Column

Fear – A unifier!

   BY DR SANJAY KOLTE   AMIDST the clutter of violence, rape, accidents and terrorism a news on the front page of a daily caught my attention and amazed me on the morning of a friendship day, while the fragrance of friendship..

Three Famines

      By Gwynne Dyer   THERE are three incipient famines in the world today, and politics is at the root of all of them. That’s not unusual, actually: famines are almost always political events. My family..

From anti-graft crusader to ‘kingpin’ of liquor cartel

     By Deepika Bhan     In his 13-year political career, which began with the massive cause of delivering transparent, honest and corruption-free governance, Kejriwal has hobnobbed with all those whom he ..

US Presidential elections

   By John Bachtell   Once upon a time, if a presidential candidate predicted a “bloodbath” if they lost, called for terminating the Constitution, or was a serial rapist, insurrectionist, liar, and fraudster, they..

Equality- Dynamic Concept

      By Adv. R. S. Agrawal   THE subsequent Government Resolutions referred to in the public Interest Litigation (PIL) between the Maharashtra MLA, Ravindra Hemraj Dhangekar and District Collector, Pune and 4 ..

Woman: The peerless pillar

      BY ULHAS D. GANGANE     THE world recently celebrated International Women’s Day. The day being celebrated for the distinguished valour of a woman, esteemed stamina of a woman, humble and s..

India’s Digital Market Shining

    By K Raveendran   THE spotlight is shining brightly on India’s digital entertainment market. The news of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, ADIA, contemplating a $1.2 billion investment in Pocket FM, a ri..

Who will tell our youth the real story of thestruggle for freedom ?

   Loud Thinking - Vijay Phanshikar  THE names are, of course, familiar to most young people -- Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru -- as heroes of the armed part of India’s struggle for Independence. But beyond a perfunctory awa..

Security Dynamics Of LS Polls

 By Lt General M K Das  ELECTIONS to the Parliament (Lok Sabha) and four State Assemblies of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have been announced. The election will be held in seven phases as was the case in the year 201..

Holi Hai!!

  BY GAURI KIROLIKAR   THE festival of colours, festival of joy Holi is on it’s way. Each one of us might be having good or bad memories with every festival. Holi being a festival of colours is celebrated using colours of ..

Of city that gave a short shrift to the PM

POSSIBLY, it is time to remind the Nagpur civic as well as political leaderships that they are failing to fulfill the promise Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi had made to the city about rejuvenation of the Naag River -- during his last visit to the city nearly one-and-a-half years ago. The Naag River Rejuvenation was one of the projects the Prime Minister had promised to undertake in and around Nagpur. That promise is yet to be fulfilled by the local authorities and leadership. Hence this reminder. ..

Curb money, muscle power for smoother LS polls

      By Kalyani Shankar    Indian democracy has thrived for over 75 years despite various challenges such as illiteracy, poverty, and more. The power has shifted smoothly 17 times, unlike in the neig..

Enjoyment misunderstood!

   BY SANDHYA DESHPANDE    HOW come so many lovely moments of enjoyment, take an ugly turn? Some have tragic ends, some leave a bitter taste. Why and what is the present day definition of enjoyment. What gives us the utm..

Techno Turbulence

    By GIRISH LINGANNA   AS INDIA prepares for its upcoming general election, artificial intelligence has become a battleground for political parties. Experts caution that current regulations are falling behind rapidly a..

Of the inner being of the Actor

    By Vijay Phanshikar   “I often think that could we creep behind the Actor’s eyes, we would find an attic of forgotten toys -- and a copy of the Domesday Book! ...” - Sir Laurence Olivier, The legend..

Consumer rights: Behaviour, technology, law

    By Mahima Garg   THE term ‘consumer’ has not been given an exhaustive legal definition in international law, but the US President, John F Kennedy’s statement that “consumers, by definition, in..

Life Of Wait List

    By Adv. R. S. Agrawal   LIFE of wait list prepared by a selection body is the question, which has been answered by the division bench consisting of the Bombay High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Jus..

