Ideas We Believe

In a powerful piece which challenges the earlier established trust within the virology researchers, Dr Nicholas Wade has put in a few arguments that we cannot afford to overlook. He points out the practise of developing virulent in-vitro strains for a gain of function, to have counter-action ready in case nature puts us in trouble. However, we probably ran into trouble in this double agent game, and what is to blame is still unclear. Is it the human error, the risk-taking nature of the scientific community or the plethora of lies that were spun to misguide the world? The consequences of the latter are more lasting than the former. Science experiments gone wrong is the narrative that has fuelled dystopian sci-fi thought for years. We could have, in a sense, brought virology under the same scanner as that of nuclear proliferation, given the deaths that are today attributed to the covid. This is more concerning because science is an easy target and hasn't been a particular political l

The Bengal elections have ratified that despite massive inputs and involvements, raising a regional party against an incumbent govt. It is not one of the most straightforward tasks. This highlights the dynamics of regional and national politics in India, especially regarding geographic specifications and whether the BJP expansionist strategy needs a sanity check. The earliest signs of this defiance were spotted when the state of Odishavoted simultaneously fore MLA and MP candidates. It was the first time people were choosing candidates from two different ( and conflicting ) parties, clearly portraying a choice concerning the role, not allegiance.  To start with, BJP had its prominence in the Hindi heartland of UP, MP and Rajasthan before it became a national alternative. The first few stints, which came from the NDA, saw active partners like Shiv Sena, JDU, BJD, AIDMK and, ironically, TMC. In this stage, the opportunity for a right-aligning Hindu-biased vote bank developed, which the p