The State of our Landscape: Insights from the last thirty days
On May 22nd, we marked one month since the Pahalgam terrorist attack, and today marks thirty days since ‘Operation Sindoor’, which India launched to avenge the deaths of the twenty-six innocent victims of Pahalgam.
Many may consider the operation over, but another operation of self-congratulatory rhetoric and claims of success continues to reverberate through our landscape. While we are busy fooling each other with numerous victory parades, Pakistan, which we have tried for decades to isolate internationally as the sponsor of terrorism, is appointed vice chair of the UNSC and chair of the Taliban Sanction Committee. This narrative is likely to persist until after the Bihar elections, scheduled for October 2025. Two things never end in India – the election and cricket. The operation lasted four days and concluded as inexplicably as it had started. Yet, there is no official documentation outlining its objectives or assessing our current position within the risk-benefit framework.
Many may consider the operation over, but another operation of self-congratulatory rhetoric and claims of success continues to reverberate through our landscape. While we are busy fooling each other with numerous victory parades, Pakistan, which we have tried for decades to isolate internationally as the sponsor of terrorism, is appointed vice chair of the UNSC and chair of the Taliban Sanction Committee. This narrative is likely to persist until after the Bihar elections, scheduled for October 2025. Two things never end in India – the election and cricket. The operation lasted four days and concluded as inexplicably as it had started. Yet, there is no official documentation outlining its objectives or assessing our current position within the risk-benefit framework.
Opinion Deluge and how it`s shaping us
Many of us remember the national English dailies of the past decades and their celebrated editors. Our fathers insisted that we read them daily, seeing it as a prescription for both knowledge of current affairs and intellectual development. These editors wrote opinion pieces that shaped national discourse on issues of great importance. They were highly educated, groomed by the experts of their time, and had extensive real-world experience. Known for their integrity and honesty, they commanded the respect of both their readers and the broader public.
These editors were the chieftains who controlled the flow of information through their news outlets. They represented specific political and economic ideologies and built large followings around them. Their credibility was undeniable because they were not directly involved in politics or motivated by commercial interests. The reputation of a newspaper was closely tied to the credibility of its editors.
These editors were the chieftains who controlled the flow of information through their news outlets. They represented specific political and economic ideologies and built large followings around them. Their credibility was undeniable because they were not directly involved in politics or motivated by commercial interests. The reputation of a newspaper was closely tied to the credibility of its editors.
Couch Patriots, are we a victim of framing effect
In 1972, my father brought home gifts for my sister and me from his trip.
Two books, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, were written by Chakravarti Rajgopalchari. We were disappointed. At the age of 6/7, our expectations were a box of sweets or some fancy dress, not books on mythology.
By then, we were somewhat exposed to the Ram Laxman Sita Hanuman stories of the Ramayana from various children`s magazines and were naturally attracted to it. I started reading it with gusto and read multiple times after that. Ramayana was easily digestible by our simple, young minds. It was entertaining too. It filled our unformed minds with the ideas of heroes, ideals, and we started picturing people with that lens.
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What`s in a Kiss, Man.
A New Year party, an hour past midnight, euphoria dying down, a couple mildly drunk were seen dancing alone to the slowing tempo of the music. The music stopped, everyone clapped, and they hugged each other, ending with the girl planting a kiss on the lips of the man—her cousin brother. She breezed back to her waiting friends with an air of nonchalance, and when confronted by her friends sitting closely, her repartee was as candid…. It was just a kiss, man!
Tighten Your Seatbelts and Meet Prakash Sethi
Cuttack Sadar MLA Prakash Sethi`s English speech at Baliyatra inauguration has gone Viral......the caption shrieked from the rooftop.
Baliyatras have been happening for decades, and the one of 2024 got the biggest eyeball for an interesting incident. Prakash Sethi, Cuttack Sadar MLA from the ruling party, gave a speech in English on the inauguration day. This year, ambassadors, high commissioners, and diplomats from 14 ASEAN, BIMSTEC, and Pacific countries attended the fair for the first time.
Who is Prakash Sethi?
