All stories by Jyoti Punwani
'Cheering for any team is not illegal'
Rediff.com13 Nov 2021'Those who support the attacks should realise that beating Kashmiri students can't help anyone change the result of the game.'
'Decisions to prosecute are outsourced to vigilante groups'
Rediff.com8 Nov 2021'The sense of fear generated by indiscriminate and unwarranted filing of FIRs prevents people from exercising their fundamental rights; people go silent or give up the fight as the legal process is itself the punishment.'
'There is no crime called being 'anti-national'
Rediff.com8 Nov 2021'Section 153A is not meant to protect fragile sentiments of the majority Hindu community who choose to get offended by slogans celebrating the success of the Pakistani cricket team.'
Suleman Usman Bakery Case: And the TRIAL goes on...
Rediff.com28 Oct 2021The hearing relates to a 1993 raid on a Mumbai bakery, which left 8 unarmed Muslims dead, none of whom had a criminal record. Justice Srikrishna had described the incident as 'not becoming of the police force of any civilised, democratic State.'
Will Bhima Koregaon Commission wind up on December 31?
Rediff.com21 Oct 2021'Not giving the Commission space in Mumbai is an insult to Maharashtra's Dalits who are waiting for the inquiry report.'
'I am the Tiger'
Rediff.com11 Oct 2021BJP CMs promote a lawless culture, one where groups backed by the State are encouraged to attack fellow citizens, where being trigger-happy is the official police policy, notes Jyoti Punwani.
Bhima Koregaon: Outcome of a 'Larger Conspiracy'?
Rediff.com5 Oct 2021Testimony presented before the Bhima Korgaon Commission over the last two months reveals the background to the violence that broke out on January 1, 2018.
A Feminist Messiah Passes Into The Ages
Rediff.com11 Sep 2021Sonal lived the feminist slogan: The personal is political, in a way few feminists have been able to. She will be remembered and missed for doing this not with a dour self-righteousness, but with humour and a rare joie de vivre, remembers Jyoti Punwani.
Decoding Modi's Jallianwala Bagh memorial speech
Rediff.com1 Sep 2021From playing to the Sikh vote bank because Punjab elections are round the corner, to ensuring that a discordant 'us versus them' note was struck, whatever could be done to exploit every last drop of communal appeal, was done, observes Jyoti Punwani.
'We never imagined such a thing would befall us'
Rediff.com30 Aug 2021Such was the terror created by the ATS, that all their relatives stayed away.
Why is Modi telling us to remember something we haven't been allowed to forget?
Rediff.com17 Aug 2021Have we been allowed to forget Partition? Isn't Partition the reason many Hindus cannot bring themselves to trust Muslims? So many Muslims born after 1947 have told me with anguish: "How long will we be blamed for Partition?" notes Jyoti Punwani.
Helping the Poor through Aarthik Qurbani
Rediff.com30 Jul 2021Over the last decade, individual Muslims have started breaking from the tradition of sacrificing animals on Bakra Eid, motivated by the thought that the considerable amount spent on buying and sacrificing animals would be put to better use for the community's welfare, specially education.
Mason's son scores 600/600 in Karnataka PUC
Rediff.com27 Jul 2021A teenager who doesn't need to be told to study, who makes no demands on his parents even while preparing for his board exams -- and then goes on to score a perfect 100%.
'A stain on govt's reputation which will last forever'
Rediff.com6 Jul 2021'Stan's death is the culmination of a series of acts of abominable cruelty on the part of the Indian State.'
Why are these prisoners being denied their rights?
Rediff.com5 Jul 2021The superintendent of Taloja jail has just been transferred. Does that signal a more human phase in prison for the Bhima Koregaon accused? asks Jyoti Punwani.
HELP Satish Achieve His Dream
Rediff.com29 Jun 2021The one thing holding back the plucky youngster who has never hesitated to plunge into unknown territory, is funds
UNHEARD Voices from the Lockdown
Rediff.com21 Jun 2021While those who attended 'Livelihoods in Lockdown' learnt a lot, was anyone from the government listening?
'The hope left for justice for my father gets crushed'
Rediff.com18 Jun 2021Jyoti Punwani reports on the strange case of Prashant Rahi, MTech, journalist, activist, now in solitary confinement in a Maharashtra prison.
What was Kapil Mishra doing at IIT-Bombay?
Rediff.com26 May 2021Kapil Mishra had been invited because he was an "anti-corruption crusader", one 'IIT B for Bharat' organiser said. But in his half hour-long speech, Mishra didn't mention corruption. His entire focus was on the long "battle" Hindus had fought for their identity.