Articles by Harsh Sethi

We, the undersigned journalists, writers, historians, and activists from south Asia, are deeply concerned about the use of “contempt of court” law to curb freedom of expression.

Difficult Times for NGOs Development NGOs and the Challenge of Change: New Roles and Relevance edited by David Lewis and Tina Wallace; Rawat Publications, Jaipur and New Delhi (originally published by Kumarian Press), 2003;

Towards a Secular Democracy The Ideal of India: Secular Democracy with Development by Ranjit Sau; K P Bagchi and Company, Kolkata, 2001; pp 176, Rs 380

The sacking of the ICSSR chief, M L Sondhi, needs to be located in the wider picture of how we have so far sought to organise and manage our research enterprises. More than the idiosyncratic behaviour of those involved, or the fallouts of warring factions within the Sangh parivar, the greater danger is the continuing loss of autonomy, accountability and creativity within the wider research community. We need to realise that the ICSSR system today plays a marginal role in the world of ideas and use the opportunity of a pluralised donor market to re-invent our ways of working and organising ourselves, including forcing the government to re-examine the basic memorandum of understanding it has with the ICSSR. This, more than concern about the fate of M L Sondhi, remains the real challenge.

No struggle or social movement in these days of interconnectivity and brand imaging can hope to operate in isolation. They both attract and seek to involve specialist interlocutors. That is possibly the only, at least a prime, way by which movements seek to expand their domain of influence, carve out hearing space in a world otherwise unconcerned about or insensitive to their specific set of concerns, alter the terms of discourse, and thereby advance their cause. These relationships/engagements, at the same time, can both enlarge or constrain social spaces and have significant implications for the trajectory of the movement, if not its very nature.