Opinion
Pt. Vijay Shankar Mehta's column: Removing the mind will create the space that calms us
Sorrow in life and being unhappy are two different things. There is no sorrow that comes without happiness and there is no happiness that comes without sorrow. These two come together. The name of their understanding is their liberation. There is a word – space. It simply means create space. Keep a space in our feelings and thoughts. Thoughts come from outside, we are thinking. Then we attach our whole personality, being, to that idea. The sages have said that the mind does the work of sticking to the body and soul of a person and the more the body and soul clings to it, the more restless it
N. Raghuraman's column: Difficult to predict medical emergencies, but easy to be prepared
At around 9 pm on Monday night, Jalandhar's industrialist Deepak Pujara was in the middle of his badminton game. For the past five years, he spent a few hours playing and entertaining at the Raizada Hansraj Badminton Stadium to stay fit like many in that city. While playing a shot, he suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed. Dr. Nitish Garg, a cardiologist from the same city who was playing on the other court, saw him falling and rushed to help. He gave a cardiac massage, but Deepak did not respond. Although the hospital was just a two-minute driving distance from the stadium, Dr. Garg felt th
Barkha Dutt's column: We have a mountain of unanswered questions in front of us in the Tvisha case
Tvisha Sharma, a former model, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the house of her mother-in-law and former district judge Giribala Singh. Tvisha's husband Samarth Singh — who is a lawyer by profession and absconded soon after Tvisha's death — and Giribala are now in CBI custody. But there is increasingly evidence to believe that this is not the story of a woman who commits suicide due to dowry demands. Solid facts continue to indicate that Twisha's death was likely the result of a violent attack. Giribala Singh's unusual anxiety over obtaining the CCTV footage of the crime s
Priyadarshan's column: Why are there so many "examinations" in our education system?
First the NEET exam was canceled, then the CBSE results and the problems of re-evaluation made the students cry. The Supreme Court has strongly reprimanded the NTA in the case of NEET. But is anyone paying attention to the fundamental flaws in our entire education system? There are at least three trends that plague the education system. First of all, we have made examinations synonymous with education. Education is just about taking exams. Whereas many corruption in education begins with exams – many disparities too. The difference between good and bad schools, tuition, coaching, paper leaks
N. Raghuraman's Column: Seek a Positive Perspective in Emerging Negative Situations
The word 'no' may sound negative to many people, but when used in the right place, it also has a positive side. For example, in his show on television, superstar Amitabh Bachchan once said that 'no work is difficult for me'. If you are involved in hospitals and the caregiving industry, especially in the nursing profession or nursing college operations, then this story ahead is very important. Negative Situation: I was reminded of Amitji's words on Tuesday when I read a research paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago this week. It was repor
Syed Ata Hasnain's column: Wars are easy to start, but difficult to end
The vocabulary of conflicts has now changed significantly. Terms like hybrid, un-restricted and cognitive warfare are very much in vogue in strategic discourse. Yet, the 'grey zone' is often interpreted in a very limited sense, i.e. activities that occur below the limits of conventional warfare – such as cyber intrusions, proxy conflicts, economic pressures or disinformation campaigns. But the recent conflicts show a profound shift. Modern wars are now being fought in a persistent 'grey zone' environment — a strategic environment characterized by ambiguity, controlled escalation, political
Raghuram Rajan's column: 'AI' is proving to be a losing proposition
AI tools are arguably changing the nature of our work. Large language models (LLMs) can already generate reports on my own research papers, which can strongly challenge reports created by humans. Unlike humans—who are always short on time—an LLM has access to a lot of information in an instant, and usually has less bias. The AI also points out my analytical weaknesses, proofchecks, and makes suggestions for improvement. The reports that humans make are rarely better than this. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm that is being shown in the market about AI has now become a cause of concern. As such
India’s antiquated law on contempt of court restricts personal liberty and must be overhauled
After having raised the issue of whether the clubby and secretive collegiums system actually preserves the independence of the judiciary former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju, has now trained his guns on India’s antiquated contempt of court law. He has made the valid point, in this newspaper, that judicial supremacy cannot be based on the law of kings in a democracy.
India’s best hope is that the Budget due February 2015 chooses growth and jobs
The presidential address to Parliament on June 9, 2014 had focussed nearly exclusively on projects and schemes, eschewing policy. Therefore, many had eagerly awaited the budget speech for a policy vision of the new government. Unfortunately, it too left observers guessing on whether the government would tackle tough reforms or rely principally on better implementation.
If cops guard veggies now, crooks could well come up with new crimes
Perhaps outnumbering its regular guardians of the law India has a self-appointed ‘moral police’ — who dictate what people may or may not do — as well as a ‘book police’ who regulate what people can read or write. Now, if Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has his way, the capital might have a ‘veggie police’ as well.