High importance ofhighlighting Indian languages

THE issue of primacy of Indian languages is bound to enter the national discourse time and again. This time, for the issue to come up in this column, the trigger is the proposed Indian languages conference at a major location. The organisers are making sincere efforts to promote Indian languages in every possible manner -- which is welcome, to say the least. In spite of the fact that he works in an English-language newspaper, the loud-thinker has often insisted upon giving unquestionable importance ..

The second innings

      BY WG CDR R KUMAR (RETD)   AS Ire-attiredon 31st October 2023 from uniformed service in the Indian Air Force after a long and glorious thirty eight years where I enjoyed serving and training for National ..

Music – an elixir of life!

   BY PRAKASH KULKARNI  MONO T O N Y mars the mirth andmerriment of life, charge changesthesad and solitary life into charming andcheerfulone.Musicashobby has a magnificent and magical effect on one’s body, mind, intellectan..

CAA AND THE SECURITY ISSUES

      BY LT GENERAL M K DAS     IT WAS the month of August 2021. TheTaliban had just taken over power in Afghanistan. It was a rare event that an Islamistfundamentalistgroup was in control of a country whi..

Of a welcome change ... !

THE Ganesh Tekadi now has an elevated status. The Government of Maharashtra has granted the place ‘A’ Category elevation as a tourist attraction. The little hillock that has been hosting the Ganesh Mandir for godknows-how-many years will start attracting more devotees -- and tourists. The temple is now a beautifully architectured place of worship and prayer, and the entire complex assumes a shining look complete with smart attractive, smart lighting. The sanctum sanctorum, too, has been made to wear ..

Music: The incredible healer

     BY ULHAS D GANGANE    MANY people are still unaware about the absolutely outstanding healing power of music. Music significantly works as a soothing element is a less known fact even today. A person being ..

Earth, Mars And Climate

       By Adriana Dutkiewicz and Dietmar Muller   OUR existence is governed by natural cycles, from the daily rhythms of sleeping and eating, to longer patterns such as the turn of the seasons and the quad..

Thrust is to push India towards self-sufficiency

     By D.C. Pathak    Prime Minister Modi’s personal outreach to world leaders has helped India to adopt an ‘independent’ stance on geopolitical developments. This has in turn facilitated thi..

Of the secret of art of acting

      By Vijay Phanshikar “Acting, one affirms, is an art; the actor is an artist in the theatre. He is both creator and interpreter of another’s creation. The actor’s instrument is his body; in this he..

Biden plans a temporary food port for Gazans

    By Sushil Kutty   THE United States in its latest “let’s alleviate Gazans’ condition” will build a port on the Gaza coastline for easing the movement of relief into the war-torn city of the de..

Right To Dissent

    By Adv. R. S. Agrawal   THROUGH the judgement of the case- Javed Ahmad Hajam v. State of Maharastra & Another, delivered on March 7, 2024, Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, at the Supreme Court, have..

My inspiration

     BY DR. DEVAYANI THAKUR   THE word ‘inspiration ‘in itself seems synonymous with ‘woman’ as everywhere you find women inspiring someone or the other around them to do something better. Fo..

Egyptians Suffering A Lot

      THE Gaza war has turned Palestine into a lightning rod for mounting frustration and discontent in Arab autocracies such as Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Concerned that the war could mobilise segments of ..

Of people witharrogant habits and social indignity

      Loud Thinking - Vijay Phanshikar   11.30 in the night. Several cars stood by the roadside, their doors flung open, their headlights on, their car radios giving out different music full blast ...! Many peo..

Aggressive marketing

    BY ANIL SWAMY     EVERY top company in our country, recruits smart MBAs to push for stylish and aggressive marketing, either on phone or in person. Even if one responds by mistake, the follow up and aggressive ..

The Realm Of Ayurved - XI

    By Vijay phanshikar   THE science of Ayurved dedicates a shockingly vast body of research to the concept of Viruddha Ahaar, which does not seem to have a status of major thought in modern medicine. There may be some ..

