Categories
InternationalAffairs
Three Contradictions at the Heart of Political Islam: Muslim World and the Taliban in Perspective
The sudden and tragic turn of events in Afghanistan has once again brought Political Islam (that too one of its most virulent variants) under the world’s urgent attention. Twenty year...
In InternationalAffairs, Religion, Aug 18, 2021
Prime Minister Modi is Steering India Toward the Chinese Road
For decades now, China has been an outlier in international affairs and the Western liberal order. Unlike most other major powers, it is not a democracy and yet continues to deliver e...
In Politics, InternationalAffairs, Economics, Apr 03, 2021
Toward 2021: Six Trends Originating from COVID-infested 2020
Geopolitical forecasts, due to their very tempestuous and complex nature, tend to be notoriously misguided. Nobody could predict in 2019 that a small virus would cause unprecedented u...
In InternationalAffairs, Jan 18, 2021
U.S. Election Day Results: Not India but the World will be Impacted
I admit that the title of this writeup may seem to be an oxymoron but please bear with me. Global warming, handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement, income inequ...
In InternationalAffairs, Oct 31, 2020
Indians' Unreasonable Fascination With Leaders From Highly Developed Nations
Leo Tolstoy’s iconic novel Anna Karenina has a famous line: Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Tolstoy wrote thus since happy families have ...
In Culture, Economics, InternationalAffairs, Jul 10, 2020
International Cooperation is a Necessity More Than Ever: The United Nations Must be Reformed or Replaced
The epidemiological pandemic, COVID-19, has accelerated the development, proliferation, and acceptance of many newer technologies that would have otherwise taken years. Virtual learni...
In InternationalAffairs, Jun 30, 2020
China's Medieval Mindset and Prime Minister Modi's Moment of Truth
Through the many powerful dynasties that ruled over China, the greatest ambition of the various kings used to be the propagation of their unquestioned authority over as large an area ...
In History, InternationalAffairs, Jun 25, 2020
Dear Prime Minister, We Are Squarely Behind You. All We Ask For Are Transparency And Statesmanship
The loss of twenty lives of our soldiers at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is heartwrenching. Going through their diverse socio-economic backgrounds and reading about their stories ...
In Politics, InternationalAffairs, Jun 19, 2020
After COVID-19: Implications on International Organizations and the Global Order
Human beings are perhaps cognitively wired for reacting faster to events that come as a sudden shock or stimulate loyal sentiments connected with social identity (race, religion, nati...
In InternationalAffairs, Politics, Economics, Mar 30, 2020
The Economic Disaster Wrought by COVID-19
The globalized, industrialized, and incessantly-driven economic world that we live in is similar to an amateur riding a bicycle. The moment he bears a shock, there is a genuine fear o...
In Economics, InternationalAffairs, Mar 23, 2020
COVID-19, “Pandemic Diplomacy,” and Re-shaping of the World Order
It is safe to say that no other single event in the 21st century after the 9/11 attacks has had a greater impact in the geopolitical arena than the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)...
In InternationalAffairs, Mar 14, 2020
Whither India?
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by,
In Politics, InternationalAffairs, Feb 29, 2020
Is the World Order Fundamentally Changing?
On the thirtieth anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests, let us see the fundamental shift that is happening in the world by the rise of China. Many scholars including Former U.S. Se...
In History, InternationalAffairs, Jun 03, 2019
North Korea on the Brink: Socio-Political Impacts of a Nuclear North Korea
I would like to start with a quote. Lord Acton the English historian famously said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In InternationalAffairs, Nov 01, 2017
History
Bundelkhand's Multicultural Milieu: Narmada-Jamna Tehzeeb
The Doab region of present-day Uttar Pradesh has for millennia been amongst the most fertile regions in the world. As the Harappan Civilization mostly concentrated along the Indus and...
In History, Culture, Religion, Feb 01, 2022
Walking Behind Rama's Footsteps
India is an old and diverse entity clothed as a young nation-state. Unlike other cultural entities and nations bound by a single language, religion, or race, India houses a multitude ...
In History, Culture, Religion, Jan 03, 2022
Two More Casualties of COVID-19 in India: Morality and Scientific Temper
Two of the lasting (at least most of us thought in our childhood they were lasting) legacies of the Indian founding fathers were the introduction of moral leadership and scientific te...
In Politics, History, Apr 15, 2021
Rajaji — The Sagacious Founding Father
What if I told you that two days ago was the birth anniversary and thirteen days from now would be the death anniversary of one of India’s foremost founding fathers? I am sure most of...
In Biography, History, Dec 11, 2020
Has the Indian Nation-building Project Been Comparatively Peaceful?
The above question has the capacity of sharply dividing public opinion based on sociopolitical preferences and ideologies. It is also a question the answer to which could be biased be...
In History, Nov 30, 2020
Intercaste, Interreligious, and Intercultural Marriages: Gandhi's Time and Ours
In 1915 when Gandhi returned back to India from South Africa, his views on intercaste marriages and dining were still regressive in the sense that he did not encourage either. Persona...
In Culture, History, Cinema, Oct 25, 2020
Merits and Demerits of the Indian Parliamentary System
The Madisonian model of the structure of government named after one of the American founding fathers, James Madison, “the Father of the Constitution”, is the structure that separates ...
