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2023: The Year of Challenges
Frontline Year-Ender Special
A nation at crossroads: Reflections on what India faced in 2023
From Shakespearean demagogues to mob-sanctioned savagery, 2023 was a year that tested the soul of the nation.
Editor’s Note
Vaishna Roy
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We look back at 2023, at the challenges the year threw up and the challengers who emerged every now and then.
Emerging challenge to the Constitution
In 2023, voices demanding a new Constitution grew louder, bolder—fuelled by the need for consolidation of power at the Centre.
Constitution
Suryapratim Roy
A country of others
It was a year when hate speech hit new lows, challenging the trust of Muslims in the country’s fraternity.
Communalism
Kunal Purohit
A different masculinity
Rahul Gandhi embodies a persona that suggests plurality, however imperfect, is imaginable today. But can he convert it into a more forceful idealism?
Politics
Paromita Vohra
Halting the juggernaut
To counter BJP’s combo of Modi, hyper-nationalism, Hindutva, and welfare, opposition must craft a compelling narrative focussed on real solutions.
Politics
Nidhi Razdan
Muzzling the press
In 2023, India hit a new low in press freedom, with the Central government signalling zero tolerance for a free and vibrant media.
Media
Kalpana Sharma
More hype than substance
In 2023, the government’s foreign affairs fell short of the widely propagated “Vishwaguru” myth, displaying mediocrity.
World
Kesava Menon
Shooting for the stars with feet of clay
ISRO’s brilliant minds propelled India to space greatness, yet the Modi government lacks a clear policy for the space sector.
Space
R. Ramachandran
The year in a shot
Seen through the lens, 2023 presents a lesson in resilience. Life went on—despite war and disasters.
Photo Essay
TEAM FRONTLINE
The fine art of a coarse India
In 2023, Modi government co-opted much of Indian art, but the resilience of a few artists who challenged this dominance emerged as a silver lining.
Art
Sumesh Manoj Sharma
Who’s watching?
Though threatened by censorship, films and OTT originals tackled taboo topics like caste and state excesses, but did the audiences care to watch?
Cinema
Trisha Gupta
Ambedkar, on a device near you
From Bollywood blockbusters to regional films and OTT originals, Ambedkar’s image and message are finding new resonance in Indian popular culture.
Popular Culture
Harish S. Wankhede
Lifting the gauntlet
The most audacious test for Indian sports came from wrestlers who defiantly held their ground against the political might of Brij Bhushan Singh.
Sports
Sharda Ugra
Always a good fight
A few of India’s leading writers spoke to Frontline of the hopes and challenges the future holds.
Voices
TEAM FRONTLINE
Year of plenty
The Frontline list of the Top 10 titles of 2023 in fiction and non-fiction.
Books
TEAM FRONTLINE
‘The Dystopian Times’ by Appupen
Back Page
Appupen
Looking Back At 2023
Nicobar nightmare (January 27, 2023)
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As the mega plans to “develop” Great Nicobar continue apace, a look at all the reasons why this biosphere reserve should be left wisely alone.
Joshimath collapses (February 10, 2023)
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As the government wilfully ignores or subverts environmental advice and promotes mega projects
Dragon by the tail (February 24, 2023)
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Does India have the political nous to meet China’s truculence with responses that straddle diplomacy, trade, and military acuity?
Back to the wall (March 10, 2023)
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Caught in a vortex of hate, how does India’s liberal Muslim voice begin to be heard, understood, and embraced?
Best of 2023
Hyderabad’s dark history: A tale of two massacres
How the BJP is using the history of the Razakars to further anti-Muslim prejudice.
History
Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed
From revolution to realism, the multifaceted legacy of Mrinal Sen
When conformity and obedience to the state become the norm, his dissent stands out as a beacon of inspiration.
Mrinal Sen@100 — The Lede
Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay
Whose Ayodhya?
The city’s cultural heritage, encompassing Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu influences, is being overshadowed by the construction of the Ram Mandir.
Heritage
Ismat Ara
ChatGPT: Disruption or fantasy?
If the objective is to establish an economy that works for everyone, AI seems to be a very unlikely tool of choice.
ChatGPT — The Lede
Eshwar Sundaresan
A new phase of censorship creep in India
A proposal to amend the IT Rules 2021 and the ban on a BBC documentary are part of a larger trend of Internet censorship, growing since 2014.
Guest Column: Media
N. Ram
Editor's Pick
Legislation
The amended Biological Diversity Act puts profits over people
One amendment uses “ease of doing business” as a rationale for conglomerates to be excused from paying a share of their profits to tribal populations.
Priyansha Chouhan
Gaza War
‘Our country has lost its moral compass’: Arundhati Roy
From Arundhati Roy’s acceptance speech at the P. Govinda Pillai award function held in Thiruvananthapuram on December 13.
Arundhati Roy
PERSPECTIVE | MANIPUR CRISIS
Supreme Court’s moral failure in Manipur
The court’s failure to enforce state accountability and assess the power imbalances between communities has deepened the humanitarian crisis.
John Simte
What the smoke bombs exposed
Sanjay Jha
The five new Chief Ministers
TEAM FRONTLINE
West Asia warming up is bad news for India
Raghu Murtugudde
Why Zionism rules the hearts of Hindutva acolytes
Shreevatsa Nevatia
Spotlight
Spotlight
Suspension of MPs
Mass suspensions of Opposition MPs raise concerns about India’s parliamentary future
With 143 MPs suspended in Parliament’s stormiest week, Opposition cries “tyranny” while BJP claims “order”. Are there any solutions to the impasse?
Anand Mishra
Photo Essay
Photo Essay
Art
K.S. Radhakrishnan’s ‘On the Open Road’ a metaphor for his remarkable journey
The debut retrospective reiterates the strongest points of his oeuvre: exploration, fluidity, transgression, and unstinted joy in the force of life.
Juhi Saklani
Arts & Culture
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Current Issue
Editor’s Note
A nation at crossroads: Reflections on what India faced in 2023
From Shakespearean demagogues to mob-sanctioned savagery, 2023 was a year that tested the soul of the nation.
Vaishna Roy
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READ EBOOK
Constitution
Emerging challenge to the Constitution
In 2023, voices demanding a new Constitution grew louder, bolder—fuelled by the need for consolidation of power at the Centre.
Suryapratim Roy
Communalism
A country of others
Kunal Purohit
Politics
A different masculinity
Paromita Vohra
Politics
Halting the juggernaut
Nidhi Razdan
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