Opinion
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
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.
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.
