This government has never been in favor of looking after the needs of the weaker and marginalized sections of society. Mr. Modi and his cohorts only reap the benefits offered by the likes of Ambanis and Adanis . As of today when an economic crisis of gargantuan proportions has India in its grips because of the unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our Pradhan Sevak indulges in the sordid activity of laying the foundation stone for a grand Ram temple, and that, too, as the custodian of the nation and not as a common citizen. How will this temple satisfy the hunger of millions of impoverished Indians? How will it enable in alleviating the suffering of thousands of families who have lost men, women and children to this scourge? Will Dalits be allowed entry into this grand edifice being built for the glory of India for all to see? Do these sections of society that have been severely discriminated against for centuries not have blood but something else running in their veins? They, too, breathe the same air that the so-called privileged strata of society breathes and walks on the same roads and paths that are used by the so-called upper castes. The Indian Constitution has been very clear in stating that there has to be a definite demarcation between the state and religion, which has been trampled upon on August 5, 2020. Whether a new India rises to this dawn tomorrow can only be hoped for, though the portents for the future do not paint a rosy picture.

Einstein was certainly right in his saying ''we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them''. In addition, with the rapid changes in society, the methods we have previously used to solve many of the problems we face are no longer effective. We need to develop new ways of thinking in order to design better solutions, services and experiences that solve our current problems. Design Thinking steps in with a bold newly systematized and non-linear human-centered approach. This will help us radically change how we go about exploring problems and creating solutions to those problems.There’s no silver bullet, but local experiments and global experiences can help us control the pandemic.Despite our desperation for life to go back to normal, the end is not yet in sight. How should we think about the ongoing challenge we face?Energy focused on arguing about problems is energy not spent on developing and implementing solutions. Of course, characterizing problems can be an important first step in finding answers.As we continue the work of implementing sorely needed solutions, there are four principles we can use to guide our action,1.Be Specific 2.Compare Globally 3.Think Local and 4.Build to Learn.Unlike problem-based thinking, which looks back on and often gets stuck in the past, solution-based thinking looks forward to a safer and healthier future for all. It welcomes even incremental improvements as moving us closer to this goal.

Yes. Certainly the lockdown has affected the incomes of both poor and the middle classes. But Scroll In should have also written about what would have happened if the lockdown had not been implemented. As it stands, it is a one sided article.

Kleczkowski provides an excellent, and unbiased, review of the concept of herd immunity with a lot of links to important articles and papers on the subject. This is in marked contrast to the herd-immunity advocates/fanatics who tend to gloss over inconvenient details and hide behind the idea that herd immunity is 'natural' and hence inevitable.

These poems would never make any sense as the middle-class India has lost it's rational abilities for emotional sentimentalities.

A very evocative & nostalgic piece of writing by the author Deepti Navaratna & beautifully translated by Rajachandra. As a Mysurean couldn't resist reading it the moment I noticed it. I am keen to listen to the song shared & would be listening to it as soon as I finish writing this comment. What grace and magnanimity one sees in the decision of Jayachamaraja Wadiyar to hand over the reigns of power to the elected representatives, with no sign of bitterness. I was very much moved on reading what Jayachamaraja Wadiyar said in reply to the speech made by Kengal Hanumanthiah on the king's 37th birthday. Sadly, a great era ended with the end of the reign of the Wadiyar kings. I am grateful to the author & the translator for sharing such a beautful piece of history of the Wadiyars.

Indian culture is the bedrock of liberal values and expression of human openness. To insinuate that restoration of Indian value system as something bad is not just preposterous but outright fear-mongering. It is this very Indian ethos that has allowed for plurality and will continue to do so with correctly guided Dharmic principles. Western forces and sectarian religious thinkers holding the principles of 'mine is right' and i have the divine authority to destroy what is yours have been corrupting our ethos since pre- independence and until now. With this new beginning lets work towards a great future built on strong Dharmic principles.

