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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

भारत माता की खोज

कौन हैं भारत माता? क्या स्वरुप ह&...

In Philosophy, Culture, Nov 07, 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

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

Why I have Mostly Stopped Reading Op-eds?

कौन-सी बात कहाँ, कैसे कही जाती है

In Others, Jun 30, 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...