Apoorvanand
The writer teaches Hindi at Delhi University.
Authors you can follow
More From Apoorvanand
Munawar Faruqui is not being bullied for his jokes, but for his faith
🔴 Apoorvanand writes: An example is being made of the comedian to send the chilling message to all Muslim that they cannot expect to live their lives in India in their way.
Thu, Dec 02, 2021
The truth about radicalisation in India
Apoorvanand writes: Why is it so difficult to talk about those who are really poisoning minds?
Tue, Nov 09, 2021
What Delhi University’s new vice-chancellor needs to do
Apoorvanand writes: He must restore autonomy of the university, create and protect spaces for free minds to flourish.
Sun, Oct 24, 2021
Furore over Golwalkar and Savarkar texts reveals our failure to understand purpose of syllabus and pedagogy
Apoorvanand writes: A syllabus is not a set of propaganda material. When we include readings of different kinds, we expect them to be read and examined critically from all angles.
Fri, Sep 24, 2021
Why are India’s secular leaders not speaking up clearly about minority rights?
Apoorvanand writes: Unless they are bold, not only in their belief but also in their words, it is difficult to expect people to even listen to their lament
Tue, Aug 24, 2021
The bully that is destroying India’s academic culture
Apoorvanand and Gauhar Raza write: The ABVP seldom engages in arguments. It invokes pseudo-nationalism, religious insecurity or questions of caste and physically attacks and disrupts.
Fri, Aug 06, 2021
How grief and the act of mourning can bring us together
Apoorvanand writes: When we join others in their mourning, we take responsibility for their lives.
Fri, Jul 02, 2021
Why UGC’s proposal for ‘blended teaching’ is a bad idea
It reduces teachers — and universities — to mere purveyors of knowledge and is an attempt to tighten control over classrooms.
Sat, May 29, 2021
Why the victory of Ashraful Hussain in Assam is poetic justice
The young poet represents an unapologetic Miya voice, one that the state’s new chief minister has described as a threat to Assamese identity and culture.
Thu, May 13, 2021
The attempt to equate a belligerent state with a desperate citizenry is unacceptable
This temptation to put two unequal players on the same plane must be resisted. The belligerent and the desperate cannot be compared.
Fri, Apr 23, 2021
AAP’s post-ideology ideology: deshbhakti
By competing with the BJP in the game of nationalism, Delhi’s AAP is legitimising majoritarian politics.
Sat, Mar 13, 2021
It’s disingenuous to separate the leader from his followers
Why is it that PM Modi's followers have gotten more and more brazen in their assault on minorities, especially Muslims, after each such appeal? And why is it that the PM keeps following hate-mongers on social media?
Wed, Dec 30, 2020
Lenin is not a figure to look up to at a time when we want more democracy, not less
We need plenty of democracy in this hour, diverse voices and criticism of the government and the state to thrive. But Lenin found democracy superfluous and turned Russia, later the USSR, into a one-party state.
Thu, Apr 23, 2020
Language of war against virus has exacerbated the situation for Muslims
Just before the news of coronavirus infection broke out, the largely-Muslim gatherings in protest against the discriminatory citizenship law, NRC and NPR were blamed for the intensification of anti-Muslim bias among the Hindus.
Mon, Apr 20, 2020
We need to build more bridges, as in Northeast Delhi’s relief camps
Relief is not treated as the right of those who have been wronged. It is seen as an unnecessary burden on the state, which tries its best to evade it.
Wed, Mar 25, 2020
Even if we disagree with Sharjeel Imam’s statements, it is important to stand up for his right to speak
To criminalise protests by Muslims and disallow them to even speak is to tell them that they are not part of the democratic universe of India. For what is democracy if not the freedom to have a view which could be contrary to the mainstream?
Wed, Feb 19, 2020
CAA, NRC protests are an opportunity for students, Muslims to provide leadership
There are two distinct features of the protests: The youth, mainly students, are from all religions and social backgrounds. The second feature is that while the Muslim presence is spontaneous, the effort to persuade others to join has met with little success.
Tue, Jan 14, 2020
A betrayal in the offing: Why Congress should give a second thought to allying with Shiv Sena
To see the Congress’s compromise with the Shiv Sena, which was the first to have proudly claimed responsibility for the demolition of the Babri Masjid, was the last thing one could have imagined. By considering doing so, it has made it clear that the language of Hindutva will now be the common political language.
Tue, Nov 19, 2019
Those who shielded the defenceless are now being targeted by powers-that-be
Indira Jaising won for all women of India, irrespective of religion, the rights of equal inheritance and guardianship of children, which neither their communities nor the state was willing to give.
Thu, Oct 24, 2019
Conspiracy around Bhima Koregaon incident: To silence the dissent emerging from universities
People like Hany Babu, with the confidence of their scholarship and the integrity of their profession, can talk to the state with their heads held high. Statism cannot succeed as long as they are free.
Sat, Sep 21, 2019
Killing JNU: Throttling of academic freedoms will also affect campuses elsewhere
It is beyond the capability of the faculty and students of the JNU to save it from an administration which is at war with it. It is the duty of the society, not only its alumni, who are in powerful positions to speak out but also those who have never been to it, for the very existence of spaces like JNU have helped us in thinking about possibilities which can become realities.
Fri, Aug 02, 2019
Reassurance that isn’t
PM Modi has never backed his pious words about minorities with action. Much more than his followers, it’s the PM who needs to be watched.
Thu, May 30, 2019
Why it is necessary to remember and reflect on our history of mass violence
Those baying for the blood of Sam Pitroda must also think about the need to remember and reflect on our history of mass violence and our own thoughtlessness towards it.
Wed, May 15, 2019
Bilkis Bano’s fight for justice, dignity and equality keeps alive the idea of citizenship
Bilkis Bano is the quintessential Indian our Constitution demands us to be. She may be unlettered but she understands the spirit of the Preamble. She understands the weight of the words, “We, the people of India”.
Thu, Apr 25, 2019
Islamophobia, theirs and ours
Islamophobia continues to run like blood in our veins. We share our lives with those who hate Muslims and yet claim to remain civilised. Unless we first recognise this duplicity, we would not be able to move towards getting rid of this disease.
Thu, Mar 21, 2019