Parliament needs to come alive more often. But it also needs to use its time carefully and wisely

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on December 11, 1985.

In its attempt to commandeer the em dash -- as though punctuation were a finite rare earth mineral to be strip-mined -- what AI is really doing is wandering into a tradition older, stranger and more human than any language model can compute

Unlike global warming mitigation, which can happen at national, regional or global levels, building defences against heat waves, floods, cyclones and storms requires action at the local level

An America that recognises limits to its power, accepts diversity in international affairs, and becomes less interventionist ought to be welcomed by Delhi

At a time when social media encourages competing victimhoods by saying that only experience and identity can form the basis of morality and ethics, we lose out on the larger idea of the universal

If large AI systems operate under Indian law, if computing power grows through green infrastructure, and if citizens can access AI securely and affordably, we can leapfrog directly to the green frontier

Pakistan today is not the rival of old; it is a state negotiating with its own contradictions. Recognising that reality — and responding with firmness without agitation — is what will define mature Indian statecraft in the years ahead

In a new edition of his book A Short History of Nearly Everything, author Bill Bryson has corrected his etymology of “asteroid” after a Delhi schoolboy wrote to him pointing out that it comes from the Greek word aster (‘star’), not from Latin.

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on December 10, 1985.

The NSS is notably harsh on US allies in Europe. It castigates Europe’s liberal polities and astonishingly promises to support right-wing movements seeking to overturn the continent’s current political order

Cooperation on the manufacture of parts and components with transfer of technologies of Russian defence platforms in India contrasts with the continuing ambivalence in some of India’s Western partners regarding the same

Rather than viewing employment generation solely through the lens of large industry or government programmes, policy must confront the reality that employment generation is tied to improving the productivity of its smallest enterprises

The BCCI allows a regulated transfer of talent by permitting three guest players outside the jurisdiction of an association to play for them in the senior team. But when malpractice ensues, guests become “native locals”, for money.

Since 2017, when the survivor went to the police, this solidarity, and the entrenched silence that it has helped break, has been the silver lining that glimmered through the cloud that hung over the case.

To simply do better at what we’re doing now, as opposed to finding new and more glamorous things to do, is not often prioritised. If we don’t get these basics right, we will not get anything else right

Looking into the specific lapses that led to this avoidable tragedy is certainly important. But there also needs to be a larger reckoning with the lack of fire safety compliance in the country

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on December 9, 1985.

In an anxious world, Cloud Dancer dredges up a desire for mental whitespace

With the World Meteorological Organisation predicting a 55 per cent chance of a “weak” La Niña, which could result in a colder and longer winter, the rabi crop prospects appear bright.

The deepening partnership and shared commitment to security have boundless potential to address regional and global challenges

Think of ‘Game of Thrones’. The mechanical map unfurling, Ramin Djawadi’s score climbing note by note, dread and awe rising in equal measure. It was a prelude, a promise, a mood.

The country’s largest airline, IndiGo, cannot get away by simply saying that disruptions “have arisen primarily from misjudgement and planning gaps”.

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on December 8, 1985.