On 3 February 2026, I received an email from the University of Hyderabad informing me that my Ph.D. admission had been cancelled. With a single administrative communication, ten years of perseverance, intellectual labor, and emotional endurance were brought to an abrupt halt. The message did not merely terminate my enrollment; it fractured my sense of […]
Higher education in India is often described as a pathway to social mobility, intellectual freedom, and democratic empowerment. Universities are expected to embody the constitutional values of equality, dignity, and justice. Yet, for many research scholars from marginalized communities, the lived reality can be deeply distressing. The need for strong and effectively implemented University Grants […]
People from Northeast India leave their homes hoping for education, health and a better future. The systematic neglect of Northeast India reveals our insignificance to the rest of India. Yet, we proudly call ourselves Indians. Our children serve in various roles, from the military to other places across the country. Despite this, we continue to […]
The introduction of a University Grants Commission (UGC) framework aimed at promoting “equity” in higher education institutions reflects an important and necessary aspiration. Equality—samata—is not a narrow administrative goal but a foundational moral principle of a democratic society. In the Indian context, it carries historical, constitutional, and ethical weight. The commitment to equity and inclusion […]
Bengal has historically been a region of Shakti worship, where Durga and Kali are revered. However, this picture seems to be changing in recent years. Whether it’s the case of the female doctor raped at RG Kar Hospital or the case of the 14-year-old minor in Hanskhali, numerous such incidents have come to light, raising […]
I often return to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s 1943 essay “Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah”, where he said something prophetic: journalism in India started as a mission during the freedom struggle, later became a profession, and eventually morphed into an industry. That transformation, he warned, would compromise the integrity of the press. Today, we see exactly that. […]
In the 2024 edition of the World Press Freedom Index, India ranks 159th among 180 countries, as assessed by the global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. At the same time, it is slightly better than last year’s rank, which was 161. But this is not even close to a consultation prize as this ranking happened […]
Arundhati Roy’s preface to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste, titled The Doctor and the Saint, is a sharp political essay—but one that ultimately reflects a troubling pattern: the appropriation of Dalit discourse by Savarna intellectuals. Though Roy claims to elevate Ambedkar’s radical politics, her essay asserts a dangerous authority over his voice, re-establishing caste […]