During the Left Front days The West Bengal government implemented teaching in mother tongue for 25 old years. But finally it gave up and went back to English for those who wanted it. It would have been useful if this was discussed here.

There were incoherent reports on the intrusion for quite some time from the ruling and the opposition,the former denying and the latter asserting it.Now the report of the removal of the defence ministry document that admitted Chinese intrusions from website adds to the gravity. The information on horrendous acts in the furious face-off must reach the international community, more so the friendly nations,exposing the acts of barbarism.This should assist in building up international pressure.All this calls for a clear and factual disclosure of events,to the citizens and to all the elected too for a better consensus- both national and international. Lapses if any, in taking cognisance of events spanning several days at intelligence, political and diplomatic levels must first be addressed to if not acknowledged.

Science speaks high of the importance of ‘’kangaroo care” exhibited by mothers when the infants are hugged to them.A similar trend is observed even in the case of domestic animals such as cats and dogs caressing their new borns when they start cuddling around.These are only a few examples to highlight the importance of the sensation of touch.Similarly,the way you shake hands, pat them gently on the cheeks, or patting on the back as a token of appreciation,keep a gentle kiss or brush hair with fingers passing through,etc matter much in dealing with children. The hugging by team mates of a pace bowler whose Yorker uprooted the middle stump and hurled it meters apart after multiple somersaults is a common event on the cricket field which rejuvenates the entire team !Probably the art of touching,cuddling,caressing,shaking hands, hugging all of which have their own psychosomatic implications needs a more detailed scientific study to harness the potential utility.

Or...or...don't politicize the award. Crazy I know.

Most importantly it has led to invasion of India by China in Ladakh.....and possibility of two front war which India cannot win !!!

Modiji was much worse than Turkey in demolishing the existing mosque and building a Hindu temple glorifying the demolition and construction of Ram Temple in the democratic nation; against the Constitution. Hope this injustice to Muslim community will end here rather than spreading more. The real fact is that in India there are more than million Ram temples and in Ayodhya there are more than 30 temples marking each of them as the birthplace of the Bhaghwan Ramji. In 15 countries around India also have different stories of Ram-Sita and Ramayan. Everyone says their story is true without any document. No one even agree when and where Ramji born. There was nothing religious but everything politics to grab power.

The propogated digital hinduvta of, by & for, political parties is not about Hindu faith. It is sacrilegious exploitation of a created religious complex for personal, non spritual objectives. How was Hinduism less before and how is it more fulfilling now. The bhatks have ceded space to violence within. A religion of centuries have lost to neo psuedo Hindus.

Doing away with procedures relating to environmental clearances is detrimental to the healthy growth.Every one wants development but not tat the cost of sustenance.Let us not forget the pollution problem of recent times at Delhi when schools and many establishments had to be closed for almost a week ! It is a matter of grave concern to understand that of the 30 most polluted cities in the world, 21 are from India as per a report in 2019. And more than 50% of pollution is said to be from industries and about 25% is from vehicles.The reason for doing away with diesel vehicles with thrust on switch over to EVs is because of this.Our efforts for renewable basket is only for this.If the gain by these steps is drained away by any probable lapses leading to a threat to our ecosystems, it would be suicidal. Let us not forget that it is our collective responsibility to protect our ecosystems and pass on a safer and a habitable planet we inherited, preferably bettered but not battered, to the future generations ! .

Fair is Fair After 70 years of distribution of a disproportionate amount of alms to J&K, we have not seen any progress on the ground. Neither the quality of life of its citizens nor in the economic growth of the region. On the contrary, all Human indices have only deteriorated. Alms don't enrich anyone. Teaching them to fish must be followed. The present Govt is doing just that. I have spoken to residents of Jammu region as well as Ladakh UT. They had supported flushing down the toilet of the two Articles of our Constitution, 370 and 35A. Today they see tremendous progress in their respective regions. Though the residents of the valley are slightly muted in their response, it is evident that they are cautious due to the fear of lumpen elements among them and some militant threat that still frightens them. The Governments are largely successful and the proof of it is in the declaration of 05 Aug s the black day by those who cannot lump it.

