Author: Dipankan

  • An Appeal to the Law’s Brooding Spirit

    “A dissent in a court of last resort is an appeal to the brooding spirit of law, to the intelligence of a future day when a later decision may possibly correct the error into which the dissenting justice believes the court to have been betrayed.” – Charles Evan Hughes The great American Judge, Charles Evan […]

  • A Memoir That Says It All

    ‘Son, I think you have made a mistake. You have written IPS five times,’ said Mr Lal to me, looking at me with concern. ‘No, sir, it’s not a mistake,’ I said. ‘It is deliberate. Sir, give me IPS or nothing.’ An extract. As an avid reader who primarily loves to dwell on non-fiction, Rakesh […]

  • In a state of perpetual decay

    Jyotiraditya’s loss was something that the Congress should have prognosticated long ago. His father, Madhavrao Scindia, was equally brilliant as him, and highly respected during his stint with the ministerial role. When a national party clings onto archaic leaders from the bygone era, instead of pumping in fresh blood throughout the veins of its organisation, […]

  • Thoughts on Flailing Foreign Investments

    India is a land of wonders, or so have we been taught in our early years. How wondrously it might manifest itself, is being revealed now. Over the years, the political establishment has demolished regard for conventions and excavated loopholes in laws to bypass obligations. The Budget 2019 brought in radical changes to the competitive […]

  • Upping the Academic Ante

    After the inconsolable demise of a promising tenth grader from GD Birla, it is imperative that we have a hard look at where we are going wrong. Several modern-day parents fail to recognize the fact that every individual has a saturation point. When a child is coerced to learn, his interest gradually declines until the […]

  • Chernobyl: Grim, Gore Realism at the forefront

    HBO’s Chernobyl, a web mini-series that first premiered on 6th May this year, has finally had its season finale with the last episode being broadcast on 3rd June, almost a month after the leading episode captivated audiences across the globe. Web series are produced by the bulk today, and not many among them are worthy […]

  • Contradicting sense: Taxation and Development

    Is there a relationship between development and taxation rates imposed by a regime? The short answer is yes, and that is a curious case of a U-trend! On plotting a dataset of 146 countries against their HDI Index (2018) with personal income tax rates, their parabolic relationship becomes clear: While those with lower and higher […]

  • The Horrors of Hooch

    Illegal consumption of spurious alcohol is consistently on the rise. Barely a week after the UP Hooch tragedy that claimed 116 lives, this time around, it is Assam. These breweries operate hideously, often as a ‘side’ product on factory premises. As far as reports go, 110+ have been reported dead- a casualty every 10 minutes! […]

  • A Year in Review

    With just a day to go before we conclude 2018 on a positive note, there must be a list of unbelievable successes we have attained in the year; and a similar list of unchecked boxes that we would have liked to see crossed, but couldn’t for whatsoever reasons may be. In the span of the […]

  • Why Zero is nothing more than a pathetic eyesore

    WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Before I even start with describing how bad the film Zero was, I believe it would be prudent to admit that I am a die-hard Shah Rukh addict; someone who always hoped that the Badshah of Bollywood could perhaps give his acting career post his fifties a major rejig. After watching Zero, […]