Author: Bhabani Shankar Nayak

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…

The viral DoorDash driver who delivered two bags of McDonald’s to President Mr. Donald Trump in the White House on 13 April 2026 is a Republican woman campaigning against a “tax on tips” in the US. Sharon Simmons from Fayetteville, Arkansas, a fifty-eight-year-old grandmother of ten grandchildren, has been working as a DoorDash driver since 2022 and has made over 14,000 deliveries over the last four years. The American grandmother was supposed to look forward to her retirement and spend time with her grandchildren. However, she is making around ten tedious deliveries per day on average to pay for the…

Family, as a social, economic, cultural, and religious institution, indoctrinates children with all sorts of values, ideas, and ideals. Some of these values are necessary for life; some are reactionary; and some can be progressive, depending on the parents and the values of the family. From birth, children pass through different stages of indoctrination, fundamentally shaping—and often limiting—their hands, minds, and interactions with others in society. Such domestication, in the form of socialisation, is designed to create a compliant culture in which individuals operate within the boundaries drawn by the older generations of society in the name of culture and…

On 15 December 2025, after a hectic day of academic exchanges and talks in the morning, followed by sightseeing in the afternoon, my body was exhausted and it was difficult to keep my eyes open. My mind, however, was immersed in the cultural geography of Xi’an and the history of Shaanxi—the birthplace of Chinese civilisation. Then came an eighty-minute epic fantasy performance produced by the Shaanxi Cultural Investment Group at the Great Qin Performance Theater located in a magnificent building on the east side of the Epang Palace in Fengdong New Town, Xixian New Area in Xi’an. This surreal production,…

Friendship is a form of egalitarian relationship where mutual understanding, support, trust, interests, respect, equality, and dignity thrive to expand cooperation, minimise risks, and share both happiness and sorrow, thereby creating a society based on mutual dependency and solidarity. Share and care defines friendship. These values are crucial in friendships between people as well as between countries. However, these values are alien to Yankee imperialist US foreign policy and its parasitic approach to international relations and politics. American imperialist foreign policy uses friendship as a strategic tool to advance its so-called national interests—that is, to uphold the dominance of capitalism…