"...the dead do jot spread COVID19..." The statement is false and flies in the face of all scientific evidence. Every airborne disease that can spread while the infected case is alive will also spread when the case is dead. The author ahould resist from issuing patently false statements. I'd suggest the author at least read the APIC textbook at the very least.

The total number of Covid positive cases (11812) in Odisha’s Ganjam so far makes it the worst-affected hotspot in the State, and the toll count of 118 without a doubt indicates the gravity of the pandemic in the district. For more Odisha corona update in Odia visit the site https://khabar.odishatv.in/

Wow. I cannot even go into all the things wrong with this article. This feels like it was written by a pearl-clutching supporter of suppressing women. Absolute trash. From patriarchy supporters, we are told that women are the problem with their wicked ways. Girls distract boys, women need to obey their husbands, etc. and so forth. From this particular "liberated" side, I often see that men are the problem. Causing women to *think* they know what they want, but no no! Don't give in! It's just the tricksy hobbitses! Women *really* only want romance and candlelight dinners and a gentle touch- and a real woman would never be submissive to rowdy bedroom games if a man didn't tell her she wanted it. Don't mind the lesbian subs. Or any non cis-het for that matter. And honestly, have either of these writers heard of femdom? Because that business is booming and it doesn't even always involve actual sex. I promise you there are more men looking for Dommes than there are Dommes to fill that need. Honestly.

I've just read this otherwise very interesting article, all except for the inexcusable bloomer in the title. However, "MM" beat me to it! Alas, the downside of eliminating the composition and proofreading process of traditional printing...

truth revealed.

Oh please!!! If Tilak had been alive till 1947, Jinnah would have despised him with utmost hate. Even Gandhi and Jinnah were friends during early 20th century and somehow became bitter political enemies. How could Jinnah be called secular(well may be was in his heart, but he was egoist and wanted to show Nehru and Gandhi that no matter what he would win), he was seeing his plan crumbling and order for Direct Action Day. It is just that he wanted to achieve what he wanted at any cost and we are eulogizing him as a great secular leader. People keep quoting his secular speech, give me a break. He was petrified at the anarchy and bloodshed prevailing due to partition, so any appeal to assure the minorities. Partition was inevitable, bloodshed was unnecessary. Stop this Jinnah fan club.

Even 60 foot digging reveals that original demolish temple is coming up now and you are still giving false narrative that it was installed in 1949 by Hindu groups! At least learn to have common sense and then become writer!

The BEST article I have read in my life, which pretty much sums up my personal philosophy as an Urban Designer. So well articulated. I read it many times to internalize it. Am proud and happy to say that we have been practicing what the article talks about, for last many years. The Author may like to look up UTTIPEC Women Safety policy & guidelines; and also the DDA and National Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policies - both of which address and talk about Women Safety and Urban Design policy to be made part of our cities again. "Eyes on the Street" are a mandatory component of these major govt. policies. Now Railways is also adopting these principles and hopefully we will soon see Nation-wide change, soon. Amen

Chandan !! It’s wonderful piece . Congrats

This is the reality of our time that the powerful minority enjoys the best privileges but brazenly glorifies the outmoded and stagnant facilities to encourage the common man to avail those saying they are the world class ones. However, in the process, nonchalantly they prove that they belong to a special league called the 'almighty Elite' and hence deserve all that is best and the rest are like the herd of cattle subjected to perish any time, be it on highways dropping dead while walking barefoot on empty stomach or while sleeping on pavements, being mowed down by an SUV or during transit from one hospital to another being denied admission for not carrying any insignia of blazing status. After all, being a common man you are an insignificant entity or at the best, an obsessive elector. So, quite obviously, be magnanimous to be called an anti-national if you dare stick your neck out. Therefore, just cool down and accept all discrepancies lying down or rather learn the art of hypocrisy to keep afloat. After all, you are the subject and they are the masters. NB : We should all be grateful to Corona virus for at least being an eye-opener.

