issue: Gerrymandering. An issue I’ll come to in due course, but it all started with me stumbling upon this wonderful interview of Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States in 1991. This interview is quite remarkable, and covers a variety of different issues, and you’d do well to watch them: What was so interesting me is Reagan’s comments on Gerrymanderi

Jul 13, 2018
3 min

Understanding ‘Shariat Courts’

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board recently announced that they are planning to open a Shariat ‘court’ in every single district in India. This obviously led to a controversy, but there has been a lot of uninformed commentary regarding the subject. So I’m writing this to set the record straight regarding a few things. Shariat is applied as personal law in India, and it is not ‘codified’ Shariat in the simplest sense is Islamic Law that governs all aspects of life. It cove

Mar 12, 2018
3 min

Black Panther: Tradition v. Reform

I watched “Black Panther” the ‘critically acclaimed’ Marvel movie that was released a few weeks ago. It was quite an average superhero movie, and not something that should have received the attention it has received, along with critical acclaim. The movie’s plot by itself is not particularly unique in my opinion. I was however intrigued by the conflict between T’Challa (the heir apparent) and N’Jadaka (the cousin/challenger) and between their ‘ideologies’ so to speak. This

Mar 8, 2018
3 min

Free markets and Women’s Empowerment

There are those who contend that feminism is incompatible with capitalism. But capitalist states have achieved many ‘feminist’ goals. There exists a tangible relationship between economic progress and women’s empowerment – almost all of the world’s developed nations treat women fairly and more equitably than developing or underdeveloped countries. It might be a bit of irony then, that many of the leading icons of the feminist movement today are self professed socialists and

Feb 20, 2018
6 min

Stronger State Intervention for women won’t work. Here’s why

The creation of a system that allows women the same set of opportunities cannot be achieved by state intervention. Why do I say that? Because state intervention has already failed in India, and conclusively so. A variety of measures – maternity benefit, equal remuneration, protection against discrimination, dowry prohibition, pre-natal diagnostic act and have had no considerable effect. This is because India has no ‘state capacity’, many would argue. It is however not a quest