Baliyatras have been happening for decades, and the one of 2024 got the biggest eyeball for an interesting incident. Prakash Sethi, Cuttack Sadar MLA from the ruling party, gave a speech in English on the inauguration day. This year, ambassadors, high commissioners, and diplomats from 14 ASEAN, BIMSTEC, and Pacific countries attended the fair for the first time.
Who is Prakash Sethi?
From Love to Love
Love,
I understand your feelings and the depth of your love for me and I`m in acute pain now while writing this letter to you.
We both are adults enough to understand that we are in a mutually consensual relationship with no social sanction. It`s immoral and in many ways illegal. It breaks my heart to tell the obvious. Hence, it will always exist and thrive between us only in our secret privacy with only the phones as its mute witnesses. The space and time available to us is the net after it`s taken by our physical, social, and professional sides. We can`t change or contest it, we can`t encroach on this, and we must respect these Laxman Rekha. After all, we are respectable people.
Why Gandhi Must be Resurrected
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man`s needs, but not every man`s greed.
It’s a part of the full quote from the letter Gandhi wrote to RM Pearce, in December 1947. The full quote is "God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the West... The earth has enough for everybody`s need, but not enough for everybody`s greed." Gandhi expressed the idea barely a few months after independence when the country was taking its first few baby steps to stand and walk properly. This quote has since become a popular phrase, highlighting the tension between Basic human needs (food, water, shelter, dignity), and Insatiable desires driven by greed (excess wealth, power, material possessions). He had already seen the ills of frenzied industrialization and was conceiving the country of his dreams.
It’s a part of the full quote from the letter Gandhi wrote to RM Pearce, in December 1947. The full quote is "God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the West... The earth has enough for everybody`s need, but not enough for everybody`s greed." Gandhi expressed the idea barely a few months after independence when the country was taking its first few baby steps to stand and walk properly. This quote has since become a popular phrase, highlighting the tension between Basic human needs (food, water, shelter, dignity), and Insatiable desires driven by greed (excess wealth, power, material possessions). He had already seen the ills of frenzied industrialization and was conceiving the country of his dreams.
What’s in a name? The cases of Ravenshaw to X
Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet wrote ‘What`s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’. Deng Xiao Ping said, ‘It doesn’t matter if the cat is black or white; a cat is a cat, as long as it catches mice.’ Both dismiss the importance of external attributes like the name or appearance of a place or person to bring into focus the functionality and substance intrinsic to it.
So, what’s in a name?
A lot! A loud chorus can be heard. These are the voices of the ones who support it and those who oppose it.
So, what’s in a name?
A lot! A loud chorus can be heard. These are the voices of the ones who support it and those who oppose it.
The TradDad must make a come back
I have been watching this Mahabharata between the retired army officers and the serving police personnel. Now, both the parties, equally important for the society and the country are at war. You see allegations, half-truths, biased opinions and legal wrangles showing no sign of waning. Anyone who is anybody is giving his two cents on the matter after seeing some clip from some source. We also know how a media reportage or an FIR can be designed to grind personal, and political axes.
Democratic Despots
The title ‘Democratic Despot’ of an article can be a bit uncomfortable for us, especially on the 78th Independence Day of the largest democracy comprising 1.45 billion people.
Can a democratic country have a despot or a dictator as its leader? It seems like an oxymoron and an impossible situation.
What tempted me to write this article was while discussing the state of democracy in our neighbouring countries with whom we share strong similarities of physical appearance, language and culture; a dear friend of mine stated that in India things like military dictatorship and pogroms can never happen because our major religion and culture do not lend any legitimacy to such designs and our strong constitution, judiciary, laws would not allow it.
Can a democratic country have a despot or a dictator as its leader? It seems like an oxymoron and an impossible situation.
What tempted me to write this article was while discussing the state of democracy in our neighbouring countries with whom we share strong similarities of physical appearance, language and culture; a dear friend of mine stated that in India things like military dictatorship and pogroms can never happen because our major religion and culture do not lend any legitimacy to such designs and our strong constitution, judiciary, laws would not allow it.
About me .
Entrepreneur · Researcher · Communicator
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