Land of Buddha. Karma takes its own course. HM should take initiative. As he is busy in Decisive politics.

Based on what we know so far, it currently seems likely that most potential vaccines designed to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 will require boosters, perhaps regularly. When an infectious agent enters the body, the immune system will notice this and create a memory, so that the next time it encounters the agent there will be a swift, repelling response. In the case of most infectious agents, such as viruses, natural infection produces a long-lasting memory. But this is not always the case.The idea behind any vaccine is to give the recipient a version of the infectious agent which will not cause the disease, but will still create the immune system memory. How we achieve that varies based on the nature of the virus targeted by a vaccine, and how much we know about it.In the case of this vaccine, regular (perhaps annual) boosters would probably be needed to help to ensure people keep their immune memory. In an outbreak situation, everyone in the affected area could be given a dose of the vaccine to help contain the transmission.So, it is possible that the initial schedule for everyone who received this type of vaccine would involve one or two booster doses a few months after the first, in a similar way to the Hepatitis B vaccine. We are not really sure how long we would protected against COVID-19 using this approach, by analogy with Hepatitis B – but it could be a few years. This might be enough to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 around the world.

100 expert minds of different options.. All confused minds...All Blah Blah Blah...

Thank you for mentioning the authors! I've already read and enjoyed Kevin Kwan's trilogy and some other Singapore and Indonesia based authors. I look forward to discovering the others you have highlighted.

This article (and the Booker prize it seems) reeks of political ideals. Cannot a book just be a book anymore?

Mr Guha please explain, why your most democratic icon, when forming the PMNational Relief Fund included the President of Congress Party as a trustee ? Why did he not make the Leader of the Opposition or leader of the single largest party in opposition as a trustee. This itself shows the crooked mindset of the then PM

References to caste are inappropriate, there was no need to mention a concept that does not exist in Islamic philosophy unless there is an attempt to adopt this archaic system.

Should these young activists be in jail, or the rapists who have not yet been identified and arrested, as well as the magistrate and court officials whose bloated egos and caste prejudices are the cause of their arrest ?

The author in the interview refers to "a guy called HM Patel". HM Patel was a guy - historically correct. He was a key figure in partitioning the assets of the govts of India and Pakustan alongwith his Pakistani counterpart. He is only highly regared next to Sardar Patel in the Anand, Gujarat area.

Total white wash lies. I wonder there is enough evidence of what he had done. The writer completely ignored the Vedokta controversy, or the Rakhmabai Case. All that is written in his favour is he changed his views over time, but nothing is seen in his deeds. Merely, changing views does not help. Apart from that he also spread racial superiority theories. I feel he has been given more credit than he needed.

It's a cruel joke to the patients who are registered under "Ayushman Bharat" and supposed to receive reimbursement upto Rs 5 lakhs. Because of the poor online service, none of the patients have received any amount whatsoever!

This write-up by Ramanan on Seshadri is excellent! I, V. Lakshmibai, as mentioned in Ramanan's write-up, had the good fortune to have had Seshadri as my thesis advisor. My relationship with Seshadri extends over 5 decades-first as a mentor, then as a collaborator and then as a friend! I joined TIFR in 1968, and started to work under him at TIFR for my Ph.D degree, in 1970's. Soon after receiving my Ph. D, from TIFR, I went. first to Rome University, as a visiting Professor, at the invitation by Procesi, in 1978; the following two years, I went to Johns Hopkins, at the invitation by Kempf. This visit was followed by a three visit at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and then by a three visit at Texas A&M, College Station.. Then I joined Northeastern University, in 1987. Now, I am a Professor (Emeritus), at Northeastern University; I retired from Northeastern University, just in Fall, 2019. Throughout my career at Northeastern, every year, I used to visit CMI, during the winter months to carry out collaborated research with Seshadri and his colleagues, especially, with Manoj Kummini and Pramath Sastry. I had such a memorable time in collaborating with Seshadri over the past five decades that I find it very difficult to accept/believe that he is no longer with us! Let me take comfort in the fact that he lived a long, full and extremely successful life, and he brought nothing but pleasure and joy to those who knew him!

