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An Open Letter on the Epistemic Responsibility of Media Platforms

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  Dear Editor, I do not know whether your organization too indulges in this practice. I sincerely hope it does not. But if it does, I believe it deserves serious reflection. I write this not merely as a reader but as a researcher who spends a considerable amount of time examining institutions, knowledge production, and the ways through which authority is manufactured in public life. I could perhaps convert this concern into a paper for a media studies journal, spend months writing it, wait through peer review, revisions, and publication, only for it to appear when the issue has already moved on. The slow temporality of academic publishing often makes it ineffective for intervening in questions that demand immediate public debate. Therefore, I write directly. Over the past few years, I have increasingly encountered a peculiar editorial practice in sections such as Subscriber Writes , Your Turn , and similar citizen-contribution platforms. Articles are published under the banner o...
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Between Humor and Controversy: What the Ranveer Allahbadia Incident Reveals About Modern India

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  The recent controversy surrounding Ranveer Allahbadia’s remarks on Samay Raina’s show has stirred more than just legal probes—it has become a flashpoint for multiple cultural and societal debates. What began as a joke has now sparked a much-needed discussion on humour, cultural boundaries, privacy, sexuality, and modernity in India. While some see this as an overreaction, a deeper analysis reveals how this controversy is not just about the joke itself, but about India’s unresolved anxieties over what is permissible in public discourse. The Unwritten Rules of Humor in India Anthropologists like Mary Douglas have long argued that jokes act as disruptions—they unsettle social structures momentarily, revealing deeper anxieties. In India, humour has always been a delicate balancing act , navigating caste, religion, gender, and authority structures. Historically, satire and mimicry have served as tools for critiquing power, whether through folk performances like Tamasha in Mah...
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Revisiting the Reel: A Journey Back to Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

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Movies often have an inexplicable grip on us, offering not just entertainment but visuals and words for deep seated feelings. Recently, I attended the re-screening of  Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (YJHD) —a film that first captured audiences in 2013. It wasn’t my first time watching it. In fact, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve revisited this movie, each time discovering a new layer of life lessons hidden in its narrative. Yet, the re-screening was not just about me; it was about a collective experience, a social phenomenon that highlights the evolving relationship between cinema and its audiences. As I sat in the packed theater, a sense of déjà vu washed over me. The dialogues were not just being spoken on the screen—they echoed from every corner of the hall. Women around me recited lines in perfect synchrony, not ashamed when they faltered but amused, as if the lines were part of their own vernacular. It was then I realized that  YJHD  was no longer just a movie; it ha...
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Diamond: The Greatest Symbol of Capitalism

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India is buzzing with wedding celebrations, as Instagram and WhatsApp are flooded with glimpses of ceremonies, glittering attire, and, prominently, diamond engagement rings. Once considered an exclusively Western custom, the exchange of diamond rings has seamlessly entered Indian traditions, reshaping how love and commitment are symbolized. The shimmering stone has transcended cultural boundaries, transforming from a luxury item to a perceived necessity for expressing everlasting love. Then there is the Kohinoor, perhaps the most infamous diamond in the world. A relic of colonial conquest, it symbolizes the power struggles of empires and the enduring legacies of colonial exploitation. Yet, despite its controversial history, the Kohinoor remains a coveted icon, with multiple nations claiming ownership of its legacy. The Kohinoor's journey—from Indian mines to British crowns—is a vivid reminder of how diamonds have always been entwined with politics, power, and myth. These two storie...
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Will Love Exist in a Truly Egalitarian Society?

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Love has almost always been narrated through the language of obstacles. The stories that civilizations choose to preserve are rarely about two ordinary people meeting, understanding one another, and living peacefully ever after. Instead, they are tales of forbidden desire, of caste boundaries, class differences, family opposition, religious divisions, and impossible distances. From Romeo and Juliet to countless Bollywood films, love acquires beauty because something stands against it. We therefore begin to mistake the obstacle for the emotion itself. This raises an interesting philosophical question. If society were to become genuinely egalitarian, stripped of hierarchy and inequality, would love lose the very tension that gives it meaning? The question is unsettling because it forces us to ask whether love depends upon injustice for its existence.       There is good reason to think that hierarchical societies intensify romantic experience. Social barriers create scarci...
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