Author: Samyukth S

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A Critical Review of the Three Farm Bills, 2020 with a special focus on the Minimum Support Price

Samyukth S

India is a country that is built on its agricultural prowess. Since Independence, the national leaders and policy makers have engaged in various activities to strengthen the agricultural sector and make us self-sufficient. Indian agriculture reforms can be classified into four periods (Tripathi & Prasad, 2009) namely, 1950s – mid 1960s: Period of agrarian reforms, institutional changes and cooperative credit institutions Mind 1960s – 1980: Period of modernization and green revolution with a focus on high yielding varieties and modern technologies in farming. Achievement of self-sufficiency 1980 – 1991: Period of diversification. Focus shifted from food crops to other diverse … Continue reading A Critical Review of the Three Farm Bills, 2020 with a special focus on the Minimum Support Price

commentary, Political, SocialLeave a comment
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The Hidden Dagger: Dependency and Vaccine Poverty

Samyukth S

We have all, at least once in our life, come across the story of ‘teaching a man to fish’. It says that one must teach a hungry person how to fish rather than giving them fishes. The moral justification is that we will be keeping them dependent on a handout if they don’t learn how to be productive. Capitalism in its basic form is a system that propagates a free-market economy where each individual is subverted to sell his labour at a minimal cost in order to generate a profit for the enterprise. Here, the ideology that one must be … Continue reading The Hidden Dagger: Dependency and Vaccine Poverty

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A Critique on Prayer

Samyukth S

Prayer according to me is an act of submission and of seeking absolution. A prayer, irrespective of the religion, consists of three main steps. Firstly, people accept that their lives are beyond their own control and therefore they are powerless in front of fate or karma. Once this acceptance is considered, we move to the second step, which is to recognise the almighty higher power and its greatness. It is observed when you break down the prayer in whatever form it might be. A song, or hymn, or verse or even a simple monologue would have this character. In this … Continue reading A Critique on Prayer

caste, feminism, india8 Comments

Intersections of Indian Social Strata – Gender, Caste and Class

Samyukth S

A review and critique of Uma Chakravarthi’s Gendering Caste: through a feminist lens (2003) I am privileged to be able to present my review of the book which meant so much to me in the presence of the person who birthed it. I was, like many privileged people in our society, oblivious of the systemic oppression and gender discrimination that is ubiquitous in our patriarchal society. I was at one point even vehemently opposing this reality and considered a free market-based society as the solution to all problems. In my journey, which has been extremely shocking and life altering, to … Continue reading Intersections of Indian Social Strata – Gender, Caste and Class

Political, Theory5 Comments

Culture and Imperialism

Samyukth S

By Edward Said Edward Said is widely proclaimed as the pioneer of Post-colonial studies and more specifically in the field of literary criticism. His ideas have shaped a new field of interpretation of colonialism in a modern (and sometimes, postmodern) lens. He gained fame and critical acclaim for his debut book called ‘Orientalism’ which laid the foundation and basic framework on which later writers of postcolonial works have adopted. ‘Culture & Imperialism’ is one of his greatest work, through which he analyses the role of cultural hegemony and symbolic domination that the imperialist countries held over the colonies. He takes … Continue reading Culture and Imperialism

Uncategorized4 Comments

Manual Scavengers and Political Institutions

Samyukth S

Manual Scavenging is a sin that is propagated as a right of one social group over another for millennia and still lingers as a deadweight upon the forward looking Indian society. This essay will look into the historical aspect of the manual scavenging profession, more specifically into the post-independence era. I wish to cover the formal steps taken by the government in alleviating the vulnerable people engaged in this activity through its various schemes, programmes and acts. However, there is a need for a critical perspective on the effectiveness of such initiatives, which this essay intends to accomplish. The reason … Continue reading Manual Scavengers and Political Institutions

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Homes – Our Final Frontier (How We Are Losing It During The Lockdown)

Samyukth S

Image Source: https://news.microsoft.com/en-hk/2020/03/11/staying-connected-amidst-covid-19/ Homo sapiens as a species have entered a new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic. People’s perception of reality has been altered. Work is no longer something you travel to an institution to and toil for the good part of the day. In the corona world (A world living through this pandemic), work has invaded the homes of people and education too has followed. Capitalism, like always, has led the global acceptance of the social distancing practice and quarantine, by bringing commodities to our doorsteps. It is scarily close to a dystopian future where commodification happens without productivity … Continue reading Homes – Our Final Frontier (How We Are Losing It During The Lockdown)

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India Bleeding

Samyukth S

A critical observation on Synthetic Patriotism and Solidarity of India Saffron is for sacrifice, white is for peace, green is for prosperity and the Ashoka wheel at the centre represents progress. Isn’t this how we have been brought up to embrace the magnificence of our flag, the tri-coloured national flag? The flag along with the emblem, the geographical map, the national anthem, other national symbols and the constitution gives shape to this great nation. However, do we really know what constitutes our nation? Is it the Federal Republic system of governance with democratic practices? Is it the aggregate of thousands … Continue reading India Bleeding

Expose´, Political2 Comments

The Uneducated Literates – How Universities Manufacture Conformity

Samyukth S

If education civilizes human mind, or if education is what provides civility then one must assume the 16% of the world population are but savages of our times. Let’s not even get to the quality of literacy or even what qualifies as being literate. Is it being able to sign / write your name and read your language? Does literacy make us civilized or is being civilized a necessity for civilization. Let me not dwell into the arguments on the need to be civilized. For that would be too philosophical and besides the point of this essay. What I wish … Continue reading The Uneducated Literates – How Universities Manufacture Conformity

Memoir, SocialLeave a comment

The Visible Invisible: Vulnerability exposed by COVID-19 in India

Samyukth S

From my experience in managing COVID-19 relief program of Arpana Foundation On 24th of March, my mother and I were enthusiastically waiting for the address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the COVID-19 virus induced situation in India. I was engrossed by his speech and his astute response to the crisis. I felt he was brave; he was empathetic and more importantly he was sensible in imposing the 21-day lockdown to mitigate the transmission of virus in our society. Our immediate concern while watching this was whether we would have access to provisions and essential supplies to see through the … Continue reading The Visible Invisible: Vulnerability exposed by COVID-19 in India