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A look at the stream of election-eve films and why they don’t have to be box-office hits to succeed as propaganda.
In this issue
03-05-2024
37 STORIES
Propaganda — The Lede
Movie trailers: The unofficial manifestos of our time
Endlessly shared till its beliefs pass off as the truth, the film trailer mirrors our world: fact and fiction, blurred by repetition.
Lawrence Liang
Propaganda
Editor’s Note: When cinema becomes a tool for propaganda
One always imagines that propaganda and brainwashing are modern inventions that Goebbels—aided by Leni Riefenstahl—perfected. Not true. It has been ar
Vaishna Roy
Propaganda
Rise of ‘Hindutva’ cinema
Indian cinema hardly yields space to Dalit, Adivasi, or Bahujan protagonists. It continues to be an elitist, casteist project.
Harish S. Wankhede
Propaganda
Viral fever: The curious spectacle of campaign films
Potent tools for disseminating political ideologies and pushing stereotypes, these films offer insights into elections as well as everyday realities.
S.V. Srinivas
From the sidelines
Caught in a saffron storm
The BJP might win the three Muslim-dominant seats in Uttar Pradesh, but attributing it solely to Hindutva mobilisation would be a mistake.
Saba Naqvi
Interview
‘BJP is the fountainhead of corruption’: Sitaram Yechury
CPI(M) general secretary says the electoral bonds scheme legalised political corruption and had the potential to destroy democracy.
T.K. Rajalakshmi
Election 2024
Bihar: Navigating change and stagnation
Despite infrastructural advancements and improvements in law and order, fundamental challenges like unemployment and migration persist in the State.
Anand Mishra
Election 2024
‘There is a groundswell of support for the RJD’: Tejashwi Yadav
The RJD leader says this Lok Sabha election is about “reclaiming all that is good and decent in politics and governance”.
Anand Mishra
Election 2024
‘NDA is stronger in Bihar now’: Chirag Paswan
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president says his priority is to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister for the third time.
Anand Mishra
Election 2024
It is neck and neck in the first phase of election in Maharashtra
The advantage the BJP held in the Vidarbha region seems to be waning. Issues of inflation and caste conflicts only add to the party’s troubles.
Amey Tirodkar
Election 2024
Trinamool fights back in north Bengal
It is a tough battle for the BJP in north Bengal, where six constituencies vote in the first two phases.
Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay
Election 2024
No Modi magic: BJP’s bold claims clash with Kerala’s political realities
Despite BJP’s concerted bid to court the Christian community, a disconnect exists between the party’s outreach efforts and ground-level sentiments.
Anna Mathews
Election 2024
PMK’s alliance with the BJP in Tamil Nadu defies logic
The PMK stands to gain nothing while the BJP gains an edge. What could be the reason for an alliance where the PMK only ends up sacrificing itself?
Ilangovan Rajasekaran
Election 2024
Uttarakhand: High fives may not happen this time
The BJP is going all out to retain its grip on the hill State, but the Congress is countering with a sharp focus on local grievances.
Ismat Ara
Election 2024
Tripura and Sikkim: Alliance shifts, controversial candidates, and a three-cornered battle
In Tripura, the election in the first phase is characterised by regional alliances. In Sikkim, the issue of identity is foremost on the agenda of all
Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay
Election 2024
Manipur’s divided election
The year-long violence with no political intervention has left the people more concerned about their future than electoral politics.
Suwa Lal Jangu
Election 2024
An unexpected twist in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Christian Forum’s support for Congress candidates threatens to derail the BJP’s dream run in the north-eastern State.
Sushanta Talukdar
Election 2024
Uphill task for BJP in Udhampur
Rumblings at the grassroots do not corroborate the development narrative that the BJP’s Jitendra Singh is peddling.
