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Besides the extortionist nature of the electoral bonds scheme, at its heart is the government’s desire for complete control.
In this issue
19-04-2024
35 STORIES
Books
Tastes of the earth
Disarmingly honest, Food Journeys is very different from the gushing food books that come out every second day.
Anusua Mukherjee
Politics
‘It was not about transparency at all’: Lokesh Batra
The transparency rights activist says the information from his RTIs shed light on the opaque workings of the electoral bonds scheme.
T.K. Rajalakshmi
Politics
One nation, one election: A long and winding poll
The bigger malaise hidden here is the corrosion of a vital independent institution such as the Election Commission.
Nissim Mannathukkaren
Politics
‘There is a lot still unaccounted for’: Jagdeep S. Chhokar
The founder of Association for Democratic Reforms concedes that the disclosure of the electoral bond scheme will not reduce election expenditure.
T.K. Rajalakshmi
World Affairs
Another ‘India Out’ campaign, this time in Bangladesh
The anti-India campaign after Sheikh Hasina’s re-election now shows signs of dying out because of the ambiguity of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Pranay Sharma
Science & Technology
While you are asleep, your brain flushes out waste
Cash-strapped NASA may gradually shut down Chandra Observatory and researchers developed a device which produces high-intensity radiation.
R. Ramachandran
Arts & Culture
Chronicling the early years of LGBTQIA+ movement in India
How Pawan Dhall, queer rights activist, researcher, and writer, has single-handedly created a remarkable archive of the early years of the movement.
Soumitra Das
Photo Essay
Bone connection
Animals inhabited the earth long before we did, and yet we have usurped their space. This series explores our relationship with the non-human beings.
Asha Thadani,
Anusua Mukherjee
Books
Meena Kandasamy: ‘A poet says what’s on their mind’
The poet, writer, and activist says poetry helps people make sense of what they have lived.
Aditya Mani Jha
Books
The war that never was
Nimbly, and often wittily, Mukund Padmanabhan’s The Great Flap of 1942 recounts the mad exodus from Madras during the Second World War.
Parvati Sharma
Columns
History and the ways of remembering
If we want to frame history as something from which we must yank moral lessons, let these lessons include more ideas and identities.
Prathyush Parasuraman
Books
New books on the shelves
Fiction about the idea of belonging and exile, non fiction about the idea of Asia, and much more.
Letters
Letters
Readers respond to Frontline’s coverage.
Politics
Editor’s Note: Electoral bonds, and our tumbledown democracy
The BJP exudes an almost contemptuous confidence that no revelations can derail its ultimate victory. Where does this confidence come from?
Vaishna Roy
Books
Maps of the mind
Reading Jayant Kaikini’s stories, one feels the pull of Mumbai, a city one can hate but never escape from.
Khorshed Deboo
Books
Brinda Karat: Communist with a bindi
Characterised by a lack of self-indulgence, this memoir narrates a story that describes her mission to end exploitation in the world.
Smita Gupta
Literature
‘Enlightenment’: A Marathi story in translation
The hypocrisy of a cruel literary environment conditioned by casteism and unique to India. Translated from Marathi by Priya Adarkar.
Sharankumar Limbale
Books
Close encounters with the third kind
Dream Machine: AI and the Real World is a praiseworthy attempt to create a hybrid narrative fusing polemic, meditation, and fiction.
Anil Menon
Politics
Electoral bonds: Why it is a giant scam
What the electoral bonds scheme has done is to ensure “ease of doing crony capitalism” and distort the market in a way that amplifies inequality.
Meghnad S
Science & Technology
How do pandemics begin?
From a chimpanzee research centre in the Congo to a laboratory in China, pandemics have tangled origin stories that science struggles to unravel.
Thomas Abraham
Environment
Is the MoEFCC encroaching into the domain of Tribal Affairs Ministry?
