Elections Archives

India’s Real Gully Boys & the Art of Protest Poetry: Rapping Up Election 2019

At a time when there is a trust deficit in India’s news media and chilling deaths of RTI activists and journalists are par for the course, the guardians of democracy appear to be India’s street rappers. Their fire rhymes are lighting up an election year. Meet the new breed of “citizen rappers”.

Nair Da July 28, 2016

Pop Culture

Hey Netflix, Ditch Narcos. The Karnataka Elections Deserve a Show

News reports, think pieces, and analysis aren’t doing the cliffhanger elections in Karnataka any justice. With all the absurd drama that has unfolded this week, our netas deserve their own multi-genre TV show – working title, Kar-Naatak, The Wild Wild State.

#VALUE! July 21, 2016

Money Matters

Finance Ministry to Announce Much-Anticipated Release Date for Next Economic Recession

Recessions are like black swans. They’re rare, come out of nowhere, and people frown upon you when you say they look delicious. Is the next one staring us between the eyes? Because it’s been a while since the last one so maybe the next one should just hurry up and get here. And Urjit Patel’s resignation has not helped things.

Adhirath Sethi June 21, 2016

Pop Culture

The World Needs More Newtons

At a time when most of us have been conditioned to complain about the dismal state of the country, Rajkummar Rao’s Newton succeeds in doing the impossible: Making idealism aspirational again.

Poulomi Das June 20, 2016

POV

The Fake News Factory Must Shut Down: Here’s Where to Begin

Earlier this week, Narendra Modi withdrew an order from the I&B Ministry proposing to cancel the accreditation of journalists who were spreading fake news. But if we are serious about combating fake news, let’s begin with the IT cells of political parties.

Manik Sharma June 8, 2016

Documentary

Knock Down the House Isn’t About Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alone. It’s a Roadmap for a Political System

There’s more to Netflix’s Knock Down the House than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her journey to becoming a Congresswoman. Instead, the documentary is a record of the struggle of “getting everyday Americans represented by everyday Americans” and the near lack of space that the nation’s politics reserves for women.

Poulomi Das May 28, 2016

Pop Culture

What Hun Hunshi Hunshilal, a Gujarati Satire About Fascism, Tells Us About Governments and the Banning Culture

In the era of political biopics, Sanjeev Shah’s Gujarati satire, Hun Hunshi Hunshilal, reminds us how governments anywhere manipulate the narrative. The movie is set in Khojpuri, whose king is busy protecting the nation against mosquitoes, although no one has a clue why they need to be protected from these mosquitoes.

Sayantan Mondal May 4, 2016

Money Matters

Is Nirmala Sitharaman the MS Dhoni of Finance Ministers?

As the buzz around the slowdown in the economy grew louder, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took some small steps – support for the auto sector, a fine-tuning of FDI, and liquidity support for banks. And then, like MS Dhoni in the final over of a run chase, she sent the ball thundering out of the stadium with her decision to reduce the corporate tax rate.

Adhirath Sethi April 20, 2016

POV

With a Surge in the Modi Wave, What Choices Are Indian Liberals Left With?

That liberals were not in touch with ground realities was established as a fact back in 2014 itself. That they have been trying to fight a new battle with the same old tools of intellectualism and self-importance is perhaps the takeaway of the 2019 election.

Manik Sharma April 20, 2016

POV

Bollywood’s a Sellout! Did We Really Need Cobrapost to Tell Us That?

A sting by Cobrapost, Operation Karaoke, set up a fake PR agency that asked Bollywood celebrities to endorse a political party for money. But after a slew of propaganda films and biopics, are we really surprised to learn that the industry is full of actors who are cosily nestled in political pockets?

Kahini Iyer April 19, 2016