Ideas News - Page 2

Beef politics and religion: Why the idea needs to go beyond just cow protection

To posit the ban on beef as something imposed only by a Brahmin caste on society is unfortunate. There is a strong case for providing all animals the protection from an over-expanding animal husbandry industry and excessive meat-eating

Pet biases in liberal packaging: How the beef ban controversy exposes our elite

There can be no two opinions about the horrific act of a man being killed for allegedly possessing beef. But arguments in the beef controversy have not been consistently liberal

Illiberal India: Why the only minority we have to protect is the 'minority of one'

After beef and book bans, we now have the Catholic Secular Forum demanding a play ban because its lead actors are "not Christians". Our penchant for banning comes comes from our tendency to protect the minority instead of the individual

Meritocracy, not mediocrity, is way ahead: Lessons from Sundar Pichai's rise

The elevation of Indian Sundar Pichai as CEO of Google shows that meritocracy works in America. But in India, we are still stuck with promoting ideas and policies that promise mediocrity and sub-optimal outcomes

Rajiv Malhotra's Indra's Net: Seven big ideas and Hinduism's integral unity

Rajiv Malhotra's book Indra's Net has be criticised by some for failing to provide adequate attribution for some ideas. But more important than these allegations are the core ideas he presents in the book. The author says there are 7 big ideas

Yakub Memon hanged: Why India still needs capital punishment

All said and done, there is a case for retaining the death sentence in the rarest of rare cases, provided the phrase "rarest of rare" is defined clearly and transparently. What is worrisome about capital punishment is its occasional arbitrariness.

Decolonising Indology: Rajiv Malhotra on why he won't follow rules set by the West

Rajiv Malhotra, target of a campaign over inadequate attribution to western Indologists in his book Indra's Net, explains that he is not here to play by the rules set by western academicians for their own purposes.

Wendy's revenge: Plagiarism charge against Rajiv Malhotra is a red herring

Accusations of plagiarism against Indian American author Rajiv Malhotra are a smoke-screen for a generalised attack on Hindu intellectuals.

Shashi Tharoor sings 'Lily The Pink', slams media, opens up on Sunanda: 5 key moments from Firstpost Salon

Here are some of the most memorable moments from the <em>Firstpost Salon</em> with Shashi Tharoor.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani certainly isn't an Indian; but he is not a Kashmiri either

Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has applied for an Indian passpost and then went on to say he is not an Indian by birth. He is right, but for reasons unrelated to what he stands for.

Varun Gandhi rediscovers the poet in himself - second time in 15 years

One wouldn't have known it, but the BJP MP from Sultanpur has a poet inside him.

Is BJP Right and Congress Left? The Left-Right binary is fairly useless in India

The Left-Right classification of BJP and Congress and leaders in India is a blind copy from European definitions that make no sense in our context.

Is Ramachandra Guha right in believing the Right lacks 'intellectual' heft?

Historian Ramachandra Guha believes that the Indian Right has produced more ideologues than intellectuals. But he probably excludes many who could be called intellectuals by defining "intellectual" too narrowly

BJP asking right questions: Abolish all taxes barring IT and GST

India can provide a good government with 12 percent tax-GDP ratio. For this, we can abolish all taxes barring income tax and GST.

How to become rich: You must manage your own money

Why this book on investing is more down-to-earth and worth investing in

What's so wrong about Wall Street desi boys club?

When everyone else does it, it's called networking. In the Rajaratnam case, they're calling it 'ethnic clubbing'

Sorrell on growth, India, consumer sentiment and talent

WPP chairman Martin Sorrell sees a good future for India, with Indian professionals in demand as Indian brands go global - and as the balance of power in advertising shifts to India, China, Brazil.

What do NRIs want? Let's start with a diamond ring

Everyone, from the Indian government to the American one, wants to engage with NRIs. But that's just a polite way of wanting their money. Too bad, says Fulbright scholar Minal Hajratwala. They are missing out on the real goodies.

Puttaparthi cancelled? Sai Baba's death tests a town's faith

The Sai Baba transformed the small village of Puttaparthi into a bustling town. Puttaparthi is anxiously waiting to see if the crowds will return now that its crowd-puller-in-chief is gone.

The house that Ambani built... but refuses to call home

When Mukesh Ambani built his 27-storey mansion in Mumbai, critics carped about how he could live in such brazen splendour surrounded by so much poverty. Well, it turns out that a year after his grand housewarming party the tycoon doesn't actually live in Antilia. He just serves canapes there.