When we were preparing the dossier for the nomination of Durga Puja to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity, we were repeatedly pressed by representatives of the Ministry of Culture to pitch the festival as “Durga Puja of India”. We argued, however, that geographical specificity and the active involvement of […]

In an earlier age of warfare, the most powerful machine on the battlefield was the aircraft, the missile, the tank, or the aircraft carrier. Today, the decisive machine may be something less visible: a software layer that absorbs satellite imagery, drone feeds, intercepted signals, battlefield reports, and cyber logs and turns them into decisions. The […]

When Reliance Jio launched in September 2016 with free voice and promotional data, it was hailed as a “Promethean gift”. Within a few years, the market had consolidated around a handful of operators: Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, along with the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The domestic tussle took on a global […]

In October 2022, Russian national Mikhail Shargin arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, from Almaty, Kazakhstan. The CBI was waiting for him. Shargin had been named in its investigation into the alleged manipulation of the computer-based JEE (Main) 2021. The CBI had registered a case against Affinity Education Private Ltd, Noida, its directors, […]

On October 11, John Brittas, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI[M]) member of the Rajya Sabha from Keralam, says Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel dragged him away as he spoke to reporters at Connaught Place. The protests, called by the Cockroach Janta Party, demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh […]

“Final report not accepted. Further investigation is ordered. Further investigation shall be completed, or progress shall be reported in 4 weeks.” This decisive rejection of the Tamil Nadu Police’s “Further Action Dropped” (FAD) report by S. Padma, the District Judge of the Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under the Protection of Children from […]

The Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board, currently headed by BJP leader Darakshan Andrabi, made a U-turn on October 16 on its plan to push for uniform, mandatory Friday sermons (khutba) in all mosques, after strong backlash from major political parties, religious bodies, and civil society coalitions active in the region. Immediately after an uproar from […]

It is hard to tell why she caught our attention, as a journalist friend and I stood on the road across Gate No.1 of Palika Bazaar, the underground market of Connaught Place. She had stepped out of a car, with a male companion, a little before 5 pm on October 16. This was the day […]