@multidi_mag, Author at

Mar

2021

Silence Please! Developmental Democracy is Parading in India

Current Affairs, Politics & SocialBJP, democracy, JNU, Narendra Modi, Nationalism, NDA Government

Written by : Pratip Chattopadhyay Photo : Shutterstock.com Summary: Democracy in India has seen many twists and turns in its evolution but under the present dispensation of Narendra Modi led NDA government, democracy in India has taken a distinct developmental turn, rhetorically in slogans like ‘development for all, development with all for trust of all’, and practically through reform measures in economic sector. As against the ‘swadeshi’ and ‘nationalist’ sentiment that BJP manifests, the present developmental turn is modelled on neoliberal paradigm of development. Quite naturally because of rootedness of Indians, farmers and commoners stages protest firmly against such developmental…

Mar

2021

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Let’s Make History: Appropriating Histories to Make Newer Histories

Current Affairs, Politics & SocialBJP, Mizoram, Nationalism, North East India, Pan-Nationalism

Written by : Dr. Anup Shekhar Chakraborty Photo : Shutterstock.com Vexed Histories History writing, its interpretation, and conception of any event as history are markedly selective and involve ‘political’ choices and decisions. The methodology infused into the engagement and resource collection and documentation is strongly marked by familiarising and de-familiarising select events. Thereby the event is perceived through what Foucault calls a gaze. In many senses, the gaze of history which fills our knowledge/information for the common is marked by the statist enterprise (governance, governmentality). In short, history is a political engagement in many senses not merely because of the…

Feb

2021

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Is The Anti-Separatism Bill Of France Anti-Islam? – A Brief Report

Current Affairs, Politics & SocialAnti-separatism bill, Emmanuel Macron, France, Islamism, Jean Luc Mélenchon, Marine Le Pen

Compiled by : Rabbani Khan Photo : Shutterstock.com On 16 February 2021, the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, adopted the controversial anti-separatism bill by 347 votes in favour, 151 against and 65 abstaining, thus facilitating the way for it to be passed into law in coming months. The text was presented to the Council of Ministers on 9 December 2020 by Gérald Darmanin, the Home Minister, and by Marlène Schiappa, Minister Delegate to the Home Minister in charge of Citizenship, exactly 115 years after the law on the separation of churches and state came into force.…

Jan

2021

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Defecting Democracy: The New Normal of Party-politics in India

Current Affairs, Politics & SocialAmit Shah, BJP, democracy, India, Indian Politics, Trinamul Congress

Written by : Pratip Chattopadhyay Illustration : Avijit Ghosh Summary: Presently defection in party-politics is becoming the new norm to smoothen the rise of Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in the era of second coming of one-party system in Indian democracy. Defection as a practice is as old as party system in a democracy. However the new normaility of defection in Indian context is that defection is not resulting in new party formation or apolitical position but resulting in joining the bandwagon of BJP-ism thereby distorting the very essence of democracy itself, i.e. pluralism. In this context, this article claims that Indian…

Jan

2021

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Dance of the Dragons and the Bromance: Friendships in the Neighbourhood

Current Affairs, Politics & SocialBhutan, China, India, Narendra Modi, SAARC, Sino-India conflict, Xi Jinping

Written by : Dr. Anup Shekhar Chakraborty Photo : shutterstock.com Winds of Change: Old Friendship Questioned? What has kept India-Bhutan bromance kindling is Bhutan’s deep social imaginaries of gyagar (holy-land India) linked to the wisdom of the 8th-century Indian Buddhist monk Guru Padmasambhava. Bhutan and its people have diligently stayed true to their religio-cultural links with India- their gyagar neighbour. Over the years, India took its smaller neighbours for granted creating trust deficit among its neighbours and compelled them to wayfind newer friends – Bhutan has mostly been an exception to that trend. India Bhutan camaraderie commemorated 50 years of…

Dec

2020

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On China: The ‘Left Over’ of Indian Foreign Policy

