Jonathan Lear, Philosopher Who Embraced Freud, Dies at 76

Defying scholarly norms, he took a hands-on approach to research. To study resilience, he visited the Crow Nation; to explore Freudian theory, he became a psychoanalyst. By Michael S. Rosenwald Jonathan Lear, an idiosyncratic and intellectually playful philosopher who melded the ideas of ancient Greek thinkers with Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory to explore the meaning… Read More Jonathan Lear, Philosopher Who Embraced Freud, Dies at 76

RSS’ success also has seeds of destruction

The RSS’ intellectual stagnation and myth-based narratives risk alienating it from India’s knowledge-driven society Bharat Bhushan One hundred years ago, on Vijayadashami Day, September 27, 1925, the men who gathered at the residence of Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in Nagpur could have hardly imagined how powerful the organisation they were founding would become. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a… Read More RSS’ success also has seeds of destruction

Mukul Kesavan: Delhi University and the purging of Ramanujan

First posted October 27, 2011 ‘The essay is a marvellous account of the hundreds of ways in which the Ramayana has been told, complete with examples of this narrative diversity. I can’t imagine that the vice-chancellor, a member of that urbane cohort, the Class of ’75, wanted the essay removed because he agreed with the Akhil Bharatiya… Read More Mukul Kesavan: Delhi University and the purging of Ramanujan

Fish mint, Himalayan chives and berry pickle: how wild ingredients are transforming school dinners in India

By Tora Agarwala in East Khasi hills, Meghalaya Excited chatter and the clattering of steel plates drown out the din of the monsoon rains: it is lunchtime in Laitsohpliah government school in the north-east Indian state of Meghalaya. The food has been cooked on-site and is free for everyone, part of India’s ambitious “midday meal”… Read More Fish mint, Himalayan chives and berry pickle: how wild ingredients are transforming school dinners in India

Charlie Kirk’s Death Is a Catastrophe for Higher Ed / Charlie Kirk in his own words: ‘prowling Blacks’ and ‘the great replacement strategy’

Things were already bad. They’re about to get worse Charlie Kirk in his own words: ‘prowling Blacks’ and ‘the great replacement strategy’ By David Austin Walsh September 11, 2025 The assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday was both morally repugnant and an absolute political catastrophe. Kirk was one of the most influential and… Read More Charlie Kirk’s Death Is a Catastrophe for Higher Ed / Charlie Kirk in his own words: ‘prowling Blacks’ and ‘the great replacement strategy’

Nepal, France, America: democracy seems overtaken once more

There is one recurring theme: Young people feel robbed of their future Pratap Bhanu Mehta NB: A timely and typically thought-provoking essay by this scholar. I add some observations below 1/ The crisis of the 1960s and 1970s culminated in the Trilateral Commission’s 1975 report on The Crisis of Democracy, authored by Samuel Huntington et… Read More Nepal, France, America: democracy seems overtaken once more

Mumbai: St Xavier’s College cancels Stan Swamy lecture after ABVP protests

St Xavier’s College in Mumbai has cancelled its annual Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture, which was to be held on Saturday, after protests by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, reported The Free Press Journal. The ABVP is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The lecture, titled “Migration for… Read More Mumbai: St Xavier’s College cancels Stan Swamy lecture after ABVP protests