As the country gets closer to state assembly elections next year, the farm agitation will be an important and emotive electoral issue
Whither Commitment to Truth? How AI, Media, and Visuals Shape Our Sense of Threat
The social media takes advantage of the reward systems in the brain, especially the dopamine circuits within the basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex. Using signals of micro-engagement, including the duration of time a user hovers over a video or the number of times a user rewatches a clip, algorithms develop a feedback loop that over time redirects the feed of a user to more intense or provocative content.
Mental Health in Schools and Colleges: An Ignored Chapter in Bangladesh's Education System
The loss of 403 young lives is a stark wake-up call for Bangladesh. Schools and colleges are meant to nurture dreams, not silently witness the suffering of students. A collaborative effort involving the government, educational institutions, and families is urgently needed. With empathy, awareness, and institutional support, many of these young lives can still be saved.
The Hormuz Lifeline: Why India’s Energy Security Still Runs Through A 33-Km Strait
India’s diversification strategy, often cited as a mitigating factor, provides only partial relief. The country now sources crude from over 40 countries, and in recent years has increased imports from Russia, the United States, and West Africa. In fact, about 70% of crude imports are now routed outside Hormuz, reflecting a conscious shift in sourcing strategy.
South Asia’s Cities Are Growing - But May Not Remain Livable
What is unfolding across South Asia’s cities is not just an urban crisis, it is a reflection of deeper tensions within development itself. Growth is happening, but it is not translating into stability. Opportunities exist, but they are unevenly distributed. Systems are expanding, but not fast enough to keep up with demand. Cities, which have long been seen as places where people come to improve their lives, are increasingly becoming spaces where people struggle to sustain them.
More on Open Forum
Questions over India’s PM CARES Fund signals failure of government-citizen collaboration
Looking forward, the aim must be to restore the citizens’ trust so that when future national problems arise the people get associated with the campaign out of their will and not compulsion
Achieving a Gandhian dream: Metamorphosing India’s backward villages into modern self-sufficient suburbia
The idea is to turn backward villages affected by floods annually - whether in Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand or Odisha - into suburbia-like agglomerations with proper housing and urban-standard infrastructure
Competence over seniority: Indian government reforms bidding to give a new face to bureaucracy
Realizing the bureaucracy was a major hindrance to the implementation of reforms and there was no substantive progress in the performance of bureaucracy even after departmental training, the Indian government launched the National Program for Civil Service Capacity Building (NPCSCB), known as Mission Karmayogi, in November 2020
Kamla Bhasin (1946-2021): A freedom-loving feminist par excellence
South Asia was Kamla’s oyster and she travelled across the borders inspiring women in Bangladesh (where she was Kamla di) Nepal (where she was Kamla diju), Pakistan (where she was Kamla apa) , Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and other places
India’s new trade policy: An action plan for promoting exports from the states
Indian enterprises, financial institutions and government agencies must invest in the acquisition and analysis of knowledge and information on target markets
Pan masala ad and the social responsibility of Indian film icon Amitabh Bachchan
The on-screen star can become a real-life hero if he withdraws from the tobacco ad, calls out paan masala as harmful to human health and triggers a movement within Bollywood to protect the health and rights of consumers
Japan's silence on Rohingya Issue is puzzling
It is Japan’s vital responsibility to join and influence other key players in the region to play a visible and effective role to address major regional issues like the Rohingya crisis for peace and stability
A tale of two Modis and political doublespeak
PM Modi is trying to ace a fine balance between his domestic credentials and his global image
Draupadi, Dalit writers and Delhi University: Inconvenient truths as politics rules
This is not the first time that political considerations will determine what universities in India should teach, or which books may be banned
Pakistan needs a vibrant people’s movement that can marginalise Islamic extremism
A forward-looking government can certainly achieve this task of Pakistan remaining an Islamic country while simultaneously emerging as a progressive and peaceful nation
India needs a People’s Charter - a referendum of the type of India people want
An apolitical mass movement is imperative, given that India’s secular democracy and constitutional freedoms are facing an existential threat
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance is on the right track
The central theme of Modi’s governance - both as Chief Minister of Gujarat and Prime Minister of India - is his undiluted focus on poverty alleviation, industrial and economic development and social progress
The taboos that are pulling India down
No society can progress if it does not muster the courage to question taboos, particularly those which trample on human rights, dignity, and liberal values
China must help in resolving the vexed Rohingya issue that has overburdened Bangladesh
China must become the region's new peacemaker, with its approach to resolving the Rohingya situation bringing out the hesitancy of the western powers to take a decisive stand on the vexed issue
