democracy Archives -

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…

Jan

2021

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By @multidi_mag

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

2019

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Sabarimala and Triple Talaq: Two sides of the same patriarchy coin

Current Affairs, Politics & Social, PopularAyyappa, Ban, BJP, Congress, democracy, Hindu, Modi, Muslim, Quran, Rahul Gandhi, Sabarimala, Triple Talaq, Women rights

Written By: Somrita Bhattacharyya Paris, France Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com The issue is about a biological process, a very normal one, comes every month. But it seems it has the power to shudder the socio-political system of a country known to be the largest democracy of the world! As we all know it already, the issue is not only a mere ‘men versus women’ issue. Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, please don’t play it wrong. When you say, ‘There are some temples in India, which have their own traditions, where men can’t go. And men don’t go…’ you miss a very crucial…

Dec

2018

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Brexit: Parting of Europe’s Prodigal Son- Part 3

ColumnBrexit, British, Churchill, democracy, England, Europe, European Union, Tony Blair, United States

Written By : Riaz Quadir Paris, France Image Credit: shutterstock.com When you have been profligate your entire life, no, make that, for many generations; and profligacy has become a part of your genetic makeup, then recklessness simply becomes a way of life. Watching everyday life in Britain gives one such an impression. Well, at least for the most part. There are some, like the young and famous linguist, Alex Rawlings, who is so scared of what is to come after Brexit, that he cannot imagine how “This whole country is on the brink of the worst disaster since the second…

Nov

2018

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A Critique of Modern Democracy- Part 3 (Rise of the Nation State)

ColumnBritish India, Constitution, democracy, Europe, USA, War

Written By: Senex Paris, France Photo credit – Jayanta Chakrabarty On the eve of the 20th century the world was led by the Europeans. They were the only real powers in the world with the exception of the USA and Japan. The rest of the world was either colonized by the Europeans or were too weak to matter; and like the Ottomans, and other remnants of past powers, were dragged into the Wars by one side or the other. Nationalism was the leading political ideology of the day; each country vying with others for power, and in the process becoming…

Oct

2018

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A Critique of Modern Democracy- Part 2

ColumnAutocratic society, democracy, Europe

Written By : Senex Paris, France Photo credit – Jayanta Chakrabarty In the last issue we talked about the binary aspect of the universe, where, when two forces having opposite effects, meet, create a kind of equilibrium when they are equal; and if not equal create a dynamic situation. This is almost a mirror reflection of the ways in which the laws of physics work in the physical universe. In human society too, we see such a binary combination at work, resulting in what we may describe as hierarchical pyramids. In such a simple pyramid the people in society can…