Once, our universities made a fundamental contribution to the opening of the Indian mind. Now, it is more likely that they will act as a constraint to the further economic and social development of India. Ramachandra Guha notes the four ills that plague India's universities, 150 years after the first three of them were established.

Even the most calculating and hard-hearted woman will not be indifferent to what happens to the child she has birthed. This is the reason that female infanticide remains a phenomenon restricted to only a few areas while sex selective abortions are rampant, writes Kalpana Sharma.

An excess of secularism may be as problematic as bigotry, whereas pragmatism is in salutary contrast to both of those, writes Ramachandra Guha.

India cannot afford not to take a proactive approach to migration. In particular, adaptation measures in key sectors are needed to improve resilience and reduce the pressure on migration from climate change, writes Sujatha Byravan.

One woman dies every eight minutes due to complications arising due to pregnancy such as sepsis, haemorrhage or obstructed labour. These deaths could be avoided if there is timely medical intervention, writes Kalpana Sharma.

A meaningful and enduring bilingualism, embracing both English and the mother tongue, remains out of reach of the vast majority of citizens, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Adivasi Academy, a learning institute set up by Bhasha Research and Publication Centre is a must visit place for one to learn the importance of language and cultural diversity of our country. Ashish Kothari writes about his experience and learnings at the Academy.

The media is unconsciously desensitising society towards the youth, and pressurising them to conform to a stereotype, says Shivam Vij.

Legislatures around the country are invoking privilege on all sorts of issues, even as the political parties condemn each other's actions to limit press freedom. Sevanti Ninan reports.

Dasu Krishnamoorty examines reporting in the aftermath of Godhra and the subsequent riots in Gujarat.

The government's recent CR policy is considered a big leap forward in enabling people to participate in the mass media. The next five years may see some self-help groups, fisherfolk and farmer groups, in areas remote and near, bid for radio stations of their own. Malvika Kaul reports.

The terror attacks have raised numerous questions of media ethics, values and news-gathering methods. While the government and politicians faced the wrath of the public, the media too was under the lens. Ramesh Menon reports.

Can technology restore the balance between people in their conversations about public issues? And can this help foster a better and more inclusive democracy, asks Shubhranshu Choudhary.

The politically motivated appointment of a hardly-known personality to the post of chairperson at the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India has predictably created outrage amongst students and the artist fraternity. Shoma Chatterji looks at the real arguments behind the ongoing debate.

If there are differences between a documentary and a feature film, Faiza Khan's Supermen of Malegaon dispels them all. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

A cinematographer remembers his own journey of documentary film-making, offering insights into the technical and emotional challenges of his work. Shoma Chatterji reviews In Camera - Diaries of a Documentary Cameraman.

Vijay Tendulkar's Kanyadaan is not about domestic violence. It is about deeper, multiple, and sometimes invisible layers of violence that is an integral part of society. Shoma Chatterji reviews the play.

Sanjay Kak's latest film Red Ant Dream weaves together disparate stories of people's movements and transports the viewer to hidden pockets of resistance to paint a picture of conflict and revolutionary potential in India today. Freny Manecksha reviews the film.

A mainstream Bollywood production in the making, titled Gulab Gang, draws heavily on the circumstances and even the name of a now-famous real life movement, but purports to be purely fictional. Shoma Chatterji explores the questions of ethics and creative morality that this raises.

The recently held Kolkata People’s Film Festival – an offshoot of the founding movement called The Cinema of Resistance – screened powerful documentaries and feature films portraying the struggle and resistance of the marginalised and downtrodden. Shoma Chatterji reports.

Manhole is a scathing celluloid indictment on the state of manual sewer cleaners in India, writes Shoma A. Chatterji.

4 Tamarinds and Toffees is a delightful and nostalgic film on two women directed by a young and thoughtful director, writes Shoma Chatterji.

There is a surprising hope in the most despairing places. It isn't often that many of us see this, but when we do, we are struck by the determination with which enormous deprivation is tackled by real heroes. Somnath Mukherji encounters the work of Tomorrow's Foundation in Kalighat, West Bengal.

Free Bird Productions, a Kolkata-based documentary unit that makes cultural, ethnographic and documentary films, has made two of the more noteworthy films about the recent events in Singur and Nandigram. Shoma Chatterji notes the unanswered questions the films raise.

