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Dec 6, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Karan Madhok |Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
In The Foresighted Ambedkar: Ideas That Shaped Indian Constitutional Discourse, Anurag Bhaskar seeks to find a continuity between B.R. Ambedkar’s experiences in growing up as a Dalit, the development of his political thought, India’s constitutional development, and its working. In the process, he seeks to rescue Ambedkar from critique levelled by scholars and political detractors. Ambedkar is presented as “foresighted” and “impactful”.
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Feb 6, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Purushottam Agrawal |Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
The Constitution was challenged in 2023 for being “colonial” and outdated. One of these challenges was explicit, with a call to action: the claim that the Constitution needs to be rewritten. The other was implicit: a demonstration of how the Constitution is colonial. If the Constitution is colonial and/or past its expiry date, then were all the Citizenship (Amendment) Act protesters misguided when they used the Preamble to protest?
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Jan 17, 2024 | 
independent.ie | Suryapratim Roy
Suryapratim Roy: Since the Dublin riots, there is an unease, and I have been verbally and physically abusedThe fire damage to a Luas after riots in O’Connell Street, Dubin, in November. Photo: Frank McGrathIn her book, Epistemic Injustice, philosopher Miranda Fricker argues that before the phrase “sexual harassment” became prevalent in the 1970s, women may not have understood what had happened to them; it was hard to put the unease into words.
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Jan 7, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | R.K. Radhakrishnan |Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
Bollywood thrillers have tough competition from the current Maldivian President, Mohamed Muizzu: in the Maldivian version, the anti-hero sneaks in and gets nominated as candidate for the most important election in the country; he makes tall promises, wins the election, and then makes many more statements with no actual action. The story has more twists and turns until finally he takes over the combine of parties that nominated him.
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Jan 6, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
The Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus is celebrated around the world for helping millions of people out of poverty but at home in Bangladesh, he has a powerful enemy. The 83-year-old, known as the “banker to the poorest of the poor”, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work loaning small cash sums to rural women, allowing them to invest in farm tools or business equipment and boost their earnings.
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Jan 5, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
Researchers have showcased the first functional graphene semiconductor. The discovery could change computing and electronics forever. Scientists have made a breakthrough in electronics, creating the world’s first functional semiconductor made from graphene—a material known for being tough, flexible, light and with a high resistance. Their discovery comes at a time when silicon, the material from which nearly all modern electronics are made, is reaching its limit.
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Jan 5, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Siddarth Muralidharan |Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
Even 19 years after his death, forest brigand Veerappan continues to inspire writers and filmmakers in India. Though infamous for sandalwood and ivory smuggling, his presence lingers in conversations concerning the Cauvery water dispute or Tamil Nadu politics of the 1990s. The recent docuseries, Koose Munisamy Veerappan, which dropped on Zee5 on December 14, reveals a multifaceted perspective on the notorious criminal’s life and personality.
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Jan 5, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
The first high-tech artificial heart was implanted in patients with severe heart disease a decade ago. But since then, a revolution in heart replacements has failed to materialise. The heart is actually a fairly simple organ. It’s a pump, composed of four chambers, with a few valves, tubes and clever wiring. But when the pump no longer works as it should, things start looking grim. In people with severe heart failure, the pump is so weak that it no longer effectively moves blood through the body.
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Jan 4, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
In a collaborative effort to address the pressing challenges faced by the country today, more than 85 movements and organisations, under the banner of the Vikalp Sangam General Assembly, have revealed the “People’s Manifesto for a Just, Equitable, and Sustainable India 2024”, a comprehensive document that delineates a vision for a society that prioritises well-being, inclusivity, and environmental sustainability.
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Jan 3, 2024 | 
frontline.thehindu.com | Bhavya Dore |Vaishna Roy |Suryapratim Roy
Although comedy in India today is conflated with stand-up artists in the big metros, performers from all over the country are finding their voices and their audiences online and on social media. Either through relatable characters who comment on current affairs or through poetry and song, these artists are bringing hyperlocal issues and a range of regional flavours to the forefront. And they are doing it in a country increasingly intolerant of humour and suspicious of dissent.
