Editorials

When I was a kid in a family of three, there were clear roles demarcated for my mother, my father and myself, with additional walk-on parts for the people who worked in our house. My mother would prepare the food with the cook, the other staff member would wash and …

One evening, many years ago, my father asked if I would accompany him to a town in northern Kerala called Thirunavaya. The place was known, particularly among the Hindus of Malabar and Kodagu, for a small Vishnu temple. More importantly, it was famous as the place where one went to …

Popular advice on weight loss promoted by health authorities might be outdated It has been a fundamental tenet of nutrition: When it comes to weight loss, all calories are created equal. Regardless of what you eat, the key is to track your calories and burn more than you consume. But …

Researchers had published results of their animal studies on the cancer-inducing potential of cell phone radiation With the phenomenal growth in the number of users of mobile phones worldwide, there is public concern that cell phone radiation may cause adverse health effects such as brain cancer. Recently, the US National …

T.M. Krishna, a leading Carnatic vocalist, has previously commanded a full lawn in Delhi’s chilly season tradition of classical music and dance performances in Nehru Park. His scheduled participation in a Spic Macay programme this weekend was always going to be a big draw. But in a move that should …

Lower courts, performing critical functions, must not be bogged down by vacancies The burgeoning docket burden that weighs down the judiciary is not because of its lumbering judicial processes alone, as it is often made out. The chronic shortage of judges and severe understaffing of the courts they preside over …

The pursuit of nuclear-armed submarines reflects a security assessment that is becoming increasingly irrelevant On November 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India’s first indigenous ballistic-missile armed nuclear submarine (SSBN), Arihant, had “successfully completed its first deterrence patrol” and claimed that this “accomplishment” would “always be remembered in our …

Trafficked into Haryana in their teens, they were sexually exploited and physically abused all through their youth before being abandoned by their ‘husbands’ in their middle age. Ashok Kumar reports on the plight of the hundreds of survivors of trafficking, some elderly, who, in the absence of any support from …

It is important to understand the myth and reality of the current economic situation in order to map the road ahead Economics is a technical subject of interdependent variables and parameters, that allows for objective mathematical and statistical analysis. It is no more a single commodity demand-supply subject. Those in …

Russia hosted a regional conference on Afghanistan last week to nudge the reconciliation process between the Taliban and the Afghan authorities. The Taliban were represented by the political council chief, Sher Mohammad Stanikzai. Representatives from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, the U.S. and India swere also …