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" Rather than the parent organisation becoming larger, the idea was to set up a network of autonomous, independent organisations which could better respond to local conditions organically while sharing learning in the network. It is worth noting that many of these organisations, over time spread across the country, became much larger than the ‘original’ body." Harsh Sethi on Bunker Roy's philosophy of true decentralisation and self governance at the grassroot level.
The Barefoot Warrior m.thewire.in/article/rights/…
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NEW | Sanjit Bunker Roy (1945-2026): A visionary of rural self-reliance
frontline.thehindu.com/news/…
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Good that you are finally reading a book! Can you please refrain from tweeting about it every 5 mins?
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Crisp summary by @virsanghvi:
"If you have been following the attempts to manipulate a social media uproar over Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, you may have been misled into believing that Belonging is a political book.
It is not. The bit where the Congress wins the 2004 elections and comes to power only begins around page 420 of a book of 544 pages. Most of the first hundred pages are devoted to events in Italy and Cambridge and Sonia Maino’s life before she married Rajiv Gandhi.
Belonging is basically a love story. It’s the story of how Sonia met Rajiv and how she was struck by “a bolt of lightning” or, as she also describes it in Italian, “un colpo di fulmine“. That stroke of lightning changed her life in ways she had never imagined were possible."
theprint.in/opinion/sharp-ed…
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Earlier this year, I was deeply moved to receive this praise from @SoniaGandhi via a friend. I’m mesmerised by her book “Belonging.” What a joy it is to have leaders who read, and can write too! ❤️🔥
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If Democrats want to keep the blue wave going into 2028, they have to take on the billionaire class @NaomiAKlein
theguardian.com/commentisfre…
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How we beat back the corporate takeover of America:
1. Break up corporate monopolies
2. Continue building union power
3. End Citizens United and get big money out of politics
Let’s keep working to unrig the system.
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"These communal activities of Indian diplomats have raised alarm in many countries... It is learnt that some countries have made it clear to Indian diplomats that they do not wish to see large gatherings of highly political overseas Indians in their countries addressed by Modi."
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I recommend this very interesting article with a caveat: references to my work have been eliminated from the print version of The Indian Express, known for its "journalism of courage".
@EU_in_India @FranceinIndia @thewire_in @FT @sciencespo @IndianExpress indianexpress.com/article/op…
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Bunker Roy, a pioneer institution builder in civil society, has just passed away.
After a fine education and excelling in sports, in 1972 he decided to devote his life to social activism and rural development, based in Tilonia in Ajmer district. For over half a century, he was an iconic figure, inspiring hundreds of young men and women to follow in his footsteps in different parts of the country. The Barefoot College he set up in Tilonia is a testament to his commitments, concerns and causes.
He played a key role in creating vast new opportunities for what were then called voluntary agencies in development schemes and programmes. This was at the personal initiative of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Bunker Roy became a close associate of Sam Pitroda also in the implementation of the various Technology Missions especially in drinking water, immunisation and adult literacy.
In later years, he would smilingly say that he was recognised as being the husband of the legendary Aruna Roy, who had resigned from the IAS in the mid-1970s to join him in Tilonia. Her 2024 memoir, The Personal is Political, is a wonderful account of their journey together.
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Bunker Roy passed away peacefully at 6.15 am this morning with Aruna and others around him. He went as he wanted to, in his own home in Tilonia, surrounded by some of the countless people who loved and cared for him deeply and passionately
"बंकर रॉय का आज सुबह 6.15 बजे अरुणा और अन्य लोगों की मौजूदगी में शांतिपूर्वक निधन हुआ। वे जैसा चाहते थे, ठीक वैसे ही गए—तिलोनिया स्थित अपने घर में, उन अनगिनत लोगों (में से कुछ) से घिरे हुए जो उनसे बेहद प्यार, सम्मान, करते थे ,और अपना मानते थे।
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I started off my journey in Tilonia when it was still known as SWRC in the early 90s. Worked there for almost 3 years & what I learnt remains with me till today.
Thinking of Bunker, my time in Tilonia and what a giant of a man he was - May he rest in peace.
ALT Extreme left Bunker Roy, I’m in the maroon dupatta, Susan Abraham standing to my right, Ravindranath standing behind me.
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Govt approves purchase of Israeli tech to clone your phone without legal safeguards, HM nod for order that even bypasses make in India requirements. Superb scoop from @internetfreedom that should make every citizen think and question.
YouTube @dhruv_rathee says Delhi Police tried to clone his phone and failed only because their software was too old for his iPhone. In January, Home Minister Amit Shah personally cleared the NIA to buy Cellebrite, the Israeli phone-extraction tool, bypassing Make in India rules. About ₹5 crore. The spec sheet names iPhones 11 to 14 and specific Android models.
Cellebrite bypasses your passcode and pulls everything. Every app, every chat, every photo. No law says when police may do this, to whom, or how long they keep it.
This is not about one YouTuber. Phones have been seized from protesters and journalists too. IFF has filed RTIs, and has a petition in the Supreme Court on surveillance powers.
Are we comfortable with the NIA, the Home Ministry and State police buying this, with no rulebook? Happy Diwali. May the diyas of liberty light up our lives.
#Cellebrite #Surveillance #Privacy #DigitalRights #DhruvRathee #NIA #DelhiPolice #IFF
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Unlike every other Western democracy, the U.S. has no meaningful Socialist Party, and socialism has never overtaken either of the country’s two major political parties. American socialism was last prominent in 1912, but fractured with the Bolshevik Revolution, the Second World War, and the Red Scare.
Today, the banner of socialism is being carried by the Democratic Socialists of America.
A Gallup poll from this fall cited a record-high approval rating for socialism, and showed that backing for key measures endorsed by the D.S.A. has surged. Is there a new New Left in America? And, if so, what is its plan? Jill Lepore reflects on the long history of American socialism, and considers what its present iteration will bring. newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
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BREAKING: Activists have shut down Anthropic’s NYC headquarters to demand the company stop its IPO.
The AI bubble is putting our savings, jobs and communities at risk.
Stop the Anthropic IPO!