In History, Politics, Oct 13, 2020
The Democratization and Decimation of the Indian Constitution: A Contradiction
In his majestic history of the drafting of the Indian Constitution, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation, historian Granville Austin wrote about its framing that it ‘as pe...
In History, Politics, Cinema, Sep 29, 2020
The Legacy of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Death is the worst, a Fate which all must try
In History, Jul 25, 2020
China's Medieval Mindset and Prime Minister Modi's Moment of Truth
Through the many powerful dynasties that ruled over China, the greatest ambition of the various kings used to be the propagation of their unquestioned authority over as large an area ...
In History, InternationalAffairs, Jun 25, 2020
The Curious Similarities and Differences Between Two Minorities - African Americans and Indian Muslims
In addition to the mortal and economic havoc wrought by the epidemiological pandemic, COVID-19, among other devastating events like cyclones, wildfires, locust attack, etc. that have ...
In Culture, History, Jun 09, 2020
Cities, Big Business, Entrepreneurs: Mahatma Abhorred Them and We are Paying Today
There have been many great men and women whose contributions to contemporary Indian society are evident in our day-to-day lives. Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, Adi Shankaracharya, Kabir, G...
In Culture, History, Policy, May 31, 2020
Central Vista Redevelopment Project: An Exercise in Self-Love, Deception, and Vanity
The first thing that strikes an observer while watching the proceedings of the British Parliament—often referred to as the Mother of Parliaments—is the lack of space in both Houses of...
In Culture, Politics, History, May 25, 2020
Leadership in Turbulent Times
Theodore Roosevelt once expressed thus: “If there is not the war, you don’t get the great general; if there is not a great occasion, you don’t get the great statesman; if Lincoln had ...
In History, Apr 27, 2020
Of Religions and Pandemics
It is generally foolhardy to write about religion. An intricate web weaved around mythology shrouds every human religion. This makes it harder to separate fact from fiction. In a worl...
In Religion, History, Apr 19, 2020
Philosophy in the Time of Corona: Advaita, Shankara, and Mother Nature
It is said that an idle mind is the devil’s playground. Perhaps an idle mind is also the philosopher’s playground. Which among the two is more dangerous, I rest upon your judgment. Wi...
In Philosophy, Religion, History, Apr 05, 2020
The Bengali Triumvirate in Cinema
Time and again, Bengal has given the world remarkable personalities in every field of human endeavor. Perhaps no other part of the subcontinent has so consistently produced so many re...
In Cinema, History, Mar 08, 2020
A Tale of Two Dynasties
There once lived a great emperor by the name, Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar. He ruled over the Mughal Empire which he expanded to include most of the Indian subcontinent. He was born in...
In History, Politics, Jan 25, 2020
Perspectives on Indian Nationalism
There are broadly two definitions of Indian Nationalism as put forward by academicians. The first celebrates nationalism in India as being pluralistic under which a citizen can succes...
In History, Culture, Jan 19, 2020
Gandhi
How to introduce Gandhi to somebody who knows not much about him? In fact, how to interpret Gandhi oneself? It’s interesting to think that he seems to be so approachable and yet so di...
In History, Biography, Oct 02, 2019
Knowledge Transfer Between Natural Allies
A decade ago, President Barack Obama termed the United States of America and India as natural allies. One is the world’s oldest democracy while the other is its largest. Both nations ...
In History, Politics, Aug 20, 2019
Abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution of India
Let’s start from the beginning. Article 370 was introduced as a temporary measure, to be valid until the formulation and adoption of the state’s constitution. The state of Jammu and K...
In History, Politics, Aug 07, 2019
Twentieth Century's Religion
As the fruits of the Industrial Revolution transformed the lives of masses around the world and ushered a new era of scientific curiosity, most religions of the world declined in the ...
In Politics, History, Religion, Jul 08, 2019
WANTED: HEALTHY OPPOSITION
Never before in the history of Indian democracy has the opposition been so feeble and bedraggled as it is today. I say this because, in every epoch of the Indian democracy, there were...
In Politics, History, Jul 01, 2019
Churchill and Kissinger: The Predicament of Evaluating Some Public Figures
It is easy to evaluate the legacy of those public figures who did much good for society and some bad; or those who are remembered in the history of the world because of the havoc they...
In Biography, History, Jun 12, 2019
Is the World Order Fundamentally Changing?
On the thirtieth anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests, let us see the fundamental shift that is happening in the world by the rise of China. Many scholars including Former U.S. Se...
In History, InternationalAffairs, Jun 03, 2019
Nehru, the Opposition, and the One Sheep
On his 55th death anniversary, here are three episodes that show Nehru’s outlook towards the opposition and which also have contemporary relevance.
In History, May 26, 2019
Two Agendas for the Wish List of Indian Democracy
In the past seven decades, Indian democracy has matured to a level where we, Indians, can be rightly proud of our democratic achievements. Benjamin Franklin once wrote that the duty o...
In Politics, History, Apr 14, 2019
Verdicts on the Events of 1857
The rebellion of 1857 has been interpreted in three distinct ways by various people. Britishers view the clash between them and Indians as “The Great Mutiny.” Indians, on the other ha...
In History, Apr 07, 2019
Two Dichotomies of the Indian Civilization
Undoubtedly, the greatest Indian of the 20th century (some may say since Buddha, to which I agree) was Mahatma Gandhi. This apostle of non-violence is still revered across the nation....