A joint advisory by both ministries has triggered concerns, signalling the Environment Ministry’s intrusion on matters earmarked for the Tribal Affair
Rishika Pardikar
Politics
Anantnag-Rajouri: New seat, old battles
The newly created trans-Pir Panjal Lok Sabha constituency is one of the most closely watched seats for myriad reasons.
Ashutosh Sharma
Politics
Chhattisgarh: In the name of Ram
The BJP in Chhattisgarh seeks votes in the name of Ram Lalla darshan in Ayodhya as the Congress battles corruption allegations.
Ashutosh Sharma
Politics
Naveen Patnaik: The regional powerhouse
Patnaik is still popular, but there is discontent within the BJD over his apparent choice of successor, making him vulnerable to opposition attacks.
Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay
Politics
Jharkhand: Sympathy factor
Arrest of JMM leader and until-recently Chief Minister Hemant Soren may be just what opposition in Jharkhand needs in its fight against resurgent BJP.
Anand Mishra
Politics
Rajasthan: Modi magic on test
The BJP won all 25 seats from Rajasthan in 2014 and 2019, but this time its MPs seem to be battling anti-incumbency.
T.K. Rajalakshmi
Politics
Madhya Pradesh: Picking up the pieces
The Congress in Madhya Pradesh is banking on MSP promises and the tribal vote to make a dent in the BJP bastion.
Anando Bhakto
Politics
Kashmir: Valley of contention
Unable to arrive at an agreement, the major parties are going solo in Kashmir, while the BJP’s “proxies” are queering the pitch.
Anando Bhakto
Columns
2024 general election is a masterclass in crony capitalism and authoritarianism
The nexus of Big Money and state power has created an unequal playing field, usurping democratic processes to sway election and silence dissent.
Saba Naqvi
Politics
The totalitarian project behind the electoral bonds scheme
Beyond trade-offs and extortion, the scheme goes to the very heart of the Sangh Parivar’s long-term goal of an ideological dictatorship.
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta,
Abir Dasgupta
Arts & Culture
The Carnatic wars
By honouring T.M. Krishna, The Music Academy champions the art of Carnatic music while subtly recognising validity in his critiques. Yet, protests aga
Lakshmi Sreeram
Politics
Did Periyar call for a genocide of Brahmins?
In hierarchical societies, reformers challenge the status quo with provocative and uncivil speech. Accusing them of hate speech is ill-intentioned.
Karthick Ram Manoharan
Environment
‘Bringing 1,000 elephants to Jamnagar makes no sense’: Raman Sukumar
Elephant ecologist on concerns surrounding the new Rules on captive elephant transfer, the emergence of zoos such as Anant Ambani’s Vantara, and more.
Divya Gandhi
Columns
In Britain, the Establishment confronts the Movement
The chasm between Britain’s political class and majority of voters on the Palestine issue raises the prospect of a full-blown crisis of legitimacy.
Susan Ram
Books
The hate artists of Hindutva
Kunal Purohit’s H-Pop is a gripping exposé of the far Right’s media machine and the vicious viral content it crafts to manipulate the masses.
Palash Krishna Mehrotra
Archive
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31-05-2024
The nostalgia of the rooftop
Shivraj Singh Chouhan: ‘Congress has declined to such an extent that candidates have lost faith in the party’
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17-05-2024
Raghu Rai: Life in the raw
Rajiv Gandhi: The original ‘Accidental Prime Minister’
The unique memoirs of Mughal princess Gulbadan Begum
Captain America
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03-05-2024
Served raw: How poetry from north-eastern India captures the trauma of everyday violence
The saint, the song, and the social revolution
Palestinian Authority’s declining influence portends more trouble for Gaza
Viral fever: The curious spectacle of campaign films
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19-04-2024
How do pandemics begin?
Did Periyar call for a genocide of Brahmins?
2024 general election is a masterclass in crony capitalism and authoritarianism
Electoral bonds: Why it is a giant scam
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