Indians continue to believe that we are the moderate nation and that Pakistan is extremist. But sometimes, what we observe isn't what we expect, says Kalpana Sharma.

In any society, the process of change is painful, and in ours, women are being forced to pay the price for this, says Kalpana Sharma.

Calls for the renewal of hundreds of thousands of lapsed insurance policies have begun, reports P Sainath.

The recent controversy over a soldier returning after four years to 'claim' his wife is telling. It illustrates that where women are concerned, everyone has an agenda: the panchayat, the media and the media-consuming middle class says Kalpana Sharma.

Sania is the star today, but there are many more waiting on the horizon, expecting to be noticed and determined to excel. Sania has forced the media, and the country, to sit up and take note. Sania and her "sisters" will not be stopped, says Kalpana Sharma.

Paul Wolfowitz's appointment as the head of the World Bank highlights the undemocratic nature of decision-making at the bank. His presidency will stand as a constant reminder that this institution, which calls on nations to exercise "good governance and democratisation" is run like a medieval monarchy, says George Monbiot.

25 years ago, women's groups in this country fought for and succeeded to some extent in changing rape laws. More recently, one of the most regressive provisions of rape law was nullified. But the public spectacle made out of the rape of a Muzaffarnagar woman by her own father-in-law almost brings us back to square one, says Kalpana Sharma.

Hundreds of child marriages are held across Rajasthan with no one stopping them. Tiny boys and girls, some of them asleep and all of them unaware of what is happening, are betrothed to each other. The reality sinks in when the children attain puberty by which time they are told they have no choice. But they do, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Why is it that whenever there is any talk of values, it is women's behaviour, their dress, their attitude that comes into question, even though there are more men than women in India? Societal values and morality should apply to everyone, men and women, says Kalpana Sharma.

On December 28, 2005, Air India issued a directive stating that women could henceforth be in-flight supervisors. With this, one of the last vestiges of gender discriminatory practices that the airline has continued to hold on to, has gone. Kalpana Sharma recounts the Maharaja's glacially slow change of heart.

The IMF's meeting in Singapore next week is expected to endorse a decision to enhance voting powers for four middle-income countries: China, South Korea, Mexico, and Turkey. For a 184-member body still controlled by seven developed countries, this won't pass for democratisation, says George Monbiot.

Crippling poverty, Naxalism and government bungling may have depressed the lives of poor women in Chhatisgarh, but there is now a shining ray of hope. 60,000 women have become trained community health volunteers and are making an impact, notes Kalpana Sharma.

The All India Services Performance Appraisal Rules, 2007 reminds us that women's work is assessed not necessarily by neutral, objective criteria. The gender angle somehow creeps in, directly or indirectly, as IAS officers in Maharashtra can now testify, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Behind the entire media cacophony over Pooja Chauhan is a real story and a real person. The story is a familiar one. Of women, thousands of them, who are harassed over dowry or over the gender of the child they birth, particularly if she turns out to be a girl, writes Kalpana Sharma.

The Niketa and Harish Mehta case has thrown issues that concern individual choice, ethics, technology and the law. In each instance, there are no clear guidelines, there is nothing that is black and white, writes Kalpana Sharma.

The quality of teaching and research in Indian universities has rapidly declined. Surely this has something to do with the manner in which we appoint those at their helm, writes Ramachandra Guha.

A New York judge rules that trying to patent genetic information cannot be permitted - the first serious setback to the genetic technology industry, which will have implications worldwide, writes Sujatha Byravan.

In response to an earlier op-ed by Leo Saldanha on India Together, Prakash Belawadi argues that many of the points raised by Saldanha in particular, may not be so incriminating after all.

The evidence of the pernicious influence of today's mass-media empires is overwhelming. But, lacking a historical consciousness that includes technology, modern India is thoroughly unprepared to tackle the excesses they promote, says Venkatesh R. Iyer.