In History, Culture, Mar 25, 2019
Stability vs. Transformation: Caste, Congress, and Civil Services
There is an old adage that thou shalt not drink water from a stagnant body. It is ironical that the stability which helps a water body transform itself into an ecosystem, when sustain...
In History, Politics, Mar 14, 2019
Of Ignorance and Folly
One of my favorite novelists, John Steinbeck in his popular novella Of Mice and Men wrote that the best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. This is something every graduate st...
In History, Biography, Jan 17, 2019
Urdu and the BJP: A Fine Example of Classic Hypocrisy
कहाँ मयखाने का दरवाज़ा ‘ग़ालिब’ और कहाँ वाइज़पर इतना जानते हैं कल वो जाता था के हम निकले
In History, Politics, Culture, Sep 17, 2018
Nehru's Tryst With Progeny
Four score and seven years ago, millions in India celebrated Independence Day for the first time after the declaration of Purna Swaraj a few months ago. The president of Congress who ...
In History, Politics, Nov 14, 2017
Politics
Memorability of Political Yatras: Bharat Jodo and Congress's Myopic Strategizing
It is already less than a year to the next Lok Sabha election which naturally means that the Indian political landscape is more vibrant than ever in the past four years. The formation...
In Politics, Oct 08, 2023
Cruising Sans Course Correction: Covid, Caesar, and Catastrophe
Earlier this year, I went on one of my yearly pilgrimages to the Rajaji National Park, an absolutely beautiful getaway near my home and heaven for birdwatchers in the winters. Unlike ...
In Politics, May 08, 2021
Two More Casualties of COVID-19 in India: Morality and Scientific Temper
Two of the lasting (at least most of us thought in our childhood they were lasting) legacies of the Indian founding fathers were the introduction of moral leadership and scientific te...
In Politics, History, Apr 15, 2021
Prime Minister Modi is Steering India Toward the Chinese Road
For decades now, China has been an outlier in international affairs and the Western liberal order. Unlike most other major powers, it is not a democracy and yet continues to deliver e...
In Politics, InternationalAffairs, Economics, Apr 03, 2021
Merits and Demerits of the Indian Parliamentary System
The Madisonian model of the structure of government named after one of the American founding fathers, James Madison, “the Father of the Constitution”, is the structure that separates ...
In History, Politics, Oct 13, 2020
The Democratization and Decimation of the Indian Constitution: A Contradiction
In his majestic history of the drafting of the Indian Constitution, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation, historian Granville Austin wrote about its framing that it ‘as pe...
In History, Politics, Cinema, Sep 29, 2020
The Folly of Anecdotal Evidence and Today's India
There are more than seven billion of us, humans. Being social and inquisitive creatures, it is natural for us to observe our surroundings and exchange information with each other. The...
In Others, Economics, Politics, Sep 11, 2020
The Narendra Modi Paradox and the Four Pandemics Afflicting India
There seems to be a clear pattern between the multiple pandemics that India is facing today and the paradox in the prime minister’s personality. Before going any further, let me state...
In Politics, Policy, Sep 03, 2020
Prime Minister Modi's Present Popularity is Indeed Made of Titanium
“Data is always sacred. It does not follow the whims of any ideology.”
In Politics, Aug 09, 2020
Free-market Political Parties: Another Wishlist for the Indian Democracy
About a year ago, I wrote about two agendas that I believed should be on the wishlist of Indian Democracy. These were the dilution of the parliamentary whip system and the emergence o...
In Economics, Politics, Policy, Jul 31, 2020
Dear Prime Minister, We Are Squarely Behind You. All We Ask For Are Transparency And Statesmanship
The loss of twenty lives of our soldiers at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is heartwrenching. Going through their diverse socio-economic backgrounds and reading about their stories ...
In Politics, InternationalAffairs, Jun 19, 2020
Central Vista Redevelopment Project: An Exercise in Self-Love, Deception, and Vanity
The first thing that strikes an observer while watching the proceedings of the British Parliament—often referred to as the Mother of Parliaments—is the lack of space in both Houses of...
In Culture, Politics, History, May 25, 2020
The Great Liberal Crisis
In Avengers Endgame, when Thanos arrives on Earth and blows apart the Avengers Headquarters, Steve Rogers asks Tony Stark amidst the rubble, “What happened?” Tony stoically replies, “...
In Philosophy, Politics, May 17, 2020
Modi Government's Policy Paralysis and Opposition's Unused Brahamastra
Wouldn’t it be confusing if suddenly a day the Sun shall rise from the West? What if Bengalis would suddenly quit eating fish? How about a time when Kerala will cease to be God’s Own ...
In Politics, Policy, Economics, May 09, 2020
Rama, the Brilliant Politician
रघुकुल रीत सदा चली आई, प्राण जाई पर वचन न जाई, this single sentence overwhelmingly dominates most discussions around Rama. Rama is often portrayed as a monolithic figure in whose char...
In Philosophy, Religion, Politics, Apr 16, 2020
COVID-19 and the Deepening of Federalism in India
Winston Churchill once advised to never let a good crisis go to waste. The present COVID-19 pandemic is a great opportunity for India to utilize this crisis by presenting itself as an...
In Politics, Apr 12, 2020
After COVID-19: Implications on International Organizations and the Global Order
Human beings are perhaps cognitively wired for reacting faster to events that come as a sudden shock or stimulate loyal sentiments connected with social identity (race, religion, nati...
