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V Shoba

K Ramalingam, an indebted farmer who took part in the Delhi agitation last year, at a religious festival in Veerappur in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
Dispatch
Back to the Scorched Earth

A group of Tamil farmers made national headlines one year ago by kicking off a series of absurd protests in Delhi. V Shoba meets key characters from the landmark agitation who are back in their villages battling an unending farm crisis

07 March 2018
Jayendra Saraswati (1935-2018)
In Memoriam
Jayendra Saraswati: The Saint Destigmatised

Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati (1935-2018) chose a different path

28 February 2018
Devotees gather for Shivaratri Jagran at the Moorasavir Math in Hubli
Politics
Playing With Faith

With the Congress cashing in on the Lingayats’ demand for a separate religious identity, Karnataka’s caste politics comes full circle on the eve of a nervous Assembly election

22 February 2018
A Sivasati on her way to offer prayers at Chilakala Gattu in Medaram
Dispatch
The Day of the Goddesses

Telangana hosts India’s biggest carnival of tribal counterculture. Open chronicles the faith and frenzy on the river Godavari

08 February 2018
An idol of Andal dressed up as a bride for a Margazhi seva at Srivilliputhur in Tamil Nadu
Essay
The Saint and the Sinner

Recent protests in Tamil Nadu against a lyricist’s ‘belittlement’ of the mystic poet Andal do little justice to the spirit of her verses

07 February 2018
Sharan ‘Pumpwell’ Kumar (in orange shirt, outside his office in Mallikatte, Mangalore) convenor, Bajrang Dal, south Karnataka
Dispatch
Faith and Fury in Mangaluru

Mangaluru in southern Karnataka is one of the strongholds of Hindutva’s militant fringe. As Assembly elections loom, the cause celebre is love jihad

01 February 2018
A jallikattu fight in Avaniapuram near Madurai in Tamil Nadu
Dispatch
Jallikattu: A Red Rag to a Bull

A year after unprecedented protests over banning jallikattu that pitted cultural traditionalists against animal rights activists, the rural sport has become a youthful rebellion

24 January 2018
CMC’s mobile clinic van in Nanjukondapuram village
Dispatch
Ida Scudder Lived Here

It began 100 years ago out of one woman’s kindness. V Shoba chronicles the evolution of the Christian Medical College in Vellore into a unique institution that combines charity, teaching and medical service

10 January 2018
Cutch yields a feathery yellow dye
New Year 2018 Double Issue
The Dyeing Art of India

Colour is destiny

21 December 2017
The Bengaluru City Police social media team of (L-R) Ravi MK, Viswanath SH, Lokesh HM, Ravi KN and Suresh
Innovators
The Well-Connected Cops of Bengaluru

The Twitter handle of the city police is about to cross a million followers. Meet the team of constables behind the makeover

06 December 2017

Authors

Brahma Chellaney

Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and the author of two award-winning books on water: Water, Peace, and War and Water: Asia’s New Battleground

MJ Akbar

MJ Akbar is the author of, among several titles, Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan. His latest book is Gandhi: A Life in Three Campaigns

Ram Madhav

Ram Madhav is president, India Foundation, and is with BJP

Makarand R Paranjape

Makarand R Paranjape is an author and columnist. Views are personal.

TCA Raghavan

TCA Raghavan is a former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and Singapore. His first book, Attendant Lords: Abdur Rahim and Bairam Khan: Courtiers and Poets in Mughal India, was awarded the Mohammad Habib Prize by the Indian History Congress. He is also the author of The People Next Door: The Curious History of India’s Relations with Pakistan and History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh and Their Quest for India’s Past. His latest book is Circles of Freedom: Love, Friendship and Loyalty in the Indian National Struggle

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