While most people are right now thinking of Pratap Bhanu Mehta, I am thinking of two of my fellow Stephanians: Sanjeev Bikhchandani and Harsh Mander. Let me briefly explain why. I know how much of himself, together with his associates, Sanjeev invested into founding the Ashoka University. Whenever he referred to the institution in the […]
It’s Sanjeev Bikhchandani, I’m thinking of these days. Read More »
My wife and I took our vaccinations on the third of this month. I was a bit apprehensive of the jab because I’d read somewhere that nine out of ten vaccines are in vein, but Neerja didn’t bat an eyelid – she said that she had been dealing with pricks all her life. She gave
Vaccination Ke Side Effects Read More »
The latter half of February this year has been an interesting time for our crumbling judicial architecture and our mauled Constitution. It is a truism in the military that wars are won by foot soldiers, not by generals. This is not to belittle the contributions of the top brass but to emphasise the obvious: that
Wounded Vanities and the Foot Soldiers of Justice. Read More »
There are two certain ways to lose a friend: one, have an affair with his wife; two, start a discussion on politics. The first can occasionally be a tempting prospect, for as the wise guy said: all best things in life are either illegal, immoral or married to someone else. Having an affair just got
The Fine Arts of Losing Friends. Read More »
Speech has special significance for human beings. One who cannot express herself or himself in words is a piteous creature. Anyone who is not free to express herself or himself is a slave. They who dare not express themselves are cowards. On the other hand, he who expresses himself adequately is a civilized person. She
Freedom of Speech, Sedition, and the Democratic Space. Read More »
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity, says Yuval Noah Harari in his book ” 21 Lessons For The 21st Century”. If anyone doubts this truism he has only to see what we have been doing to the Himalayas for the last three decades, particularly in Himachal and Uttarakhand, in the name of development. This stupidity also
Himalayan Blunders, Tragic Ironies, Retargeting Glaciers. Read More »
What was staged in the Capitol, Washington, DC, on 6 January 2021 was a hybrid event: part religious, part political. At the centre of it was the image of the QAnon shaman, Jacob Anthony Chansley, alias Jake Angeli, described picturesquely by Chris Cuomo of the CNN as the ‘horned heathen’. Angeli is no politician. Nor
US Democracy: The Agenda Beyond Impeachment. Read More »
When “Howdy Modi”, a near-celestial mega event, was unfurled in Houston, Texas, on the 19th of September 2019, Trump’s victory in the November 2020 presidential election seemed settled. My Prime Minister turned prophetic on that occasion, and decided that Trump would continue in office. ‘Abki baar, Trump Sarkar!’ (meaning, “This election will result in a
Politics as Prophecy: India versus America Read More »
