Stampedes and the Police..!
It happens again. People gather to celebrate, to pray, to watch, or to cheer, and before the sun sets, screams fill the air, sandals lie scattered, and bodies are heaped together. Another stampede. Another tragedy. And yes, another round of blame. The organisers are blamed, the party in power is…
You, Me, and Police Encounters..!
Fifteen thousand encounters since 2017! Can you imagine that? Fifteen thousand men and women shot dead in so-called “encounters,” and two hundred and fifty six “hardened criminals” eliminated in just one state. I say “hardened criminals” in quotes because what seems truly hardened today is not the criminal, but the…
Compensation for Wrongful Conviction..!
I once met a man who had spent ten years in jail for a crime he never committed. When he came out, his hair was grey, his eyes empty, and his soul crushed. He had lost not just ten years, but a lifetime of chances. His wife had remarried, his…
Public Spaces, Private Fear..!
They were just two young women, Australian cricketers, guests of our nation, here to play the game we love more than we sometimes love our women. And yet, as they walked to a café, a man on a motorbike came close enough to touch, grope, and ride away laughing. Within…
Taliban as a Friend..!
Now we have a new friend. The Taliban! Yes, the same Taliban once described in international forums as terrorists, medieval-minded extremists, and enemies of women’s rights. Suddenly, they’re on our guest list, sipping tea, holding press conferences (without inviting women, of course), and flashing diplomatic smiles—is it because we want…
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.