Don’t Pursue your Happiness

You must have heard of the story of Yayati. The following is the story as narrated in Wikipedia. In the words of the story, Yayāti enjoys all the pleasures of the senses ‘for a thousand years’ and, by experiencing passion to the full, comes to realise its utter futility, saying: “Know this for certain… not […]

Why is there a mental health crisis in India?

I have my own theory regarding why there is a problem of mental health in India. I suffer from a mental ailment myself and it is not surprising that I should find this subject interesting. From a Google search: WHO also estimates that about 7.5 per cent Indians suffer from some mental disorder and predicts […]

Why Right to Dissent is Important

As I write this one of the breaking news on NDTV is that Bollywood celebrities including Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu are facing Income tax raids. The only thing common amongst these names is that they had been vocal regarding political issues. Also just this Sunday there was an article in the Indian Express by […]

About Free Speech and the Right to Offend

This is a comment on the two articles on free speech and the right to offend in the Times of India on 19 February 2021. Link to the two articles is below: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/complete-transcript-of-face-off-on-the-right-to-offend/articleshow/81095345.cms?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=TOIMobile I am reminded of two cultural concepts – one Japanese and one American – which can help understand the opposing points of […]

On the Arnab Arrest Saga

I’ll start by asking you to read this article. The link is below. https://thewire.in/media/arnab-goswami-arrest-defence-television-journalism I liked the article. The author is idealistic and believes in principled journalism. She makes no bones about the fact that she dislikes Arnab’s brand of journalism and her description of her response to Arnab’s arrest is amusing. The author has […]