October 2020 – The Standpoint
2 posts published by Swarna Rajagopalan during October 2020| The Standpoint
2 posts published by Swarna Rajagopalan during October 2020| The Standpoint
The United Nations turns 80 this month. Alas, even as the world uses the anniversary for high-profile events and expensive review processes, the UN’s failures meet us at every corner and in every headline and the organisation receives a steady stream of flak. It has not been spared even at the General Assembly! Founded in […]| The Standpoint
Writing this at the end of September 2024, it is shameful to think that Manipur has been in the throes of conflict for more than 17 months. For 17 months, people have been displaced, living in camps, unable to return to their homes, livelihoods or in the case of young people, education. Many roads are […]| The Standpoint
Two fact-finding reports shared by citizens’ initiatives this month replace the images of school flag-hoisting. The first is the fourth annual report by the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir.[i] The second is a report on militarisation in Bastar, Chhattisgarh.| The Standpoint
Winter is setting in as the crisis in Manipur continues into a seventh month. Data in conflict zones is not reliable but over 200 were reported to have been killed and countless injured. Sexual violence is reported on all sides. As it gets colder in both the valley and the hills, tens of thousands remain […]| The Standpoint
New World A Comin…? The Political and Social Dimensions of Change and Crises Across A World without Boundaries Prepared for the Presidential Plenary session at the International Political Science Association World Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 16, 2023 Good afternoon! Buenas Tardes! I will start by thanking IPSA and Professor Dianne Pinderhughes for the […]| The Standpoint
March 5, 2023 was observed as the first-ever International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness. This particular observance falls on the anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons’ entry into force. In his message on the occasion, the UN Secretary-General said: Nuclear, chemical, biological, and unpredictable autonomous and other indiscriminate weapon systems […]| The Standpoint
I have had the good fortune to work with and become friends with some amazing Afghan women human rights defenders. Over the years, I have heard them express their concerns about a possible US withdrawal and Taliban return. With all my reservations about foreign and occupation forces, I have been witness to their thinking and […]| The Standpoint
January 22, 2021. 75 years, 5 months, 17 days after the first time that humanity used an atomic weapon, we finally have a treaty that outlaws nuclear weapons. Today, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons finally comes into force. What does the Treaty state? The treaty prohibits states from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, […]| The Standpoint
Quietly, amid the pain and grief of the pandemic, humanity registered a win: As of October 25, 2020, 50 states ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted on 7 July 2017at a …| The Standpoint
This piece originated in online conversations with friends on both sides of the India-Pakistan border in May 2025. It took me months to write it—because it was personal, because it was challenging,…| The Standpoint
