Editorials

Instant online opinions impoverish our public sphere Social media activists seem to have different notions about corrective action, justice and fairness. They want retribution, revenge and punishment rather than non-punitive course correction, which is the essential function of a news ombudsman. A news ombudsman adopts a light-touch approach to visibly …

Businesses are facing up to the possibility of the U.K. leaving the EU without a final deal in hand The moment when Britain would officially exit the European Union (EU) is still some months away — 11 p.m. local time on March 29, 2019 — but the tremors are being …

When protesters let their ego overcome their faith, they are no longer true disciples of their god Every day we see people brazenly driving through red lights, breaking queues with impunity or getting their way through bribes. Each time I see this, I despair, but then these people invoke a …

The Supreme Court’s actions in the CBI case underline the gravity of the institutional crisis The Supreme Court, on Friday, stepped into the institutional crisis engineered by the “forcible transfer” of the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) earlier in the week. Given the patent illegality of the …

A fermented batter of ground rice and lentils, steamed in little circular moulds, served with a vegetable stew. Well, a decade ago, it was simply the idli. That is how fancy we have become. Every little simple thing has been turned into bizarre, out-of-this-world articles, making everyday life more complicated, …

I heard the first rumblings a decade ago. My siesta was rudely ended by a crash and screech. When I stepped on to the balcony to find the source of the commotion, I came face to face with the gigantic paws of what is called khooni panja in local parlance. …

I first recited St. Francis of Assisi’s poignant prayer (a.k.a. the Peace Prayer) sincerely but without much thought as a teenager at the St. Francis Junior College in Secunderabad. It fell to a brave man to bring alive for me its true meaning, over three decades later. The Hindu temple …

Twins. They had their own ways of doing things; at times barely agreeing with each other. Albeit they were identical, intricacies and layers of complexity defined them. One believed in logic. Calculated efforts. “You must trust only the facts!” was a frequent reminder to the wayward sibling. Neat and ordered …

Some were sitting under the shade of a huge banyan tree like sages in quest of eternal knowledge, eyes downcast, engrossed in the papers lying on their laps. Some looked like the proverbial rebels, as if any time they might stand up and lead a protest march there itself. Beards …

The following appears in the “Englishman”: The veil has been raised for a brief space upon the members of the Indian Press Deputation to the Western Fronts and it has revealed them – not tin-hatted and gartered, not amazed at the sights and sounds of war, not careering in motor-cars …

With concern over repayment of dues, shadow banks are caught in a vicious cycle What’s up with NBFCs? Shares of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have witnessed a steep fall in recent weeks after concerns over whether they can successfully meet their short-term dues. Housing finance companies (HFCs) in particular have …

The Centre, which has been dragged intothe CBI mess, has a lot of explaining to do The abrupt replacement of Alok Verma as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, albeit as an interim measure, is the culmination of a series of murky events that must deeply embarrass the Centre. …

#CaravanaMigrante puts issues inthe U.S. mid-term elections in sharp relief The winding caravan of more than 7,000 migrants from Central America through Mexico has become such a political hot potato that it is likely to thrust the immigration issue to the forefront of the U.S. mid-term elections, barely two weeks …

The emotional toil of loving a work while scorning its creator will be a burden borne by the next generation One of the enduring legacies of the #MeToo movement will be the dilemma of separating the art from the artist. This predicament applies even when the creator of a much-loved …

Under Mohammed bin Salman, there has been an incremental erosion of Saudi Arabia’s strategic power In April 2018, while in the U.S., Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that he would “encourage the power of law” inside the Kingdom. “We would like to encourage freedom of speech as …

How a bruised Mumbai morphed into the most sanitised and uninteresting version of itself after 26/11 Brace yourselves. November is just around the corner. Indian print and television media will soon go into overdrive about the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Everybody will want in on the 10-year anniversary of one …

Silencing of academics from criticising the government denies us a vital safeguard against despotism The university in India is morphing under external pressure. How it will end up should be a matter of concern for all Indians and not just its denizens. This is so as universities are a source …

To prevent attacks on women when temple opens for the annual pilgrimage The Kerala police will turn Sabarimala into a highly secure zone to prevent attacks on women devotees when the temple opens for the annual pilgrimage season on November 17. As a first step, they have told the government …

The centenary of the Society and the Religious Tract and Book Society, Madras, was celebrated last evening [October 24] in the Memorial Hall, H.E. the Governor presiding. The proceedings commenced with a prayer. The Lord Bishop of Madras in referring to the work of the Society said that the profuse …

At the Mazagaon (Bombay) Police Court, Rao Bahadur C.H. Setalvad, Second Presidency Magistrate, has delivered judgment in two cases in which the Inspector of Factories charged Mr. P.A. Babtista of Morarji Goculdas Mills and Mr. Guthrie of Sassoon Spinning and Weaving Mills with having employed a number of minor boys …