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Vipasha Sharma

Vipasha Sharma

Rise in farmer suicides in 2020: A tale of indebtedness & ineptness

Rise in farmer suicides in 2020: A tale of indebtedness & ineptness

November 7, 2021

After a consistent decline in suicide rates of persons involved in farming sector for three consecutive years since 2017, the figures leaped from 10,281 in 2019 to 10,677 in 2020. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports an 18 pc rise from the 2019 figures that accounts f...

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Potters Village in Delhi: Shaping a bright Diwali

Potters Village in Delhi: Shaping a bright Diwali

November 4, 2021

During the festive season, the narrow lanes of West Delhi’s “Kumhar Gaon” or Potter’s Village seem flooded with a wide range of artistic terracotta pottery creations. The artists, who have mastered this skill over several generations voice their concerns over the dominan...

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After Dabur, Sabyasachi receives flak from rightwing troll police

After Dabur, Sabyasachi receives flak from rightwing troll police

October 28, 2021

Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s latest ad campaign to promote his luxury mangalsutra collection has triggered a social media turmoil as the ad features heterosexual and same-sex couples posing for pictures wearing his newly launched ‘Royal Bengal Mangalsutra’. T...

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Ramayana, Mahabharata through queer lens

Ramayana, Mahabharata through queer lens

October 27, 2021

Even after the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India in 2018, one of the most common arguments against homosexuality in India involves a verbose monologue about the absence of such phenomenon historically. However, historians and gender activists have time and again asserte...

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India at T20 World Cup: Taking an easy knee for BLM

India at T20 World Cup: Taking an easy knee for BLM

October 26, 2021

Ahead of India’s much-awaited clash with Pakistan in T20 World Championships currently on in the UAE, the Indian team led by Virat Kohli took a knee to showcase solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The BLM movement, which was set in motion after the murder of ...

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Unplugging social media to counter overdose

Unplugging social media to counter overdose

October 25, 2021

Even as social media usage continues to explode the world over, there is an increasing number of studies flagging the damaging effects that excessive use of social media can have over the minds of teenagers and adults alike. A novel practice, social media detox, is catching on as...

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Diwali lights up Potters’ Village in Delhi

Diwali lights up Potters’ Village in Delhi

October 23, 2021

  With Diwali and several other festivals just coming up, West Delhi’s “Kumhar Gaon” or Potter’s Village seems flooded with a wide range of artistic terracotta pottery creations, all made by artisans who have been practicing this art for several generations. The bigg...

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Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021: Progressive yet Problematic

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021: Progressive yet Problematic

October 23, 2021

Last week, the Indian government notified rules under the latest amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, that was passed the Parliament in March this year. The rules that allow termination of pregnancies even up to 24 weeks of the gestation period stand...

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Reviving the lost melody of Sarangi

Reviving the lost melody of Sarangi

October 20, 2021

In the world of Indian folk and classical Hindustani music, a humble, bow-stringed instrument carved from a single piece of wood, called Sarangi, is acclaimed for resembling the sound of a trained vocal artist. The Sarangi is the only instrument which can produce almost all the ...

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Hornbill Festival: A goldmine of Nagaland’s culture

Hornbill Festival: A goldmine of Nagaland’s culture

October 19, 2021

Attracting tourists from across the globe like bees to a honeypot, the Hornbill Festival, celebrated during the first 10 days in the chilly month of December is commonly referred to in Nagaland as the “festival of all festivals” and for all the right reasons. An absolute fea...

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India’s Coal Crisis: Preventable, predictable replay of Oxygen crisis

India’s Coal Crisis: Preventable, predictable replay of Oxygen crisis

October 16, 2021

The similarity is uncanny. In January 2021, scientists of Indian Council of Medical Research had warned of a severe second wave of Covid-19 hitting India within weeks due to flagrant violation of protocol and large public gatherings taking place all around the country. But, the w...

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Get off your high horse: Abuse of horses in Indian weddings

Get off your high horse: Abuse of horses in Indian weddings

October 12, 2021

As yet another wedding season begins in India, animal rights activist group, PETA, has created a mild storm on Twitter in India with its viral tweet against one particular practice that is widely prevalent in Indian weddings, but is cruel and is often lost behind the glamour and ...

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