Mysterious allures of Lord Shiva

     BY AISHWARYA MORONEY   “Shiva! The God of Gods, destroyer of evil, fierce warrior, consummate dancer and charismatic leader”, quoted author Amish Tripathi, describing Lord Shiva in his fantastic wor..

Equal Rights For Women

   By Krishna Jha   “YOU bear the seed, flower and fruit… You who never cease to Repair life…” It was Luce Irigaray, an Italian poetess, and author, yearning to be one, in completion, separate from the..

A love letter

   BY C S KRISHNAMURTHY   MY Dearest Love, Oh, where do I even begin? How do I express the tangled mess of emotions that swirl within me whenever I think of you? You whimsical, unpredictable force of the universe! You’r..

Tech Dominance

   By RENAUD FOUCART   EUROPE invests a lot in research, and publishes and patents many ideas. But it fails to compete with the US and China when it comes to translating its innovation effort into large, global technology fir..

Of a ‘reality’ that never was!

    Vijay Phanshikar    THAT morning dawned bathing in fine sunlight. There was a happy feeling in the air. Everybody was smiling and waving happily to everybody else. Out on the street on way to work, people found ..

UN HAS FAILED TO KEEP PEACE AND SECURITY IN THE WORLD

      By Nantoo Banerjee   So far, the UN, including its all-powerful Security Council, proved to be totally ineffective to stop the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to establish peace and human security. There are at ..

Of how poetry ‘happens’

      By Vijay Phanshikar   “Poetry is the moment when the language of the mind comes alive in words.” Dr. Maithili Sharan Gupt, ‘Rashtra Kavi’, 1886-1964. (Translated from original Kha..

Wittiness adds colour to life

     BY SURESH BABU    A DAY without laughter is a day wasted – Charlie Chaplin. Any conversation in a group of people suddenly sparks laughter and smiles only due to the presence of a witty person among..

Facial Data Consent

       By Margarita Vladimirova      THE morning started with a message from a friend: “I used your photos to train my local version of Midjourney. I hope you don’t mind”, ..

Munich tests India’s foreign policy

   By D.C. Pathak   IN THE background of India’s clear stand on the Hamas-Israel conflict denouncing the “terror” attack of Hamas on Israel on October 7 last year and endorsing the support of the US for the ..

Faith-Based Direction

      By Adv. R. S. Agrawal     THROUGH the judgement of the case – Reshma v. The Commissioner of Police, delivered on March 1, 2024, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma has quite clearly stated at th..

Are we really afraid of accosting young people in wrong habits?

l The boy and the girl -- clearly around twenty years of age -- walked into the premises of a posh restaurant. They had cigarettes in clutched clumsily in their fingers.Their lips were almost black, thanks to continuous smoking, and their eyes were red -- for reasons unknown. Both of them looked terribly tense and emaciated. True, they wore rather expensive clothes, but their personalities looked poorly sculpted -- possibly because of their habits...

Penning the thinking

     BY ULHAS D. GANGANE    ME BEING an extremely introvert person by nature, not so comfortable being present at crowded places. Not socially anxious but less social. Being happy at solitude where I am delighted to..

The Realm Of Ayurved - X

     By Vijay phanshikar  “Ushna (warm) Snigdha (unctuous) Matravat Ahaar (in proper quantity), Ahaar jeerna ashniyaat (after digesting previous food intake), Veerya aviruddha ashniyaat (compatible with individual ..

Delaying: Is it good or bad?

    BY GAURI KIROLIKAR  ‘KAAL Kare So Aaj Kar, Aaj Kare So Ab, Pal Mein Pralay Hogi, Bahuri Karega Kab’. Which means whatever has to be done tomorrow , do it today. Whatever is to be done today, do it right now. T..

Old & Older US Presidents

       By Sushil Kutty   ONE IS old, the other is older. But while President Joe Biden is being given the benefit of doubt of being a victim of the ‘gratuitous’, both are also being told every ..

Reflections on “How are you?”

      BY C S KRISHNAMURTHY  THE age-old question that slips of tongues like butter on a hot pancake – “How are you?” In our daily routine, the socially mandated inquiry stands as the gateway to a ..