Dilip Simeon is a trustee of the AMAN Public Charitable Trust. He formerly taught history at Ramjas College, University of Delhi, and has been active in democratic and anti-communal mobilization for many years.
The Lady vanishes: Justice and Law in our age
Contrary to the belief that violence is essential to the act of political foundation, Gandhi made the prescient observation that ‘what is granted under fear can be retained only so long as the fear lasts’
The music of humanity
Gandhi warned that partitioning India would not solve communal problems and that it would lead to catastrophic violence.
A white line and a mosque
Why did the frontier-tourists secretly wish to imitate the coolies, walk right up to the twelve-inch white line and put their foot across it? What did it mean to go back home and say they had crossed over?
The mirror of history
Humanity possesses a natural tendency for remembrance and its transmission. For those interested in ideals of progress, history is a laboratory of social theory.
Prehistory of socialism and soviet history
In the early 20th century, as four medieval empires disintegrated, it was Russian social democracy that put the right to self-determination of nations on the global agenda, including in Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points.
Georg Elser: Remembering a True Antagonist on his 118th Birth Anniversary
Georg Elser (1903- 45) was an artisan trained in carpentry and metalwork who planned and almost executed an assassination of Adolf Hitler.
Just Another Election
Past elections have shown that efforts to manipulate votes do not always succeed. The citizenry has thrown out unpopular governments.
Women On Their Own: On the Women’s Reservation Bill
The women’s movement in India is at a crossroads – the health of Indian democracy depends on its struggle for the Reservation Bill.
The Enemy System: On Violence and Communalism
Communal violence and caste violence have become the preferred mode of governance of the Indian ruling classes.
Is the media ready for an open debate?
It is the tension between the promise and the reality of democracy, that provides the space for the intervention of what we call the media.
Rebellion to Reconciliation
When the very ethical ground of a powerful commitment shifts beneath the feet of the foot-soldier, it causes a collapse of morale.