Not who you are, but what can be done

The Indian government has decided to count castes in the next big population survey, called the Census. This isn’t a surprise — they had already said they were open to it last year. Political parties,...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/4PvKtCy

Thinker tailor doctor lawyer, teacher banker Indian beggar!

The other day, the husband and I dressed in our Sunday best, booked an Ola and sallied forth for a luncheon date with our sambandhis in Bangalore. The cab halted at a traffic signal and...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/SfU8CVh

Vedanta supports authentic thinking

By: Swami Sukhabodhananda If your mind is constantly branding and labelling, you begin to control your mind. You start saying ‘i should not label.’ You superimpose a thought on a thought of labelling. This is...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/iDrSCjm

Enemy’s enemy

With tensions rising along the India-Pakistan border after the Pahalgam terror attack and in anticipation of a possible military-security response by New Delhi, GOI is making some smart tactical moves with Taliban in Afghanistan. New...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/B16cDFQ

Mission Kashmir

Saving this tourist season is the best reply govt can give terrorists and their masters across the border  No part of India should remain disturbed, especially a large frontier region facing a hostile neighbour. And...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/8vNHLCw

How love songs bridge sacred and profane

Ye chaand sa roshan chehra, zulfon ka rang sunahra, Ye jheel si neeli aankhen, koi raaz hai in mein gehra. Tareef karun kya uski, jisne tumhe banaya. In a shikara on beautiful Dal Lake in...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/aqNZx3v

It pays to pivot

Trump’s willingness to switch track on policies is a good thing. All leaders should take note You can disagree with Trump’s ideology, if he has one, and you can frown upon his methods, but you...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/Qp80MKR

Artritis

Arthritis is a broad term describing conditions that affect one or more joints, as well as surrounding tissues and connective structures. Joints—where two bones meet—are essential for movement, and the adult human body contains over...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/aV3yTvu

China’s rare-earth controls are not the masterstroke they seem

When China imposed export controls on several rare–earth elements (REE) as part of its ongoing trade war with the US, many touted it as another geopolitical masterstroke since it mines roughly 70% of the world’s rare earths and refines nearly 90% of them....

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/e79DTZd

India-Pak ties go from low plateau into deep abyss

Photo caption: Given the atrocity, a serious escalation is only to be expected but its aims should be clear A major terrorist attack, a vast human tragedy, nationwide anger and distress, and an India-Pakistan crisis…This...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/6t3FAu5

Basavanna’s bhakti: A vision of love, equality

By KV Raghupathi Even though Basava was an impassioned reformer over 800 years ago, his religious and social thought still has a profound impact on us. He condemned blind beliefs, superstitious rituals, sectarian practices, and...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/jWZo7AD

What Happened in Pahalgam and Why It Matters

Recently, something very bad happened in Pahalgam, a beautiful place in Kashmir. A group of people were attacked and sadly, 26 people died. This has made everyone ask some serious questions about safety in the...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/Mm5bUW8

It’s not the size

Taking Chrome from Google is lazy regulation. Getting Google to play fair in its ad biz is smart When ChatGPT debuted late in 2022, pundits predicted the decline of Google Search. Google’s own engineers were...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/cQS3Zyr

It’s not about being big

Some people want to break up Google because they think it’s too powerful, especially when it comes to online ads and search engines. But taking away things like the Chrome browser isn’t really the best...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/DCLkWuN

Brand storytelling vs. digital performance: Finding the right marketing mix for startup success

Brand storytelling or digital marketing – The dilemma for startups Startups looking for quick sales leads are often unclear about whether to invest in traditional marketing efforts or digital marketing. Traditional marketing clarifies the positioning...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/VWDCFf6

Hit them smart and hard

How India Can Use Smart Thinking to Deal With Pakistan’s Support for Terrorists A recent attack in a place called Pahalgam was very serious, and India has to respond carefully. But instead of just reacting...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/1NTjEl7

2 economy questions

Will tax cuts spur consumption? Can India swing a trade deal with US & appear as an attractive FDI destination? FM Sitharaman has been talking up India’s business environment on her 5-day US trip. It’s...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/0nQNdSB

Welcome to the republic of randomness: Annotated commentary on India’s glorious lack of standardisation

Welcome to Incredible India—where everything works… as an enduring proof that God exists and has a sense of humour. This is a country where the plug rarely fits the socket, the tap threads seldom align...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/CpIrt2q

Terror in Pahalgam: A grim reminder of what Kashmir stands to lose

A cowardly terror attack in Pahalgam has once again shaken Kashmir’s fragile yet hard-earned calm. What was meant to be a serene vacation turned into horror as armed militants opened fire on a group of...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/mifyxlU

Kazo’s walks

When enemies outnumber friends, an even temper helps To the unfamiliar, Kazo’s walks are a routine affair, without novelty or danger. Little do they know about the perils he deals with. Being a good-looking golden...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/eQyAaSL

Cousins in politics: Can the Thackerays team up again?

