Lesson from Ladakh — India & China were both rising together until China just raced away
China has outstripped India on every front, and now seeks dominance on the continent. The power imbalance is evident on every metric, and is growing. China now challenges yesterday’s sole superpower, while India finds its zone of influence challenged, if not constrained. The Ladakh stand-off should be a wake-up call on what’s real, not illusory, power, writes T.N. Ninan.
This Delhi doctor doesn’t wear full PPE when treating Covid-19 patients. Here’s why
Dr Ajeet Jain of Delhi’s Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital hasn’t worn a full PPE kit since 16 June. The decision is driven by three factors — experiencing spells of dizziness after wearing full PPE for long hours, the sheer expense of a complete kit, and the science behind how Covid spreads, reports Simrin Sirur.
Lateral entry experts have ‘become like any IAS officer’ a year into recruitment
The Narendra Modi government hasn’t made any civil services recruitment through lateral entry since last year, reports Sanya Dhingra. Stakeholders say ‘domain experts’ hired have been subsumed by the system.
Supreme Court giving Sudarshan News case a constitutional colour is curious
The facts of the Sudarshan News case are so cut-and-dried that Supreme Court’s constitutional question about seeking a balance between free speech and right to equality doesn’t arise, writes Arghya Sengupta.
No 6-ft distance, no masks, no screening — how Golden Temple is operating in pandemic
The Golden Temple, the most prominent place of worship for Sikhs, now looks just like it used to do before the pandemic struck — when people didn’t wear masks, there was no social distancing, and no need for hand sanitisers, reports Aneesha Bedi.
5 maps that tell you all you want to know about India vs China in Ladakh
From Depsang Plains in the north to southern bank of Pangong Tso lake, Indian and Chinese armies have nearly come face to face at numerous locations in eastern Ladakh. Amrita Nayak Dutta and Soham Sen try to simplify things with the help of a few maps of the region.
If Modi is a true reformer, he’ll bury Vodafone ghost and campaign on reforms in Bihar
No politician sees economic reform as a vote-catcher; it’s the old, povertarian economy that gets votes. Can Modi bring farm and labour reforms centre-stage? Read Shekhar Gupta’s weekly column ‘National Interest’ to find out.