Samir Chanda's Ek Nodir Galpo, which premiered in Kolkata in November 2007, offers the moving experience of a father who makes it his mission to name a river after his dead daughter. His struggle evolves into his way of reinventing his daughter. Shoma Chatterji has more.

Not many trace their way back to the human tragedy that has given rise to the culture of violence that marks Lalgarh today. The women do not appear scared of any police reaction in response to their protests. Soma Mitra has more.

Over the years, several thousands have made their way to this Kolkata eatery to feast on authentic local food. It's the star feather in the All Bengal Women's Union's cap. Aditi Bhaduri has more.

The concerns of Third World citizens have been routinely overlooked - until now, i.e., as technologies developed for animals are conveniently passed off as adequate for the world's poor as well, says Devinder Sharma.

President Kalam's vision for rural development is at odds with Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades where Shah Rukh Khan charts a simple location-specific path to village development. The two different routes to the same objective bring out the conflict in our understanding of the rural crisis, says Devinder Sharma.

How can 'drastic cuts' in trade subsidies lead to no reduction? Simple: fudge the language. Economic jugglery and clever wording cannot, however, conceal the horrible effects of US and EU subsidies on livelihoods and food security in the developing world. Devinder Sharma urges the G-20 to simplify the terms of trade.

Aaaah! Rejoice… love is in the air…and it is beating the virus! Let’s unashamedly swoon over the parallel ‘love tracks’ of these two ‘Lockdown relationships’ — one featuring a 51-year-old, world famous, London-based scientist, the...

Pakistan has decided to lift lockdown to kick-start its tottering economy. The growth engine of Pakistan’s economic revival is powered by CPEC, flagship project of the Belt Road Initiative (BRI). It is tempting to conjure...

On 10 th of May, 1857 the Ghadar started. A group of Indian sepoys in employment of the ‘honourable’ British East India Company revolted in Meerut, killed its English officers and marched on Delhi. They...

Virat Kohli is in a good frame of mind which gives him confidence of being able to pick up from where he left as and when cricket resumes in the post-Covid world. "... once I am in a good frame of mind and I am keeping myself positive and happy, whenever I return to the game, I know I will be in a good position to start again from where we left," Kohli said.

The absence of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen took many by surprise. To clear the air, website promoters chess.com released a statement but ended up hurting none other than Carlsen.

Umar Akmal, who was found guilty of two charges under the PCB Anti-Corruption Code has refused to divulge details of his two meetings with suspected bookies. According to the source, Akmal had a meeting with two unidentified men in Defence Housing Society in Lahore. The PCB source said Akmal also gave conflicting statements before the Disciplinary Panel hearing on April 27.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir doesn't see major changes in the way cricket is played in the post COVID-19 scenario besides the ban on using saliva on the ball. The International Cricket Council is considering legalisation of the usage of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of saliva.

Minister for Industries, mines and parliamentary affairs Prakash Mehta will attend the programmes regarding 26/11 on behalf of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Former Union minister G K Vasan, who quit the Congress recently, unveiled a tri-colour flag for his yet-to-be named party on Wednesday.

Jet had last Friday said that the incident happened when their plane was trying to take off from the runway. But the preliminary probe by Saudi authorities has found that the lane was trying to take off from a taxiway parallel to the take off-designated runway at full power.

The epistolary novel, which consists of letters exchanged between two or more people, is one of the earliest novel forms and is successful for two main reasons.

Enthralling , engrossing, enticing . Unsurprising for a book whose subject is the supremely beautiful Madhubala. This biography is a good read for those who know little about this gifted actress. Written in an easy, fluid style, with captivating black and white photographs, "I Want to Live" is almost plaintive in its title.

Why is it that in the historical art galleries of painting - or of sculpture, for that matter - only a very few women are represented?

Amitav Ghosh digs out a hidden part of the Raj history in a compelling story

He's one of the subcontinent's most exciting literary talents. His new book 'Noon' explores violence in South Asia. Son of Pakistani politician Salman Taseer, assassinated after defying Islamist groups, Aatish Taseer speaks with Srijana Mitra Das about nations, truth, lies and ties that bind - or break - people.