Smruti Koppikar is an award-winning Mumbai-based journalist and currently the Founder Editor of Question of Cities, an online journal on cities and ecology.
Articles by Smruti Koppikar
Win or not, Shweta Bhatt’s here for the fight
Shweta Bhatt was happy tending to her modest home, raising two children, keeping track of her husband, IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, and occasionally indulging in classical dance, till Bhatt decided two years ago that he would take Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi head on for the latter’s role in the 2002 riots, Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Dec 01, 2012 08:55 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Thackeray and the age of deniability
Do you want a memorial for the late Bal Thackeray? Would you like it to be at Shivaji Park itself? It does not matter what you would like, for the issue of the memorial is now out of the citizens' orbit. Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Nov 28, 2012 02:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Selective focus on Bal Thackeray
The late Bal Thackeray, founder of the Shiv Sena, creator of the Marathi Manoos identity, unchallenged boss of Mumbai, redeemer of the marginalised middle and lower-middle class Maharashtrians of Marathis, cartoonist who loved but stopped cartooning some years ago, was rather comprehensively represented in the media last three days since his death. Smruti Koppikar writes.
Updated on Nov 21, 2012 01:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Editor, Special Assignments, Mumbai
State Oppn space up for grabs after Thackeray
Maharashtra politics, without the controversial presence of Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray, will be marked by turmoil not only in the party but equally in the political spectrum inhabited by opposition parties.
Updated on Nov 19, 2012 01:05 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Thackeray gone, will son rise for Sena?
Maharashtra politics, without the controversial presence of Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray, will be marked by turmoil not only in the party but also in the political space occupied by the opposition. Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Nov 19, 2012 01:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Sena's link to city's dark past
Bal Thackeray's self-confessed love for the city of Mumbai was legendary, he never failed to display it. Yet, one of the darkest chapters in the city's history, the post-Babri Masjid demolition riots of 1992-93, bears his signature. Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Nov 18, 2012 02:05 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Shifting identity politics
Thackeray lost right to vote for six years; paid the price for Hindutva venom. Smruti Koppikar writes. Thackeray and controversies | The speech made by Sena chief in 1987 | The Prabhoo-Thackeray case
Updated on Nov 18, 2012 03:04 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Sena chief's uneasy relationship with the media
Back in the 1990s, when Bal Thackeray was calling Muslims names - his favourite words being "snakes" and the slang "landya" (slang for circumcised men) - he invited the bureau chief of a national news-magazine for a chat over beer. Nothing unusual, except that the journalist was a Muslim. Smruti Koppikar writes. Taking on journalists
Updated on Nov 18, 2012 03:02 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Ideological switch for big dividends
Bal Thackeray moved from parochialism to communalism and, eventually, in the winter of his life, seemed to swing between the two, Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Nov 18, 2012 01:07 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Have we forgotten the 26/11 terror attack?
So, it's now official. Pakistan cricket team will tour India beginning Christmas Day this year to play three one-day international and two T20 matches in five Indian cities. Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Oct 31, 2012 01:48 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
India lost chance to welcome Malala
India had the opportunity to treat Pakistani teenager and anti-Taliban rights activist Malala Yousafzai, but lost the chance. 15-year-old Malala, who has become a symbol of girls' rights worldwide, was shot by Taliban attackers on Oct 9. Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Oct 31, 2012 12:04 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Malnutrition: Maharashtra govt yet to execute action plan
The report of the Bombay high court-appointed Malnutrition Monitoring Committee (MMC), submitted in February this year, has been in cold-storage.
Updated on Oct 13, 2012 01:06 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Mills to malls and a growing chasm
The new Parel-Lalbaug is a dichotomy. It has a sizeable number of old residents, but is also witnessing a steady influx of the new, while a rift emerges between these two categories, says Smruti Koppikar.
Updated on Oct 10, 2012 02:26 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
A new wave arrives at the docks
The emerging Mazgaon - with a changed balance of residential and commercial, the eastern freeway and waterfront projects - is poised to become more prominent on the Mumbai map. Smruti Koppikar tells us how.
