The current state of knowledge emerging from a variety of public institutions is assessed through the application of a proxy indicator: the Infosys Prize. The prize, which seeks to reward “world-class research” by Indian scientists and scholars, is assessed by reviewing the different laureates through markers such as institutions of education, current research as well as social profile. The article, while recognising the limits of the data presented, raises some crucial questions at epistemic and structural biases that limit the scope of laureates to a set of elite institutions and knowledge systems.
When viewed in terms of knowledge and creativity, both classical and folk, India has an impressive record. India’s status as a knowledge powerhouse in the ancient world is perhaps unrivalled. A comprehensive account of these knowledge contributions requires a multivolume, multi-author effort, such as the Project of the History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture whose gener
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (1935-2020): Why this death leaves a permanent patch of darkness in literature
The scholar, poet, novelist and translator, who wrote in Urdu and English, died on December 25, 2020 at the age of 85. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. | Tausiff / CC BY-SA 3.0
This annus horribilis is not over yet, and it has now taken away from us the greatest doyen and scholar of Urdu literature the world knew over the recent decades, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. He died peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family and his favourite dogs, having recovered earlier this month from Covid-19.
I had the honour and pleasure to visit him in his study in January this year, which isn’t anything less than a library. It is hard to imagine all those books siting there without their avid reader. Ghalib’s often quoted verse “aisā kahan se laun ki tujh saa kahen jise” – “where do I find another who may be like you?” – doesn’t seem to hold truer than in this momen
Four years ago, while looking at search analytics of our travel blog, we found that people were searching Hindi terms and that too in Devanagari, but they were obviously landing on an English page. This led us to launch our Hindi Travel blog that soon garnered a compact but loyal readership without much marketing. The marketing spends on the Hindi media and I assume other Indian languages stay negligible.
Things are changing fast though. Instagram recently announced that Instagram Lite would be available in several Indian languages. Google just announced that it would show relevant content in compatible Indian languages that include major Indian ones. I can already see my Google Adsense account in Hindi; Google Maps should soon follow.