Some things happened this week that require reflection. They are different things but we shall try to join them. The mother of democracy hosted her children at the G20 meeting. There were some step-children in attendance also, like our nameless neighbour in the east and...
In Punjab, the Ajnala episode, the re-emergence of the dreaded ‘K’-word and the rise of another radical ideologue have raked up memories of a past best forgotten. The situation is fluid and it does not help that the administration has been shown up as meek...
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have historically been reluctant to invest in nuclear energy, and the World Bank has not financed a nuclear power plant since 1959. In the absence of MDB funds, the majority of international financing for such projects has come from state banks...
Shamima Begum represents scores of women, including few from India, who have virtually become stateless after the defeat of the ISIS. This British-born national of Bangladeshi parents travelled to Syria as a schoolgirl of 15 years to join that extremist Islamic jihadi organization. Their predicament...
India’s most reputable news agency, the Press Trust of India, reported this week that ‘India ranks 42 in 55 countries on International Intellectual Property Index’. The story praised what was being done on this front in India, but it did not say that India had...
Retired bureaucrats in India have long tried their luck in politics, and this trend appears to continue in the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections. It is not surprising that many retired babus are seeking tickets from all major political parties, including the BJP, Congress and AAP....
The town of Joshimath may be nestled 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) above sea level in the Himalayas, but it is sinking fast. In early January, large cracks split homes, hotels, and roads, leaving the town’s future hanging in the balance. Joshimath is a grim metaphor...
US President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv February 20 at a time when the war between Ukraine and Russia is entering a crucial phase nearly a year after the Russian invasion is a dramatic and symbolic morale booster for the Ukrainian forces. Indications are that...
Israel is now on the cusp of a change that has the potential to derail the country’s democracy. The fast-paced developments there indicate the danger facing democracy when two of its pillars – the legislature and judiciary - are not properly in place, guaranteeing the...
For the past few years, all of us have noticed how the Union Gov’t, State Gov’ts, almost all large corporate entities and even individuals of any relevance in this country seem to be talking about growth or otherwise of the nation’s financial system only in...
The Central Secretariat Service (CSS) may not be the face of government, but it’s certainly its nervous system. And right...
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The Supreme Court on 28 July told the Election Commission of India (ECI) to adopt a voter verification approach based...
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just in time refrained from a suicidal course that was going to turn his own...
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In a landmark ruling that has come as a shot in the arm for the global climate movement, the International...
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