Author: Bhabani Shankar Nayak

Nestled in the county of Cambridgeshire, the historic city of Cambridge is bisected by the River Cam and defined by its eponymous university. Yet, beneath the dreaming spires and academic prestige lies a starkly divided municipality in eastern England—Cambridge is one of the most economically unequal cities in Britain. The railway line, a casual traveller’s marker, serves as a brutal socioeconomic scar, demarcating the impoverished north and east from the affluent enclaves that lie opposite. This entrenched class divide, far from being a modern anomaly, has long nurtured a vibrant, albeit fragmented, communist movement in the city that persists in…

William Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It—specifically Jaques’ melancholic monologue in Act II, Scene VII, which conceptualises the seven stages of human life—defines the realities of world with the following famous lines: “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women are merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.” Yet this metaphor takes on a literal and deceptive translation in politics, where leaders speak and gesture with spectacular theatricality, delivering moralising speeches on principles designed to capture mass attention and arouse mass emotion. Their aim is…

Plagiarism is the highest form of academic misconduct and the lowest level of academic practice; it undermines integrity in the processes of knowledge production and dissemination. It destroys the conditions necessary for the growth of integrity and critical scholarship that questions dominant narratives of power during the processes of learning and teaching within and outside the classroom. All forms of plagiarism are academic and professional stigmas. However, some forms are not a form of academic dishonesty. Inadvertent plagiarism takes place accidentally, under work pressure, due to a lack of academic training, or owing to a lack of awareness about plagiarism…

The rise of racism, xenophobia, anti-migrant rallies, flag-waving reactionary nationalist groups taking to the streets to claim ‘Britain is for British people, Europe for Europeans, and America for Americans (white people only)’, alongside other reactionary politics, is no longer a fringe phenomenon confined to isolated streets or remote areas. These racist and reactionary groups are influencing mainstream political parties, prompting an illiberal turn in their everyday political, economic, and electoral propaganda, as well as in policymaking during governance. The Western world, which once took pride in its scientific advancements, Renaissance, economic prosperity, democratic governance, and human rights, is now backsliding…

Human beings and their societies established universities and institutions of higher learning to challenge orthodox knowledge, advance new discoveries, and overcome the pressing challenges of their time. Social, economic, and political necessities, along with human curiosity, formed the foundations upon which these centers of higher learning were built. They were designed to produce knowledge and skills tailored to the specific needs of their people, places, and historical contexts. The production of new, secular, and scientific knowledge has frequently challenged both ruling and non-ruling elites. It has called into question reactionary traditional and religious values and exposed the blind beliefs prevalent…

“Why do you not dress like a teacher, lecturer, or professor?” asked a well-meaning, innocent colleague who liked to dress up properly for different occasions. She asserted herself further by saying, “Dressing does not reduce your commie praxis. Stop dressing like a drug addict”. The reply was simple: a teacher must dress like his students and the majority of staff members on campus. Any other form of dressing—beyond mere coverage of nudity and the representation of a professorial or organisational position—would become a marker of identity, signalling power and privilege in a space where most students struggle to pay their…

On 15th May 2026, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Surya Kant, called unemployed people, youth, activists, and journalists as “cockroaches” and “parasites.” This reveals a deep-seated bias in Indian society, where ‘Niti’ (principles and processes) and ‘Nyaya’ (justice) operate separately to uphold class bias against the poor and unemployed, as well as caste bias against lower-caste people within the Brahminical social, political, economic, cultural, and religious order of India. The road of Niti can’t be separated from its destination that is Nyaya. Any division or separation between Niti and Nyaya exposes the insidious nature of the judiciary and…

Universities and higher educational institutions are places where secular and scientific ideas develop to shape minds and guide individuals, families, states, and societies along a progressive path. These are not merely places to disseminate information but to develop knowledge by rejecting all forms of dominant ideas, powers, and knowledge traditions. The democratization and decolonization of knowledge in these places help deepen democracy and strengthen the struggle against all forms of authoritarianism, thereby empowering people and improving their living conditions. Freedom from illiteracy and ignorance is central to all activities that help drive struggles against all forms of exploitation and discrimination…

‘The Last Tenant’ is a disturbing depiction of the dark secrets of our everyday life in a feudal, patriarchal, and capitalist society. After 25 years, the lost-and-found VHS tape of a 43-minute short film, directed by Sarthak Dasgupta, serves as a fine tribute to Mr Irrfan Khan’s acting. The film was made in 2000 and was never released on screen, as it was lost. It was finally released on 29 April 2026 by The Salt Inc and has gathered 589,549 views as of today. The Last Tenant will survive beyond its shelf life for its sheer power of performance and…

‘India, China are hell holes,’ posts Mr Trump on his Truth Social media account. He argues that Indian and Chinese migrants “have done more damage to this nation than all the mafia families put together, in my unhumble opinion. Gangsters with laptops. They’ve robbed us blind, treated us like second-class citizens, let the ‘turd world’ triumph, stepped on our flag, et cetera.” The American President’s outrageous, racist rants on India and China as “hellholes” should surprise none. There is a well-established pattern in the outbursts of his regressive and derogatory views on women, sexual and other minorities, and migrants. He…