Indian Institute of Students

 Recently I was in conversation with few of my acquaintances, including a veteran teacher, who work in reputed international schools in the Delhi-NCR region. At the first mention of the phrase 'international school', a flowery idea of futuristic classrooms come to our mind. Being in the twenty-first century, it is essential to come to terms with globalisation at an early age. However, there is something she put in my ears, that had my alarm bells ringing: a serious lack of virtues, crippled ethics, and a dominant trait of immorality prevails wide in such schools. I had a talk with them to understand what actually goes on behind the veil of glitters.  The first and foremost striking difference between missionary schools and international schools is that the latter is more diversified in terms of culture. Students and teachers from different ethnic backgrounds intermingle here. These schools are established where there is a mass influx of brains: primarily, tier one citi...

“I’m not an animal anymore” Yeong-hye is, in her husband’s opening words, "completely unremarkable in every way." She is a reasonably diligent homemaker, a reasonably attentive consort, not deeply unhappy and driven by no great passions. Her husband, Mr Cheong is an imperious dullard fully at peace with his own mediocrity. He chose her due to her unassertiveness and sheer blandness. Things begin to fracture and their staid lives are disrupted the day Yeong-hye throws away all the meat from the freezer and announces that henceforth she is going to be a vegetarian. The sole explanation she provided?  “ I had a dream.” The dream, divulged to us in fleeting, cursory glances, is dark, bloody and aggressive, replete with invasive images of brutality. Violence breaks out in her waking world, too, when her father tries to force a piece of sweet-and-sour pork into her mouth. And in revolt, she stabs herself. And it goes downhill from here. Other people are dragged in , ...

The year 2016 had a spicy opening, when the Pathankot attacks widely dented any notion of growing Indo-Pakistani diplomatic patch-up. It is an undeniable fact that the public perception continues to be mostly negative in all facets of discussion concerning Pakistan. On 18th September, during the change of army staff at Uri, four heavily armed terrorists evaded security and opened fire on the army camps: the result was inevitable, known, and antagonistic to Indian nationalistic sentiments. Nineteen soldiers were killed. The penultimate day of September witnessed something atypical: surgical strikes were orchestrated by the 9 Para SF of the Indian Army, in what can be called a cross-border operation of an unprecedented scale. The heliborne attacks were devised to eliminate the terror "launch pads" on the opposite side of the Line of Control. This was, in the most elemental of terms, a direct response to the Pakistani provocation after months of strategic restraint. Right aft...

Secularism has always been a contentious topic to debate on. However, the flames of communal disharmony are raging like never before. Ever since the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaque in Dadri on suspicions of cow slaughter, a host of similarly patterned incidents have come to light. Even if we are to disregard the media glare and limelight that the issue has hogged, the otherwise blunt statistics are too deplorable: in the last five years, India has had fifty-eight incidents of communal distress for every month of the calendar. Even worse, all these events were concentrated within the ambit of a mere count of eight States. The Constitution defines India as a nation-state of secular fabric. The trouble is, certain right-wing mavericks are desperately trying to push India into a theocratic setup: and in the process, are creating irreparable damage to the general framework of the provisions meant to ensure the same. Conservative jingoistic sentiments have overtaken the human emotions of lo...

Statistics show a spike in the number of ghastly crimes against women. A major breakthrough in social awareness about rape in India came thundering down the society after the 2012 Delhi assault. In spite of public outrage against such gross violations of fundamental human rights, a number of cases still continue to be reported- which is a worrying trend. Prominent faces from every nook and corner of the nation have stood up to protest against the acts. However, the big question is, how effective have they been? I was distraught the moment I read the headline yesterday: a ten year old girl had been raped and murdered indignantly. And all this, by a convict, who was released from jail just a day back! It is really appalling, and rather heart-wrenching, to learn that the vices of the modern society have absolutely decimated rationality- even if it be at its base minimum. India is a nation of twelve hundred million people; out of which approximately 674 million are men, and the rest...

The recent visit of the Indian Prime Minister to the United States was once again met with much enthusiasm among the political circles. Whether it was in Washington DC, or rather close back home in Delhi, the political pundits predict that PM Modi is aggressively pushing for improved bilateral ties between the US and India. On the third errand to the United States, as a part of a bilateral summit with President Obama, Modi was permitted to address the State Congress. Modi's repertoire of diplomatic tricks is, in a sense, unorthodox: he emphasizes on personal relations between State leaders. However, the big question is: Will this camaraderie with the States work out as an ideal solution for India? We will also analyse the probable ramifications that the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) can hold for India's defence sector. The answer to the above question requires analysis of the current, present-day situation in Asia. China is undoubtedly the sole power...