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The Parliament building in Kuwait destroyed by Iraqi troops during the invasion in August 1990. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES At the peak of summer, August is extremely hot in the desert kingdom of Kuwait. August 2, 1990 fell on a weekend. I, all of 16 years old, was sleeping soundly. A loud explosion … Read more
The more we break life into parts, the more we lose sight of its wholeness. | Photo Credit: Getty Images We live in a world that constantly teaches us to divide — to judge moments, measure progress, and label everything as good or bad, success or failure. In doing so, we unknowingly reduce life to … Read more
In a rapidly evolving India, where career ambition and personal freedom are often prioritised, the emotional fragility of relationships has become a silent crisis. A college undergraduate fell in love with his senior. Their bond was strong, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. They dreamed of a shared future and had decided to inform their families once … Read more
I met my younger self for coffee this Saturday. She insisted it be a Saturday — our favourite day. Not because I was born on one (though I was), but because Saturdays always held the delicious promise of rest. Of not setting an alarm. Of sleeping in, wrapped in the comfort that tomorrow was still … Read more
The obsession with lighter skin, slimmer bodies, and idealised beauty pervades everything from advertisements to casual conversations. | Photo Credit: Getty Images It’s a familiar scene in many Indian households: a family gathering where casual remarks about body size, skin tone, or even how someone speaks are thrown around like harmless jokes. But for the … Read more
I grew up in an environment where perfection was expected — all the time, and in all aspects of my life. You had to wake up at a certain time, get dressed for school without being reminded, be a straight A student, have only ‘good girls’ as friends, walk to school but pretend you have … Read more
The India-United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), signed by the two countries on Thursday, is a good example of the give and take between two large economies of comparable size. While the U.K. has agreed to provide India duty-free access to about 99% of its tariff lines, it has been more conservative when … Read more
India-U.K. trade deal At a time when the global economic architecture is in the throes of stress in the wake of arbitrary, impulsive and imperious salvos of fiats fired by the Trump administration, the comprehensive trade agreement between India and the United Kingdom is fresh air (Front page, “India, U.K. ink trade deal, extend framework … Read more
It is the 26th anniversary of the Kargil war that was fought between India and Pakistan in the icy heights of Kashmir, but the memories are still fresh. It was also the first ‘live televised’ conflict, which brought the war (May 3-July 26, 1999) into the living rooms of India. Victory was hard fought and … Read more
Until the late 1980s, the value of mangroves was primarily understood by the communities that lived around them and relied on them for fishery resources and their livelihoods. But today, the word “mangroves” has become a buzzword, whether in the area of disaster risk reduction in coastal areas, climate adaptation through carbon sequestration, enhancement of … Read more