A voter list is a promise. The question today is who gets to keep it. The Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, is a deep house-to-house check of India’s voter list. Many people think it is new. It is not. The ECI says intensive revisions have been held since the 1950s,...
Who Is Protecting Democracy? India is the world’s largest democracy, but democracy means more than conducting elections every five years. It requires a free media, independent constitutional institutions, a fair electoral process and the freedom to question those in power. Today, criticism of the government is sometimes portrayed by political...
India is the world’s largest democracy, but how much of what Indians watch on television or read in newspapers represents independent journalism? When powerful corporations own media networks, political leaders influence the news cycle, and government advertising becomes a commercial consideration, citizens must ask an uncomfortable question: Are we watching...
In the early hours of 11 October, a Mini Cooper hit a scooter near Kochi airport. Three young people died: Devika, Gopika and Iyas. They were students who also worked part-time, and they were riding home after tea. Police say the 19-year-old driver had drunk at three bars that night,...
This October, three Indian states declared drought. Karnataka declared 217 of its 240 taluks. Maharashtra declared 265 of 358. Andhra Pradesh declared 388 of 688 mandals. Karnataka’s monsoon was its weakest since 1971, and El Niño is getting stronger. (El Niño is a natural warming of the sea surface in...
Regensburg, Germany: Kerala’s martial arts athlete Sujay has achieved a proud milestone by winning the gold medal at a grappling championship held in Germany. Sujay, the son of Seemesh, delivered an impressive performance in the competition to secure the gold medal. He is the grandson of Shashidharan, who belongs to...
Watch any Indian flight land. The wheels touch the ground, and before the plane stops, people are standing, opening the lockers and pushing into the aisle. The door stays closed for several minutes. Everyone waits, bent under the locker, doing nothing. This is our habit in one picture: we are...
The Two Mistakes That Kill Businesses Every entrepreneur eventually faces the same question about a venture that is not working: should I keep going or should I stop? Most people answer it badly because they ask it in the wrong way. They look at the past. The better question looks...
Have you ever felt that someone was hiding something, but you could not say what? You were not imagining it. Harmful people rarely look like villains in films. They look like a relative, a boss, a business partner, or a neighbour. They smile, they speak well, and they offer help....
What if the city that pays you a salary is quietly taking away your health, family time, savings and even your chance of survival? Welcome to Bengaluru, India’s Silicon Valley. A city of billion-dollar companies, ambitious professionals, world-class technology and dreams of a better future. Yet, every morning, millions of...
