Rashmi Varma

Go back to 2014-15, Guha had a lot of praise for Modi, along with Shekhar Gupta: self-made man, great orator, not from elite circles of the metros etc. Ram is a good ecological historian and writes well on cricket but as a political commentator he is a disaster, and has been.

@easyJet #lostbaggage Really unacceptable treatment by Easy Jet—after my bag didn’t arrive with me on my flight from Rome to London-Gatwick on May 29, and I filled out the form for it, there has been NO WORD at all from EasyJet. Such utter disregard for their customers!!!

Late to post here, but sharing this article I wrote piecing together observations from my visit to Cuba this Jan, following the US attack on Venezuela abducting President Maduro, and amidst heightened aggressive rhetoric from Trump that Cuba would be next. countercurrents.org/2026/04/cuba-u…

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BASAS Annual Conference 2026 – Updated Dates & Deadline The conference will now take place on 11–13 September 2026. The submission deadline has been extended to 30 April 2026.

Eid Mubarak and Nowruz Mubarak from Feminist Dissent !

With restaurants poised to shut and LPG supply drying up, please dig out your salad recipes. Kache Din are here.

Yesterday on 7 March some of us joined the @MillionWomen Rise march. It was a lively crowd with women of all ages, including enthusiastic contingents of young women. Here are some photos we took...

Shekhar Gupta sent me word last night that my contract with The Print—where I was a columnist—will not be renewed because I called Narendra Modi a “coward” and a “curse on India”. Gupta was perfectly fine with my calling the Gandhi family “a plague on India”, but Modi apparently is too sacred a cow. It is not clear to me whether Gupta took this call or was instructed to take it. The former would be worse because it would mean that he censors those with whom he disagrees. I obviously do not want anyone else to get into trouble for my posts—which is why my Twitter page carries the disclaimer that “I speak solely for myself here”—and I don’t wish Gupta ill. The Print gives opportunities in journalism to people who wouldn’t otherwise have any. Does sustaining such an enterprise require compromise? I don’t know. What I do know is that I value Gupta’s work as a chronicler of India’s republican vicissitudes. Which is what makes his pitiful conduct rather painful. I’m sufficiently blessed not to be affected by this in any material way. I’m vaguely worried that I’ll be hassled by the authorities, but as far as work is concerned I’ve other avenues in which to publish. I’m just sorry to see a man I mildly respected reduced to cutting ties out of fear. I don’t want anybody to become a martyr—but I’d be dishonest if I didn’t admit that I’m troubled by the knowledge that Gupta is a far smaller man than I had supposed. He didn’t have the courage—or even the decency—to speak directly to me. He delegated that duty to someone else. Sad.

Join us for event on 'Resisting Erasure: Capital, Imperialism and Race in Palestine'. A conversation on Palestine, imperialism, race, and the political economy shaping our present. 🗓 17 March 6:30pm 📍 SOAS, London Details: soas.ac.uk/about/event/bo…

*BASAS is delighted to announce that the 2026 Annual Conference will take place 9-11 September at the SOAS South Asia Institute* The call for abstracts is now open! basas.org.uk/news-events/ba…

SOAS-led report uncovers realities of community unrest in Leicester 2022 The outcome of an inquiry examining the violence that took place between Muslim and Hindu groups in Leicester in August and September 2022 has been published in a SOAS-led report. soas.ac.uk/about/news/soa…

The Bharatiya Bhasha Parivar is treading the path towards providing an unscientific muscle to a vision of India shaped by Savarkar’s inadequate understanding of Indian history and society. Read GN Devy's essay on the Language of Hindutva and the Bharatiya Bhasha Parivar: caravanmagazine.in/history/cobbli…

@AjaTheEmpress Esol providers and teachers are well aware of what you describe here. Adult Education, of which Esol is part, is good for the whole community and Esol is essential for women.

@AjaTheEmpress So you support provision of Esol (English) classes for migrants? Great! Around 80% of adult Esol students are female. There's been a 60% cut in Esol funding over the last 15 years, and there are waiting lists everywhere.

My daughter’s cricketing journey outlookindia.com/sports/cricket…

Join us for "Special Intensive Revision and the Future of Universal Adult Franchise in India" with speaker Yogendra Yadav! 🗓️ 05 Nov 2025 | 🕔 5PM 📍 R301, Main Building, SOAS University of London

Registrations for our Conference 'Is a Better World Possible?' are now open! Looking forward to welcoming you all to what we hope will be an enriching day-long conversation on solidarity in the current times. Do spread the word! For more info: warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/hrc/c…