If the 'justices' of the Supreme Court accept these bare-faced lies of the central govt and its law officers as the gospel truth, then there will be absolutely no credibility left in their already minimised credibility to deliver any modicum of justice.

Its is true and we Indians want it. We want kashmir as out land whose claim resides to all the religious people. Muslims were never part of kashmir, Hindus were. but we still keep them in our country and they behave with us as if we are outsiders in kashmir.

This is the reality of our time that the powerful minority enjoys the best privileges but brazenly glorifies the outmoded and stagnant facilities to encourage the common man to avail those saying they are the world class ones. However, in the process, nonchalantly they prove that they belong to a special league called the 'almighty Elite' and hence deserve all that is best and the rest are like the herd of cattle subjected to perish any time, be it on highways dropping dead while walking barefoot on empty stomach or while sleeping on pavements, being mowed down by an SUV or during transit from one hospital to another being denied admission for not carrying any insignia of blazing status. After all, being a common man you are an insignificant entity or at the best, an obsessive elector. So, quite obviously, be magnanimous to be called an anti-national if you dare stick your neck out. Therefore, just cool down and accept all discrepancies lying down or rather learn the art of hypocrisy to keep afloat. After all, you are the subject and they are the masters. NB : We should all be grateful to Corona virus for at least being an eye-opener.

Land of Buddha. Karma takes its own course. HM should take initiative. As he is busy in Decisive politics.

Based on what we know so far, it currently seems likely that most potential vaccines designed to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 will require boosters, perhaps regularly. When an infectious agent enters the body, the immune system will notice this and create a memory, so that the next time it encounters the agent there will be a swift, repelling response. In the case of most infectious agents, such as viruses, natural infection produces a long-lasting memory. But this is not always the case.The idea behind any vaccine is to give the recipient a version of the infectious agent which will not cause the disease, but will still create the immune system memory. How we achieve that varies based on the nature of the virus targeted by a vaccine, and how much we know about it.In the case of this vaccine, regular (perhaps annual) boosters would probably be needed to help to ensure people keep their immune memory. In an outbreak situation, everyone in the affected area could be given a dose of the vaccine to help contain the transmission.So, it is possible that the initial schedule for everyone who received this type of vaccine would involve one or two booster doses a few months after the first, in a similar way to the Hepatitis B vaccine. We are not really sure how long we would protected against COVID-19 using this approach, by analogy with Hepatitis B – but it could be a few years. This might be enough to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 around the world.

100 expert minds of different options.. All confused minds...All Blah Blah Blah...

Thank you for mentioning the authors! I've already read and enjoyed Kevin Kwan's trilogy and some other Singapore and Indonesia based authors. I look forward to discovering the others you have highlighted.

This article (and the Booker prize it seems) reeks of political ideals. Cannot a book just be a book anymore?

Mr Guha please explain, why your most democratic icon, when forming the PMNational Relief Fund included the President of Congress Party as a trustee ? Why did he not make the Leader of the Opposition or leader of the single largest party in opposition as a trustee. This itself shows the crooked mindset of the then PM

References to caste are inappropriate, there was no need to mention a concept that does not exist in Islamic philosophy unless there is an attempt to adopt this archaic system.

Should these young activists be in jail, or the rapists who have not yet been identified and arrested, as well as the magistrate and court officials whose bloated egos and caste prejudices are the cause of their arrest ?

The author in the interview refers to "a guy called HM Patel". HM Patel was a guy - historically correct. He was a key figure in partitioning the assets of the govts of India and Pakustan alongwith his Pakistani counterpart. He is only highly regared next to Sardar Patel in the Anand, Gujarat area.

Total white wash lies. I wonder there is enough evidence of what he had done. The writer completely ignored the Vedokta controversy, or the Rakhmabai Case. All that is written in his favour is he changed his views over time, but nothing is seen in his deeds. Merely, changing views does not help. Apart from that he also spread racial superiority theories. I feel he has been given more credit than he needed.

