Month: December 2022

BY SAIGOPAL RANGARAJ ‘23 Diwali, widely known as the “festival of lights”, is a religious festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, as well as many Buddhists across the world. The word Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word deepavali, which translates to a “row of lights''. Diwali falls sometime in October or November each year, with the specific day being determined by the Indian lunisolar calendar. Diwali was celebrated on the 24th of October this year, with festivities occurring in the weeks immediately preceding and following that date. Despite common associations with fireworks, lamps, and a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness, the manner in which Diwali is celebrated varies greatly across communities and religions with different deities being honored on this...

BY SAARANG CHARI ‘26 Since its creation in 1949, the Indian Constitution has contained provisions for promoting social and economic equality through affirmative action in a deeply unequal society. . Affirmative action in India is not wholly unlike its counterpart in the US – it aims to increase the representation of historically marginalised groups in public institutions and in fields such as education, healthcare, banking, insurance, and the like. While affirmative action in the US focuses on issues of racial and gender-based discrimination, in India it has historically focused on that of caste[1]based discrimination. This is implemented by the provision of “Reservation Quotas”, through which a percentage of places in public or state institutions are reserved for people belonging to co...