ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Alok RaiSubscribe to Alok Rai

Jholawalla Redux

Even if it is now a bit anachronistic, the figure of the jholawalla is an abiding myth always at hand, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice.

The Republic of Reasons

Discourse within a constitutional framework alone can be the foundation for a possible solidarity in societies which are vibrant with real diversities and differences.

Superheated Expectations

The courage and tenacity of Bhagat Singh was invoked in a meeting at Meja in Uttar Pradesh when villagers gathered to discuss resistance to superthermal power plants.

Cultural Translations

The presence of migrating pravasi Bengalis in the early Nagari-Hindi agitations of the second half of the 19th century has long been noted. But the probable effects of this involvement have not been given adequate attention. Thus, there appears to be an easy parallel between the sanskritisation of modern Bangla and that of modern Hindi. This article is an attempt to explore the ways in which these apparently similar processes might also be dissimilar in signifi cant respects. Further, it seeks to push certain hints that the two processes might also be interdependent. It argues, finally, that this similarity masks a complex and deeply consequential process of cultural "translation".

Black Skin, Black Masks

Black Skin, Black Masks Alok Rai It is evident that on the rebound from the brutalities of 19th century colonialism and its denial of significant cultural differences, the post-liberal relativists of today Cannot afford to recognise continuities, interdependence and interpenetration

Addled Only in Parts-Strange Case of Indian Secularism

Addled Only in Parts Strange Case of Indian Secularism Alok Rai On the rebound from the vacuity of official, elite secularism, and from its esseptial hypocrisy, it is important not to fall into some form of 'subaltern' romanticism. Even as we recognise the intrinsic functionality of the traditional bonds of caste and community, their sustaining role in the face of the heartless violence of capitalism, one should simultaneously be able to see the other, vicious face of these groupings.

The South American Horror Show

The South American Horror Show Alok Rai Garcia Marquez and Latin America edited by Alok Bhalla; Sterling Publishers, Delhi, 1987; pp viii + 186, Rs 150.

Virus that Exploded, or, Seeing through the Papers

Virus that Exploded, or, Seeing through the Papers Alok Rai ,.. And so each venture Is a new beginning, a raid on the inarticulate...

REVIEW OF POLITICAL ECONOMY- Colonial Fictions Orwel s Burmese Days

Alok Rai This essay has been extracted from a larger study in which the author has attempted to develop a critical perspective on George Orwell without getting enmeshed in the naive and dogmatic certainties of the cold tear. Given the nature of Orwell's own commitment and contribution to those certainties, this critical attempt is implicitly and sometimes explicitly, a critique of those certainties. It is also, ineluctably, an exploration of the possibilty of a politico-literary criticism.

PAKISTAN- Struggle in Baluchistan

August 18, 1979 PAKISTAN Struggle in Baluchistan Alok Rai BALUCHISTAN is once again in the news. Some commentators have tried to reason that one of the "causes" of the "trouble" in Baluchistan is popular resentment against the army's treat: ment of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. This is curious because the most recent threat to the life of Baluchistan came from none other than Bhutto while he was the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

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