Ashutosh Sharma
Controversy
History does not agree with the BJP on Katchatheevu
BJP rakes up Katchatheevu issue but a study of Parliamentary records shows that neither was the island “gifted” to Sri Lanka nor was the DMK a mute sp
R.K. Radhakrishnan
Economic Perspectives
Thames Water and the collapse of neoliberal privatisation
In the 1980s, the company’s privatisation signified a dramatic turn in economic policy due to neoliberalism.
C.P. Chandrasekhar
South Asia
Is India losing the goodwill of its neighbours?
The rise in anti-India sentiments may have even left the field open for China to take advantage of the situation.
Pranay Sharma
West Asia
Palestinian Authority’s declining influence portends more trouble for Gaza
This is compounded by US financial cuts and internal challenges of corruption, limited autonomy, and a shattered political structure.
Shubhda Chaudhary
Science Notebook
Cholesterol-chomping gut bacteria can reduce risk of heart attack
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument experiment has provided the largest and the most precise 3D map of the universe to date.
R. Ramachandran
Philately
Elections on postage: A journey into history
Stamps have played a vital role in building election awareness in India. Now they symbolise the country’s democratic triumphalism.
Vikas Kumar
Reimagining Vallalar
The saint, the song, and the social revolution
A new music project titled Anbenum Peruveli radically reinterprets the work of the 19th-century Tamil poet-prophet in the year of his bicentenary.
Abhirami Girija Sriram
Photo Essay
Silent SOS
Wetland and mangrove birds now forage among plastic waste in urban areas because their natural habitats are all but gone.
Prasoon Kiran
Counter Culture
Respectability and irreverence: the two sides of attention
Both want to achieve the same thing—the dignity of attention, either by bending to the system, or bending the system.
Prathyush Parasuraman
Essay
Served raw: How poetry from north-eastern India captures the trauma of everyday violence
In sparse, clinical language, it asks vexed questions of identity and struggle.
Nabina Das
Book Review
The handlers of death
In Fire on the Ganges, Radhika Iyengar unveils the lives and struggles of Varanasi’s Dom community.
Karan Madhok
Book Review
The king who dared to apologise
In Olivelle’s book, Mauryan king Asoka stands out as an icon whose legacy must be upheld at a time when violence and aggression seem to be the norm.
R. Mahalakshmi
Book Review
Tastes of the earth
Disarmingly honest, Food Journeys is very different from the gushing food books that come out every second day.
Anusua Mukherjee
Book Review
Forest of memories
Banana Yoshimoto’s The Premonition is about disturbing secrets at the heart of families and the possibility of negotiating with them to find closure.
Geeta Doctor
Book Review
Sisters under the skin
Manju Kapur’s latest novel is an exploration of the lives of women: their inclinations and desires, and their compromises.
Shuma Raha
Bookshelf
New books on the shelves
A century’s worth of Bengali stories in translation, a study of a pioneering Indian sculptor, and many more.
White Space
Words on a plate
The menu boasts no dish names but will serve up similes and metaphors, oxymorons and syllogism, with metonymy that might pass for irony.
Kalpish Ratna
BACK PAGE
‘The Dystopian Times’ by Appupen
Appupen
Letters
Letters
Readers respond to Frontline’s coverage.
Archive
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03-05-2024
The saint, the song, and the social revolution
Elections on postage: A journey into history
Cholesterol-chomping gut bacteria can reduce risk of heart attack
Palestinian Authority’s declining influence portends more trouble for Gaza
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19-04-2024
Kashmir: Valley of contention
Tastes of the earth
Did Periyar call for a genocide of Brahmins?
‘Enlightenment’: A Marathi story in translation
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05-04-2024
Farewell Appappan
Why a proposed private port in Karnataka’s Honnavara faces stiff resistance from fisherfolk
India’s oscillating opposition and the dynamic evolution of protest politics
The crisis of the secular opposition
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22-03-2024
Why the tiger-human conflict rages in Bandipur and Nagarahole
Minimum Support Price: A question of how, not why
Fali S. Nariman (1929-2024): A life dedicated to the Constitution’s promise
Farmers’ protest: It’s a battle against servitude
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