There is some truth in describing a university as a ‘breeding ground’. Universities are, after all, supposed to breed ideas. The uncomfortable question is: what kind of ideas has Jawaharlal Nehru University been breeding? The social-media poster doing the rounds calls JNU a breeding hub for ‘anti-nationals’, ‘cockroaches’ and ‘dimagi Naxals’. The language is crude….

There is something wonderfully democratic about entitlement. It does not care whether you are sitting in the White House or waiting outside the gates of 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. It can make a person believe that the world’s highest honours – or the country’s highest office – are simply overdue. Donald Trump appears convinced that…

There are many ways to question an election. One can examine voter turnout, constituency-wise results, polling patterns, counting procedures, electoral rolls or the conduct of the Election Commission. Or, apparently, one can simply look at the calendar – preferably after checking the dates. A graphic doing the rounds carries a claim attributed to ‘Cockroach’ Abhijit…

There is an old saying that when a dog barks, it does not pause to check whether the person walking past is a king or a commoner. It simply barks. Our dear Rahul baba appears to have perfected that political habit. Day after day, the targets change – Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Gautam Adani, Mukesh…

Criticising a political leader is not only legitimate; it is essential to democracy. But democracy also depends on distinguishing public accountability from private humiliation. A politician’s decisions, claims and conduct in office are open to scrutiny. A person’s family, parentage or private relationships are not automatically fair game merely because that person holds public office….

I watched Hanuman Ansh rather too late. And I came away with something I had not expected from a film that, only a few weeks ago, appeared destined to disappear without a trace: Goosebumps. The film had a meagre opening, little star power and virtually none of the promotional muscle normally associated with a pan-India…

Imagine spending two days watching the leaders of some of the world’s most consequential countries gather in New Delhi, discussing wars, trade, global governance, economic cooperation and the future of the Global South – and then emerging with one burning question: Where was the chicken? That, apparently, is the big takeaway from the BRICS Summit…

I knew this trend of turning our photographs into 1980s versions would take an ugly turn. I had written about the fad when it was still innocent fun – giving ourselves big hair, oversized sunglasses, denim jackets, and that unmistakable grainy finish of an old photograph. It was nostalgia with a touch of AI magic….

Defence pacts, like promises, can be impressive when signed, subject to interpretation when tested. Pakistan has now provided a rather entertaining demonstration of the principle with its Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. When the pact was signed last month, Islamabad seemed to have rediscovered its strategic swagger. With its nuclear arsenal…

AI has discovered the perfect time machine: one that can also fix our hair, clothes and questionable fashion choices There is a new epidemic sweeping across social media. Thankfully, it is neither contagious nor fatal. It merely threatens to make us look considerably better than we actually did four decades ago. I first noticed it…