Politics in Mumbai right now is kind of like watching a wild animal show. Imagine tigers sneaking around, eagles flying above, monkeys jumping about, and everyone trying to grab attention or defend their space. That’s...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/T3tkQYA

The thin bread line: A morning with Kashmir’s traditional bakers

Just before the break of dawn, the scent of yeast and wood smoke moves through the alleys of Zaina Kadal in Srinagar’s Old City. There’s no signage above the shop — there never has been...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/0Dqv5Ua

Words and views

In 1982, one of the finest English judges, Lord Denning (Alfred  Thompson  Denning), submitted his resignation as ‘Master of the Rolls’, the third senior-most judge in England. He was in that chair for twenty years...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/PH8LMvN

Oceans of inequity: How technology may divide the last commons

For most of the human history, the oceans represented something larger than any power could control. It was unfathomable and beyond conquest—wild, uncontained, and governed by forces of nature rather than by human ambitions. Even...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/yGRjpaM

Acid reflux and GERD

Acid reflux is one of the most common health issues among Indians. It is often referred to as acidity or heartburn. When we consume food, it travels through the first part of the gastrointestinal tract,...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/A7YyStx

When it clicks

Great news photos become more than just an image If you are not close enough, your photograph is not good enough, said the Hungarian war photographer Robert Capa. He was at work when he stepped...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/8PKRtln

Don’s bottom line

Trump’s tariff tirade has become what might literally be described as ass-inine Even as he put a 90-day pause, which excludes China, on the tariff blitzkrieg he’s threatened to launch on the world, Donald Trump...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/IMrxF1e

When a leader says too much

India’s Vice-President, Mr Dhankhar, recently said some strong things about the Supreme Court — things that many people think he really shouldn’t have said. Let’s break it down. The Vice-President of India is mostly a...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/Th1YmO3

Un-American America

Trump’s casual & frequent disregard of due process is robbing his country of one of its most admirable traits When Sinclair Lewis wrote a novel about America under a dictator, he named it It Can’t...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/4gA6fz5

Can a blood drop tell your age? Exploring digital droplet PCR in forensics

The advent of digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) has marked a paradigm shift in molecular diagnostics, offering unparalleled sensitivity, precision, and reproducibility. Within the domain of forensic science, where analytical accuracy from limited or degraded biological...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/plFUh3D

Jumbo’s jig

The Indian Elephant must learn to dance to gain from Trump’s tariff wars Can elephants be taught to dance? Appu, the cute baby elephant mascot of the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, was depicted as...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/goeKdUm

Chuckling Chinese

China’s social media is mocking Team Trump & giving ‘biz lessons’ to Americans. Xi would be loving this US-China trade war appears to have sparked a Chinese meme-fest. As two govts slug it out, slapping...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/0PLRWUx

CampUs & them: Do Indian colleges welcome foreign students?

Did you know that a lot of students from India go to study in the US? In 2023-24, over 3.3 lakh (330,000) Indian students went to American colleges! But guess how many foreign students came...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/7B8lUCt

When lotus dreams of striking roots under two leaves

One of the most repeated lies in Tamil Nadu politics is that AIADMK and BJP are “natural allies”. The two parties were in alliance for three Lok Sabha elections (1998, 2004 and 2019) and one...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/N2rcUQY

Escape key: Why Trump changed his mind about tech tariffs

Good rules don’t need to be changed too much. But former President Trump has been changing his trade rules a lot lately, especially with China, and it’s been causing problems for the U.S. economy. Between...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/AbsDdog

Changing shape of Regional Rural Banks ‘One State-One RRB’.

