Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Aug 20

'Aubade' by Ranjit Hoskote, from the anthology 'Singing in the Dark'. @ranjithoskote.bsky.social #fortheloveofpoetry

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Aug 15

A group of Indian journos brave & bold,
Went to Israel, breaking the mould,
Sponsored by the Israeli embassy,
They returned from the paid-for odyssey,
With not a single story on Gaza I am told!
#GazaGenocide‌ #journalism
www.newslaundry.com/2025/08/12/f...

Few questions on Gaza, fewer on media access: Inside Indian media’s Israel junket

Paid for by the Israeli embassy, timed with a war that’s killing journalists, the trip barely raised the tough questions.

www.newslaundry.com

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Aug 7

Important initiative by Afghan civil society. I have followed the work of many of the organisations and individuals involved from my time in Afghanistan. #Afghanistan

Shaharzad Akbar شهرزاد اکبر @shaharzadakbar.bsky.social · Jul 31

Years of dreaming, research & consultation followed by months of collective work with the broader Afghan civic community & here we are: launching the first People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan @rawadari.bsky.social

Rawadari @rawadari.bsky.social · Jul 31

An initiative for justice by Afghan civil society for women and girls of Afghanistan: launch of the first People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan. Read more here:

rawadari.org/press_releas...

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Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Jul 10

Why is India's Election Commission moving from enabling widest possible franchise to restricting it? Excellent interview & explainer by @businessline Resident Editor Poornima Joshi MP Manoj Jha. #ElectionCommissionOfIndia #BiharElections2025

www.thehindubusinessline.com/multimedia/v...

Don’t doubt everyone’s citizenship; EC’s job is to include voters, not exclude them: Manoj Jha, Rajya Sabha MP

Agitation in Bihar over Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, exclusion fears, and opposition mobilisation explained by Prof. Manoj Jha.

www.thehindubusinessline.com

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Jun 30

Tachibana Akemi(1812-68). #Japan #Fortheloveofpoetry

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Jun 25

@bsky.app #Emergency1975 "exacted a terrible price from many but was also a time of preferment for those who became collaborators, their competitive jousting for new ways to express loyalty echoing eerily in these times". My 2024 review of Abu Abraham’s cartoons: www.newslaundry.com/2024/11/06/f...

From satire to defiance: The political power of Abu Abraham’s cartoons

Almost half a century after the Emergency, an exhibition marking Abu Abraham’s centenary gives a stark reflection on that dark chapter and the political themes that continue to resonate today.

www.newslaundry.com

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Jun 20

"carrying a tough message on terror is easier for the diplomats...if in a strife-roiled world the govt plays to #India ’s advantages, & what differentiates it from #Pakistan —as a secular, stable, pluralistic, rule-abiding democratic & eco power" says Suhasini Haider
www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead...

Blame not the messenger in India’s diplomacy

India’s diplomats do not decide the message that India wishes to send after Operation Sindoor, and cannot be held responsible for its resonance

www.thehindu.com

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Jun 18

A wealth of information but also inspiration, the report by Rachel Reid maps the creative ways in which #Afghan HR activists have continued their work against great odds & at great risk - a call to many of us who are frozen in difficult but far less challenging circumstances. #Afghanistan #Taliban

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Jun 18

The @aanafgh.bsky.social report does not shy away from critiquing the repression during the Republic years while delineating the massive rupture and loss of democratic space caused by the 2021 takeover by the #Taliban. For a dense subject the report is also very readable. #Afghanistan #HumanRights

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Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Jun 18

Read this report!!! Clear-eyed rigorous report on the human rights movement in #Afghanistan by Rachel Reid published by @aanafgh.bsky.social should be read not just by those invested in Afghanistan but those invested in human rights anywhere, including democracies lurching towards authoritarianism.

Afghanistan Analysts Network @aanafgh.bsky.social · Jun 15

Despite IEA’s severe restrictions, Afghan human rights defenders persist.Many work from exile and a new wave of women's rights activists has emerged in #Afghanistan. @rachelreid.bsky.social has been speaking to human rights defenders about adaptation and survival in the new era. bit.ly/4kRiSOX

Manoeuvring Through the Cracks: The Afghan human rights movement under the Islamic Emirate

The end of the Islamic Republic was a catastrophe for Afghanistan’s human rights movement, with nearly all human rights defenders thrown into exile, fearing for their lives. The Islamic Emirate of Afg...

bit.ly

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Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Jun 16

Excellent analysis on the chilling effect of judicial pronouncements on free speech: "Instead of interpreting Article 19(1)(a) as a liberty that limits state power, courts have begun treating it as a licence that comes with behavioural conditions" by Sanjay Hegde.
www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead...

