Why a honorarium for priests is more newsworthy than the fate of India’s farmers

Mainstream Indian media are now given to majoritarian bias, pro-government propaganda and outright lies. As it slips away, press freedom will be hard to regain.

Samar Halarnkar

· Dec 02, 2018 · 08:00 am

Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Sabarimala: BJP’s Hindutva distractions are harming India’s national interest

A spree of renaming cities with Muslim-sounding names cements the BJP’s electoral shift from economic to religious issues and reveals its growing insecurity.

Samar Halarnkar

· Nov 11, 2018 · 08:00 am

My wife faces a union minister, his 97 lawyers. It takes special courage to do that

The consequences of sexual harassment have fallen entirely on India’s women. The men must step up or step aside.

Samar Halarnkar

· Oct 16, 2018 · 08:00 am

In India of 2018, the bizarre becomes policy and jokes invite police action. Try not to laugh

Politics and police are fast-tracking the country into an era of competitive absurdity, with serious consequences.

Samar Halarnkar

· Sep 23, 2018 · 08:00 am

Constitution must dictate India’s fate, not popular morality of politicians, society and terrorists

As radical Hinduism grows and mimics radical Islam, the Supreme Court verdict on homosexuality offers a larger reminder to the republic.

Samar Halarnkar

· Sep 08, 2018 · 08:00 am

Empowered, emboldened and weaponised, India’s roving mobs flourish under state patronage

If the majority believes it is above the law, India is at risk of transiting from flailing to failed state.

Samar Halarnkar

· Aug 11, 2018 · 08:00 am

Secular Indians should be shot, says BJP MLA, vanguard of the new India

The day to create a new creed of nationalist intellectualism and proclaim a new breed of nationalist intellectual is here.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jul 28, 2018 · 08:00 am

The suicide of S Subramani and the tragedy of Indian governance

To an insecure, marginalised army of frontline workers – constables, sweepers, teachers, health workers – falls the task of changing India.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jul 15, 2018 · 08:00 am

Zero Day looms as India consumes, poisons and wastes more water than any nation on earth

The government just issued a dire warning of looming shortages. But it’s the government that needs to listen.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jul 01, 2018 · 08:00 am

India’s rising paranoia and the myth of the persecuted Hindu

Hostility against minorities is growing at a time when Hindus are more powerful and privileged than ever.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jun 17, 2018 · 08:00 am

A chasm between education and expectations leaves Indians unprepared for their country’s realities

The just-pass philosophy to surviving modern, aspirational India.

Samar Halarnkar

· Jun 03, 2018 · 08:00 am

Paradise lost: Why the road to India’s cleanest village is lined with garbage

As more Indians succumb to wanderlust, the country’s last pristine frontiers are being adorned with heaps of trash.

Samar Halarnkar

· May 20, 2018 · 08:00 am