N. Ram

Pelicans in the Adayar Creek within Tholkappia Poonga (Adayar Eco Park) in Chennai

VIT Chancellor G Vishwanathan: Over 4 lakh undertrials await justice; ur... youtube.com/shorts/giYVgH3… via @YouTube

Justice Murlidhar on interfaith couples, honour killing & the constitution youtube.com/shorts/a39Gqf_… via @YouTube

Kapil Sibal: Majoritarianism was always present but has become blatant a... youtube.com/shorts/ZK9W-f9… via @YouTube

“Law is not a business, law is a passion…The business of a lawyer is to fight the system” — Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal in conversation at VIT Chennai’s & The Hindu’s “Justice Unplugged” conclave in New Delhi: instagram.com/reel/DVTlLSNgi…

Correction: ‘The Hidden Imran’ (equator.org/articles/the-h…) by Osman Samiuddin was published in Equator (January 21, 2026), a recently launched quality magazine of politics, culture and art. “Support for this article was provided by a grant from the Pulitzer Center.”

“The Vanishing of Imran Khan” — a must-read essay in the long form by journalist Osman Samiuddin for the Pulitzer Center: pulitzercenter.org/stories/commen… “What happens when a state erases its most famous public figure?  “This is what Pakistan has been trying to do with the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan over the last two years. He has been confined in a small jail cell, on trial for a slew of charges. Only one photo of him has emerged from that time. “The Pakistan Cricket Board, run by political appointees, issued a video celebrating Pakistan's 1992 World Cup win, under Imran's leadership—after having edited him out of the footage. News anchors were banned from mentioning his name. “So much of Imran Khan’s appeal has been built on his physically arresting presence, and to try to erase that—to erase the most famous Pakistani ever—is a striking experiment in repression. “In some ways, his situation is similar to that of Myanmar politician Aung San Suu Kyi when she was in prison—and Imran has compared himself to figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. There are also parallels with older Pakistani leaders with cult-like support. “But Imran's situation is unique, not least because of the nature of his public profile, his route to political power, and his erasure in this digital age. “Journalist Osman Samiuddin reports from Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad, to understand the stakes at play, the government’s various methods to vanish Imran from public life, and the hacks that his supporters have used to bend the rules.”

Sunil Gavaskar has done all of us proud by speaking up powerfully for Imran Khan’s right to be treated justly, humanely, and with dignity: instagram.com/reel/DU8QPmUD2…

Read Brinda Karat’s excellent — well researched and contextualised, precise, incisive, timely, and may I say unanswerable — editorial page main article published in The Hindu of February 20, 2026. This article needs to be translated into India’s many languages and widely shared.

Following the submission of Part I of the Report of the High-Level Committee on Union-State Relations, constituted in April 2025 under the chairmanship of Justice Kurian Joseph, retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin makes a strong, well-reasoned, and irrefutable case for a structural reset of Indian federalism. “Just as an individual cannot remain perpetually captive to the neuroses of childhood,” he contends with a striking metaphor in this editorial page main article in The Hindu (February 17, 2026), “so too a nation cannot forever labour under the anxieties of its formative years. India's unity is no longer fragile, and the idea of India now rests on firm and enduring foundations. Yet, 76 years later, constitutional practice continues to reflect the reflexes of the late 1940s. Centralisation, once detended as a necessity, has hardened into habit.” Chief Minister Stalin’s article in The Hindu concludes with a call for an informed public debate on the issues addressed in the Report: “Part I of its Report, which was submitted on February 16, 2026, addresses issues that range from the role of Governors and language policy to delimitation, elections, education, health, and Goods and Services Tax. “The Government of Tamil Nadu presents this report to the public in the hope that it will stimulate informed debate, restore balance to the Union-State relationship, and contribute to a constitutional settlement in which the Union is strong because it is focused, and the States are strong because they are trusted.” thehindu.com/opinion/lead/i…

Read this important -- reasoned, persuasive, and powerful -- article by retired Madras High Coury Judge K. Chandru: theleaflet.in/equality/majes…

Magnificent -- don’t miss this.