In InternationalAffairs, Politics, Economics, Mar 30, 2020
Whither India?
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by,
In Politics, InternationalAffairs, Feb 29, 2020
The Myth of the Supremacy of a Majority Government in India
As many stories go, once upon a time, there lived a king. The king’s name was Muhammad bin Tughluq and he was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He ruled over much of north India ...
In Politics, Feb 23, 2020
The Unreasonable Significance of AAP in Indian Politics
In the history of Independent India, much like other democracies, political parties have either gravitated around a particular ideology, caste, religion, culture, ethnic or linguistic...
In Politics, Feb 16, 2020
A Tale of Two Dynasties
There once lived a great emperor by the name, Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar. He ruled over the Mughal Empire which he expanded to include most of the Indian subcontinent. He was born in...
In History, Politics, Jan 25, 2020
2019 - A Year of Paranoia and Missed Opportunities; 2020 - Modi's Indira Gandhi Moment?
As we enter 2020 today, let me start this write-up with a disclaimer: In India, if Sharma Ji’s spoiled son has the single “virtue” of being good at studies, the society exonerates him...
In Politics, Jan 01, 2020
Delhi—Pollution and Perspectives
Delhi, or as Delhiwallas love to say, Dilwalon ki Dilli, is an urban settlement consisting of seven ancient cities arranged in a kaleidoscopic pattern. These seven cities reflect Indi...
In Politics, Nov 30, 2019
Defining Politics
The word “politics” comes from the Greek word “politikos” which means pertaining to the affairs of the state or its citizens. Politics has been variously defined as the process by whi...
In Politics, Oct 20, 2019
Parallels between Cinema and Politics in India
The state of any medium of cultural expression such as art, cinema, music, theater, etc. is reflected in the politics of that society. Talking about today’s nation-states, generally, ...
In Cinema, Politics, Sep 30, 2019
(Dis)United and (Un)Progressive India
After winning the general election in May 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared, “If anyone has won, it is India. We dedicate this victory to the people of India.” The victo...
In Politics, Economics, Sep 06, 2019
Knowledge Transfer Between Natural Allies
A decade ago, President Barack Obama termed the United States of America and India as natural allies. One is the world’s oldest democracy while the other is its largest. Both nations ...
In History, Politics, Aug 20, 2019
Abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution of India
Let’s start from the beginning. Article 370 was introduced as a temporary measure, to be valid until the formulation and adoption of the state’s constitution. The state of Jammu and K...
In History, Politics, Aug 07, 2019
Twentieth Century's Religion
As the fruits of the Industrial Revolution transformed the lives of masses around the world and ushered a new era of scientific curiosity, most religions of the world declined in the ...
In Politics, History, Religion, Jul 08, 2019
WANTED: HEALTHY OPPOSITION
Never before in the history of Indian democracy has the opposition been so feeble and bedraggled as it is today. I say this because, in every epoch of the Indian democracy, there were...
In Politics, History, Jul 01, 2019
Countering the Hindutva Narrative
There are three things that contribute most to the rise of a political party. These are: ideology, ideology, and ideology. Without an ideology, it is plainly impossible to build or su...
In Politics, Jun 18, 2019
Two Agendas for the Wish List of Indian Democracy
In the past seven decades, Indian democracy has matured to a level where we, Indians, can be rightly proud of our democratic achievements. Benjamin Franklin once wrote that the duty o...
In Politics, History, Apr 14, 2019
Stability vs. Transformation: Caste, Congress, and Civil Services
There is an old adage that thou shalt not drink water from a stagnant body. It is ironical that the stability which helps a water body transform itself into an ecosystem, when sustain...
In History, Politics, Mar 14, 2019
Some Observations on the Recent India-Pak Confrontation
This article has been hurriedly and succinctly written to present some observations which came out of various conversations with friends over the last week, most notably with Nikhil. ...
In Politics, Mar 04, 2019
Indian General Election 2019: Towards a Hung Parliament?
This article was originally published here.
In Politics, Feb 21, 2019
Urdu and the BJP: A Fine Example of Classic Hypocrisy
कहाँ मयखाने का दरवाज़ा ‘ग़ालिब’ और कहाँ वाइज़पर इतना जानते हैं कल वो जाता था के हम निकले
In History, Politics, Culture, Sep 17, 2018
Nehru's Tryst With Progeny
Four score and seven years ago, millions in India celebrated Independence Day for the first time after the declaration of Purna Swaraj a few months ago. The president of Congress who ...
In History, Politics, Nov 14, 2017
Culture
Bundelkhand's Multicultural Milieu: Narmada-Jamna Tehzeeb
The Doab region of present-day Uttar Pradesh has for millennia been amongst the most fertile regions in the world. As the Harappan Civilization mostly concentrated along the Indus and...
In History, Culture, Religion, Feb 01, 2022
Walking Behind Rama's Footsteps
India is an old and diverse entity clothed as a young nation-state. Unlike other cultural entities and nations bound by a single language, religion, or race, India houses a multitude ...
In History, Culture, Religion, Jan 03, 2022
Religion and Science in the 21st Century: The Differences and the Meeting Ground of Advaita Vedanta
Religion and Science, often these two words, when they appear together, invoke a feeling of being absolutely contradictory to each other. This is mainly because most of our learning s...
