p7 Courtesy: Lovneet Bhatt
2 April 2020

Afghan Hindus & Sikhs under attack

The 25 March 2020 attack on a Sikh gurudwara in Kabul focused world attention on the plight of Afghanistan’s indigenous Sikh and Hindu minorities, the target of both local lawless elements and religious fundamentalists. They once were a significant part of Afghanistan’s principally Muslim population and a mark of its cultural syncretism and religious pluralism

shutterstock_308077328 Courtesy: Shutterstock
26 March 2020

COVID-19 can speed ‘Make High-Tech in India’

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the deficiencies of India’s precision instrument import-dependency and the global supply-chain vulnerabilities of international high-tech manufacturing giants. New Delhi can incentivise such companies to manufacture under the Make in India and Assemble for the World in India programmes

Rescue ops Courtesy: Twitter/MEA
26 March 2020

India aces rescue ops

The Indian government, has, under challenging circumstances, evacuated, all through March 2020, nearly 3,000 Indian citizens, stranded in the hotspots of the coronavirus epidemic. These rescue operations, which have been performed adeptly since 1990, are a mark of a developed-country mindset with confidence-inspiring governance structures

Plague 3 Courtesy: Welcome Collection/Capt.C. Moss
25 March 2020

Policy dilemmas from the Bombay plague of 1896

A pandemic tests governments' performance against four policy dilemmas; from preventing panic and economic collapse to calibrating the severity of response and controlling the narrative. The writer harks back to the agonies of the Bombay plague of 1896 and the dilemmas left unresolved

shutterstock_365191952 (1) Courtesy: Shutterstock
19 March 2020

Good and bad of low oil prices

The Coronavirus pandemic has caused crude oil prices to crash almost 40% even as Saudi Arabia and Russia pump more oil into the market. Fears are rife that this crisis will hit demand. There are repercussions on the U.S., the world’s top oil producer, on India, one of its new clients, and on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

shutterstock_571561957 Courtesy: Shutterstock
12 March 2020

Taking the artificial out of AI

India’s expansion of its capability in Artificial Intelligence (AI) depends on how eclectically it can bring together indigenous philosophies and the natural sciences, the bedrock of AI. India’s philosophical riches and its unique approach to the natural sciences can enrich global comprehension not only of natural and artificial intelligence, but also the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence