Editorials, Opinion, Expert Views, Columns, Cartoon from The Hindu

Lessons from a disaster A railway network that caters to about seven billion passenger trips a year poses extraordinary management challenges, the most important of which is to ensure that all journeys end safely. The derailment of the Indore-Patna Express in Kanpur Dehat, with the death toll at least 146, is a stark reminder that India’s strained railway system can be unpredictably risky. The distress of the families of passengers who died and those left injured can never be fully compensated by the announcement of ex-gratia compensation by the Railway Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office and State governments; at the same time, confidence in the system has suffered a severe blow. The Ministry, which has recorded an average of 50 derailments a year over the past four years and a peak of 63, needs to engage in a sustained effort to win back public confidence. There are several elements to safety, of which the integrity of the tracks, signalling, engines and coaches need to be rigorously audited. Internal i

DRS clears the test India has a fascinating history with the Decision Review System. It was involved in its conception, was one of the first two countries to put it to trial, and then became the only nation to refuse to use it in bilateral engagements. The DRS was a result of the Sydney Test of 2008, in which consistently poor umpiring created a fractious atmosphere, leading to some of the ugliest scenes cricket has seen. The administrators realised that the umpire, the person with the greatest responsibility on the field, was the least empowered. Television had begun to provide access to information the umpire would have benefited from, but did not; yet he was judged on it. India and Sri Lanka were the first to audition it in a three-Test series in 2008. But it was this very experience that shaped much of India’s opposition: the argument was that the technology wasn’t faultless and it allowed room for unskilled human intervention. While the rest of world cricket embraced the DRS, with a vast majority of

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The age of post-truth politics

Sundar Sarukkai It isn’t just the U.S., the climate of blatant lies has permeated politics worldwide. Perhaps it is not that truth is irrelevant for politics but what is needed is a theory of truth that fits politics

Comment

Quick fixes for deep-rooted issues

Salman Anees Soz Reducing corruption, illicit money and market informality are worthy objectives. But as yet, there is no road map for creating the institutional architecture needed for a cashless society

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The buck stops with the States

Dhanmanjiri Sathe Given the diversity in development between States, it is only prudent that land acquisition laws be customised to suit local requirements

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Defence Columns Through the prism of air power

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Lead In an age of disruptive politics

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FROM THE READERS’ EDITOR

Fake news in echo chambers A.S. Panneerselvan

The introspection journey that looks at the limitations of a mainstream, broadsheet newspaper like The Hindu in the age of digital disruption has gene

No Boundaries

There is aggression…and then there is aggression Nirmal Shekar

Sitting next to the genial, self-effacing Arthur Ashe in the old press box at Wimbledon more than two decades ago, and watching a match between a base

Readers' Editor

Journalism’s return to oppositional roots A.S. Panneerselvan

A group of journalists, writers and academics gathered last Wednesday in Kathmandu to bid farewell to the only Southasian magazine, Himal South Asian,

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The demons of demonetisation

Vivek K. Agnihotri Living through the currency note turmoil, and finally handling those mint-fresh bundles

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You win without models

P.K. Kuruvilla So you are in love with this lovely girl and would even like to marry her. Yes, she’s the girl everyone loves to love. Hey, what’s she doing endorsing

12mins

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Those geriatric freebies, and some testing times along the way

Ramesh S.S. Recently we went to a hospital in a south Indian city for a geriatric-stage test in a package arrangement. It was very comprehensive with a gamut of t

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Letter to the Editor

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Letters to the Editor: November 22, 2016 Off the railsThe ghastly train accident in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh shows that the railway bureaucracy has ignored most of the recommen

Letters to the Editor: November 21, 2016 Not yet developedThe horrifying visuals of the derailed Indore-Patna Express reveal a stark truth: India is still far, far away from becoming a devel

Letters to the editor: November 18, 2016 Black and whiteThe editorial page article, “White is the new black” (Nov.17), fails to highlight the positive and long-term benefits of demonetisation

Letters to the editor: Nov 17., 2016 Exchanging notes The demonetisation move is no doubt creating distress for the people, especially senior citizens and the poor, but many economists ha

Letters to the editor: November 16, 2016 One week afterOne of most unexpected spin-offs of the demonetisation saga is that people are learning to live frugally (“Demonetisation and after”, No

Letters to the editor: November 15, 2016 Economy without cashPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s emotional appeal to the nation, asking for a time of 50 days to weed out black money, needs to be c

Letters to the editor: November 14, 2016 Show me the money The government’s sudden decision to demonetise Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes has led to an unprecedented rush to banks, causing panic in

Letters to the Editor: November 12, 2016 Cleaning up the economyThe writer has misread the intention behind demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes (“The new colour of money”, Nov. 11). A

Letters to the editor: Nov. 11, 2016 The triumph of TrumpDonald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election lays bare two facts (“Shock and awe win for Donald Trump”, Nov. 10). The firs

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Bill Gates on Transforming India

Modi's speech to media at the start of Winter Session of Parliament

The Political Economy of Demonetising High Value Notes