Ravi Shankar

Provocateur

Big Brother is phishing you

WhatsApp Pegasus controversy has stoked new fears about government surveillance. As terrorists use encryption to hide their plots, civil society groups cry violation of rights.

10 Nov 2019

Any software to snoop on development data?

Though China, which aims to install one public CCTV camera per two citizens by 2022, is the world’s most surveilled state, citizens in most democracies are being watched by their governments.

10 Nov 2019

Have a heart, mind you! our brains are smaller.

IIIT researchers who created the first Indian Brain Atlas have concluded that the Indian brain is smaller than Western and other Eastern brains.

03 Nov 2019

Imperial hopes won’t go cold Turkey on Kashmir

Powerful Turkey’s entry into the fray has taken the initiative away from Pakistan, which claims to be the only representative of Islamist grievance against the rest of the world.

27 Oct 2019

The fruit of the ancient tree of knowledge is rotting

The cynicism of ‘development’ is the scourge of Nature. Take the case of Aarey Forest Colony, which has become an ecological cause celebre.

13 Oct 2019

Labour cries Kashmir wolf to keep its Muslim voters

About 2.8 million Muslims live in Britain and pray in around 1,500 mosques, while the 2011 UK census counted 8,17,000 Hindus.

06 Oct 2019

Burden of proof lies in past cultural transgressions

The writings of Chinese explorer Hiuen Tsang who visited India between 627 and 643 AD reveal a highly sophisticated civilisation.

29 Sep 2019

Chaotically Breaking the Law is the Indian Way of Life

Our countrymen have many virtues. Order is not one of them.

22 Sep 2019

It’s OK to be a Crybaby for a Good Cause

During the interstellar drama of the Chandrayaan-II launch, an image that stood out was ISRO chief K Sivan choking up when its craft lost contact with the mother station.

15 Sep 2019

Young Satraps seek survival beyond dynasty’s decline

An abacus is a board divided by vertical or horizontal counters with coloured balls representing numbers according to groupings.

08 Sep 2019

Bushra Bibi gives Imran a geography lesson

Scene: Imran Khan is in the master bedroom of his official residence in Islamabad, with his begum Bushra Bibi. A world map is spread on their bed covered with a Pakistan flag.

01 Sep 2019