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Several incidents in the last few months show that though the country is celebrating its 69th Independence Day, it still has miles to go to achieve real freedom from many challenges. The only problem is that the list seems to be growing every single day. FTII-students-protest-outside-Delhi-s-Shastri-Bhawan-against-Gajendra-Chauhan-s-appointment-as-the-new-chairperson-ANI-Photo Independence Day is a good a day to reflect […]

Kalam was beloved because he symbolised a syncretic India. Fittingly, the last image of his burial has a sea of caps all around: The military caps, the taqiyah, Gandhi topis, a keffiyah, and even plain handkerchiefs. For one moment, a fractious nation was united in grief. Perhaps we were mourning for what we once were

If defamation is to be decriminalized, then civil remedies and financial compensation for the loss of individual reputations must be strengthened. A combination photo of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (Agencies) If defamation is to be decriminalised, then civil remedies and financial compensation for the loss

Few politicians in India have as canny an instinct for social media communication as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his general election campaign, he used it to his advantage, reaching out to a growing demographic of savvy users on Twitter, Facebook and Google hangouts. Few politicians in India have as canny an instinct for social

As a bonafide member of Delhi’s power elite, Lalit Modi knows too many secrets. Is he trying to cut friends-turned-adversaries down to size? Who will he implicate next? Can Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Shashi Tharoor and Rajeev Shukla be safe? What is the security threat that Modi goes on and on about? Away-from-the-spin-doctoring-charges-and-counter-charges-the-Lalit-Modi-scandal-embodies-all-that-is-wrong-with-our-system-nepotism-conflict-of-interest-dirty-tricks-media-plants-and-zero-ethics At some

If the ongoing global gender conversation over sexual violence, over gay rights, over stereotypes just got a bit more interesting, then you can thank Caitlyn Jenner for that. Jenner’s decision to come out as a woman may not immediately open doors and dispel discrimination but it gives hope to many like her. The Kardashian khandaan

The sari will endure because when we Indian women want to dress up, when we attend weddings or festivals, when we want to feel special, the inevitable garment of choice is the sari. We are not the generation of our grandmothers and mothers who wore only saris (yes, even on the beach, alas), but our

As social media emerges as a source of legitimate news and as Indian corporates muscle their way into media ownership, public trust in the fourth estate is only dwindling further, writes Namita Bhandare. Shortly after taking over as Press Council chairman in 2011, Justice Markandey Katju made his views about journalists clear. Sensational, superstitious, anti-people

If a farmer hangs himself in his farm where there are no TV cameras, has he killed himself? Kamalamma-36-holds-on-to-her-husband-s-picture-outside-her-house-dreading-the-day-when-moneylenders-will-inevitably-come-knocking-Prasad-Nichenametla-HT-Photo If a farmer hangs himself in his farm where there are no TV cameras, has he killed himself? The cliché, life is stranger than fiction, was never truer than on Wednesday when farmer and father of

Two separate remarks, one by the prime minister and the other by the minister of state for external affairs, seem to have raised the pitch in a polarised environment. Two separate remarks, one by the prime minister and the other by the minister of state for external affairs, seem to have raised the pitch in

India is becoming an angry nation. But not angry enough about the right issues It’s the dismantling of the old order that lead economically and socially dominant Jats in Haryana to demand a slice of affirmative reservation – and to press home that demand, public property is vandalised and 16 people are left dead.(Hindustan Times)

If you believe that nine separate attacks on churches and several others on Christian-run schools in the last six months are just random occurrences then you also probably believe in the tooth fairy. A church is burnt in New Delhi. Electrical short-circuit. Another church’s windows shatter when a stone is thrown. Kids playing outside. In Haryana, the