Mahatma Phule’s Vision of Balirajya and it’s Significance for Church and Society

Introduction Peshwa Brahmin rule was the most cruel rule in Pune, India where the Peshwa kings implemented the Law of Manu in full effect with severe implications on the ‘Untouchable person’. In Mughal period, Vedic Brahmins could not only protect their existence but got to deepen its roots and on the other side Buddhism was …

People of Privilege

Dr. Shantanu Dutta According to a report citing the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, 97 percent of Indians have been left poorer to a greater or lesser degree post Covid[1]. That is most of the Indian population if the estimates are even reasonably accurate. Perhaps some of those reading this are part of this statistic. …

Politics Behind the Apolitical Farm Laws

Introduction The Government’s move to bring in three ordinances on Farm Laws in Parliament and later getting them formulated into Acts in September 2020 has become a bone of contention for both the Government and farmers. The move lacked wide consultation with the main stakeholders like farmers, implementing states and political consensus, leading to the …

Unbearable lightness of Big Data: Societal Impact of Algorithms

There is a high probability you had agreed to a set of terms and conditions that you never read while downloading an app this month. I recently did, with a clear knowledge, that whatever I signed up is watching me. A virtual panopticon in motion only that you sometimes are oblivious to its existence. The …

The Messiah, the Kingdom and Living in Current Times

Rev. C B Samuel 1.0   Introduction      The present pandemic has not only taken hold of our fears but also of our imaginations!! A welcome development is the increase in social media presence even by groups that earlier shunned it as destructive and counter-productive.  Recently I read about new initiatives and alternate entrepreneurial drives that …

Understanding Social Devaluation and Wounding Through Caste and Gender

Raaj Mondol The shocking incident of rape and strangulation of a 19 year young Dalit woman in a paddy field in a village of Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh on September 14,2020, her subsequent death in Safdarjang hospital, New Delhi on September 29th and a hurried cremation in the village field in the early hours …

In Dark Times: The Hope That Helps

Dr Jamila Koshy  Defenceless under the nightOur world in stupor lies;Yet, dotted everywhere,Ironic points of lightFlash out wherever the JustExchange their messages:May I, composed like themOf Eros and of dust,Beleaguered by the sameNegation and despair,Show an affirming flame. W. H. Auden (1939) Our hopeless world Hopelessness has pervaded the world since the Fall. The present …

A Critical Analysis of the National Education Policy 2020

Prof Sonajharia Minz, Prof Sybil Thomas & Dr Ashish Alexander Introduction In its simplest sense, policy refers to a broad statement that reflects future goals and aspirations, and provides guidelines for carrying out those goals. Our National policy of Education is one such public policy based on the perceived educational needs that the country visualises …

Contemporary International Relations: Changing Dynamics, Challenges and Responses

Introduction The contemporary international relations (IR) are at an inflection point in their evolution. In the last few months, they came under immense pressure from a small virus, whose origins are fiercely contested, but its debilitating and destructive implications are felt across the globe. Lives are lost; global economy is crippled, adversely affecting farmers, laborers, …

Biblical Reflections at the Time of Covid -19

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time of unprecedented global uncertainty for all of humankind with government administrations, healthcare & other essential service providers and humanitarian agencies struggling to mitigate its adverse impact on lives and livelihoods. While there have been many lessons learnt over the last several decades in dealing with disasters like floods, …