Movies You Shouldn't Miss This Month
December 25, 2024
Shorts: Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb is a term used to describe the rich cultural and social harmony between Hindus and Muslims in India. It reflects the blending of traditions, practices, and values from both communities, emphasizing tolerance, mutual respect, and shared heritage. The term symbolizes the idea that both communities have lived together peacefully for centuries, influencing each other’s customs, music, art, and even cuisine.
December 25, 2024
Happy New Year 🤝
January 1
2025 may feel like a time of social transition, where the hegemonic order is dissolving, and a new one has yet to solidify. Five key sociological trends to watch include:
Conspiracy narratives gaining momentum in democracies like India and the US, where a growing segment of the population feels society is on the brink of collapse due to shadow power structures and elite cabals.
Communalism resurging in India as not just a mythical construct but a sociopolitical reality, destabilizing social cohesion and fostering sectarian ideologies.
A crisis of social knowledge, where our understanding of economic structures and social systems is increasingly challenged, with epistemic uncertainty arising from past shocks like the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rise of revisionist states like Russia and China, where the struggle for global power dynamics leads to geopolitical tensions and an increased likelihood of conflict.
The continued flourishing of technological creativity, especially within the digital and cultural economies, where innovations in AI and other fields present new forms of social capital and potential for societal change.
In this period of social flux, the dominant narratives are evolving, but creativity, innovation, and the reimagination of societal structures provide hope amidst uncertainty. By Pratap Banu
Conspiracy narratives gaining momentum in democracies like India and the US, where a growing segment of the population feels society is on the brink of collapse due to shadow power structures and elite cabals.
Communalism resurging in India as not just a mythical construct but a sociopolitical reality, destabilizing social cohesion and fostering sectarian ideologies.
A crisis of social knowledge, where our understanding of economic structures and social systems is increasingly challenged, with epistemic uncertainty arising from past shocks like the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rise of revisionist states like Russia and China, where the struggle for global power dynamics leads to geopolitical tensions and an increased likelihood of conflict.
The continued flourishing of technological creativity, especially within the digital and cultural economies, where innovations in AI and other fields present new forms of social capital and potential for societal change.
In this period of social flux, the dominant narratives are evolving, but creativity, innovation, and the reimagination of societal structures provide hope amidst uncertainty. By Pratap Banu
January 1
Corporate Culture and Work Ethics
Context: The debate over long working hours (70-90 hours) in corporate settings, as discussed by the L&T MD, raises concerns about work-life balance and the fairness of such expectations, especially considering the unpaid domestic labor women perform.
Sociological Concepts:
Corporate Culture: The expectation of long hours in high-paying jobs is part of the "greedy" job model, where individuals are required to work beyond regular hours to climb the corporate ladder. This reinforces the capitalist model where labor is exploited for profit.
Alienation: Drawing from Marx’s theory, the overwork culture in corporates leads to worker alienation, where workers become disconnected from the product of their labor and from their personal lives.
Meritocracy and Gender Disparities: The article critiques the idea that longer working hours necessarily lead to better productivity. The meritocratic model, which rewards individuals based on their work, often ignores the structural inequalities that exist in unpaid domestic labor, thereby perpetuating gender inequality.
Key Issues:
"Greedy" Jobs: The phenomenon of "greedy" jobs exacerbates social inequality by favoring men who can commit to long hours, while women are often confined to roles that offer less time commitment but lower pay and progression.
Reinforcement of Class and Gender Inequality: The rise in managerial salaries, as noted in the L&T report, contrasts with the stagnation of worker wages, further deepening the class divide.
Cultural Shift in Work Ethic: The contrast between the traditional Indian work ethic, based on hard work and selfless devotion (Karma Yog), and the "vacation culture" adopted from the West is part of a larger debate about work-life balance in modern society.
Context: The debate over long working hours (70-90 hours) in corporate settings, as discussed by the L&T MD, raises concerns about work-life balance and the fairness of such expectations, especially considering the unpaid domestic labor women perform.
