When the Siddhartha Vihar Hostel in Wadala was brought down, floor by floor, in early February by the BMC, a piece of Mumbai’s history associated with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was obliterated.
Articles by Smruti Koppikar
Lockdown is painful but may be Mumbai’s best chance at tackling Coronavirus
If Mumbai is completely locked down, it will resemble a ghost town not unlike Wuhan from where photographs and videos were shared in late January.
Updated on Mar 19, 2020 04:30 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Epidemic of fear and panic about CoVID-19
Whether a city manages to ride out an epidemic with minimum loss depends partly on its good fortunes, partly on its administrators who manage information and health networks, and partly on its citizens
Updated on Mar 11, 2020 11:47 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Mumbai’s story: Vicious riot and elusive justice
In Delhi, policemen were either mute spectators or predators as mobs wreaked havoc and violence on innocent citizens.
Updated on Mar 05, 2020 01:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Communal riot and inter-ethnic tapestry of cities
A city is never the same after a communal riot or pogrom; it does not completely heal, it does not go back to being quite the tapestry it used to be
Published on Feb 27, 2020 12:13 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
The malice in making protests and protesters invisible
The city police attempted this with Mumbai Bagh too in a way citing traffic impediments and bringing pressure to bear on the women sitting-in, slapping notices and FIRs on them and volunteers, profiling protesters and visitors.
Updated on Feb 20, 2020 01:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
A Mumbai cabbie and Kejriwal’s free pass to hate ideology | Opinion
The AAP did not take on the BJP ideologically; Kejriwal did not substantively disagree on Shaheen Bagh protests or CAA-NRC.
Updated on Feb 13, 2020 09:34 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Civic budget talk: Coastal Road a misplaced priority?
Pavements do not get prioritised in the BMC’s tasks lists perhaps because its movers-and-shakers do not use them
Updated on Feb 05, 2020 11:10 PM IST
Shiv Bhojan could be game-changer if Uddhav is watchful
The Shiv Bhojan is as basic a meal as can be — a serving of chapatis, a vegetable, some rice and dal for Rs10 per thali or lunch-plate
Updated on Jan 29, 2020 11:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
How to redefine nightlife in a city that never sleeps
Mumbai, at its heart, is a commercial city; its rhythms do not cease at night and never will.
Updated on Jan 23, 2020 12:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Mumbai Police must refine the art of policing
The sensitivity that the force showed towards protestors needs to be extended towards women and children too
Published on Jan 16, 2020 12:03 AM IST
Make no mistake, Mumbai is mostly political and non-silent
Silence speaks volumes, silence is political too.
Updated on Jan 09, 2020 12:07 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
2020 brings hope that Indians will reclaim a composite nation
It’s a year that carries hope and aspirations of millions – hope for a gentler and more just future, aspiration to be any kind of an Indian that one wishes to be with freedom and joy.
Updated on Jan 02, 2020 12:04 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
2019: When city streets became protest sites
The urban space turned into a site of spontaneous and electrifying protests against governments.
Published on Dec 26, 2019 12:29 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
De-citizenisation by CAA-NRC drills through India’s soul
The purpose of CAA-NRC is ostensibly to weed out illegal immigrants from three neighbouring countries but implicitly threatens Indian Muslims as well as all Indians who do not possess documents of their ancestry here.
Updated on Dec 19, 2019 07:24 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Gender equality: Global concern, Mumbai’s ignominy
Despite anecdotal signals of women breaching barriers and breaking ceilings in several domains, the bias exists.
Updated on Dec 12, 2019 12:41 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Dear parties, ignore women and urban voters, face NOTA
Three trends among many in the electoral basket stand out because their significances go well beyond this election.
Updated on Dec 05, 2019 01:16 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Some takeaways from Maharashtra government formation
The shenanigans are confusing, but there are some takeaways.
Updated on Nov 28, 2019 03:24 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Uddhav’s ambition, Gandhi’s dilemma, and Pawar’s pattern
The question is if Sonia Gandhi can trust Pawar enough to not throw the Congress under the bus in the months ahead if this government becomes a reality
Updated on Nov 21, 2019 06:35 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Why Mumbai can’t honestly say ‘Let’s move on’
In the new-normal Mumbai, religion has come to play a greater part than it did in civic and personal matters
Updated on Nov 13, 2019 11:13 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Mumbai Story: From sea unto sea?
The city’s geography and future is being threatened by rising sea levels as an outcome of global warming
Updated on Nov 07, 2019 12:09 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
The meaning of the 2019 mandate
The BJP-Sena divided the state’s 288 constituencies between themselves, went to voters with their record of the last five years, and asked to be re-elected.
Updated on Oct 31, 2019 12:49 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Why Mumbai’s voter disinterest is a disgrace
Mumbai did not acquit itself with honour this Assembly election; south Mumbai even less so. The average voter turnout in the city this Monday was a dull 50.5% – about 10.6% lower than Maharashtra’s average and about 1.5% lower than the city’s turnout five years ago.
Updated on Oct 24, 2019 12:08 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
We will not ‘doob maro’, will keep asking questions this elections
When the dissonance was pointed out by sections of the media, when the link between Article 370 and Assembly election was questioned, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “doob maro”.
Published on Oct 17, 2019 12:55 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
The Aarey battle has invaluable lessons for Mumbai
Civil society can and does stand up for causes, even in a city like Mumbai with the crushing demands it makes on people’s time and energy. Aarey is a good example of how citizens found common cause and rallied around together.
Updated on Oct 10, 2019 12:00 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Invoking Gandhi, the icon; Ignoring Gandhi, the idea
Gandhi, the man, must have been fascinating. Gandhi, the idea, even more so.
Published on Oct 02, 2019 11:38 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Election minus contest, unipolar politics isn’t good news
The gradual disintegration of opposition parties has meant that the contrarian or challenger voice does not get reflected in the Assembly
Updated on Sep 26, 2019 12:48 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Mumbai’s many tongues and linguistic swagger
What else is Bambaiyya Hindi if not a unique, grammar-free, syntax-free and reference-free mix of Marathi, Gujarati, even Urdu mixed with Hindi? It is voiced by Bollywood characters on the screen but the dialect – it is that, a dialect – is heard zillions of times more on the streets of Mumbai.
Updated on Sep 19, 2019 01:48 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Battle for Aarey is a battle for Mumbai
This column rarely repeats an issue in successive weeks, but Aarey is too precious to lose even an inch of.
Published on Sep 11, 2019 11:52 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
Mr CM, take Aarey and you set up Mumbai for more floods
The Tree Authority meeting, which saw a split of eight to six in favour of the proposal, seems to have had its share of slyness, politics and confusion
Updated on Sep 05, 2019 12:19 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar, Mumbai
Citizen activism can’t replace Mumbai civic body’s responsibility
Citizens, however well-intentioned and resourceful, must not plug the gaps in a way that allows the BMC to get away easily
Updated on Aug 29, 2019 12:09 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Smruti Koppikar
