Sonali Kolhatkar There is a common feeling that many of us have experienced in professional or academic environments, especially when we struggle against gender or racial bias. It’s called “imposter syndrome”—the feeling that one doesn’t deserve one’s position and that others will discover this lack of competence at any moment. I felt this way as… Read More Nepotism babies and the myth of American meritocracy
Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has toured the wreckage of his presidential palace after an extraordinary day of political violence in the capital, Brasília, saw thousands of far-right extremists run riot through the country’s democratic institutions in a failed attempt to overthrow his week-old government. The massed attack by supporters of the ex-president Jair Bolsonaro was a… Read More Brazil protests: Lula vows to punish ‘neo-fascists’ after Bolsonaro supporters storm congress
Katie Hunt, CNN The majestic structures of ancient Rome have survived for millennia — a testament to the ingenuity of Roman engineers, who perfected the use of concrete. But how did their construction materials help keep colossal buildings like the Pantheon (which has the world’s largest unreinforced dome) and the Colosseum standing for more than… Read More Mystery of why Roman buildings have survived over 2000 years, unraveled
Jairus Banaji The evolution of India’s corporate sector from 2000 to 2020 “The systemic, long-term nexus between the political elites and big business will not go away anytime soon,” wrote journalist M. K. Venu in 2015. Writing in the aftermath of Obama’s second visit to India, Venu suggested that “crony capitalism” had to be grasped in… Read More Indian Big Business
NB: The Indian Armed Forces include officers and soldiers of all communities, regions and speaking several languages. They are a microcosm of India. It is only fitting that they should join a campaign of unity of all our common Indian people. Several of these fine officers were once students of Sainik School Kunjpura, back in… Read More Ex-army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor, other veterans march with Rahul during Bharat Jodo Yatra
Monopoly pricing and corporate greed are destroying healthcare systems in the UK and globally Tarun Gidwani Imagine a disability almost disappearing if you flew out of the Global South. I have severe haemophilia, a genetic condition that interferes with the body’s ability to clot after bleeding. When left untreated, anything – even a bruise or… Read More Big Pharma’s obscene profits
Women agricultural labourers like Mangala Harijan, who migrate to work as hand-pollinators in Karnataka’s Haveri district, earn meagre sums of money despite toiling for the billion-dollar seed industry Mangala Harijan remembers every village she has travelled to for work. “Kunchur, Kuragund, Kyatanakeri … I had also gone to Rattihalli one year,” she says listing the… Read More In Haveri: ‘We work hard, but we can’t save’
A new field of psychology has begun to quantify an age-old intuition: Feeling awe is good for us. HENRY WISMAYER We were halfway down the Point Reyes peninsula when Dacher Keltner wandered off-trail. He stopped at an outcrop of granite boulders, where the ground fell away toward Driftwood Beach and the wide, open Pacific beyond.… Read More Finding Awe Amid Everyday Splendor
Eric Bennett First posted April 26, 2018 NB: This comment on the issues connected to ‘multi-culturalism’ and ‘deconstruction’ is written about American literary and media studies departments, but is relevant in other continents. DS Now that we have a culture of higher education in which business studies dominate; now that we face legislatures blind to the… Read More Dear Humanities Profs: We Are the Problem
First posted April 24, 2018 NB: This article, along with Shanti Bhushan’s petition listing ten instances of bench fixing, shows who is committing contempt of court. You cannot utilise your formal authority to throw all principles of fairness (such as not sitting in judgement in a case involving yourself) – to the winds; and then behave… Read More Death of Judge Loya: A critical examination of the ECG and post-mortem demonstrates the failings of the Supreme Court verdict
After the truth-shower 