Arthashastra (अर्थशास्त्र)

Smartphone on a Tripod Filming a Blogger Applying Make-up/ Pexels The other day, I was trying to buy a pair of headphones. Simple task, right? I typed “best noise-cancelling headphones” into Google — and promptly fell into an information rabbit hole. There were 42 tabs open within minutes. One reviewer swore by Brand A, another said it was “trash,” Reddit was staging a civil war, and half the YouTubers were holding affiliate links in one hand and “unbiased review” signs in the other. And then — one video changed everything. It was from a creator I’ve been following for years. He didn’t just list specs; he talked about how the sound feels on long metro rides, how the build holds up after six months, and which models actually cancel the noise of Delhi traffic (not just promise to). I trusted him. Not because he was an influencer — but because he felt real. That’s when it struck me: In this age of information disruption, influencers are no longer just marketing tools. They are filters — t...

Monsoon crosses Himalayas/Source: IMD On a pale September morning in 2025, the skies offered an image no climatologist expected. Satellite frames showed moisture from the southwest monsoon climbing the ridges of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh — not halting at the Himalayan divide but slipping into the Tibetan Plateau. For a moment, the mountains that have long held the monsoon captive seemed to falter. The sight was first noticed by Manish Mehta, glaciologist at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, while examining early September maps. “Moisture appears to have crossed over to Tibet,” he said, his caution matched only by the significance of the claim. Schematic: Southwest Monsoon Moisture Crossing the Himalayas Scientists Urge Caution No one rushed to announce a climatic revolution. Raghu Murtugudde, climate scientist at IIT Bombay and the University of Maryland, noted: “We have to be careful about inferring moisture transport based on such images. Strong advection into...

Symbol of resistance: The Nepali flag bleeding in 2025, reflecting the struggles and sacrifices of a protesting generation/Image created using AI In Kathmandu, the heart beats twice: once for the mountains, and once for the children who leave them. In 2024, those children sent home eleven billion dollars in remittances—money that became rice in a bowl, a school uniform, a hospital bed. It was not wealth, but survival. Survival spoke through WhatsApp calls from Qatar, Viber messages from Seoul, Facebook photos from Malaysia. So when Nepal’s government banned twenty-six social media platforms in September 2025, it did not merely silence dissent. It severed the threads of daily life. A mother in Pokhara who waits each evening for her son’s voice suddenly heard only silence. A father in Dhangadhi, eager to show his grandson’s first steps through a flickering video call, found the screen frozen. Overnight, the distance between loved ones became infinite. That is why the protests erupted...

Child Preacher (Image Generated using AI) A child steps forward to recite scripture, their voice brimming with sincerity. It’s a captivating sight, whether in a bustling temple in India, a solemn church in the United States, or broadcasted across millions of homes in Australia. The innocence of a child preacher has a universal effect: it stirs wonder, admiration, and awe. People are drawn to the purity of their words, which seem untouched by the complexities of adulthood, as though these children have a more direct line to the divine. But beyond this fascination lies a more complex reality that raises important questions about faith, innocence, and the adults who may be guiding these young figures. In India, one prominent example is Abhinav Arora, a nine-year-old spiritual orator from Delhi, who has captured millions of followers on social media. Known as "Bal Sant" (child saint), Abhinav appears to embody true devotion, performing rituals and delivering spiritual messages wi...

India, that is Bharat: Exploring India's Dual Identity In the heart of India's historical journey towards independence and nationhood, a crucial debate emerged within the Constituent Assembly in 1949: should the newly formed nation be officially named 'Bharat' or 'India'? This debate, which unfolded nearly a year after the initial draft of the Indian Constitution, remains relevant today as the nation grapples with its identity. In recent times, the renaming of the G-20 Summit invitations to "President of Bharat" has reignited discussions about the nation's nomenclature and its deep-rooted historical connotations. Historical Perspectives on the Names "India" and "Bharat" Constitutionality Article 1 of the Indian Constitution already establishes the interchangeability of "India" and "Bharat" by stating, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." This provision acknowledges the historical sig...

Vladmir Putin/Source: ProsaClouds On Friday, the 23rd of June, a series of events unfolded in Russia that sent shockwaves throughout the world. The paramilitary leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, launched an audacious invasion of Russian territory from Ukraine, with the intention of overthrowing the current regime. This rebellion, likened to a coup d'état, captured global attention and raised concerns about the stability of Putin's rule. While the situation ultimately deescalated, the Wagner Group rebellion marked the first significant attempt to challenge Putin's regime. In this article, we will delve into the details of this extraordinary event and its implications for Russia's future. A Peculiar Invasion The Wagner Group, often referred to as Putin's private army, has been involved in covert military operations in countries like Syria, Libya, and Mali. Initially established to assist Russia in conflicts where direct military involvement was impractica...

FOSS: Should India Make the Big Software Switch?/Image Credit: JMEXCLUSIVES Can a country save billions of dollars by making a "software switch"? If you think the answer is "no," then for your kind information, a country has already done it. In May 2019, South Korea announced its plan to switch from Microsoft Windows to a Linux distro on its 3.3 million computing devices. According to the South Korean officials, it will save them up to 780 billion won (51 billion Indian rupees), otherwise which would spend on buying Microsoft Windows licenses. In India, similar steps were taken by the Government of Kerala when they switched to a homegrown Linux-based operating system KITE GNU Linux in their schools and saved around 3 billion Indian rupees . So now the question arises, Should your country make the switch? or in our case, Should India make the switch? And the answer is Yes. But this should not be implemented without understanding the challenges. Challenges 1. Learning...