In Religion, Culture, Others, Aug 08, 2021
On Vegetarianism, Religion, and Morality
It is interesting that though one’s choice of food should only be based on preference, habit, and environment, religion (especially in the Indian Subcontinent) has always taken a keen...
In Religion, Culture, Philosophy, Jun 29, 2021
Intercaste, Interreligious, and Intercultural Marriages: Gandhi's Time and Ours
In 1915 when Gandhi returned back to India from South Africa, his views on intercaste marriages and dining were still regressive in the sense that he did not encourage either. Persona...
In Culture, History, Cinema, Oct 25, 2020
पंडित जसराज को श्रद्धांजलि
अभी कल ही की बात है जब मैं पंडित जसराज का एक पुराना कार्यक्रम देख रहा था और आज प्रातःकाल ही उनके देहांत की दुखद सूचना मिली। पंडित जसराज के चले जाने से भारतीय संगीत के क्षेत्र में एक ऐ...
In Culture, Others, Aug 17, 2020
Individualism: The Boon and the Bane of American Society
“What I feel to be good—is good. What I feel to be bad—is bad.”
In Culture, Jul 19, 2020
Indians' Unreasonable Fascination With Leaders From Highly Developed Nations
Leo Tolstoy’s iconic novel Anna Karenina has a famous line: Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Tolstoy wrote thus since happy families have ...
In Culture, Economics, InternationalAffairs, Jul 10, 2020
The Curious Similarities and Differences Between Two Minorities - African Americans and Indian Muslims
In addition to the mortal and economic havoc wrought by the epidemiological pandemic, COVID-19, among other devastating events like cyclones, wildfires, locust attack, etc. that have ...
In Culture, History, Jun 09, 2020
Cities, Big Business, Entrepreneurs: Mahatma Abhorred Them and We are Paying Today
There have been many great men and women whose contributions to contemporary Indian society are evident in our day-to-day lives. Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, Adi Shankaracharya, Kabir, G...
In Culture, History, Policy, May 31, 2020
Central Vista Redevelopment Project: An Exercise in Self-Love, Deception, and Vanity
The first thing that strikes an observer while watching the proceedings of the British Parliament—often referred to as the Mother of Parliaments—is the lack of space in both Houses of...
In Culture, Politics, History, May 25, 2020
Perspectives on Indian Nationalism
There are broadly two definitions of Indian Nationalism as put forward by academicians. The first celebrates nationalism in India as being pluralistic under which a citizen can succes...
In History, Culture, Jan 19, 2020
Two Dichotomies of the Indian Civilization
Undoubtedly, the greatest Indian of the 20th century (some may say since Buddha, to which I agree) was Mahatma Gandhi. This apostle of non-violence is still revered across the nation....
In History, Culture, Mar 25, 2019
Urdu and the BJP: A Fine Example of Classic Hypocrisy
कहाँ मयखाने का दरवाज़ा ‘ग़ालिब’ और कहाँ वाइज़पर इतना जानते हैं कल वो जाता था के हम निकले
In History, Politics, Culture, Sep 17, 2018
Cinema
Way Ahead of Bollywood: The Exceptional Realism of the Parallel Tamil Cinema Tackling Social Issues
Since last December, four of the five highest-grossing Indian movies have been from South India namely KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, Ponniyin Selvan: Part I, and Pushpa: The Rise - Part 1. Th...
In Cinema, Oct 21, 2022
Hijab in Schools and Kashmir Files Controversies
In recent days, two subjects have gathered much attention in India: the Hijab verdict of the Karnataka High Court and the movie Kashmir Files. Much has been written about many thinker...
In Religion, Cinema, Mar 20, 2022
IPL and OTT vs. Atmanirbhar Bharat: The Folly of Self-sufficiency
Before the 1991 economic liberalization, India was used to the so-called “license-permit-quota raj.” Every single industry and every aspect of the industry—production, labor, infrastr...
In Economics, Cricket, Cinema, Nov 24, 2020
Intercaste, Interreligious, and Intercultural Marriages: Gandhi's Time and Ours
In 1915 when Gandhi returned back to India from South Africa, his views on intercaste marriages and dining were still regressive in the sense that he did not encourage either. Persona...
In Culture, History, Cinema, Oct 25, 2020
The Democratization and Decimation of the Indian Constitution: A Contradiction
In his majestic history of the drafting of the Indian Constitution, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation, historian Granville Austin wrote about its framing that it ‘as pe...
In History, Politics, Cinema, Sep 29, 2020
The Bengali Triumvirate in Cinema
Time and again, Bengal has given the world remarkable personalities in every field of human endeavor. Perhaps no other part of the subcontinent has so consistently produced so many re...
In Cinema, History, Mar 08, 2020
Parallels between Cinema and Politics in India
The state of any medium of cultural expression such as art, cinema, music, theater, etc. is reflected in the politics of that society. Talking about today’s nation-states, generally, ...
In Cinema, Politics, Sep 30, 2019
Dilip Kumar: A Synonym of Perfection
After the battering that I received over my last post, I thought, I should stick to a (hopefully) less controversial topic: the greatest Bollywood actor of all time.
In Cinema, May 19, 2019
The Charm of Dev Anand
There is an old Latin saying, de mortuis nil nisi bonum, speak only good of the dead, while on the other hand there is Voltaire’s injunction that while we may flatter the living, the ...
