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Reevaluating the Ambedkar-Gandhi Debate

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The Ambedkar-Gandhi dispute remains one of the thorniest and most hotly debated topics in modern Indian history. Ambedkar’s scathing critique of Gandhi and the politics espoused by him is known to one and all. In this piece, I attempt to untangle the intricacies and nuances pertaining to this debate. “The politics of Gandhi is hollow and noisy. It is the most dishonest politics in the history of Indian polity. Gandhi was the man responsible for eliminating morality from politics and instead introduced commercialism in Indian politics. Politics has been denuded of its virtue.” These are not the words of a Hindutva zealot who salivates over Godse but of BR Ambedkar—the man who wrote the constitution of our country. Ambedkar and Gandhi had irreconcilable differences. Albeit both were opposed to untouchability and advocated for its abolition, Gandhi’s position on caste as a whole was ambiguous and performative. Till 1922, Gandhi used to be a fervent proponent of Caste. He believed that cas...
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Crime and Motive : Perspectives of a Criminal

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To Umar Khalid Abstract : The Oxford Dictionary describes ‘Crime’ as : activities that involve breaking the law. On what basis do we then, bring ourselves to condemn specific criminal activities and celebrate others? In his defence, our criminal in question - accused of not one, but two ghastly crimes against the state - answers these enquires in his statement before the court as such –  “According to the famous jurist Solomon, one should not be punished for his criminal offence if his aim is not against law. If we set aside the motive, then Jesus Christ will appear to be a man responsible for creating disturbances, breaking peace and preaching revolt. But we worship him. Why? Because the inspiration behind his actions was that of a high ideal…” For Bhagat Singh - the orator of the dialogue quoted above - it is the motive of a crime that must be taken into consideration when trying a convict. When most revolutionary groups in India had pinned their hopes on Gandhi’s non-vi...
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सांझ और सवेरा

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  साँझ से सवेरा दूर तो नहीं पर रास्ता धुंधला - धुंधला सा है वो पहली किरण पत्तों से गुज़रती हुई मुझे उसे छूने का इंतज़ार है मेरे कल आज और कल को बांधे एक डोर मेरे डर, मेरी कमियाँ, मेरी सोच मेरा कल ही मेरी साँझ है और कल ही मेरी भोर चलती हुई आज से, सोचती हूँ मैं ये कैसे खोलूँ ये उलझी गांठें, कैसे तोड़ूँ ये डोर उम्मीद मेरी वो किरणें बढ़ती उनकी ओर अब कमियाँ कम लगने लगी हैं डर से डर नहीं लगता और सोच, सोच ये सोचने को मजबूर करती है,  की अगर डर जाती, रुक जाती, तो क्या होता अंधेरा मुझे घेर, रात में क़ैद कर जाता इसी ख़्याल के डर से हिम्मत बटोरे धुंधली राहों में कदम बढ़ते हैं शायद उजाला भी मेरी राहें देख रहा हो आख़िर मेरी साँझ से मेरा सवेरा दूर तो नहीं...   Author Kashvi Sachdeva Second Year, History Hons. Student Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi
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THE ART OF PRODUCING AN HEIR: A LOOK INTO THE LIVES OF ROYAL WIVES OF EUROPE

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  In terms of gender, history has always favored men. Regardless of what period of history is under consideration, women have been treated unfairly in virtually all cultures. Men have always been taught that they are the superior gender, the stronger sex, the ones who should be in control and who deserve power. The insecurity of men to shield this power and position led to the eventual domination over women. Women have had considerably lower agency, power and opportunities compared to men. However, the one thing which sets apart the two genders also gives women their indispensable position in the world; they can reproduce. Till recent times, this was central to the identity of women. In medieval and early modern Europe, the situation wasn’t any different. THE NEED FOR A SUCCESSOR The need of children was felt in all households big or small. While it meant extra hands on the farm for a poor medieval farmer, the birth of a royal child certainly had drastic implications for a nation. ...
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Stories of A Drowning World

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  Introduction “God ordered his man to build an ark big enough to accommodate a pair of all the animals of this world along with his wife, because the flood was coming.” This story may feel familiar not only to you but millions of people of different religions and civilizations. The story of a ‘flood’ that wiped out the entire humanity could be heard in every part of this world although with some regional variations. The variation could be seen best in the difference of names of the ‘man’ ranging from Noah to Manu and many more. These stories are in existence from centuries and have a vast history. But the stories are not free from questions of scholars, theologians, geologists, historians, and even atheist. Why almost every ancient civilization mentions about flood? Are these stories just myth? Which story is the truest? How did these stories come into existence? And most importantly, was there any such flood? Answering these questions is difficult but not impossible. A revisi...
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A Biased Reflection

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  "Cinema is an edited reality and a mirror of society. While society decides morality, films are desperate to connect with the audience and fulfil what the society fancies. In turn, the film affects the society; thus, cinema and society reflect each other." -Javed Akhtar    Media reflects what is prevailing in society and society reflects the ‘trend’. Thus, both mirror each other. Even psychological studies have proven that the graphic motion presentation leaves a solid image on our sub-conscious and conscious mind. But this fact is not used the way it should have been. This at times, leave me with a thought that what if depiction of women was different? What if we weren’t used as stepping stone or beautifying object? Therefore, movies could act as the proxy to understand how prevalent gender bias and stereotypes are in any society. These questions apply to the media of whole world including Hollywood movies which are regarded as far better than Bollywood or any ...
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