Ratik Asokan

Dec 14, 2024 | nybooks.com | John Washington |Ratik Asokan

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to “close the border” on his first day back in office. That won’t happen, but he’s sure to clamp down on immigration in other ways. “The president and his legal team have four years to appoint new federal judges to change not only the operational landscape—more prosecution, detention, and deportation—but also the legal landscape of immigration enforcement,” writes John Washington in his November 10, 2024, essay for the NYR Online.

Oct 8, 2024 | thebaffler.com | K. Watanabe |Ratik Asokan |Grayson Scott

The Baffler and BAM are pleased to present a week-long film series that responds to our fall issue, “Facing the Future,” which examines the use and abuse of the “emerging majority” in political life around the globe.

Aug 3, 2024 | nybooks.com | Ratik Asokan |Tariq Mir

In July Tariq Mir wrote a dispatch for the NYR Online about the Indian government’s attacks on Kashmir’s sovereignty alongside its construction of dozens of major infrastructure projects in the disputed region.

Jun 15, 2024 | nybooks.com | Ratik Asokan |Yasmin El-Rifae

In May Yasmin El-Rifae wrote a dispatch for the NYR Online about the response to the war on Gaza in Egypt, where civilians have demonstrated in solidarity with Palestine even as the Sisi regime clamps down on protests. El-Rifae drew attention to the links between authoritarianism in the two countries: Less often noted is the connection between Egypt’s repression of its citizens and Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Mar 23, 2024 | nybooks.com | Ratik Asokan

An empty stretch of road hemmed in by high cement walls. The level tarmac shines with dew. A muezzin is heard over traffic. Signs point toward Rachel’s Tomb and Jerusalem. Soon a whirring noise picks up. An old man enters the frame reloading his camera. For some two minutes he moves left and right, forward and backward, at times standing tall, at others bending. At last he halts, snaps, spins around beaming. The director cuts to a blank screen, then to the resulting still.