Will the Hindu Undivided Family be ended? What about the Khasi matrilineal system? Will the gender-just mehr be abolished? Trying to end differences rather than discriminations is where the UCC will falter

In this issue

11-08-202330 STORIES

How an impoverished district in Haryana became a breeding ground for cybercriminals

In pandemic-ravaged Nuh, young men turn to cybercrime to escape poverty, but their high-tech scams wreak havoc nationwide.

Ushinor Majumdar: The BSF, the 1971 war, and the birth of Bangladesh

The author discusses his new book on the role of the Border Security Force in the Bangladesh liberation war.

Jammu and Kashmir’s land endowment scheme stokes fears of demographic change

Is the administration’s new land scheme an attempt to realign the region’s dynamics before the next Assembly election?

Biryani with cream sauce: Review of ‘Bangladesh’ by Rifat Munim

The book is a praiseworthy effort in itself but is impaired by awkward translations and clumsy typesetting.

‘The Dystopian Times’ by Appupen

How Konkona Sen Sharma’s ‘The Mirror’ explores class and desire

Her new short film, part of the Netflix anthology Lust Stories 2, hits hard by making honesty an imperative.

Shreevatsa Nevatia

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Letters

Readers write in

Editor’s Note: Let’s not use Uniform Civil Code to wipe out differences

It needs to guarantee equality within communities and between men and women rather than force equality between communities.

Uniform Civil Code: Another step towards making India a Hindu Rashtra?

The elusive quest for a UCC raises questions of cultural imposition in India’s diverse society.

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‘A misconception is that the UCC will interfere with the Shariat’: Atif Rasheed

The BJP leader says people have made up opinions without actually understanding the depth of the Uniform Civil Code.

Empowerment or exploitation? How UCC will impact women’s rights in India

Though gender-sensitive reforms in personal laws are needed, women’s organisations doubt the government’s real intentions behind the UCC.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

Stranger things: Review of ‘From Makaras to Manticores’ by C.G. Salamander

Quirkily illustrated fantastic creatures ranging from the creepy to the cute populate this charming little book.

Anusua Mukherjee

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Portuguese Civil Code: The silent law that unites Goa, Daman and Diu

The 163-year-old Code quietly shapes a cosmopolitan culture and fosters a harmonious bond among diverse communities.

The great Goa land grab

How a recent amendment to land laws threatens the State’s natural beauty and identity.

Anupama Katakam

Edicts of Asoka discovered in Nittur village, Karnataka.

Scrutinising the Asokan approach: Review of ‘The Asoka Inscriptions’ by Herman Tieken

Asoka’s humane administrative acumen is revealed in each and every edict.

Teetering on the edge: Review of ‘Marginlands’ by Arati Kumar-Rao

A front-seat view of the subtle yet tectonic changes taking place in ecosystems across India.

Hell hounds: Review of ‘NaCoHuS’ by Purushottam Agrawal

This tense, dystopic novel treads the fine line between the political and the outlandish to deliver the right dose of chill about present-day India.

New books on the shelves

A sci-fi novel inspired by The Adventures of Pinocchio, a reimagination of Indian secularism, and much more.

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Uniform Civil Code: Clash of moral universalism and cultural pluralism

The hasty push for a uniform civil code during an election year seems more coercive than genuinely well-intentioned for necessary reform.

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Uniform Civil Code: Tribal communities fear erosion of customary laws, cultural heritage

The UCC experiment may spark controversy in north-eastern India due to its potential impact on constitutionally protected ethnic practices.

Sushanta Talukdar

Tribes of Nagaland at the annual Hornbill Festival, also known as the “Festival of Festivals”, in Kohima.

How marginalisation threatens the survival of indigenous communities

To be indigenous is to be severely marginalised in economy, politics, institutionalised knowledge, and institutionalised religion.

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On oil’s slippery slope: India’s goods exports struggle to stem decline

Exports in June dropped to $33 billion, the seventh monthly year-on-year decline, reversing what appeared to be a remarkable post-COVID recovery.

C.P. Chandrasekhar

Speak, don’t shriek: Why do some progressive films tell us how to think?

These films are as dull as propaganda films such as The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story, which are dripping with communal acid.

Prathyush Parasuraman

Nynee Tal to Nainital: Transformation of a Himalayan hill station

While modern-day Nainital is very different from the quaint hill station it was in British times, its aesthetics and culture have broadly endured.

Chinmaya Shah,Abhay Kapkoti

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Can Carnatic music concerts stand alone without the violin?

Many question the need for the violin as accompaniment, arguing that gaps and silences make for a greater musical experience.

Lakshmi Sreeram

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Science & Technology

Meet the women scientists defying harsh winters to power India’s Antarctic programme

India’s Antarctica programme, initiated in 1981 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, now boasts a growing list of nearly 80 women researchers and doctors.

Pamela D’Mello

M.T. Vasudevan Nair at 90: Maverick maestro of words and frames

Over the last six decades, his literature and cinema have mapped Kerala society in all its intensity and complexity.

C.S. Venkiteswaran

Political chaos in Maharashtra part of BJP strategy ahead of 2024 elections

By splitting the Shiv Sena and the NCP, the BJP has further intensified the multi-cornered fight in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Trinamool Congress emerges victorious but at what cost?

Violence and electoral malpractices tarnish the ruling party’s triumph in the panchayat election, raising concerns for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay

Milan Kundera (1929-2023): Explorer of life, death, and the unbearable lightness in between

To know Kundera, we must turn to his biography, but we must first read his fiction.

Shreevatsa Nevatia

Archive

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