MISS INTERPRETATIONS
Opinions and features
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London attack: Sometimes people of this city just walk on by
It’s been a week since the London attack that struck the city on so many levels. Debates on terror, authorities, cyber security and Islamophobia were stirred, as well as defiant images and messages to the perpetrators that Londoners will not lie low.
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India’s law on marital rape: Do we get the problem?
My most recent story for CNN on why marital rape is legal in India has to be the most debated piece I’ve written so far. While many men and women have supported it, sadly, a significant backlash has mainly come from Indian men.
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World Press Freedom Day: Don’t shoot the messenger
As you read this, three Al-Jazeera journalists remain behind bars in Egypt, accused of false reporting and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood. And figures have shown that at least 70 journalists were killed globally in 2013, with 28 dead in Syria. These brave reporters put their lives on the firing line to bring the news to the eyes…
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India, don’t dodge the rape crisis spotlight
I received my first hate mail a few months ago. But it didn’t dishearten me – Winston Churchill’s famous words came into my head: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
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Delhi gang rape: Getting rid of the criminals, getting rid of the crime?
Last week, the Delhi High Court upheld the death sentences of four men accused of raping and murdering a student on a moving bus – a case that caused fervent outrage amongst Indians and led to a subsequent change in anti-rape laws. Although the defence will appeal, many Indians who demanded the death penalty may…
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Remembering Pandit Nikhil Banerjee: Pioneer of the sitar
Although he is not as well known in the western world as Ravi Shankar, any Kolkata citizen will know the name of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee and his legendary status in Hindustani classical music. As I write this piece, in a few hours, 27th January 2014 will mark his 28th death anniversary.
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Indian protesters: I salute you
We laid to rest the embodiment of a powerful soul last week. Someone who had the overwhelming courage to not only think the seemingly impossible, but believe in it enough to defy his opponents and make it true.
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MLK’s speech 50 years on: Has racism become smarter?
Fifty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his momentous, stirring speech “I have a dream”. But do we listen, feel elevated and inspired, but then ignore it like a dream forgotten as soon as we wake up? And in the process, is racism just getting smarter at subsisting?
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While Indian football sleeps, its young hopefuls dream of playing abroad
“Theatre of Dreams” reads the plaque on the classroom door of Manchester United Soccer School in Mumbai. Nutritional advice and tactics are scribbled on the whiteboard and a Wayne Rooney portrait hangs on the wall. But if the future of the domestic sport lies at the feet of new talent, youngsters are dreaming of playing…
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Violence against women is a crime the world over
The tragic case of the Delhi gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman last year forced India to take a long, hard look at itself in the mirror and decide how to change.
Monica Sarkar 