Current Affairs, Politics & SocialChina, India, Narendra Modi, sino-indian conflict, Xi Jinping

Written by : Pratip Chattopadhyay Photo : shutterstock.com Snippet: In the midst of Covid pandemic the latest tension in western sector of Indo-China border around Ladakh region has exposed blatantly the pandemic that has set in Indian (non) -foreign policy towards China in post-Cold War period due to India’s over-dependence on and over-self-presence before United States of America to use India as US ploy against China in Asia. So autonomy of India’s foreign policy towards China has been jeopardised. Off late Dokhlam stand-off in 2017 and Ladakh border skirmish are seen as attempts to recover whatever is left of ‘autonomy’…

Dec

2020

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Farmers Suicide in India – A Continuum of Neo-Liberal Policies : Part-2

Current Affairs, EconomicsCoronavirus epidemic, Covid-19, farm bill 2020, Farmers suicide, GDP, Indian Economy, Narendra Modi, Neoliberalism, PM-Kishan scheme

Written by : Srijan Das Photo : shutterstock.com The central government had released model farming acts in 2017. The Standing Committee on Agriculture (2018-19), however, noted that a number of the reforms suggested in the model acts had not been implemented by the states. In particular, the Committee found that the laws that regulated Indian agricultural markets were not being implemented fairly and honestly or serving their purpose. Centralization was thought to be reducing competition and (accordingly) participation, with undue commissions, market fees, and monopoly of associations damaging the agricultural sector. A committee consisting of seven chief ministers was set…

Sep

2020

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The Social Dilemma- Who breaks the spell?

Politics & Social, PopularFacebook, Netflix, Social media, The Social dilemma, Whatsapp

Written by : Shreya Seth Photo credit : Shutterstock.com The new Netflix docu-drama, ‘The Social Dilemma’ begins with a dramatic background score and a disconcerting quote-cum-disclaimer that subtly fades in : ‘Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse.’ Well intentioned and carefully structured, this documentary-drama hybrid that runs into 1hr 33 minutes, has come as a reminder, if not a revelation to many. Directed by Jeff Orlowski, ‘The Social Dilemma’ attempts to tell us all about the big bad world of social media right from the horse’s mouth- in this case, a bunch of apologetic ex-employees of…

Sep

2020

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Becoming Korean-Like in North East India: The Politics of Culture, Consumption, and Economics within

Politics & SocialASEAN, Bollywood, Hindi, North East India, South Korea

Written by : Dr. Anup Shekhar Chakraborty Photo : Shutterstock.com Disgruntled Geographies I describe the borderlands on both sides of North East India and Chin state and Sagaing region in Myanmar as ‘disgruntled geographies’ precisely because of interweaving complexities of the geography (densely forested, mountainous, riverine, resource-rich) with that of the Anthropocene (ethno-linguistically heterogeneous, fragmented on religious/denominational lines, sparsely populated, resource contested). Also, the region as ‘disgruntled geographies’ has witnessed the mushrooming of armed insurgent groups exhibiting insatiable anger due to the paucity or the limited nature of connectivity, minuscule industrial growth, and lack of employment opportunities in the region.…

Sep

2020

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Farmers Suicide in India – A Continuum of Neo-Liberal Policies and Remedies : Part -1

Current Affairs, EconomicsCoronavirus epidemic, Covid-19, farm bill 2020, Farmers suicide, GDP, Indian Economy, Narendra Modi, Neoliberalism, PM-Kishan scheme

Written by : Srijan Das Photo : shutterstock.com While India's GDP contracts 23.9% in April-June quarter due to lockdown and linked to negative effects from some of the economic policies adopted in past years, the manufacturing sector recorded a drop of 39.3 percent from a growth of 3 percent last year and the mining sector shrank by 23.3 percent from a growth of 4.7 percent last year, whereas the agriculture sector stood out as a beacon of hope growing 3.4 percent in the first quarter of 2020-21 from 3 percent last year. Initiating a process of introspection With each passing…