In Cinema, Nov 10, 2018
Others
AI and Tackling the Sustainability Challenge
Click here to read: https://www.expresscomputer.in/guest-blogs/ai-and-tackling-the-sustainability-challenge/
In Others, Mar 07, 2024
Reimagining Engineering Education in India: Role of Community-building in Solving the Grand Challenges
The Grand Challenges of our times such as tackling Global Warming, eradicating extreme poverty, improving the quality of life in developing nations while promoting sustainable technol...
In Others, Nov 13, 2023
Roger Bingham Obituary: Friend, Educator, Storyteller
The sad passing of a man who possessed the special quality of effortlessly making friends with everyone from teenagers to octagenarians would invoke different emotions and feelings in...
In Others, Oct 24, 2023
IIIT Allahabad Global Alumni Meet Guest of Honor Speech
YouTube link to view the speech delivered at the event: click here
In Others, Nov 05, 2022
Religion and Science in the 21st Century: The Differences and the Meeting Ground of Advaita Vedanta
Religion and Science, often these two words, when they appear together, invoke a feeling of being absolutely contradictory to each other. This is mainly because most of our learning s...
In Religion, Culture, Others, Aug 08, 2021
The Most Socially-Challenged Smart Minds: Pitfalls of Studying Engineering
In India, the road to securing admission to a top engineering college goes through entrance examinations that are designed to test one’s aptitude in various subjects. The nature of th...
In Others, Jul 10, 2021
Some Topics Discussed in My Book Founding Generations
In case you have still not grabbed a copy of my book Founding Generations for your next read, here are a few topics from the founding eras of Indian and American Democracies that have...
In Others, Jun 07, 2021
Easter Eggs 🥚🥚🥚🥚 Hidden in the Book's Cover
One of my favorite memories about publishing the book has been to work with the amazingly talented illustrator Reshma Shinde on the book’s cover. Besides the fact that the cover denot...
In Others, May 18, 2021
Of Mountains and Musings
The majestic beauty of mountains, especially the Himalayas, is ethereal in a way that no other wonder of nature—oceans, forests, deserts—could match. The multitude of shapes manifeste...
In Others, Philosophy, Dec 27, 2020
2020 Physics Nobel Laureate Roger Penrose and IIIT Allahabad
On this fortuitous day when Sir Roger Penrose has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on black holes (some of which he did with Stephen Hawking), I am sure that m...
In Biography, Others, Oct 06, 2020
The Folly of Anecdotal Evidence and Today's India
There are more than seven billion of us, humans. Being social and inquisitive creatures, it is natural for us to observe our surroundings and exchange information with each other. The...
In Others, Economics, Politics, Sep 11, 2020
पंडित जसराज को श्रद्धांजलि
अभी कल ही की बात है जब मैं पंडित जसराज का एक पुराना कार्यक्रम देख रहा था और आज प्रातःकाल ही उनके देहांत की दुखद सूचना मिली। पंडित जसराज के चले जाने से भारतीय संगीत के क्षेत्र में एक ऐ...
In Culture, Others, Aug 17, 2020
The Curse of the Bombardment of Information
Which was the last major news that aroused your interest so much as to compel you to express your views? Which was the most interesting news to you preceding that? And, preceding that...
In Others, Jan 09, 2020
Ethics, Morality, and Actions: From Rodents to Humans, Nations to Companies, Ancients to Contemporaries
Let us imagine that we have created a time machine and transported ourselves five hundred years back to observe our surroundings. It’s the year 1519 and we have landed in that region ...
In Others, Nov 03, 2019
To Carry On or Pass the Baton
Shakespeare beautifully wrote, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in...
In Others, Nov 20, 2018
Biography
Rajaji — The Sagacious Founding Father
What if I told you that two days ago was the birth anniversary and thirteen days from now would be the death anniversary of one of India’s foremost founding fathers? I am sure most of...
In Biography, History, Dec 11, 2020
B. M. Mishra (1935-2019): A Tribute
As a self-imposed rule, I never write about my family members or express my admiration for them in public but let this be an honorable exception. After all, my grandfather who unfortu...
In Biography, Nov 17, 2020
2020 Physics Nobel Laureate Roger Penrose and IIIT Allahabad
On this fortuitous day when Sir Roger Penrose has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on black holes (some of which he did with Stephen Hawking), I am sure that m...
In Biography, Others, Oct 06, 2020
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Learner, Leader, Legend
मैं पल दो पल का शायर हूँ
In Cricket, Biography, Aug 16, 2020
Gandhi
How to introduce Gandhi to somebody who knows not much about him? In fact, how to interpret Gandhi oneself? It’s interesting to think that he seems to be so approachable and yet so di...
In History, Biography, Oct 02, 2019
Churchill and Kissinger: The Predicament of Evaluating Some Public Figures
It is easy to evaluate the legacy of those public figures who did much good for society and some bad; or those who are remembered in the history of the world because of the havoc they...
In Biography, History, Jun 12, 2019
The Impending Death of Biography
It may well be that the subject of the last memorable biography you read lived between the seventeenth and mid-twentieth century. We know much more about the lives — public and privat...
In Biography, Feb 28, 2019
Of Ignorance and Folly
One of my favorite novelists, John Steinbeck in his popular novella Of Mice and Men wrote that the best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. This is something every graduate st...
