File photo of former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma

A strong message on custodial deaths from an Indian Court: Extra-judicial Actions Cannot be Celebrated

The effect of the award of a death sentence to as many as nine policemen in one go can be electrifying in the way it can jolt a system that has resisted all reform. The signals this verdict sends out will hopefully serve to warn law enforcers across the county that the law will catch up with them too and make them pay a heavy price for crossing boundaries. Society has to begin seeing custodial deaths and their attendant staged killings, called as "fake encounters", and extra judicial killings as cold-blooded murders for which the nation must have zero tolerance.

Shifting Perceptions in a Multipolar World

In a world moving toward multipolarity, information itself has become contested terrain. Events are no longer just events; they are immediately absorbed into competing narratives. The same incident is read differently depending on where one stands and what one is inclined to believe. 

Geopolitical Uncertainties and the International Student:Need for Transformational Shift in Thinking for Education Providers

For parents of Indian and South Asian students, who are risk-averse, going to the US for an overseas education was fraught with too many imponderables. It was better to travel to a more reliable destination, such as, Australia. Germany and Ireland also featured as potential destinations but in terms of scale, Australia was the preferred beneficiary.

Ghost Murmur: How AI Rescued a Lost US Pilot in the Iran War

The Ghost Murmur AI rescue of a U.S. pilot in Iran is an epochal event in the history of warfare. It shows how new technologies can be used to go around old restrictions and can allow carrying out operations that were not possible a decade ago.

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Self-reliance in combat helicopters incomplete without replacements for 'flying coffins'!

Following the crash of a Cheetah helicopter on 5 October 2022, the second such helicopter to crash this year (the earlier one was in March 2022), the Indian Army Wives Agitation Group (AWAG) wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing anguish over the continued use of the outdated Cheetah and Chetak Light Utility Helicopters (LUH), which have claimed many lives of experienced and young officers.

Ela Bhatt: One of India’s most consequential campaigners for women's empowerment and societal harmony

Today SEWA has some 2.1 million members making it the single largest trade union of its kind in India serving and representing self-employed women workers in 18 states

Google's bigness has become bothersome: Tech giant now in India's competition watchdog's crosshairs

Interestingly CCI’s ruling was not the result of or in response to any complaint by a user, vendor, advertiser or customer. It came out of a summer project done by three student interns, who studied the EU case and its applicability to Indian conditions

Defence production strategies: Indigenisation must be the watchword for Indian military planners

The Chinese leadership's exhortation to the PLA to improve its capability sufficiently to win local wars must be a wake-up call to India's military strategists and operations planners.

Biden’s putdown of Pakistan: More to it than meets the eye

The fact that the bulk of whatever aid goes to Pakistan is grabbed by the military and used for terrorism is of little consequence to the US, as is the fact that it was Pakistan that engineered the humiliating withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

Canada on a suicidal course: Giving a free run to South Asian separatists and terrorists could boomerang

The Canadian government is doing a very big mistake by thinking that such separatists and terrorist groups operating in Canada will not harm Canada but only other countries.

The population myth, prejudice and dangers of a misguided policy

It is possible to use the numbers to argue in many ways but what should be reasonable to note is that there is no conspiracy among a certain set of people to grow their numbers. Demographics tells us that as the level of education (particularly of the woman) and the standard of living of the family moves up, the number of children per woman generally comes down.

How the battle against insurgency was won in Tripura

A mere look at the map of Tripura showed that the insurgents were operating from the hills where there was no police presence as all the police stations and posts were on the main roads. I was convinced that we should move into the hills.

He crossed boundaries for India's freedom: Musings at the feet of Gandhi in London

The statue has cost substantial money but is fully funded by the public through a charitable trust managed by a number of Indians residing in the UK. The chair of an advisory group that oversaw the project was former Pakistani-origin mayor and minister Sajid Javed.

Right to free food: India will need to carefully do the cost-benefit analysis

An increase in support of free food means cutting back on maybe health, education, infrastructure, military or pension benefits. The government cannot escape these difficult fiscal tradeoffs.

Gandhi remains as relevant today as in his time

Thus the mantra of development should be spirituality with high technology. Both these things allow us to reduce our greed for resources and live in harmony with nature – something that Gandhi preached intuitively all his life.

A paean to Mahatma Gandhi and his inclusive philosophy

But for Gandhi, India's political destiny would have been vastly different and her moral stature vastly inferior.

The long road to the ‘Right to Health’ in India

Clearer commitments and standards on access and quality, making oversight and redressal mechanisms more participatory, and allocating adequate financial resources alone would make the right to healthcare to all citizens a reality. 

How India won the race to Siachen

The book is a must-read for all policymakers, diplomats, academics and civil and military personnel who have an interest in Siachen.

India needs to be more open to free trade

In a world slowing down due to a recession, even if our share of trade goes up from 3 to 4 per cent, that would be a huge boost for the Indian economy. And that is eminently feasible only if we are less afraid of open and free trade.