Search
- Mar 23, 2021
- 5 min
Courts as Legislatures: It doesn’t work
The Judiciary regularly steps into the domain of the Executive and Legislature, but it’s interference only hampers the common man. The Indian Judicial System is remarkably powerful: Its appointments, contrary to Constitutional structure is carried out by senior Judges. It regularly carries out policy interventions, orders executive action and more: India is effectively a Kritarchy, a State ruled by Judges. From deciding where Bars and Liquor shops can function to what measure
- Feb 24, 2021
- 5 min
Why we should dissolve Puducherry
It makes little sense to continue administering a three pronged entity tied together by a vague “French” cultural identity. V. Naraynaswamy of Indian National Congress, the now-former Puducherry Chief Minister who lost the trust vote in what is likely action imitated by the BJP. The V. Naraynaswamy Government of Puducherry officially fell today (22/02/2021), after multiple MLAs resigned from the 33-member Legislative Assembly. This comes after high drama over the supposed def
- 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
- Feb 15, 2021
- 3 min
Twitter cannot be the arbiter of free speech in India
Some comments on The Hindu Op-Ed published on 15/02/2021 written by Gautham Bhatia about Twitter and Free Speech Rights in India. Credits: BGR.in The stand-off between Twitter and the Government of India (GOI) on the blocking of accounts under Section 69A has resulted in a much needed conversation about free speech online in India. In this article about the problems with the IT Act and our jurisprudence, Gautham Bhatia elucidates some of the problems with our current legal re
- Feb 14, 2021
- 3 min
Another Assault on the Tantri, Temple And Tradition.
From An Unknown Utsavam, Credits: Mathrubhumi The inherent dissonance in the State Government(s) running Hindu Religious Institutions and proclaiming itself to be ‘secular’ is an apparent contradiction that has been repeated to death by many in the ‘right’ side. The idea that devotees should have direct control over the temple institutions that they worship is now a mainstream idea among the Online ‘Right’. Yet, the idea has not had sufficient political mobilization on the gr
- Jan 9, 2021
- 3 min
Quick thoughts on Social Media Censorship
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has essentially been frozen out of his Facebook and Instagram account, and now has been thrown out of twitter, permanently. These actions have been justified on the basis that the President is inciting violence and delegitimizing the election of his successor, Joe Biden. While not going into the merit of these actions, there are serious questions raised about the ability of ‘Big tech’ companies to censor and limit information.
- 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
- Aug 23, 2020
- 2 min
Understanding Free Speech, yet again.
In many ways, the framework of constitutional rights in the modern world have not substantially changed since the late 18th century. Constitutional or ‘Fundamental;’ rights are those which prevent the State from taking coercive action against Individuals. Rights could not normally be claimed against private individuals; it was only in the form of Non-discrimination through the Civil Rights Act in the Untied States and Article 17 in India that private individuals were also pr
- Aug 8, 2020
- 4 min
Kozhikode Airport: A Litany of Problems
The news of the horrifying crash of Air India Express Flight 1344 in Kozhikode Airport on 08th August 2020 has attracted significant attention to the problems that the Airport has faced over the course of the last decade. As a native of the city, I have some knowledge regarding these issues. However I have no expertise. Therefore this is merely a limited commentary on the Kozhikode Airport. Kozhikode Airport Runway The Kozhikode International Airport is actually located mor
- 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 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
- May 21, 2020
- 3 min
Mohanlal – Actor par excellence
A special post on Mohanlal’s sixtieth birthday. I am far from a film aficionado. I am at the most a casual viewer of cinema. As someone interested in politics and culture, films present an opportunity to observe social, cultural and political changes in real-time as well as an opportunity to sit back and enjoy them. To any Malayali, Mammootty and Mohanlal evoke strong emotions (granted there are a small minority of psychopaths that do not). These superstars have shaped the Ma
- 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 27, 2020
- 3 min
Corona in The Time Of Love
I confess to have never read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s bestseller, Love in the time of Cholera. But the title was too good an opportunity for me to pass up. While the COVID-19 (“Novel Coronavirus”) sweeps the globe, I felt that it would be prudent of me to write about something other than the pandemic. It seems to me that an overload of information that some of us seem to receive (i.e., me) is not good for one’s mental health and stability. It is better to remain calm and col
- 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