Updated on Oct 09, 2012 12:58 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Tale of tradition, change, conflict
Girgaum in transition is a narrative of clashing aspirations, competitive cultures and histories being erased with razed buildings, finds Smruti Koppikar.
Updated on Oct 11, 2012 12:33 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Advantage chief minister? Not yet. Chavan has more battles to fight
As the political drama over Ajit Pawar's resignation played out today, a section of Congressmen attempted to project it as “Advantage Congress” in that the party had managed to snare its ally of 13 years, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), in a series of corruption charges that may have upset equations in the Sharad Pawar-led party.
Updated on Sep 29, 2012 11:07 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Chavan shifted graft glare from Congress to NCP
Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan got an unexpected shot in the arm on Wednesday when Rashid Alvi, Congress spokesperson, remarked in Delhi that Chavan would handle the political crisis in the state because deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s resignation was “a state issue”.
Updated on Sep 27, 2012 01:20 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Ajit Pawar’s ‘inner voice’ signals beginning of Cong-NCP endgame
The “inner voice” has a way of popping up in the most unlikely of people at the most unexpected hour. Ajit Pawar’s did late Tuesday evening; his cousin and competitor Supriya Sule remarked to a television journalist that “we are all glad he listened to his inner voice”.
Updated on Sep 26, 2012 09:22 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
‘Our dress code is meant to preserve the ethos of our pandal’
We are the first mandal in Mumbai to issue a dress code and we are proud of that says Uday Salian, spokesperson, Azad Nagar Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti in an interview to Smruti Koppikar.
Updated on Sep 07, 2012 02:04 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Senseless rule: sleeveless journo stopped at court
What, indeed, is the offence quotient of the short skirt or sleeveless kurti? That measure lies not in the hemlines and piping but in the value system of the person and his, yes his, worldview, Smruti Koppikar, editor- special assignments writes. An indecent proposal | Why separate rules for women, activists ask
Updated on Sep 07, 2012 11:59 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Mumbai versus Delhi: The money and the road ahead
The state government, through the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), has not yet released any amount of the Rs 15 lakh that was committed recently to citizens groups and conservation bodies to prepare the dossier pitching the city's Oval Maidan area for the World Heritage tag awarded by the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Updated on Sep 06, 2012 01:28 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Mumbai vs delhi for the world heritage tag
On the face of it, it seems like a formidable contest. Mumbai's ensemble architecture pitted against Delhi's glorious history. The prize, a world heritage tag from the Unesco, seems well worth the effort.
Updated on Sep 05, 2012 01:26 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
A non-negotiable truth
Punishing lawbreakers will ensure Mumbai doesn't burn again. Letting them off won't. Smruti Koppikar writes.
Updated on Aug 29, 2012 09:35 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Vilasrao Deshmukh: matchless potential, mixed legacy
Sarpanch to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh knew Maharashtra best; debate will be over what he achieved and what he could have. Smruti Koppikar writes.
Updated on Aug 14, 2012 11:58 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
'Pakistan is a difficult state for religious minorities'
For her work and her views, Pakistan’s best-known lawyer has been threatened with “dire consequences” many times. She remains unfazed and sworn to the ideals of democracy and justice. Asma Jahangir speaks to Smruti Koppikar, during a brief visit to Mumbai.
Updated on Aug 16, 2012 01:25 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
A village of water blues
To collect or not to collect rainwater for home use should not pose a dilemma, but here in Dongripada, in Thane (rural) district of Maharashtra, it is an everyday dilemma for the women of 50-60 households, especially when the skies open up after weeks of drought. Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Aug 03, 2012 02:46 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mokhada, Thane
Despite water, govt apathy is on tap here
Of what use is a borewell without pumps and pipes, asks Raghunath Bhoye, 51, in Sakhara village, to every visitor and every official who cares to listen.
Updated on Aug 02, 2012 03:27 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Vikramgad
A ‘Cockatiel’ to remedy water crisis in Thane
Of what use is a borewell without pumps and pipes, asks Raghunath Bhoye (51), in Sakhara village, to every visitor and every official who cares to listen. Smruti Koppikar reports.
Updated on Aug 02, 2012 01:28 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Vikramgad (thane)
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