It's a cruel joke to the patients who are registered under "Ayushman Bharat" and supposed to receive reimbursement upto Rs 5 lakhs. Because of the poor online service, none of the patients have received any amount whatsoever!

This write-up by Ramanan on Seshadri is excellent! I, V. Lakshmibai, as mentioned in Ramanan's write-up, had the good fortune to have had Seshadri as my thesis advisor. My relationship with Seshadri extends over 5 decades-first as a mentor, then as a collaborator and then as a friend! I joined TIFR in 1968, and started to work under him at TIFR for my Ph.D degree, in 1970's. Soon after receiving my Ph. D, from TIFR, I went. first to Rome University, as a visiting Professor, at the invitation by Procesi, in 1978; the following two years, I went to Johns Hopkins, at the invitation by Kempf. This visit was followed by a three visit at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and then by a three visit at Texas A&M, College Station.. Then I joined Northeastern University, in 1987. Now, I am a Professor (Emeritus), at Northeastern University; I retired from Northeastern University, just in Fall, 2019. Throughout my career at Northeastern, every year, I used to visit CMI, during the winter months to carry out collaborated research with Seshadri and his colleagues, especially, with Manoj Kummini and Pramath Sastry. I had such a memorable time in collaborating with Seshadri over the past five decades that I find it very difficult to accept/believe that he is no longer with us! Let me take comfort in the fact that he lived a long, full and extremely successful life, and he brought nothing but pleasure and joy to those who knew him!

If the 'justices' of the Supreme Court accept these bare-faced lies of the central govt and its law officers as the gospel truth, then there will be absolutely no credibility left in their already minimised credibility to deliver any modicum of justice.

Its is true and we Indians want it. We want kashmir as out land whose claim resides to all the religious people. Muslims were never part of kashmir, Hindus were. but we still keep them in our country and they behave with us as if we are outsiders in kashmir.

There is a reason why Dr Ambedkar embraced Buddhism and exhorted his followers to do the same. But today, instead of shunning Hinduism, Dalits are trying to gain entry into the Hindu fold where they have no place. Also, daily is not an ideology, it is a transitional phase where the members have to choose an ideology that is equalitarian and non-Hindu. The sooner Dalits realize this, the quicker they will realize salvation from the daily degradation.

Every child is in different environment of their parents. Only when they come to a school they get a feeling of "peer group" effect. playing time in out of house again enriches "others effect " All ideal sayings are OK to read but what is possible in effect depends on "Family's situation" like tha saying " what you Eat/Think/Act defines what You are! One has to move with "Times " Today 'NxtGen need to become familar with AI-ML-Coding etc all requiring Every NxtGen become "fluent" with Maths problem solving! ... so efforts required by Parents/Teachers/ elders is to "facilitate" them to become Self- Learners!

Dare if these judges and our Netas get themselves treated with these reservation quota Doctors Besides these reservation quota doctor should display that they are fm reservation quota

The major ways to come out of this scenario are 1. to adopt austerity measures in public spending 2.to focus and accelerate mechanisms to create sources of earning for the masses and 3.thrust on debt raising for areas of revenue generation rather than for expenditure 4.by laying more stress on the potential utility of the human and natural resources of the respective states.Needless to say that the buoyancy of centre’s coffers depends on states’ performance and vice versa.The need for the states and centre to go in tandem, be it in planning and preparing or focusing and funding the projects and their timely execution to reap the intended benefits to boost the economy of the nation as a whole is more now than ever.Else,it seems inevitable to navigate through troubled waters !

Very true.Waste of money.

High hopes after many hopeless redressals.

