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...

The ICSE examinations are the first public examinations for many students each year. This year, an approximate of 170,000 students sat for the ICSE examinations, held by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). After the declaration of results, most of the students were quite jubilant and were unrestrained in expressing their joy and satisfaction. As a rule of thumb, a person always gets more than what he expects, if they put in dedicated hard work. And this condition has been proved true for yet another year. IIS India went out of it's traditional way, resuming the original nature for the blog- a youth blog reflecting the voice of many. The two interviewees are Hrivu Banerjee (AIR-5, 98.40%), and Ayanabha Trivedi (98.20%), from Don Bosco School, Bandel. Let's take a peek at what they have to say. Representational image. Image copyright (c) Financial Times. Congratulations! You both have done exceedingly well. What were your parent's reac...

"This is one of the films that sticks around in our heads for long. Though the film is complete, a trifle sense of something left out makes us all cringe and look for answers, which are quite oblivious to us." 15th April, 2016 was an eventful day for King Khan's fans- it was a red letter day for all of his admirers and well-wishers. This is no big secret: after all, a film that he termed as "very special" and "unique" was slated to be released on that day. Shah Rukh's fan clubs all over the country moved in groups and mass-purchased tickets to the first day, first show premiere of Khan's latest flick, "Fan". Much has been said that the lead character in Fan has similar traits to Rahul Mehra (played by SRK, again) in Darr. We'd like to put those rumors to rest: Fan is an extremely delightful watch for people of all age groups. It is a thriller, but quite unconventional from the rest. Warning: Spoilers ahead! The protag...

It is pleasing to learn that despite immense odds stacked against them, the West Indian players have proved their worth, and lifted the coveted World T20 trophy. It is surprising that the team has had, at one point, to combat speculations of their participation in the tournament. The players not only put to exhibition their skill in the game, but also lampooned the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in a series of post-match interviews. It is deplorable that the West Indian Cricket Board played a game of politics with the best talents of the Caribbean nations. The feud between the players and the board has escalated to such a level that DJ Bravo, former captain of the West Indian ODI cricket team, commented that the team received more support from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) than the WICB.      West Indies has in recent years, plunged to the very bottom of the international rankings. The West Indian Cricket Board appointed a inferior (casually re...

The recent flyover collapse in the heart of Kolkata has generated much hype among people. While the loss of lives is tragic indeed and it would be generic to say that our prayers are with the bereaved families, there is an unexplored, dormant facet that needs some serious introspection. It is an issue that has got media mentions, but (unfortunately enough) failed to garner enough attention to wipe out the plaguing problem. The syndicate business is one of the most lucrative business in Bengal for anyone with political affiliations with the ruling party. That explains how Rajat Bakshi, an aide of the local Trinamool leader Sanjay Bakshi, got his hands into the construction team for the Vivekananda flyover. The menace has been there for a long time, and looks set for an exponential boom without any stringent checks in place. For starters, 'syndicate' means an organization to promote a common interest. In the context of Bengal, it is the construction syndicates that is wide...

Unless you've been living under a rock, you must have heard of the furore about the Jawaharlal Nehru University ruckus being played out at the heart of Delhi. The upheaval over the purportedly "anti-national" comments being made at the JNU campus is to me, justified. It is really tragic that today's so-called students (really?) have resorted to eulogizing blacklisted terrorists for political purposes. As pointed out by a reputable debate show, politicians have objectified this incident as a latch for them to lambaste the ruling government; and an opportunity to join the "BJP doesn't own patriotism" bandwagon. Mind you, these are all for petty short-term gains: no one is righteous enough to call the spade a spade. The JNU Campus, Mehrauli, New Delhi It is, no doubt, disheartening to see the young guns of the nations fire up such controversial salvos every now and then. However, what is irritating is the fact that the opposition have overwhelmingly ...