Newsweek magazine has a lot more swerve in the way their writers do stories. Concise, creative and opinionated, they educate and inform. Not to forget, entertain. From the heartland of Egypt to the messy politics of Murdoch to China’s economic progress, most of these lay the roadmap for the uninformed reader. However one-sided it may …
A recent video on YouTube showed Malayalam actress Kavya Madhavan being asked to leave the premises of a polling booth for trying to skip the queue. It was thanks to the bravado of one man that the rest of the voters could vote peacefully and in time. He protested and did not allow the star …
Is India free of bias yet? This is something that has always come across to me as foolish – the idea that the once-discriminated/tortured can be made to feel like equals only if they are slotted in the ‘quota category’. And I am talking about the reservation system in India for the backward classes. Income …
A country where armies exceed the residing population. A city where residents drive along the roads with Bollywood tracks thumping in the background with an ever-clinging threat of being the next victim. The next victim of either one of the four armies of NATO, US, government or Taliban. Welcome to Afghanistan. As absurd as this …
In the close to 20 years since the beginning of the Bosnian War, much has happened. Thousands have been massacred, international forces have intervened, peace agreements have been negotiated, individuals have been tried for war crimes, refugees have fled. Yet, in the midst of this difficult story, it is inspiring to know that people have …
The terrorist attacks that took place in Mumbai in November 2008 shattered Mumbai and shocked the world. 174 people were killed in the brutal slaughter including 9 gunmen; the unpleasant incident further souring relations between India and Pakistan. On May 3rd, an Indian court found 22-year old Pakistani, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, guilty of terrorism. …
This year, the voting public of the UK are witness to the development of a totally new kind of electioneering with the implementation of TV election debates between the party leaders in the run up to the General Election on May 6th. Last night saw the third and final live showdown between Brown, Cameron and …
In the wake of a spectacular, if slightly troubled IPL series, a crisis the like of which has rarely been seen in the world of Indian cricket, has hit India’s favourite sport. The BCCI in what some termed a ‘midnight coup’, recently suspended the IPL chief, Lalit K Modi following accusations of tax wrongdoings and …
Dear lovers of history, particularly Japanese and Chinese history. If you want a deeper insight on the rape of Nanking, nothing like reading this internationally award-winning essay written by me and honoured by none other than the Iris Chang Foundation. It was declared an ‘essay of distinction’. You could download an e-book for $5 and …
In Kerala the answer is yes. Seven bus operators voted in favour. In their defence, they are thinking of students and a suggested decrease of their fares but an increase of minimum fare to Rs 5 for other passengers. The problem is that an increase might reduce the number of travellers and then jobs will …
It’s the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. I have been there (1995). It looks just like an ordinary stone weighing about 2 kilos resting on my mantelpiece in pride of place. But it is special. Not just because I carried it in my rucksack for 1000 miles by train, …
