CATEGORIES

ECOLOGY ECONOMIST

Sundarlal Bahuguna was the bridge between our freedom struggle and today’s ecology movement

A BORDER CUPPA

Perched between India and Pakistan, Café Freedom has become the new hang-out place for Uri youth

Covid-19 - How The Government Bungled

Behind India’s crumbling Covid management is a combination of factors—poor macro-level monitoring, refusal to heed early warnings, negligent policymaking and complacent citizens

Rajiv's Discovery Of India

Rajiv Gandhi was a doting father, a committed husband, a dutiful son, and a loyal friend. Above all, he was a caring, cordial and visionary leader who was committed to ushering a secular and democratic India into the 21st century

SONG OF THE SOUL

Did you know about the whistling village of India? Read about Kongthong, where villagers are not known by a name, but by a tune

The sting in the tale

Mamata Banerjee outwits the CBI in perceptions game after the arrests of Trinamool leaders

My goal is to make music out of the language

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

RAGE REIGNS

Neither Israel nor Hamas in Palestine is even thinking of a cessation to the hostilities anytime soon

RUM REJIG!

Gen-next distillers are taking the pirate’s drink to uncharted waters

Head hunting

The CBI top job is up for grabs. The shortlisted officers have reputations that precede them

Government and scientific establishment have failed

As early as April 2020, molecular biologist Partho Sarothi Ray had warned India of mutant variants and of a deadlier second wave of the coronavirus. Ray is an associate professor in the department of biological sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, and is now abroad on a research project. In a new interview with THE WEEK, Ray discusses India’s response to the second wave. Excerpts:

The Conception Crisis

The sperm count is down, and egg quality low. Men and women in India are struggling to conceive. While lifestyle issues do contribute to infertility, researchers are more worried about hormone-altering chemicals that surround us. THE WEEK investigates how these are impacting our reproductive health

PRESSING ON

Power, Press and Politics By Alok Mehta Published by Bloomsbury Price ₹799; pages 421

Fungus Follows Virus

Pandemic has led to an increase in the incidence of mucormycosis, which can be life-threatening

THE MILLENNIAL MESSENGER

With his pen spitting fire against issues like caste and politicking, Tamil rapper Arivu wants to influence the lives of people around him

I HAVE JUST STARTED OUT

INTERVIEW Anupam Kher, actor

The resilient city

When faced with a looming oxygen crisis, Mumbai responded by changing its supply-based system to a storage-based one

Loss and profit

With his challengers failing to deliver West Bengal for the BJP, Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s chair appears to be safe for now

Court off-balance

While courts have had to step in to fill the vacuum left by the executive, not every order has helped pandemic management

Scripting a flop

After drawing a blank in the polls and facing a revolt in his party, Kamal Haasan has a dim political future

Low sperm count is an indicator of the presence of disease

Dr Shanna Swan, professor of environmental medicine and public health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City

Bedlam in Bengaluru

Amid a political slugfest triggered by Tejasvi Surya, Karnataka desperately tries to shore up its creaky Covid response system

A Better Study On Breakthrough Infection Will Help Our Understanding Of The Virus

A better study on breakthrough infection will help our understanding of the wily virus

INDIA AND ASIAN GEOPOLITICS

INDIA AND ASIAN GEOPOLITICS: THE PAST, PRESENT Penguin Random House India Pages 420; price ₹1699

Narendra Modi Miscalculates On Bengal And Covid Fightback

Narendra Modi’s governance model has been put to test over the handling of the second wave of Covid-19, while the political pressure on him is set to mount after the BJP’s dismal show in the assembly elections

Left proves right

Pinarayi Vijayan’s focus on welfare schemes, infra projects and good governance reaped rich dividends

Vaccination should be free for all citizens

Dr T. Jacob John, clinical virologist

Summit challenge

In his first term as chief minister, M.K. Stalin will have to deal with a strong opposition, an unfriendly Central government and an economy ravaged by the pandemic

Prolonged peril

A growing number of Indians who have recovered from Covid-19 are falling prey to a silent pandemic—the long-Covid syndrome

Withered hand

Assembly poll results show that the Congress is facing an existential crisis and is fast losing national relevance, but the party claims that only it has the national perspective required to hold the country together