  The Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have been transforming in terms of number, size, and geographical affinity, but did not alter their mandate. They serve to resurrect the rural economy with a local feel, language,...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/CAcZBxk

Stories, scents and stitches: Hunting the ghost in the machine

They fell all around me like an unseasonal monsoon that ruins onion and mustard crops. AI-generated images of people and places, rendered in the style of Studio Ghibli.  First came curiosity. Then interest. Then, quickly,...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/i61Kpu4

Thriving like a plant: A simple lesson in health and productivity

A few years ago, I attended a gardening workshop by a horticulturist. The audience was full of enthusiastic plant parents, each with their own set of worries: “Should I water once a day or twice?”...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/NJlPICX

Die Another Day

For Trump, the bond movie ain’t over yet Strong demand during US bond auctions on Wednesday and Thursday might have reassured Trump, but the selloff that started on April 9 – in response to his...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/ByH1LCG

Pain is the past tense of success

I have realised that there is something powerful about the simple act of moving forward. In a small coastal town of Puri in Odisha, where waves constantly lashed the shore with relentless rhythm, lived a...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/ktK3mhv

To weather the weather

Summer 2025 is expected to be as severe if not more than last year. Have heat action plans kicked in?  In 2024, the first heatwave hit east and south India on April 5. This year’s...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/kcTZICP

Rani’s despair and the baby brain

Rani embellished the wooden cradle with hand-painted butterflies and swans that moved in circles with a puff of air. Aha! Did I mention the little ghungroos she filled inside them? What a symphony they created,...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/i0LU8qd

T-Rex stops & thinks

There’s no denying that US and China are now in a full-blown trade war. Yesterday, the Trump administration tacked on additional tariffs on Chinese imports on top of the “reciprocal tariffs” announced last week against...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/gC7r6Ft

Trump’s economic blitzkrieg threatens globalization in letter and spirit

It does not require any background to admit that the ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) project of President Donald Trump is a shibboleth to mask the weak American economy. In order to check the high...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/MrXcvS1

Governors Can’t Just Do Whatever They Want

This week, the Supreme Court (SC) made a big decision that will affect how state governments work with governors all over India – not just in Tamil Nadu. Here’s what happened: The governor of Tamil...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/V4YIbP6

The AI That Listens: A story of context, connection, and MCP

In 2024, talking to AI felt like yelling into a large canyon. You’d ask a question in the  form of prompt, get a crisp, well formed answer, and that was it. No memory. No  continuity...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/kGgz89f

Index of fear

Stock markets don’t know how much worse it can get. But it can get plenty worse On Monday, stock markets from Tokyo to London and New York convulsed again, although it wasn’t quite a replay...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/Uhsc70n

Brothers Karma-zov

Bigger must have bigger stick, na? Consider this land whose creeds, ethnicities and nose-shapes were as multitudinous as the streams that enriched its mighty rivers which then merged  with humanity’s boundless ocean. Its family had...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/gRH06tJ

For India, there is a bigger worry than US tariffs

On April 2, US President Trump announced the highest, most irrational import tariffs since 1910, declaring this was America’s ‘Liberation Day’. It would be better to call it Recession Day. Or Trade War Day. Or...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/3WRJhlZ

Just a thaw is not enough, India and China need to turn the page on past

Delhi and Beijing are holding their breath as their analytical frameworks for international politics are upended with each passing day. Having burnt its fingers in Ukraine, the US under Trump is attempting to extricate the...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/yrlNX32

Politics & protests

Right now, many people across India are protesting against a new law about Waqf properties (lands and buildings used for religious or charitable purposes in Islam). A Congress leader has even taken the matter to...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/JP0KqHe

What could a rights-based approach to education look like?

  In education, success is often measured through outcomes, which can result in the exclusion of marginalised communities. Here’s how a rights-based approach could help. Discussions on outcomes-based funding (OBF) in the social impact sphere are constantly...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/7ejlhFX

What now? No idea

The worst thing, for US & all others, about Trump’s tariffs is the chaotic uncertainty they’ve produced Suspense over Trump’s tariffs is over, or is it? Anyone looking at bare numbers for clarity is driving...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/HOUQ6eq

Too tense for tango: India and China’s complicated relationship

India and China’s relationship is a bit like a tricky dance—one where both partners have to be careful not to step on each other’s toes! Right now, things seem friendly, but that’s partly because China...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/mV47fAF

India, Trump, and the farmers

India’s farmers need better tools and support to compete with farmers around the world. Right now, the government uses high taxes on farm products from other countries to protect local farmers. This makes imported food...

from Times of India Voices https://ift.tt/QYvZNqX