Understanding youth protests and activism in India’s northeast Conversation India’s northeast has had a chequered history of youth movements and has been home to some of the recent strong pro-democracy movements in the country. Being young in India’s northeast necessitates acts of social interventions of various kinds. In this conversation, Dr. Kaustubh Deka and Dr. Soibam Haripriya reflect on the locality of youth movements and the long history of the culture of protest in the region, as well as its larger resonance. By Haripriya Soibam and Kaustubh Deka
Understanding youth protests and activism in India’s northeast Conversation India’s northeast has had a chequered history of youth movements and has been home to some of the recent strong pro-democracy movements in the country. Being young in India’s northeast necessitates acts of social interventions of various kinds. In this conversation, Dr. Kaustubh Deka and Dr. Soibam Haripriya reflect on the locality of youth movements and the long history of the culture of protest in the region, as well as its larger resonance.
Youth & democracy: 5 poems Poem The prose of Indian poet Haripriya Soibam describes youth's struggle to preserve and promote democracy. Read her five poems for "Young voices on the rise - Youth and democracy in the Asia-Pacific region". By Haripriya Soibam
This land is mine In this article, the authors explain that the recent amendments to India’s citizenship law, and the processes for listing Indian residents and Indian citizens in national registers together constitute an unprecedented threat to India’s secular democratic constitution. It explains that this is the first time a legal regime is being established which differentiates based on religious identity, which strikes at the heart of the humanist and inclusive framework of the Indian constitution. By Harsh Mander and Mohsin Alam Bhat
Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019: A step towards undoing the Indian secular democracy The CAA is not the first and by no means will be the last attempt to further the agenda of Hindu Rashtra. One can anticipate many such moves meant to keep the hatred against Muslims simmering. However, the divisive politics will only hurtle India onto the treacherous road of relentless anxiety, uncertainty and injustice, exposing million of its own citizens against the vagaries of statelessness. By Neha Dabhade
‘We will give blood, but not our land’: The Citizenship Amendment Act protests in the context of Northeast India India’s Northeast, a land of volatile identities having an uneasy experience with migration, is held to-gether by a fragile consensus forged in the larger interest of peace and co-existence. The seams of these fault-lines pass by people’s lived realities, always at the risk of being burst open with an act of insensitivity. The enactment of the CAA is considered by many as one such act. By Kaustubh Deka
The riotous colours of heartland politics It is election season in India, and there are few places like Uttar Pradesh to get a feel which way the wind is blowingIt is election season in India, and there are few places like Uttar Pradesh to get a feel which way the wind is blowing By Nikhil Roshan
Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party: In defiance of a tired democracy After it was sworn in as the ruling party at Delhi’s Legislative Assembly in December, 2013 following a vote brimming with anti-incumbent sentiment and popular disenchantment with corrupt regimes, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has had nothing short of a roller coaster ride. This photo essay offers a few glimpses of its rocky ride through their 49 days in office in the first two months of 2014. By Nikhil Roshan
The complicated rise of India’s regional parties The “rise” of regional political parties seems to be an eternal theme on the Indian political scene. The exponential increase in the number of parties contesting elections, particularly over the past two decades, and the shrinking margins of victory in parliamentary elections are direct results of the emergence of new regional power centers. By Milan Vaishnav
The Aam Aadmi Party: A democratic revolt against the old order Emerged from an anti-corruption movement, the Aam Aadmi Party has made a spectacular entrance into Indian politics and challenged the rules of Indian politics. By Ajaz Ashraf