In History, Biography, Jan 17, 2019
Religion
The Many Expressions of Advaita's Absolute Truth and Guru Nanak's Succinctness
The Nasadiya Sukta (also known as the Hymn of Creation) of the Rigveda is one of the most iconoclastic and questioning (in a dialectic sense) inquiries into the origin of the universe...
In Religion, Oct 08, 2023
Hijab in Schools and Kashmir Files Controversies
In recent days, two subjects have gathered much attention in India: the Hijab verdict of the Karnataka High Court and the movie Kashmir Files. Much has been written about many thinker...
In Religion, Cinema, Mar 20, 2022
Bundelkhand's Multicultural Milieu: Narmada-Jamna Tehzeeb
The Doab region of present-day Uttar Pradesh has for millennia been amongst the most fertile regions in the world. As the Harappan Civilization mostly concentrated along the Indus and...
In History, Culture, Religion, Feb 01, 2022
Walking Behind Rama's Footsteps
India is an old and diverse entity clothed as a young nation-state. Unlike other cultural entities and nations bound by a single language, religion, or race, India houses a multitude ...
In History, Culture, Religion, Jan 03, 2022
Three Contradictions at the Heart of Political Islam: Muslim World and the Taliban in Perspective
The sudden and tragic turn of events in Afghanistan has once again brought Political Islam (that too one of its most virulent variants) under the world’s urgent attention. Twenty year...
In InternationalAffairs, Religion, Aug 18, 2021
Religion and Science in the 21st Century: The Differences and the Meeting Ground of Advaita Vedanta
Religion and Science, often these two words, when they appear together, invoke a feeling of being absolutely contradictory to each other. This is mainly because most of our learning s...
In Religion, Culture, Others, Aug 08, 2021
On Vegetarianism, Religion, and Morality
It is interesting that though one’s choice of food should only be based on preference, habit, and environment, religion (especially in the Indian Subcontinent) has always taken a keen...
In Religion, Culture, Philosophy, Jun 29, 2021
Of Religions and Pandemics
It is generally foolhardy to write about religion. An intricate web weaved around mythology shrouds every human religion. This makes it harder to separate fact from fiction. In a worl...
In Religion, History, Apr 19, 2020
Rama, the Brilliant Politician
रघुकुल रीत सदा चली आई, प्राण जाई पर वचन न जाई, this single sentence overwhelmingly dominates most discussions around Rama. Rama is often portrayed as a monolithic figure in whose char...
In Philosophy, Religion, Politics, Apr 16, 2020
Philosophy in the Time of Corona: Advaita, Shankara, and Mother Nature
It is said that an idle mind is the devil’s playground. Perhaps an idle mind is also the philosopher’s playground. Which among the two is more dangerous, I rest upon your judgment. Wi...
In Philosophy, Religion, History, Apr 05, 2020
Reminiscing the Visit to a Synagogue
Exactly a year ago, I had received an opportunity to visit a synagogue when my friend, Neil, delighted everyone on our team by announcing that he had just stepped into parenthood and ...
In Religion, Aug 27, 2019
Twentieth Century's Religion
As the fruits of the Industrial Revolution transformed the lives of masses around the world and ushered a new era of scientific curiosity, most religions of the world declined in the ...
In Politics, History, Religion, Jul 08, 2019
Cricket
The Greatest Test Series Win, Check ✔
It is excruciatingly hard to educate an American or someone from mainland Europe about the beauty of test cricket. Five days of sweat and blood, surprises and monotony, skills and for...
In Cricket, Jan 19, 2021
IPL and OTT vs. Atmanirbhar Bharat: The Folly of Self-sufficiency
Before the 1991 economic liberalization, India was used to the so-called “license-permit-quota raj.” Every single industry and every aspect of the industry—production, labor, infrastr...
In Economics, Cricket, Cinema, Nov 24, 2020
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Learner, Leader, Legend
मैं पल दो पल का शायर हूँ
In Cricket, Biography, Aug 16, 2020
India's 2019 Men's Cricket World Cup Campaign
From the past few weeks, I had been planning to write this article on the coming Sunday after victory in the World Cup for India but that was not to be. And so here I am, gloomy, deje...
In Cricket, Jul 12, 2019
Economics
Prime Minister Modi is Steering India Toward the Chinese Road
For decades now, China has been an outlier in international affairs and the Western liberal order. Unlike most other major powers, it is not a democracy and yet continues to deliver e...
In Politics, InternationalAffairs, Economics, Apr 03, 2021
IPL and OTT vs. Atmanirbhar Bharat: The Folly of Self-sufficiency
Before the 1991 economic liberalization, India was used to the so-called “license-permit-quota raj.” Every single industry and every aspect of the industry—production, labor, infrastr...
In Economics, Cricket, Cinema, Nov 24, 2020
Keynesian Economics and India's Present Economic Crisis
Born in the year that Karl Marx died, John Maynard Keynes who belonged to the British Liberal tradition was the most celebrated economist of the last century. Perhaps, he is the secon...
In Economics, Policy, Sep 14, 2020
The Folly of Anecdotal Evidence and Today's India
There are more than seven billion of us, humans. Being social and inquisitive creatures, it is natural for us to observe our surroundings and exchange information with each other. The...
