Editorials

Mandakini, wife of Mr. Kunnikkal Narayanan, Naxalite leader, was arrested in the Kumthala forest in Cannanore district this evening [December 2]. The Police denied that Ajitha, daughter of Mandakini, had been arrested. Earlier reports had said that khaki-clad Ajitha who was alleged to have played a prominent role in the …

The passing of George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, from 1989 to 1993, is an occasion to contextualise the current turbulence in the world, especially in liberal democracies. Three events — the first Gulf War, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the …

The growth estimates for the July-September quarter from the Central Statistics Office show that the economy’s expansion predictably slowed. GDP growth weakened to 7.1%, from the robust 8.2% in April-June, as rising oil prices combined with a weakening rupee to dampen demand. Gross value added (GVA) data show five of …

I generally refrain from commenting on editorials and opinion pieces. I recognise that there are points of convergence as much as there are points of divergence between the newspaper and its myriad readers, and even within the newspaper itself. These conversations lend plurality to the newspaper and they should not …

The Telangana government’s recent announcement of the Rythu Bandhu scheme has spotlighted the policy of utilising cash transfer to assist land-owning farmers with a non-agricultural income — instead of the traditional policy measures of price interventions, trade restrictions and farm loan waivers. While the scheme is nominally intended as investment …

I want to thank that nameless student whose body danced the language of freedom. He was singing bhajans of the mind. His song made sense and it also captured that sense that we often respond to dissent too seriously. We summon ideology to combat ideologically, reducing debate to the level …

The first known movie to feature disability in a meaningful way in Hindi cinema was Jeevan Naiya (1936). In this movie, the lead character abandons his wife on learning that she belongs to a family of dancers. Later, he is blinded in an accident and is nursed by a woman …

“Babies who are less active get less sleep, something new parents may want to consider when looking for possible solutions for the long, sleepless nights.” — Infant Behavior and Development Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/healthline-ritesh-kumar/article25645667.ece

Strengthening oversight:U.S. health officials have said that they plan to overhaul the decades-old system for approving most medical devices, which has long been criticised by experts for failing to catch problems with risky implants and medical instruments. The Food and Drug Administration has announced plans aimed at making sure new …

Every year, several lives across the world are lost or debilitated due to vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. In India, the first case of dengue was detected in 1964 in Kolkata, with numbers rising due to a lack of vector control, unplanned urbanisation, climate change and varying immunological …

As cases of measles surge worldwide, ‘decades of progress’ in jeopardy Reported cases of measles worldwide surged by nearly a third last year, partly because parents did not vaccinate their children, health organisations have said. The increase in measles, a highly contagious scourge that had been nearly eradicated in many …

The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Draft Passenger Charter, unveiled with much fanfare in May and promising long-suffering Indian air travellers some basic rights somewhat on par with what their brethren enjoy in other, better regulated geographies, was quietly buried last month, with airline operators refusing to budge on most of …

It’s that time of the year when the literary pages are awash with lists of the best books of 2018. By all accounts, this has been a particularly remarkable year, and the copious lists that are filling the pages, particularly of the British and American papers, offer even the most …

For interventions to put down roots in complex traditions, they have to make sense to the practitioners and participants There is a remarkable scene in a documentary Aarar Asaippadaar by the director Prasanna Ramaswamy, which traces the everyday life of the great Carnatic singer Sanjay Subrahmanyan. We see Subrahmanyan (when …

We may all crave toys, but only some of us crave them for the attachment we develop with them Like most other people I know, I crave new toys. The process kicks in early in childhood: coveting something, the object either imagined or actually seen; wrestling with reality so that …

In natural disasters such as Cyclone Gaja, a resilient health system can make all the difference It is 15 days since Cyclone Gaja made landfall in southern Tamil Nadu, wreaking havoc in six districts of the State. At least 3,000 public health personnel still remain on the ground, organising medical …

The International Labour Organisation’s Global Wage Report has put into sharp relief one of the biggest drags on global economic momentum: slowing wage growth. Global wage growth, adjusted for inflation, slowed to 1.8% in 2017, from 2.4% in 2016, it shows. Worryingly, this is the lowest rate since 2008. Excluding …

In questioning the merits of retaining the death penalty, Justice Kurian Joseph has re-ignited a debate that is important and requires serious thought. What he said cannot be ignored, though the law laid down in Bachan Singh (1980), upholding the validity of the death penalty and laying down guidelines for …

Last week saw the European Union releasing its strategy on India after 14 years. Launching the strategy document, the European Union (EU) Ambassador to India, Tomasz Kozlowski, underlined that “India is on the top of the agenda of the EU in the field of external relations… this strategy paper reflects …

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in the Maldives in mid-November to attend the swearing-in of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as the country’s President ( picture ), it was easy to count the “firsts” in his visit. Among them: this was Mr. Modi’s first visit to the Maldives, the only …