'Fact and Fiction' was one of my favourite haunts when i lived in Delhi, 15-20 years ago. I remember asking the owner to import a book for me (this was before Amazon). For three years, until recently, i lived in Bangalore where my favourite bookshops, Blossoms and Bookworm, sold (and bought) hundreds of excellent secondhand books. I have spent many happy hours browsing these shelves and came across many old or unavailable books (like Bernard Malamud, Willliam Trevor, many more), often in very good condition. When you sell your old books to Blossoms or Bookworm you do not receive cash but a coupon to buy old or new books from them. Perhaps this is the way forward for bookshops? Another suggestion is setting up large, paying, physical libraries with secondbooks, bought or donated. Many people don't know what to do with old books. Until Amazon came along, it was libraries which offered you all the books you wanted to read but couldn't find in bookshops. From British Library, to USIS libraries, to Gymkhana Club libraries, to the neighbourhood circulating libaries (now sadly defunct), I grew up in the seventies and eighties reading largely borrowed books. In those days books were expensive and die-hard bookworms like me borrowed books.

A well written piece explaining the evolution of the dispute and the intricacies involved. The potential reserves of unexplored oil and gas deposits beneath the sea bed naturally are the bone of contention for the various stake holders making a claim on the maritime assets and approaches. When the law stipulates that all stakeholders have a right to 200 nautical mile EEZ to exploit the resources of the sea and the sea bed,the attitude of the dragon nation looks highly irrational. It is shocking to note that despite the verdict pronounced at Hague,China is adamant on its stand. If nations have no arbitration mechanism how do they resolve such issues ? Do they go on indulging in endless conflicts ? Or is might the only right ? Let us imagine what would be the state of affairs if tomorrow space is explored for its mind boggling assets ! A collective global effort is needed to put a check on China’s unilateral claims in international issues.

Well, you got my attention when a read Jane Austen, because right now I'm reading precisely this book, and watching the second "Pride and Perjudice", both I am delightly to read them.

Hi Mirza, I'm a big fan of your writing, mainly quality of straight points and describing the situations with logic and data. Waiting for more realtime update from you. - Manish

Kum Kum was a famous character actor who danced in so many song sequences. .... very memorable ones. May her soul rest in peace.

Sickeningly grevious that this is happening, cursed are those who deny them n

It’s a sad state of affairs . We the English speaking and thinking Indians are not good enough for International publishers and lot of us cant even understand our mother tongue leave alone writing fiction in it . Soon ( 5-10 years ) we will have a huge market for English fiction with almost all vernacular language schools vanishing and being replaced by English medium schools and then maybe we don’t need to be at the mercy of these WASP dominated Industry .

Very Interesting article! Expect more such scientific articles from Scroll!

It turns out there is good science out there that helps us know what masks we need to wear and when to wear them. That being said, some of the advice could change as scientists learn more about why some people get a bad or even lethal case of this virus while others with mild or no symptoms, with greatest confusion seems to be about masks. In country like India where a vast majority of population don't know how to wear a mask, the question whether the mask is working or not is futile.Much of the decision about wearing masks depends on what the essential businesses that remain open are doing to ensure social distancing and therefore,our safety. The surgical mask or a self made mask is not going to protect you from the virus suspended in the air,as in a closed, poorly ventilated space.In my opinion, you don’t need a mask with really good social distancing (3 meters away) from others, or outdoors or even in a well-ventilated, large room keeping the density of people small and you are there for as short a time as possible.But of late it has been observed that it is difficult to adhere to above manipulations, the mandatory advisory for mask is in place. For people sticking to guidelines of wearing mask, the author's candle test is a convenient marker. Rather than testing the efficacy of masks the advisory remains for wearing a tested mask that is N-95 or FFP2 as called in Europe.

