Dalit

There is a common adage in Indian politics: The road to power in Delhi goes through Uttar Pradesh. The northern state is a much-vaunted prize in Indian elections, not only by national political parties but also by those that harbor national ambitions. Nine of India's 14 prime ministers have had a constituency in the state. Among them is the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who represents the "temple town" of Varanasi in parliament. Elections in this state, with more than 150 million eligible voters, are a gargantuan task. Polling for its 403-seat legislative assembly will be held in seven phases. The Uttar Pradesh polls, open February 10 until March 10, will be the largest democratic exercise in the world this year. What makes Uttar Pradesh so important? Uttar Pradesh's political influence in India has more to do with just the huge numbers it represents. It sends 80 parliamentarians to the "Lok Sabha," India's lower house of parliament — by far the largest … [Read more...] about Elections in India’s most-populous state a test for Prime Minister Modi’s political future

A few years ago , heart surgery forced Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, the Kenyan writer and perennial Nobel shortlister , to give up driving. He misses it. He misses getting behind the wheel for a few hours with no end point in mind, randomly exploring the roads. “Like writing a story,” he said. So when I offered to visit and take him for an afternoon drive, he accepted. For reasons unknown to me, my rental car was upgraded to a white Mustang, and Ngũgĩ laughed at the sight of the big American muscle car and then quickly confronted the challenge of sinking his body, clad in a white dashiki with fire-red embroidery, down into the low-sunk seat. He’s 84 now, still flashing an outsize smile but slowed physically by various health issues. “I can’t enjoy cocktail parties with friends anymore,” he said. Our terrain was Irvine, in Southern California, where Ngũgĩ moved two decades ago, joining the faculty at UC Irvine. It’s where he’s spent the last stage of a long literary career as one of … [Read more...] about Ngũgĩ in America