This is unadulterated rubbish, disinformation pure and simple — anyone who goes to Tholkappia Poonga (the meticulously restored and well-maintained Adayar Eco Park) can see for themselves the mixed socio-economic and cultural background of the regular and occasional walkers and the visitors, including the schoolchildren. They love this unique ecosystem with its flora and fauna beside the Adyar Creek and the Estuary, its pelicans and other migratory birds, and the paved walking paths.

விஜய்யின் 'ஜன நாயகன்' திரைப்படத்தின் வெளியீட்டைத் தடுத்த தணிக்கைத் குழுவின் (CBFC) ஜனநாயக விரோதச் செயலை மிகக் கடுமையான சொற்களால் கண்டிப்பதன் மூலம், தமிழ்நாடு முதலமைச்சர் மு.க. ஸ்டாலின் அவர்கள் ஒரு தெளிவான, துணிச்சலான மற்றும் கொள்கை ரீதியான நிலைப்பாட்டை எடுத்துள்ளார். நடிகர் மற்றும் தமிழக வெற்றிக் கழகத்தின் (TVK) தலைவரான விஜய்யும் அவரது ஆதரவாளர்களும் ஆளுங்கட்சியான திமுகவை நாள்தோறும் தாக்கிப் பேசி வரும் நிலையிலும், முதலமைச்சர் இந்த நிலைப்பாட்டை எடுத்துள்ளார். மேலும், மத்திய புலனாய்வுத் துறை (CBI), அமலாக்கத்துறை (ED) மற்றும் வருமான வரித்துறை (IT) ஆகியவற்றுடன் சேர்த்து, 'தணிக்கைத் குழுவும் தற்போது பாஜக அரசின் புதிய ஆயுதமாக மாறியுள்ளது' என்று சுட்டிக்காட்டியதன் மூலம், பேச்சுரிமை மீதான இந்தத் தாக்குதலை ஒரு பரந்த அரசியல் பின்னணியில் முதலமைச்சர் ஸ்டாலின் முன்வைத்துள்ளார்.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin has taken a clear, bold, and principled stand in condemning in the strongest terms the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)’s anti-democratic act of blocking the release of Vijay’s movie, “Jana Nayakan.” This despite the actor and TVK leader and his minions attacking the ruling party, the DMK, day in and day out. Chief Minister Stalin has also placed the latest assault on free speech in broader political context by pointing out that alongside the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Income Tax Department, “the Censor Board has become a new weapon of the BJP Union government.”

Read this editorial in The Hindu of January 8, 2026: Letter against the spirit: The Election Commission’s mandate is to ensure no Indian is disenfranchised “Unfortunately for India, the current ECI has its priorities turned on their head when it frames its constitutional duty as the removal of foreigners, and not the enrolment of every Indian citizen. While several authorities have a duty to look for foreigners, only the ECI has the duty to enrol Indian citizens as voters. Through changes in rules and their partisan application, the ECI has undermined its own stature and the sacred duty assigned to it by the Constitution in the recent past. Now, by unleashing avoidable suffering and inconvenience upon Indian citizens under the garb of chasing the last foreigner, it is misreading the letter and ignoring the spirit of its constitutional duty.” thehindu.com/opinion/editor…

Read this insightful, lucid, and powerful editorial in The Hindu on the latest act of U.S. imperialism — the Trump administration’s cynical, egregious, and flagrantly illegal attack on Venezuela: thehindu.com/opinion/editor…

China just turned the night sky into a masterpiece of precision and intelligence. 🌌 What struck me most about this is how seamlessly innovation turns into art. A drone show in Chongqing just broke the Guinness World Record with 11,787 synchronized drones, creating breathtaking 3D animations that looked closer to CGI than real life. No human pilots. No delays. No crashes. Every movement guided by AI and GPS, choreographed with perfect timing. To me, this is far more than a light show. It’s a glimpse into how technology, creativity, and coordination can merge to shape a new era of expression and innovation. When intelligence takes flight, it doesn’t just illuminate the sky — it redefines what’s possible. Could this be the moment where technology begins to turn the world itself into its stage? #AI #Innovation #Technology #Drones #Automation #Creativity #China #Engineering #FutureOfWork #DigitalArt Credits: longliveai