Media coverage In the lead-up to Operation Sindoor, during its conduct and aftermath, the media should have shown — and even now — more restraint, responsibility and caution. ‘What-if’ scenarios should not be explored. Details about the weapons systems should not be exposed. What Operation Sindoor has done is enough and satisfactory. We do not…
The guns fall silent The sudden cessation of military actions between India and Pakistan has left several people in disbelief. In this, how extensive was the involvement of external forces? India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has himself become the unfortunate and undeserving victim of jingoism while he has only represented the government before the media….
Conflict and realisation Given the fragile state of its economy, Pakistan cannot afford to get entangled in a prolonged and conventional military confrontation with India. As a country riddled with high foreign debt and perilously low foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan’s rulers ought to understand the crippling repercussions of full-scale war with India on its economy…
‘Operation Sindoor’ I recollect the lines in the book, Homo Deus, by Yuval Noah Harari, which defines the situation we and the world are in. “By themselves, terrorists are too weak to drag us back to the Middle Ages and re-establish the Jungle Law. They may provoke us, but in the end, it all depends…
‘Civil defence’ drills The drills amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan put us in a certain mode of uncertainty about the future. Nobody knows how a war will pan out, but everybody knows that it will exact a terrible cost. A war between two nuclear-armed neighbours can be described in one word — “annihilation”….
Sound appeal While we are still struggling to overcome the sorrow resulting from Pahalgam, we are further saddened to learn that some elements are turning hostile towards Kashmiri students in some parts of the country. In this context, one would like to highlight the adorable stand taken by a lady who lost her naval officer…
Census, caste, reservation Reservation was introduced to correct historical injustices, and even Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had said it should be a temporary measure. But seven decades after Independence, political parties are still using it for vote-bank interests. There is now competition among parties to increase reservations — not out of concern for the poor, but…
Census and caste The Narendra Modi government’s surprise decision to have a caste-based census in the middle of heightened tensions with Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack, and after fiercely opposing such a demand from the Opposition, only highlights the significance of caste dynamics in the electoral framework of Indian democracy. A caste census is…
The Indus issue It is amusing to hear the line by some in the media that revoking the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) would mean that Pakistan will not get a single drop of water. Practically speaking, implementing such a move would take several years. From April to September, the Indus has abundant water, making any…
Continue immunisation The warning sounded by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), in the context of World Immunization Week, April 24-30, of ‘increases in vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks threatening years of progress’, is one that should not be ignored under any circumstances. Neglecting this could be catastrophic for the world. All children…
