Manoj R Nair

How Mumbai’s forest lost its protective buffer

The notification practically opens up the 59.4 sq km eco-sensitive area around the park for extensive construction

Women and worship: Time to shatter all patriarchal ceilings

There is no ban on women worshippers at Mumbai’s other popular dargahs, Makhdoom Ali Mahimi, at Mahim, though this shrine shares some trustees with the Haji Ali dargah. The Nizamuddin and Qutbuddin Baktiyar Kaki shrines in Delhi do not give women full access, but the country’s most famous Sufi shrine, the Moinuddin Chisti dargah at Ajmer, has no such restrictions

Women entering Haji Ali will inspire more fights against discriminatory social laws

For Muslim women, the Haji Ali judgment is more than just a permission to enter the sanctum of a religious shrine; their success has created the path for more fights against discriminatory social laws. By taking on patriarchal diktats, the women have set the agenda for more reforms – in social, religious and marital laws

Mumbai’s zoo is a sad place

Last month, one of the Humboldt penguins at the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo, Byculla, died just three months after it was imported. The birds were scheduled to be on display from this month.

One good thing about demonetisation: Temporary freedom from fakes

Government data suggests that Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of about Rs400 crore were circulating in the money market

Interest-free not Islamic banking is the preferred choice

The announcement by a public sector bank that it will start Islamic banking if the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the national banking regulator, approved the idea, has created excitement among groups campaigning for this kind of financial services.

Haji Ali to discuss ‘progressive steps’ in SC

Haji Ali dargah to propose ‘progressive steps’ in Supreme Court

The Haji Ali Dargah Trust said that it has proposed ‘progressive steps’ that will be discussed when the Supreme Court hears the petition on the entry of women into the sanctum of the shrine.

Jain girl death row: ‘Parents are not criminals, they didn’t want her to die’

Parents of girl who died after fast are not criminals: Jain scholars

Why are so many religious sacraments in Jainism, one of the world's most ancient religions, facing legal hindrances?

Mumbai is ageing and growing more slowly, says report

Mumbai is ageing and growing more slowly

The report gives an insight into Mumbai’s population and demographic trends over the years

Ex-ruling classes, Marathas, Muslims, still want OBC tag

Ex-ruling classes, Marathas, Muslims, still want OBC tag

Can these two groups, which enjoyed historical advantages, claim that they were socially and politically disadvantaged?

Column: Why Muslims in Mumbai led protests against the Uri terrorist attack?

Muslims have often said that they have had to express their nationalism more vociferously than other Indians, so as invitations went out for the meetings in Mumbai, it was clear that the community was at the forefront of the protests

Tradition, not law, decides women’s entry at shrines

Tradition, not law, decides women’s entry at Sufi shrines

The example of the New Marine Lines shrine show that rules on entry of women into dargahs are determined more by tradition than by fundamental rights

The brawl that embarrassed Parsis

This is not the first time that the trustees have fought each other

Parsi Punchayet trustees fight in court, file assault cases against each other

Kersi Randeria, the trustee who said he sustained eye and shoulder injuries in the fight, was admitted to a hospital and discharged on Friday morning. Dinshaw Mehta, a former trustee, said Randeria had hit his son Hormuz, who was representing him as a lawyer, causing him to faint.

Restrictions on women: Shrines have own rules

Haji Ali’s restrictions on women: Shrines have their own rules

Praying at the tombs of religious men and women is not an essential principle in Islam and fundamentalist sects discourage the practice, dismissing it as ‘grave worship’

Virar to get St Teresa of Calcutta church on Sunday

Virar to get St Teresa of Calcutta church on Sunday

The church, which was inaugurated in February 2012, has over 1,200 members from families who are from different linguistic groups

Why politicians will abandon dahi handi fight

‘Our future is dismal unless miracle occurs’

Will breakaway Bohra group’s liberal views on FGM win followers?

When a group of Dawoodi Bohra women started a campaign against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), called female circumcision by supporters of the practice, there was no reaction from their clergy.

No end to dispute over redevelopment rights for gaothans

In April, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corportion (BMC), in its Revised Draft Development plan 2034 – the city’s planning guide for the next two decades – made a proposal to allow FSI (floor space index) of 1.5/2 for the city’s gaothans and koliwadas. FSI determines how much you build on a plot of land: an FSI of two means that a building with 2,000 square feet of space can be built on a plot that is 1000 square feet.

The decades-long argument over excommunication

The Dawoodi Bohras have a long history of legal fights over the issue of excommunication

How nursery rhymes are expected to revive a declining language

Many of these nursery rhymes are familiar to the older generation, but have been set to fresh tunes for the new generation of learners

Plight of senior citizens: No strength in numbers for them

Mumbai has around 1.5 million senior citizens – almost the entire population of Patna. Yet, despite their large numbers, senior citizens do not get the attention and help they deserve.