Editorials

As Greece celebrates its exit from bailout plans, its creditors must chip in On Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras chose Ithaca, home to Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s epic, and the place to which he returns after a decade of being lost at sea, to announce the end of …

Punjab’s proposal to provide for a life termfor sacrilege is excessive and undesirable The Punjab Cabinet’s decision to amend the law to make acts of sacrilege against the holy books of major religions punishable with life imprisonment is retrograde and fraught with undesirable consequences. It may also set off a …

The Indonesian President’s choice for running mateis disappointing, though not surprising Indonesian elections have a history of generating strange bedfellows. Yet, even by Indonesia’s flexible standards, President Joko Widodo’s recent announcement of his running mate for the 2019 general elections is disappointing, if not altogether surprising. His pick, Ma’ruf Amin, …

Extraordinary changes are required to prevent a ‘hothouse earth’ pathway Just when we thought the news on climate change could not get worse, a group of scientists have published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences deliberating on how the planet might move into a high …

Scientific achievement will only happen in a culture which celebrates great art, philosophy, sports The Fields Medal, popularly seen as the equivalent of a Nobel Prize, is awarded once in four years to two-four mathematicians below the age of 40. In its long history, no woman had won this medal …

Donald Trump’s trade war ignores the complexity of world supply chains and glosses over issues within U.S. industry In U.S. President Donald Trump’s simplistic world-view, slapping tariffs on the U.S.’s main trading partners — Canada, China, the European Union, and Mexico — will reduce U.S. trade deficits, bring back well-paying …

India’s first community radio station, Sangham Radio, owned and run by 5,000 poor, mostly Dalit women in one of India’s most underdeveloped areas, is on the verge of closing down , unless its crowdfunding campaign raises enough funds. The radio station, an initiative of the Deccan Development Society (DDS), a …

The Union Defence Minister, Mr. Swaran Singh to-day [August 20, New Delhi] turned down as unacceptable and untenable the suggestions for the confederation of India and Pakistan. Answering a volley of questions arising from a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha on Pakistan’s military preparations, the Defence Minister said: …

Dynastic politics is an oft-repeated term in Indian political discourse. Most major political parties are helmed by people who are the sons, daughters or relatives of prominent leaders. At the parliamentary constituency level, how does a dynastic politician perform, both during elections and as a legislator, compared to other candidates …

To rename the 150-year-old Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who was mysteriously found dead on the railway track close to the station in 1968, doesn’t make much sense if the objective is to systematically erase Mughal history. Islamic and Hindu cultures …