Opinion
N. Raghuraman's column: Stay immersed in art, it will slow down your aging
Do you remember the days of Grandpa and Grandpa? Where did they go every evening — to a temple, to a school or to a community cultural meeting? Our grandmothers often used to say in the kitchen, 'I don't know what is there in those places where you don't stay home even for 15 minutes after returning from a day's work. I don't know about others, but most of the elders of that era in our chawl were definitely engaged in some cultural activity. Later, my father became like that. They used to hold meetings on Monday at the South Indian Association, which runs the 'Saraswati Vidyalaya' in Nagpur.
Richa Roy and Arundhati Katju's column: How justified is it to exempt foreign data centers to get ahead in AI?
India is moving towards becoming an AI infrastructure hub. One of the ways this is to make it easier for foreign companies to set up data centers in India. Data centers are computer systems facilities that are used to store data and support everything from cloud storage to AI. In this year's budget, foreign companies have been given a 21-year tax exemption for setting up data centers in India. In addition to this tax exemption of the Centre, the state governments have also given various incentives to foreign data centers. But in the US, proposals for large investments in data centers of these
Manoj Joshi's column: Trump won't get any 'big beautiful deal' from China
Trump and Xi Jinping will meet soon at the Beijing Summit. This will be Trump's first visit to China in his second term. Earlier, in October 2025, the two leaders met in Busan, South Korea. In his first term, Trump ended America's decades-old association with China. After a year-long tariff war between the two countries, Trump's visit is probably aimed at restoring relations between the two countries. America's longstanding relationship with China was based on the illusion that economic engagement with Western countries would make China more open and democratic. But the new relationship is a p
N. Raghuraman's column: Should we sugarcoat punishment to prevent aggression among children?
We all must have heard in our childhood, 'Stand on the bench'. "It was a common punishment. It was a little stricter, 'Stand outside the classroom.' Especially, when we used to bother the teacher of that period more. The second punishment is worse when you stand outside the classroom and the principal comes to the round. When I got such a punishment, I had to hide in the toilet twice. The third and worst punishment, which I always dreaded, was to 'meet in the principal's room after class.' "I never wanted such a punishment because the principal knew my dad and had a phone on his desk. They alw
Neeraj Kaushal's column: What happens when there is a one-party government at the Centre and in the state?
In recent years, the BJP has regularly used the slogan of 'double engine government'. But legal experts argue that this slogan weakens the federal structure of Indian governance. It implies that if there are governments of different parties at the Centre and in the state, it is not in the interest of the people of the state. Of course, this slogan can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but the prevailing meaning is that when the ideology of the ruling parties at the Centre and in the state is different, coordination between them is weak. The widespread use of this slogan raises two questions
N. Raghuraman's column: Reduce mother's 'decision-making burden' at least on Mother's Day
"Son, don't use the doll's bathroom. You leave him dirty and he doesn't like it,' the mother says from the kitchen, yet her son uses the same washroom. Making two different sized sandwiches—because the doll likes a sandwich cut into four pieces, while the son likes the triangle-shaped one—she also quickly goes to the doll's bathroom to make sure it's dry. "This boy never listens to me," she mutters. It doesn't understand that the doll has grown up now and wants her privacy. Who will eat what in the house today, what should the daughter wear to class today, what time should she leave the ho
Pt. Vijay Shankar Mehta's column: Be eager for Ram-Kaj and Ready for Governance
Be ready in the service of the country and be eager to serve God. By the way, Vivekananda ji says, the country is the first God. Let us keep India and the form of God that we worship equally. Pay attention to these two words—be prompt and be eager. From the point of view of language, he is a committed person. The one who works with a positive and disciplined attitude is ready. There is a hurry in the impatience, there is restlessness to get the result, there is turmoil in some places. But Tulsidas ji has written in the seventh verse of Hanuman Chalisa – 'Vidyawan guni ati clever, Ram Kaj k
N. Raghuraman's column: 'Platform Economy' is transforming our employment model
Lan Lu, who lives in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, was newly married and was looking for some extra income. That's when he came across a website called 'Xianyu' (unusable fish in Chinese). It is the largest consumer-to-consumer second-hand marketplace in China. The Alibaba Group's platform operates primarily as an app, which is linked to payment apps such as Taobao and Alipay. Users can buy and sell old items like clothes, electronics and rare collector items on it. Lu spontaneously posted a list on it, and then what happened surprised him. A lot of people from all over the country contac
Anil Chopra's column: We have redefined the rules of war.
On the night of 6-7 May 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor. It was a well-planned and time-bound military operation in response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. What followed in the next 88 hours was a demonstration of India's new and fully developed strategic doctrine: a doctrine that can be defined by clear purpose, technological self-reliance, political will and solidarity of the nation. Operation Sindur rewrote the rules of military confrontation between nuclear-armed neighbours and set a precedent that would determine the security direction of South Asia for decades to come.
Brahma Chellani's column: Trump-style of combining diplomacy with business is inappropriate
If a leader hands over key diplomatic responsibilities to his family and business partners, he will face heavy opposition in most democracies. But Trump has faced little opposition for doing so. Many people call this 'crony diplomacy' of his unconventional working style. But the long-term consequences are serious. Instead of relying on secretary of state or professional diplomats, Trump has delegated key responsibilities to his son-in-law Jared Kushner and business partner Steve Witkoff. Kushner was also a senior adviser to Trump in his first term and played a role in brokering the Abraham Acc