Judicial sensitivity to sentiments is a sign of regression

Indian courts today are not defending free speech but are managing it

www.thehindu.com

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · May 26

With wit & wisdom @iftikhargilani cautions us on ignoring the real costs of war: "Before the next missile alert turns the region’s drawing rooms into battlefields, perhaps it’s worth remembering:peace, though quieter, requires the greatest courage of all."
www.outlookindia.com/national/war...

Living War Rooms

Every time tensions flare between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, drawing-room generals, WhatsApp warriors, and tea-stall tacticians flood the airwaves with unsolicited military advice—while real li...

www.outlookindia.com

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · May 21

#fortheloveofpoetry
From: Do you know how to swim
"I can stop wearing jeans
if you so say; can change to
a different woman very easily.
....all my boyish mannerisms
I shall cast to the winds.
Giving up jeans is easy
If I become a river

Do you know how to swim, my boy?"

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · May 21

"Do you know how to swim" #fortheloveofpoetry Poem from Mandakranta Sen, translated from Bengali by Subrata Sen, in collection India in Verse published by The Little Magazine, Antara Dev Sen.

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Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · May 20

Returning to this fabulous collection of poetry after a long time. Poem from Hiren Bhattacharya, translated by Kallol Choudhury, art Jogen Chowdhury. The Little Magazine and Antara Dev Sen, thank you for many years of joy which continues. #fortheloveofpoetry #poetry #assam

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Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · May 15

#Afghanistan stares at a humanitarian crisis with the end of U.S. aid to the country. Relief agencies predict more deaths as they try to prioritize who they can keep alive. @kateclark.bsky.social at @aanafgh.bsky.social gives an excellent overview, political context & granular details. #USaidcuts

Afghanistan Analysts Network @aanafgh.bsky.social · May 10

The stark reality of the US's aid cuts to #Afghanistan is here: over $1.8 billion in promised assistance has been halted. The UN has redirected efforts from supporting 16.8m to 12.5m, and humanitarians are searching for alternative funds to continue assisting millions of Afghans. bit.ly/438TRHc

The End of US Aid to Afghanistan: What will it mean for families, services and the economy?

The full weight of the United States’ cuts to aid to Afghanistan has finally become clear. Almost all the aid that was promised – at least USD 1.8 billion – will now not be given, according to the US ...

bit.ly

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Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · May 9

"Is it possible for...educators, social activists & public intellectuals across the borders to come together & initiate a movement for collective sanity?"Avijit Pathak's eloquent call for collective sanity in violent times #IndoPakConflictAvijit #IndoPakConflict www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment...

A call for collective sanity in these violent times - The Tribune

It is easy to get carried away by the propaganda and the mass psychology of revenge it accelerates.

www.tribuneindia.com

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · May 5

"Some days, I don’t want to report anymore. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to sleep without dreaming of explosions. But I keep going ... I will not let #Gaza disappear quietly"writes journalist and poet Nour ElAssy: www.thenewhumanitarian.org/first-person... @newhumanitarian.bsky.social

I’ve been displaced again, but I will not let Gaza disappear quietly

After returning home during the ceasefire, journalist Nour ElAssy has been forcibly displaced again. Now, she confronts a war seemingly with no end.

www.thenewhumanitarian.org

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Apr 3

Reading the @theonion.com on @bsky.app is getting harder. As you scroll, you have to really work hard to distinguish the Onion's posts from the regular news, especially that emanating from Washington!

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Mar 20

Nowruz Mubarak, especially to friends from Afghanistan. A day to plant and tend new shoots of hope for everyone. #nowruz

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Dec 23

For the love of poetry
A poem by Mumbai poet Gieve Patel
#India #Poetry

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Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Dec 16

For the love of poetry.
A poem from Sri Lankan poet Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe
#Poetry #SriLanka #Nepal #Crossingborders

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Dec 16

For the love of poetry
A poem from Nepali poet Jerusha Rai
#Poetry #Nepal

Aunohita Mojumdar @aunohita.bsky.social · Dec 14

For the love of poetry
A poem from Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Taha
#Palestine #Poetry

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