My take on Op Sindoor

I distinctly recall the night four months ago: I woke up for a drink of water in the wee hours of the 7th of May 2025. My aunt, who was awake, said, ‘We’ve hit them.’ As the statement landed on my groggy brain, I grunted. A moment later, clearing Aunt’s confusion, I made my appreciation more apparent.

Responsibility for the Balasore Tragedy

This is a part of the series on the Balasore triple-train tragedy. In the previous parts, we looked at the different technical aspects of the Indian Railways, the audit observations from the CAG report, which pointed out the areas that need significant improvements, and looked at the politics of the matter.

The Politics of the Balasore Tragedy

This is a part of the series on the Balasore triple-train tragedy. In the previous parts, we looked at the different technical aspects of the Indian Railways, as well as the audit observations from the CAG report, that are relevant to the context.

If you did not read the the previous parts, I suggest you do:

Operational Lapses in Indian Railways

This is a part of the series on the Balasore triple-train tragedy. In the previous part, we looked at the different technical aspects of the Indian Railways, that are relevant to the context. The part explains each of the terms you may come across when reading any story regarding the Balasore train tragedy.

Do you know Indian Trains

I have, like millions of Indians out there, been travelling long distances by the Indian Railways since infancy. And over these past three decades, I have read about tens of crashes including derailments. Even seen that odd wreckage during my train journeys.

What happened on the 2nd of June was terrible, and I cannot possibly express what I feel about it, in words. I turned to TV news for updates, thinking for once they could be useful. Boy, was I wrong. And then there were WhatsApp messages floating around, loaded with misinformation. Mr Modi and Mr Vaishnaw visiting the accident site only added to the noise, unfortunately.

To wear or not to wear the Hijab

Let me start this by saying that the school of thought within Hinduism that we follow at home, teaches us to be not disrespectful of any school of thought. This does not mean we agree with everything, though; we instead appreciate the fact that there are more-than-one ways of seeing anything.

How Should Politics Work

Often, we find ourselves criticising one or the other government institution or organisation. In a country with such a population as ours, we have millions complaining every day. But after complaining and screaming and getting frustrated about the futility of talking about it all, we place the issue on the backburner for a couple of days, and unless we receive fresh stimulus, the issue fades away in the coming weeks.

The Problem With Government Jobs

Happy 2022! May this year keep us all in a much better shape than the last two; in better health—physical, emotional and financial—better relationships, better work–life balance, better everything. (Holding your breath for the Budget, anybody?)

Of course, not all is rosy in the country at the moment. We are looking at elections in three states, with politicians going around being all nice, making promises, and trying hard to apply chalk to the blemishes on their images, and of course, defecting.

Are We an Independent State

Political fads come and go. More so when the elections are around. National level fads peak at the time of the Lok Sabha elections. Having said that, they are not confined to those times.

Before we begin, let me state that this is not a political post, even though it starts with the word “political”. This post is about a political phenomenon. Also, this post does not state the obvious for most people, because history from a couple of centuries ago has taken a back seat in our heads (as is evident by some of the responses that I saw on social media).

Can Governments Control Prices

Elections are going on for five of our State Assemblies: Tamilnadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry (पुदुच्चेरि, not पुडुचेर्रि). I have not followed the elections in West Bengal, Assam or Puducherry, but have been watching the progress in Tamilnadu and Kerala. And this post is about Tamilnadu.

One of the claims that one of the contesting parties is making is about the price rise. They say that the prices have shot up, and that their party—if it comes to power—would work to regulate the prices. And I thought I would share my comments about it. I will keep it short.