Editorials

Alan Rusbridger’s new book captures the troubling reality in the media ecosystem today I am never tired of saying that the best journalism is akin to Umberto Eco’s idea of balancing humility and pride as a means for academic excellence. Academic humility, according to Eco, is the knowledge that anyone …

In reading down Section 377, the Supreme Court has showed the way to deepen democracy In its decision in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India last week, the Supreme Court has finally struck down the colonial-era law criminalising homosexuality and the lives of LGBTQ persons. In a 493-page verdict, …

The government advisory on the use of the word shows its intent to further marginalise the community In pre-Independence India and after 1947, during the several unyielding movements for justice for Dalits, multiple terms have been used to convey the idea of the caste system which B.R. Ambedkar described “as …

Dialogue with the U.S. should not define India’s strategic future or its other bilateral relationships The India-U.S. 2+2 meeting on September 6 between the Defence and Foreign Ministers of the two countries appeared to be a singularly one-sided affair. Washington was calling the shots, and New Delhi was trying to …

The Nepal Army has withdrawn from the first BIMSTEC military exercise to be held in India following a political row in the country over the participation in the event, a media report said on Saturday. Prime Minister K.P. Oli asked the national defence force not to participate in the drill, …

India must watch its side of the ledgerwhile deepening defence ties with the U.S. The India-U.S. defence relationship has been given a significant boost with the three agreements signed on Thursday after the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue in Delhi: the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), “hotlines” between the Defence and …

The new India Post Payments Bank canhasten financial inclusion, but detailing is key Amidst some fanfare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a financial service provider that will operate under the country’s age-old postal department. The government-owned payments bank will be able to accept deposits …

American footballer Colin Kaepernick’s protests have underlined the power of sport and endorsement It is a strange world when a brash young man, a multinational corporation with a reputation for running sweatshops and a Twitter-happy American President combine to convince you that American football is more than a bunch of …

What has become of the Indian intellectual as storyteller? Is he only an annexe of the state or can he be critical? A few months ago, I was at a screening of a documentary on the Bengal Famine.Bengal Shadows , while well-intentioned, was more a pretext for the text that …

The State’s drug crisis has acquired another dimension following a steady increase in the number of female addicts. Vikas Vasudeva reports on the toll substance abuse has taken on the lives and families of these women and the infrastructural support needed to help them Jasmeet works as a domestic help …

Rulers everywhere tend to treat trenchant criticism as attempts to excite disaffection and disloyalty. That is perhaps the only reason that Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, enacted under colonial rule, remains on the statute book. There have been repeated instances of its misuse. Regimes at the Centre and …

Emerging market economies continue to be in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as their currencies resume their prolonged slide against the U.S. dollar. The Indian rupee weakened past the 71 mark for the first time ever on Friday, registering a loss of about 10% of its value against the …

In what can only be considered a prophetic coincidence, the online version of the Port Blair-based newspaper Andaman Chronicle , carried, on August 2, two very interesting and instructive news reports related to the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands. A big meet One of the reports was about a development …

Once renowned as an export powerhouse, Kanpur’s tanneries are perceived to be the primary source of industrial pollution in the Ganga. Jacob Koshy reports on the embattled industry’s struggle to stay afloat in the face of rising compliance costs and an increasingly hostile business environment A year into her marriage, …

The first round of the India-U.S. 2+2 talks at the level of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their counterparts Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis is scheduled for September 6 in Delhi. It is a significant development but one that …

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the wink of 18-year-old actor Priya Prakash Varrier in a Malayalam movie song as an expression of her right to creative freedom and quashed FIRs that accused her of committing a “blasphemous act.” A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings, including with his Thai counterpart, Prayut Chan-o-cha and Myanmar President Win Myint, on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit here on Friday. “Mr. Prayut Chan-o-cha and I had a great meeting. Our talks focussed on boosting cooperation between India and …

Inspector Nicholas of D II Police station [in Madras] charged one Subbaraya Nathan, a hackney carriage driver, Syyed Omar, piece goods merchant, Esplanade, and Hassan for being in possession of and transporting 6 visses and 3 ½ palams of opium valued at Rs. 900 on the night of the 17th …

Printed notices over the signatures of Messrs. M.T. Subramania Mudaliar (President and Treasurer of the Labour Union), K.L. Venkataram, V. Ramachandra Aiyar, George Joseph, S.G. Dastagir, and R.S. Nayudu were widely circulated, convening a public meeting in the Victoria Edward Hall yesterday evening [August 28, in Madura] when it was …

The India-U.S. “2+2” dialogue will see External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis on September 6 in Delhi. The purpose is to get four key policymakers on the same page. This stems from the idea …