Reading “What I learnt while teaching Pakistani literature to a class of old, White Americans” I felt this literature consisted of some novels and stories by a few English-speaking expats and maybe Urdu natives. A visit to the library, however, results in a different picture of that country’s writing and reading communities over time. Another Pakistani newspaper had an interesting article recently which shows that a literary tradition is more than just a list of novels: https://dailytimes.com.pk/636553/pakistani-poetry-in-english/. The mention of stories by Abbas and Manto gives us a wider reference. I guess America too is more than just old and white. A Pakistani scholar (Alamgir Hashmi) who published a remarkable philosophical / critical book, The Commonwealth, Comparative Literature and the World, it appears way back in 1988 and perhaps ahead of its time, makes an important point in the sub-chapter “The language of color is highly invisible”. It shows we can’t be simplistic about reading, books, literature, people, culture, and related matters. Dr. Danny Spedding

Another fund of stimulus is the need of the hour ! It may be too early to speak of recovery ! It is a known fact that there was a drastic slump in demand even prior to the pandemic..As per a report,teachers in thousands of private schools across the country are not paid salaries after March.Even government employees are not paid full salaries in some states.Air India is likely to ask several employees to go on unpaid leave for five years with cuts in salary for many.Several organisations have massively laid off staff or imposed hefty pay cuts.Many workers in establishments have not been paid salaries during lockdown and so is the case with migrant workers.Receipts back home to families from expats in Kuwait are severely affected with a new policy to prune down their number there in view of a dwindling oil economy.About 8 lakh Indians are expected to come back if the Kuwaiti Parliament approves the proposal.These are only a few examples in a few sectors without stats.There can only be erosion in consumption but not elation in such scenario ! With ease of lockdown, may be, there is some increase in spending due to whatever is available in savings which can not be taken as a major sign of recovery. We may have to watch the ensuing demand profile for a minimum of 2 to 3 months that too in the post total unlock scenario to arrive at some solid conclusions !

I found it hilarious that persons holding such eminent judicial positions should hold a useless press conference.Then deny a woman legal support. And a (complete bench mind you !) judgement on,of all the things,Faith !

I am a writer and empathize with you totally. This pandemic has robbed us of the creative impetus that we must have to put pen to paper. More than the disease, though, is the current climate of bullying dissenting voices in India: this stymies my thought processes and leads to a host of conflicting thoughts. If I oppose these negative forces, I could be victimized next, and if I don't then how can I live with my conscience? I choose to gamely soldier on, with all my principles being held aloft, albeit with my written outputs in a far less productive - or even creative manner.

What an incredible dumb argument she has - being honest! The nazi who worked in the gas chamber was also very honest about what he was doing. That didn't make it right.

Please provide information for donations.

The way the US is enticing manufacturers globally to have the first grab at vaccine indeed raises concerns .In the case of Covid -19 the access is important to the most needy for the very safety of every one let alone the ethical concerns.Incentivising pharma companies based on the number of lives saved by their vaccine is a good idea ! More than all these things, the most important constraint is the needed data on the quality and quantity of the viral distribution across the globe at the remotest level .A “global billionaire club”for humanity” must be formed and approached with the central themes of “humanity” and “giving back to society” for the just job in right time.But if such a thing becomes reality, they should take up the task of pricing, procuring, and permitting the vaccine on a need basis using their own men, machinery and mechanism for an accelerated out reach rather offering a lump sum fat donation !

Amazing article!! We should definitely shift to cycling this lockdown

IT now stands on quality with experience

Assessing the burden of COVID-19 on the basis of medically attended case numbers is sub optimal given its reliance on testing strategy, changing case definitions, and disease presentation. Population-based serosurveys measuring anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies provide one method for estimating infection rates and monitoring the progression of the epidemic.Sero-prevalance, or sero-surveys, would help understand the proportion of population exposed to SAR-CoV-2 infection including symptomatic.Depending on the level of sero-prevalence of the infection, appropriate public health interventions can be planned and implemented for prevention and control of the disease.Periodic sero-surveys are useful to guide the policy makers. For instance, a survey in high risk or vulnerable populations such as healthcare worker, front line workers, immune-compromised individuals, individuals in containment zones, etc. would show who has been infected in the past and if they have now recovered.Sero surveys are important when the containment strategy has failed and the only way forward remains the Herd Immunity.Recent results highlight that the vast majority of the population is still immunologically naive to this new virus. serological studies are crucial for providing new insights about transmission and the otherwise hidden immunological state of the population.