The Wall Street Journal’s expose of Facebook India’s internal communications indicating its apparently special relationship with the ruling party should have resulted in a serious, bipartisan policy discussion in parliament on the need to find ways to regulate weaponised information and hate speech on social media. This discussion would have been particularly important, given technology’s power to… Continue reading Political Mudslinging Over Facebook Bias Will Only Let the Social Media Giant Off the Hook
Fighting Hate Speech, Balancing Freedoms: A Regulatory Challenge
This research essay on ways to combat/ regulate hate speech and maintain the right to Free speech appeared in Volume 9 of the Journal of Indian Law and Society, that was released on May 20, 2020 by the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. Abstract: The right to free expression is the heart of a… Continue reading Fighting Hate Speech, Balancing Freedoms: A Regulatory Challenge
On Chabahar, India Must Recover Lost Ground With Iran Quickly
Ripples in the India-Iran bilateral relationship have risen to the surface once again, forcing the question of whether India's policy and commitment towards the development of the Chabahar Port project is unraveling. Three days after Iran's announcement that it was starting work - finally, alone - on a crucial rail link between Zahedan and Chabahar… Continue reading On Chabahar, India Must Recover Lost Ground With Iran Quickly
What Nepal’s New Aggression Reveals For India And Its Neighbours
For the second time since its transition to a democratic republic, India's relations with Nepal have deteriorated sharply. The latest controversy over the inauguration by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of an 80-kilometre stretch of road that connects the Lipulekh Pass in the north eastern corner of Uttarakhand to Kailash Mansarovar in order to make the… Continue reading What Nepal’s New Aggression Reveals For India And Its Neighbours
On Misinformation and Hate Speech (notes from a talk)
In August 2019, police in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh decided to open an investigation into a local journalist- Pawan Jaiswal all because he had exposed a government school for feeding its children salt and a chapati as a mid-day meal. This meal was well below the government’s minimum nutrition standards. But the state didn’t care about the… Continue reading On Misinformation and Hate Speech (notes from a talk)
The danger of cheering the Telangana police
December 16th marks seven years since the brutal Delhi gang rape. Nirbhaya- or “fearless”- was the name the young intern was given by an anguished nation for the two weeks she survived after the horrific attack. As she battled for life, an entire country prayed with her family. We prayed for her recovery, we prayed for justice… Continue reading The danger of cheering the Telangana police
Kashmir: Betrayal, Uncertainty and Fear make a Potent Brew
The drive from Srinagar to Shopian in South Kashmir on the sixth Friday since the nullification of Article 370 is eerily calm. On one stretch of the road near Kakpora, just before Pulwama, stones and the odd, felled tree trunk appear as makeshift roadblocks- laid by local youth to prevent any vehicular movement- military or… Continue reading Kashmir: Betrayal, Uncertainty and Fear make a Potent Brew
When Professional Is Personal (lessons from the field)
No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main… Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind… And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls It tolls for thee. —John Donne Nothing breaks a heart more than… Continue reading When Professional Is Personal (lessons from the field)
Untitled. Or A Reporter’s Diary. (Written, 2017)
They arrive in darkness from the depths of memory of faraway lands and blood soaked streets. Shadows move noisily in the night. Fingers point accusingly Wails a cacophony of regret. Dismembered, limbless, sightless sometimes lifeless faces, bodies, voices questioning. Asking when I will return. If I will return. I am the itinerant, welcomed into hollow… Continue reading Untitled. Or A Reporter’s Diary. (Written, 2017)
Silent River (Or Whose Side are you On? Written November, 2016)
A mother sings a lullaby. In the moonlight stars sparkle over the Jhelum. A father walks outside to lock the gate. And looks across the bund on to the silent river, black as night. Footsteps in the dark Stomp, crush Tar and leaves Dry as paper. Where are they headed? He wonders and hurries back… Continue reading Silent River (Or Whose Side are you On? Written November, 2016)
maya mirchandani 