Women in the Indian Judiciary
Nine out of ten judges in higher judiciaries are male. What explains the gender gap in India’s highest courts?
An Insignificant Man
‘An Insignificant Man’ manages to be a thriller whilst staying true to its documentary roots.
The State of Press Freedom in India
“Why did they have to set me on fire?…They could have beaten me instead of pouring petrol and burning me”.
Brexit 1776, Tipu Sultan and the American National Anthem
The American national anthem pays tribute to Tipu Sultan, Prince of Mysore and rocket expert, who trumped the British.
Why Dugongs Need To Be Saved
The Dugong is a ‘sea-cow’ – whose shape inspired the mermaid myths. Today, they’ve been hunted to near extinction.
Srinivasa Ramanujan: God’s Missing Link
Srinivas Ramanujan was India’s greatest modern mathematician. Yet till this day, no one knows how he arrived at his theorems.
The Difficulty of Gandhi’s Non-Violence
Mahatma Gandhi lived in a violent time. He dealt with this by living a philosophy of non-violence. But was his non-violence brutal?
Musicians of the Indian Military
India’s military musicians play everything from jazz to film hits – performing across the world. What made martial music change?
Last Man in Tower
Last Man in Tower, Aravind Adiga’s novel peels layers of greed and intrigue, holding a mirror to India’s growing cities.
Vemana: The People’s Poet
Vemana, a 17th-century Telugu mystic-poet, wrote against caste and superstition. What makes him a household name today?
Muziris: Globalization’s First Port of Call
A historic dig in Kerala may have unearthed the lost trading port of Muziris. Was this an ancient hub of globalization?
The Indian Cheetah: Hunter, Hunted, Extinct
The last Indian cheetah was shot in 1947. With plans to import or clone the Indian cheetah in tatters, is the fast cat extinct?
India’s Defanged Human Rights Commission
India’s National Human Rights Commission is mandated to protect citizen rights. But can they bite the government?
How a German Missionary Made the First English-Malayalam Dictionary
In the 1830’s, German missionary Hermann Gundert introduced punctuation to Malayalam and produced its first dictionary.
The Spectre of Hope
In a profound documentary on globalisation, John Berger discusses the work of economist-turned-photographer Sebastião Salgado.