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…

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…

Scaling the Media Mountain- Modi 1.0 and the Indian Press

Days before the results of the 2019 general elections came in, and just 48 hours before his own constituency went to the polls, millions of Indians watched Prime Minister Narendra Modi, election campaign done, labour his way up the steep hills of Kedarnath, pray inside the temple’s sanctum sanctorum, meditate inside a cave. Television channels…

Elections 2019: Democracy in the face of majoritarianism

If the strength of a liberal democracy is judged by the space it offers for critique and dissent; or by the protection it offers to all its citizens, irrespective of caste, creed or gender, then Indian democracy is on a perilous path. Whether it was in the case of a young Kerala girl’s right to…

The Parliamentary Panel Will Reinforce Bias on Twitter, Not Fix It

Round one of the bout between the parliamentary panel on information technology, led by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, and representatives of Twitter ended as expected – with an extension. The committee asked Twitter’s global CEO, Jack Dorsey to appear before it on February 25 to answer to charges of a ‘liberal’ bias that drowns out…

Digital Hatred, Real Violence

This paper  was triggered by a study of social media commentary I had released earlier this year, that had shown a spike of 11 percent in religion based hate speech between 2016 and 2017. Here I try to delve into the causes and spread of such speech on social media and the intersections between free…

More Counter Speech needed to combat Hate on Facebook in India

Efforts at Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) online have become an important focus for social networks. CVE targets extremist ideologies, tackling them through alternate narratives that focus on peace-building. It is an invaluable tool to supplement counterterrorism strategies worldwide. To identify effective counter-speech on Facebook, ORF conducted a study analysing posts and comments on prominent public…

How India Beat UK For Major Win At World Court (ICJ)

It is hard to remember another election of judges to the International Court of Justice that's been as fraught as the one that concluded at the United Nations in New York this week. India's Justice Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected for a 9-year term after Britain withdrew its nominee, Justice Christopher Greenwood. What is clearly being…

Where have the Jobs Gone?

Job surveys indicate the ripple effect of demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax is disastrous.  For a government that blazed its way to power on the promise of economic growth and opportunity,  the ground tells a starkly different story. Here's the link to my latest episode of India Matters on NDTV 24x7 that aired…

CVE: Lessons for India

Have spent the last few months learning about, understanding and critiquing policies that focus on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE in policy jargon)- in order to look at what India can do. This report- a result of all the studying- emphasises the need to go beyond law enforcement-based approaches to terror and extremist violence, and recommends…