The inspiration of this video is a meme which I saw recently. It is a take on a very popular Hindi film Deewar where the elder brother Amitabh Bachchan who has accumulated wealth in dubious ways tells the younger brother, “Mere paas building hai, property hai, bank balance hai, Bangla Hai, Gaadi Hai; Tumhare paas kya hai” and the younger brother Shashi Kapoor says, “Mere pass Maa hai” meaning that it's a very strong moral strength which I get from my mother and she cannot be discounted against … [Read more...] about Decoding of the trending meme: Mere Paas Modi Hai (I have Modi on my Side)
Political
What BRICS and India Can Learn from the Bystander Effect
The famous bystander effect was first noticed by two psychologists, Latane and Darley, after a murder occurred in New York’s Kew Gardens at 3:00 a.m. There was nothing extraordinary about the victim, the murderer, or even the method. What … [Read more...] about What BRICS and India Can Learn from the Bystander Effect
Vaccine hesitancy – India hesitancy: Two sides of the same dangerous coin
First Published in India Today on on 6th July 2025 Vaccine hesitancy has a long history. Initially, vaccines were opposed on religious grounds, viewed as interference with divine will. Later, in liberal societies, they were resisted as infringements on personal freedom, especially when made mandatory. In modern times, the anti-vaccine movement gained steam from 1998 through a widely publicised study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield that falsely linked the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine to … [Read more...] about Vaccine hesitancy – India hesitancy: Two sides of the same dangerous coin
Flattening Historical Nuance Flattens Truth: Trump’s Bomb Analogy
Last week, Trump Compared Bunker Busters to Atom Bombs. That’s like comparing: Firing your apprentice to decimating a civilization! The MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) may be America’s biggest non-nuclear bomb, but it doesn’t come with the generational radiation, surrender of nations, or the rewriting of world history. The illusion here is not just technical, it’s historical and moral. Hiroshima and Nagasaki weren’t just military events - they were civilizational inflection points, forcing … [Read more...] about Flattening Historical Nuance Flattens Truth: Trump’s Bomb Analogy
Analysing Amit Shah’s Recent Swipe at English
Amit Shah was not just defending his son’s English… The direction in which the BJP government has been moving - with its strong cultural and political assertion - had made it seem that, in time, while English might continue to be the language of the self-proclaimed elite, Hindi would increasingly become the language of the power elite. But this linguistic transition now faces headwinds. Globally, the world is tilting back toward a “might is right” mindset - and here, English still … [Read more...] about Analysing Amit Shah’s Recent Swipe at English
Defence and Aerospace Marketing in the New Multipolar Arms Bazaar
The B-2 Bomber just flew a PR mission as much as a military one. Defence marketing has a long but largely undocumented history. Until the 17th century, colonial powers maintained a tacit agreement not to arm their subject states, lest the weapons spark rebellion. While arms were supplied covertly, the lack of formal records-other than the accounts of war enthusiasts-has left the field historically fuzzy and fragmented. By glorifying the B2 stealth bomber’s precision and majesty, the US … [Read more...] about Defence and Aerospace Marketing in the New Multipolar Arms Bazaar