Columnists

Teesta Setalvad

The writer is a civil rights activist and journalist.

Justice P B Sawant’s life was defined by the credo of secularism, social justice

Wed, Feb 17, 2021

Unwavering clarity and commitment to deepening democracy at the grassroots was a passion for Justice P B Sawant and also led him to be recognised for verdicts of depth and calibre.

The love jihad spectre: It has now crept into judicial discourse, to the detriment of a woman’s freedom and autonomy

Fri, Nov 13, 2020

“Love jihad” is now entrenched in the public landscape. The term is today wielded by an aggressive majoritarianism, woven into a dominant caste Hindu narrative of religious extremism, Islamophobia, and communal hatred that has crept into Indian courtroom discourse as well.

Saffron And Secular

Thu, Sep 17, 2020

Swami Agnivesh’s commitment to plurality, rationality within faith never wavered.

Swami Agnivesh’s commitment to plurality, rationality within faith never wavered

Thu, Sep 17, 2020

For this saffron-robed modern-day Swami, the colour of the robes Agnivesh proudly sported meant sacrifice, purity and commitment. In a life well and fully lived – one that should be celebrated—he brought a renewed faith in the colour saffron.

The migrant’s right to vote: EC must ensure optimal conditions for exercise of this freedom

Sat, Jul 18, 2020

Teesta Setalvad writes: India’s gaze has, for the first time, been turned towards the “migrant labourer”. For Indian democracy to learn the right lessons from the plight that a sudden lockdown caused this vast section of Indians, a condition that has been brought before the more settled and privileged sections, including politicians, one crucial element must surely be to secure to them the right and facility to vote.

Justice Hosbet Suresh believed and practised tenets of equity and fairness all his life

Fri, Jun 19, 2020

Will Justice Suresh be remembered because with men (and women) like him on the bench, the lawyer and citizen felt “safe”? Because, whatever the outcome of a particular case, justice would be done and the constitutional mandate upheld?

A candle for Ankit

Tue, Feb 06, 2018

... and his lost love and a flickering secularism. A worrying silence echoes in the public sphere

Faith and fear

Wed, Oct 04, 2017

Sangh Parivar’s view of nationhood, citizenship and entitlements is based on narrow definitions of faith, and the purveying of fear.

Historian and truth-teller

Sat, Dec 10, 2016

Jadunath Sarkar has not got his due as he was attacked by both Left and Right.

Conspiracy, under the carpet

Mon, Jun 27, 2016

Substantive pieces of circumstantial and documentary evidence appear to have been overlooked in the Gulberg Society verdict.

We all failed Rohith

Fri, Jan 22, 2016

Beyond the grief of the moment, we need to stop denying India’s not-so-hidden apartheid.

There’s a chilling similarity

Sat, Jul 18, 2015

The tone of this government’s argument for the National Judicial Appointments Commission recalls how a former regime browbeat the judiciary in the run-up to the Emergency.