Sociological Concepts:
Corporate Culture: The expectation of long hours in high-paying jobs is part of the "greedy" job model, where individuals are required to work beyond regular hours to climb the corporate ladder. This reinforces the capitalist model where labor is exploited for profit.
Alienation: Drawing from Marx’s theory, the overwork culture in corporates leads to worker alienation, where workers become disconnected from the product of their labor and from their personal lives.
Meritocracy and Gender Disparities: The article critiques the idea that longer working hours necessarily lead to better productivity. The meritocratic model, which rewards individuals based on their work, often ignores the structural inequalities that exist in unpaid domestic labor, thereby perpetuating gender inequality.
Key Issues:
"Greedy" Jobs: The phenomenon of "greedy" jobs exacerbates social inequality by favoring men who can commit to long hours, while women are often confined to roles that offer less time commitment but lower pay and progression.
Reinforcement of Class and Gender Inequality: The rise in managerial salaries, as noted in the L&T report, contrasts with the stagnation of worker wages, further deepening the class divide.
Cultural Shift in Work Ethic: The contrast between the traditional Indian work ethic, based on hard work and selfless devotion (Karma Yog), and the "vacation culture" adopted from the West is part of a larger debate about work-life balance in modern society.
January 17
January 17
In his farewell address on Wednesday, President Joe Biden warned that a dangerous concentration of power is emerging in America, with tech billionaires forming a new oligarchy that threatens democracy, basic rights, and fair opportunities. He echoed President Dwight Eisenhower's 1961 warning about a "military-industrial complex," highlighting the rising influence of figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, who have accumulated immense wealth and power. Biden expressed concerns about the potential rise of a "tech-industrial complex," warning that it could endanger the country by fueling misinformation and weakening the free press. He emphasized the growing challenges posed by unchecked social media and the collapse of fact-checking mechanisms.
January 17
January 19
As Martin Luther King Jr. observed, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Persistence🤝
Persistence🤝
January 22
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These days, all you hear is one word- disenchantment
February 6
Indian politics is deeply rooted in kinship, caste, religion, and family networks- all of which favor political insiders.
February 10
When the rich get tax cuts and the poor get budget cuts, that's not economics- it's politics.
February 10
We created the economy and now suffer its consequences. We discovered fire, then built the wheel. We invented the computer, and it now controls us. We harnessed nuclear power, and it threatens us. We reached the moon, and now we aim for Mars. And now, we face the dangers of AI. Humanity’s greatest threat may be the very progress we’ve made.
February 12
We, people often see things in black and white, especially in research. They assume that only people who experience a problem can truly understand it. For example, only Dalits can write about Dalit issues, or only disabled people can understand disability. While lived experience is important, outsiders with empathy can also contribute meaningful insights.
By -Disha
By -Disha
February 13
February 15
where are today's songs of mausam? In an age where weather is measured in AQI, temperature graphs, and climate alerts, the romance of seasons has faded. "Fiza," once rich with meaning—from air to the entire environment—has disappeared from our songs.Love, once felt in the air, now flickers on screens, compressed into digital texts, emojis, and fleeting notifications.
Our era of climate anxiety might sing not of cool breezes and moonlit nights, but of smog-filled skies and rising heat: "Yeh raatein, yeh mausam, nadi ka kinara… yeh dhool aur dhuaan?"
As the seasons change—not just metaphorically but irreversibly—how will love adapt? Will it find new ways to breathe, beyond the numbers on a weather app?
By Sumana Roy
Our era of climate anxiety might sing not of cool breezes and moonlit nights, but of smog-filled skies and rising heat: "Yeh raatein, yeh mausam, nadi ka kinara… yeh dhool aur dhuaan?"
As the seasons change—not just metaphorically but irreversibly—how will love adapt? Will it find new ways to breathe, beyond the numbers on a weather app?
By Sumana Roy
February 15
When the state controls the economy, people often seek freedom elsewhere
Agree or not?
Agree or not?
February 19