EXAM-NATION: Regulating Opportunity in an Unequal Society

As the only gateway to un-inherited opportunity for most Indians, the public entrance exam is a critical institution. But we have worshipped its form and ignored its social roles. The GenZ protests have opened the door to a deeper understanding. Can we follow through?▶14-Aug-2026
Satish Deshpande

September 4, 2026

Education in an unequal society, Citizens, suspects, and the portable border, Who belongs or not to the SC and ST, and more

Making Sense of the National Population Register

There is much to be said for preparing a National Population Register as recommended by the UN. But the design of the 2026/27 Census form suggests that data for both the census and NPR will be…
▶02-Sep-2026
K. Narayanan Unni

Before Delhi Chokes and Starts Blaming Farmers Again

A crisis mode of governance operates while addressing the twin problems of Delhi’s smog and stubble burning, resulting in unproven and counterproductive solutions being pushed onto farms.
▶29-Aug-2026
Nikhit Agrawal

Neutrality Is Not Neutral

Neutrality functions as hidden alignment with state power, positioning itself as an impartial judge while condemning resistance on “moral grounds”. India’s Gen Z protests unmasked neutrality’s tilt…
▶27-Aug-2026
K.P. Suresha

Remembering the Lawyers Who Mattered

Profiling advocates who shaped Indian law and yet remain unheralded by market-driven measures of eminence, Raju Ramachandran insists in his warm and anecdotal book that the lawyer as agent of change…
▶27-Aug-2026
Suhrith Parthasarathy

How the El Niño Develops and Takes an Uneven Toll on India

As a strong El Niño evolves in 2026 alongside climate change, India’s monsoon is bringing uneven rainfall, compounding hot-dry extremes. This is disproportionately burdening farmers, fisherfolk, and…
▶26-Aug-2026
Aditi Deshpande

Imagined Belonging: A Judicial Fiction in Three Parts

A recent Supreme Court judgement wades into deciding who belongs or not to the SC and ST categories, and runs counter to Ambedkar's idea of fraternity: building a common brotherhood a shared…
▶25-Aug-2026
Sumit Baudh

How Credible are India’s New Manufacturing GDP Estimates?

A verification exercise of the estimates of manufacturing in India’s new GDP series indicates that the over-estimation could be 24.5%-40.9%. The accuracy of the new estimates can be answered only…
▶25-Aug-2026
Jatinder S. Bedi, R Nagaraj

Sumit Sarkar: Historian, Thinker, Teacher

Sumit Sarkar’s engaged scholarly enterprise and sustained writings were no mere intellectual pursuit; he was passionately committed to social democracy.
▶24-Aug-2026
Dhiraj Kumar Nite

A Genius of Many Parts, and a Few Warts

D.D. Kosambi was a polymath genius—mathematician, historian, numismatist, archaeologist—whose brilliance was inseparable from his volatile temperament and who eventually retreated into a concealed…
▶20-Aug-2026
A.R. Venkatachalapathy

Remembering Violence, On Screen, In Verdicts

"Despite different institutional logics, judgements and cinematic representations produce remarkably similar accounts of political violence. They ultimately reaffirm the legitimacy of existing…
▶17-Aug-2026
Md Zeeshan Ahmad