In Others, Economics, Politics, Sep 11, 2020
Free-market Political Parties: Another Wishlist for the Indian Democracy
About a year ago, I wrote about two agendas that I believed should be on the wishlist of Indian Democracy. These were the dilution of the parliamentary whip system and the emergence o...
In Economics, Politics, Policy, Jul 31, 2020
Indians' Unreasonable Fascination With Leaders From Highly Developed Nations
Leo Tolstoy’s iconic novel Anna Karenina has a famous line: Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Tolstoy wrote thus since happy families have ...
In Culture, Economics, InternationalAffairs, Jul 10, 2020
Modi Government's Policy Paralysis and Opposition's Unused Brahamastra
Wouldn’t it be confusing if suddenly a day the Sun shall rise from the West? What if Bengalis would suddenly quit eating fish? How about a time when Kerala will cease to be God’s Own ...
In Politics, Policy, Economics, May 09, 2020
After COVID-19: Implications on International Organizations and the Global Order
Human beings are perhaps cognitively wired for reacting faster to events that come as a sudden shock or stimulate loyal sentiments connected with social identity (race, religion, nati...
In InternationalAffairs, Politics, Economics, Mar 30, 2020
The Economic Disaster Wrought by COVID-19
The globalized, industrialized, and incessantly-driven economic world that we live in is similar to an amateur riding a bicycle. The moment he bears a shock, there is a genuine fear o...
In Economics, InternationalAffairs, Mar 23, 2020
(Dis)United and (Un)Progressive India
After winning the general election in May 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared, “If anyone has won, it is India. We dedicate this victory to the people of India.” The victo...
In Politics, Economics, Sep 06, 2019
Policy
Keynesian Economics and India's Present Economic Crisis
Born in the year that Karl Marx died, John Maynard Keynes who belonged to the British Liberal tradition was the most celebrated economist of the last century. Perhaps, he is the secon...
In Economics, Policy, Sep 14, 2020
The Narendra Modi Paradox and the Four Pandemics Afflicting India
There seems to be a clear pattern between the multiple pandemics that India is facing today and the paradox in the prime minister’s personality. Before going any further, let me state...
In Politics, Policy, Sep 03, 2020
JEE, NEET Exams Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
There are some policy issues over which the debate is driven by ideological leanings and/or the force of events that happened long back in history. Such a debate usually involves a lo...
In Policy, Aug 23, 2020
Free-market Political Parties: Another Wishlist for the Indian Democracy
About a year ago, I wrote about two agendas that I believed should be on the wishlist of Indian Democracy. These were the dilution of the parliamentary whip system and the emergence o...
In Economics, Politics, Policy, Jul 31, 2020
Cities, Big Business, Entrepreneurs: Mahatma Abhorred Them and We are Paying Today
There have been many great men and women whose contributions to contemporary Indian society are evident in our day-to-day lives. Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, Adi Shankaracharya, Kabir, G...
In Culture, History, Policy, May 31, 2020
Modi Government's Policy Paralysis and Opposition's Unused Brahamastra
Wouldn’t it be confusing if suddenly a day the Sun shall rise from the West? What if Bengalis would suddenly quit eating fish? How about a time when Kerala will cease to be God’s Own ...
In Politics, Policy, Economics, May 09, 2020
Should the Government Dabble into AI Researchers’ Preference to Publish Openly?
In academia, researchers have always preferred to openly publish cutting-edge research. This is because publishing in high-impact journals is a prerequisite to secure financial grants...
In Policy, Feb 10, 2020
Philosophy
The Illusion of Free Will: Reflections Based on Self-experience
Among all the illusions that we human beings suffer from, I believe that the illusion of us possessing free will is the most pervasive and yet inconspicuous. The concept of “free will...
In Philosophy, Oct 10, 2021
On Vegetarianism, Religion, and Morality
It is interesting that though one’s choice of food should only be based on preference, habit, and environment, religion (especially in the Indian Subcontinent) has always taken a keen...
In Religion, Culture, Philosophy, Jun 29, 2021
Of Mountains and Musings
The majestic beauty of mountains, especially the Himalayas, is ethereal in a way that no other wonder of nature—oceans, forests, deserts—could match. The multitude of shapes manifeste...
In Others, Philosophy, Dec 27, 2020
A Short Note on the Manifestation of God
Sir Edwin Arnold has written in the beautiful poem Light of Asia that before Enlightenment, while witnessing the miseries of the world, Buddha kept asking the question:
In Philosophy, Sep 21, 2020
The Great Liberal Crisis
In Avengers Endgame, when Thanos arrives on Earth and blows apart the Avengers Headquarters, Steve Rogers asks Tony Stark amidst the rubble, “What happened?” Tony stoically replies, “...
In Philosophy, Politics, May 17, 2020
Rama, the Brilliant Politician
रघुकुल रीत सदा चली आई, प्राण जाई पर वचन न जाई, this single sentence overwhelmingly dominates most discussions around Rama. Rama is often portrayed as a monolithic figure in whose char...
In Philosophy, Religion, Politics, Apr 16, 2020
Philosophy in the Time of Corona: Advaita, Shankara, and Mother Nature
It is said that an idle mind is the devil’s playground. Perhaps an idle mind is also the philosopher’s playground. Which among the two is more dangerous, I rest upon your judgment. Wi...
In Philosophy, Religion, History, Apr 05, 2020
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