Modi was silent when he had to speak and spoke when he needn’t have

The BJP’s troubles began when the prime minister continued in the sloganeering and promise mode of electioneering for too long.

The ...

The gender of a sound byte

Dear Barkha, This is taking up from where we last left off. The last time we met at a dinner party in Mumbai, you had enquired why I always turned down requests to appear o...

I’m Too Sexist For This Tweet

Old people can be hugely entertaining, as anyone who has ever heard their grandfather casually emit a jackhammer-style burp in public will agree. If they’re extra old...

Censoring of cinema is a sociological, not a creative, issue: New censor board member

Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani was appointed the new board chairperson after Leela Samson, appointed in early 2011, quit protesting clearance to MSG, and alleging political inte...

Ministries battle over applicability of Forest Rights Act

Union ministries are engaged in an official tussle over the ambit and implementation of the Forest Rights Act. After the environment ministry (MoEF) issued a circular in Oc...

Lexicon of democratic literacy

The introduction of educational qualifications as eligibility criteria for contesting panchayat elections has shocked and angered rural Rajasthan, including supporters of t...

Women’s empowerment in UP bleak

Gender equity and the status of women remain the hand-maiden of callous politics in India’s largest state by population and 2014 has been deplorably stark. The &lsquo...

Amitabh Bachchan participates in Swachh Bharat Abhyan

Actors like Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan got to the streets and actively participated in the new cleanliness drive initiated by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The acto...

Malnutrition, related diseases a major issue in India: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Malnutrition and related diseases is a very serious issue in 184 deprived districts across the country and the Centre will launch a campaign to check it, Union Health Minis...