Seventeen years after the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot restrict content on radio, it remains impossible for independent news to be aired on radio channels. Navya P K reports.

Shoma A. Chatterji writes about a film festival that lacks the glitz and glamour of stars, television cameras and paparazzi chasing famous people to freeze them for the media.

Lalit Vachani's latest film places the Mahatma's historic Dandi March in perspective, juxtaposing it against the reality of the depriveations faced by the poor. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

More than half a century after it was produced Shyamchi Aai remains alluring to children and adults alike, with its simple and straightforward message of unconditional love. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

Watching Paan Singh Tomar, which resurrects a forgotten sports hero and his compelling life, Namrata Ganneri can't help but notice what's missing.

Flickering Angels, a moving documentary on the lives of children of imprisoned parents in West Bengal, helps a child of an illegal immigrant caught in tragic circumstances to go back to her homeland. Shoma A Chatterji dwells on the reformative capacity of cinema.

The US PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament will use radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in spectator badges to ensure fans maintain social distance at the July 16-19 event, Golf Digest reported Saturday.

A pandemic-forced lockdown may not be the ideal way to get families together, but it's not something that's under human control. What's in your control is to stay safe at home, hug your mom and say 'Happy Mother's Day'.

Scientists are developing a predictive model to help Nasa anticipate conflicts and communication breakdowns among crew members and head off problems that could make or break the US space agency's future manned mission to Mars. Nasa has formalised plans to send a crewed spacecraft to Mars, a journey that could involve 250 million miles of travel.

Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested a former trustee of Lilavati hospital in connection with a foreign exchange violation case.

Maoist surrenders have seen a quantum jump this year, with 472 surrenders being reported until October 31 against 283 for the whole of 2013.

Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Pragya Singh Thakur went on a temple run on Thursday, a day after the Election Commission imposed a 72-hour campaigning ban on her. The EC ban followed complaints against Thakur for her offensive remark against 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks martyr Hemant Karkare

Biting — yet sensitive. He’s a study in contrasts. Just like his books. Writer Aravind Adiga won the Man Booker Prize in 2008 with his novel “White Tiger”. In the first interview given globally over his new book “Last Man in Tower”, Adiga now tells Srijana Mitra Das about being a small-town boy, falling in love with Mumbai, capturing the people and philosophies rich India overlooks, writing being his fate, generating controversy — and why he might just step away now.

He's one of the subcontinent's most exciting literary talents. His new book 'Noon' explores violence in South Asia. Son of Pakistani politician Salman Taseer, assassinated after defying Islamist groups, Aatish Taseer speaks with Srijana Mitra Das about nations, truth, lies and ties that bind - or break - people.

No matter we live with her or not, our mother is that one person who always takes care of us.

When we are about to take one of the most important decisions of our life, how can we not take her advice, right? On this Mother's Day, we asked a few women about the best piece of marital advice they had received from their mother. Here's their story.

Three persons, including the owner of the well, died and two others were injured, after the mound of earth collapsed on them while they were repairing the old well at Kodoli village of Panhala taluka in Kolhapur district on Saturday night.

Around 12,000 people have been tested for coronavirus infection in the PMC limits so far, accounting for just 0.35% of the total population of 33 lakh.

Lopamudra, 35, was on cloud nine and counting the days to get the first glimpse of her child. It was a precious moment for her as she is having her first child after 12 years of marriage. But she had never expected that outbreak of coronavirus will cast a shadow over her joy and happiness of becoming a mother.

Fifty-eight more tested positive for Covid-19 and another person died in Odisha, the health department updated on its Covid-19 dashboard on Sunday. With this, the total number of positive cases in Odisha mounted to 352 while the number of deaths rose to 3.

"The older I grow, the more I miss you": Mother's Day wishes from grown-up children

The festival has its origins in the combination of two different medieval events. Commercial secular fairs were held at the beginning of the summer.

Covid-19 lockdown: Migrant workers, family walk back from Ahmedabad to their native place in UP's Lalitpur