Columns

DNA  sequencing has established conclusively that humans share 99% of their genomes with chimpanzees and bonobos monkeys, and 98% with gorillas. In other words, only 1% is the genomic difference between the creatures swinging in the trees and those piddling on them. I suspect the difference may be even narrower in cities like Delhi and […]

A disclaimer is in order before I venture into the rest of this piece. These days, any hack of standing has to begin with a disclaimer to show that he is someone to be reckoned with, that his background is of interest to his readers, that he is pure as the driven snow, and that

BOOK REVIEW:  WE THE PEOPLE OF THE STATES OF BHARAT [ Sanjeev Chopra. Harper Collins. 2022. ] ( This review was originally published in the TRIBUNE) AMALGAMATING HISTORY WITH GEOGRAPHY The book is essentially a work of history, but from a different perspective. Historical accounts are usually narrated from either the victor’s angle, or the

THE  NEW  INDIA  WHINING This last fortnight has not been a good one for the BJP or its bhaktiveers, even if we discount the irony of an autocratic despot being invited as the Chief guest at our Republic Day function. One would have expected that the wiseacres of MEA would, in between rejecting assorted documentaries

We are presently living in a geological epoch known as the HOLOCENE, which commenced about 12000 years ago after the Little Ice Age. It corresponds with the period of human growth, civilisations and technologies. But this human impact on the planet has been so massive that geologists are now seriously considering renaming this period as

RAINBOWS AND CLOUDS- A MEMOIR BY  SUNEETA MUKHERJEE DIAMOND BOOKS, NEW DELHI. RUPEES 750/  PUBLISHED 2022.                                                      FOR THE LOVE OF LIVING This book is essentially a paean to the

THE HIMALAYAS HAVE SPOKEN IN JOSHIMATH, IS ANYONE IN SHIMLA  LISTENING? Now that the Himachal Chief Minister, Mr. Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, has managed to form his Cabinet and appoint more Chief Secretaries/ Special Chief Secretaries and Advisors than there are trees in Shimla, I earnestly hope that he will apply his mind to more important

Last week a voter enrolment camp was organised by the government in our RWA. While filling in the required Form 6 I realised that it was mandatory to provide a copy of one’s Aadhar card. Now the law as it exists today and as reiterated by the Supreme Court states that the Aadhar is a

According to the 2011 census India has 26.80 million disabled people, which constitutes 2.21% of its population. This is a staggering number, but both society and the government have done little to take care of their special needs and to smoothen their integration into normal life. One of the areas from which they have been