Backgrounders

Singing errors in tune- glaring mistakes in Indian film songs. Does it matter?

Some of the finest old songs in Bollywood had glaring errors which went noticed. Surely, these ‘mistakes’ are a precious memory of the past and constitute a delicious slice of film music of that era.

Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, UP elections and India’s foreign policy dilemmas

Will the Indian government save its huge investments in Afghanistan and not be reduced into a non-entity in the region? Or, will it only choose to use Taliban for its shallow ends in domestic politics, to win elections, and score brownie points by polarising on communal grounds through fake media narratives?

The Deadly triangle, United States and the dilemmas of a dithering India

India’s Afghan problem is bigger than what is made out to be! Not only in terms of the American squeeze on Jammu and Kashmir, or troop-deployment at the Pakistan and China border, there is a lot to watch out for as US troops prepare to leave the landlocked country
Neighbourhood
Defence

‘Each individual lives and experiences war differently’

The successful launch of her book on conflict zones has yet again focused the gaze on the trauma and violence of war-stressed conflict zones. And, yet, amidst the deepest despair, hope lurks. Amit Sengupta talks to author Meha Dixit.

50 years of Bangladesh: A musical birth of a violated nation

George Harrison, Ravi Shankar and many more musicians got together to highlight the violence that Bangladesh was subjected to by Pakistani forces

India-China face-off: Xi Jinping’s redlines on snow

Informed sources claim that the window to avoid an Indo-China war is for a few months till Joe Biden takes over as US President and snow starts melting in the cold desert. The Chinese want to check out their fears – whether India has become an American military ally or not!
Energy

A Killer Virus. Fire in Arctic, Heat Wave in Siberia, Snow in the desert!

A global virus. New strains of diseases. New ecological catastrophes. All apocalyptic weather aberrations are man-made – a deadly consequence of the unbridled greed unleashed by globalisation and consumer society.

To Bee or Not to Bee

Despite the environment becoming pollution free, bees are declining rapidly in numbers, causing a tremor of worry across the globe.

Oil: Beyond the mirage of low prices

Oil and gas markets have gradually stabilized and prices will likely break the $40 barrier as the world economy restarts.
World

Can India emerge unscathed after hosting G20 and SCo?

Hosting G20, and SC0 is a big challenge for India. Will US President Joe Biden participate in the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin also around?

Indian silence on Chinese belligerence has a meaning

India has maintained its silence during the latest face-off between US and China, but is trying to explore a peace agreement with Beijing- its raids on Chinese telecom companies notwithstanding.

Kashmir-Democracy lost to a majoritarian narrative and institutional fragility

institutional weakness displayed by Supreme Court’s reluctance to take up the matter of the revocation of Article 370 has hurt constitutional democracy in our country