Rukmini Bhaya Nair – Author, NDTV.com

Opinion: The Top 5 Words Of 2022 And What They Reveal About Us

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Tuesday December 20, 2022

In this sense, whether we 'like' these five-fingered offerings or not, they handily indicate that even at our loneliest, we are never quite alone.

Opinion: A Forensic Examination Of Prashant Kishor's <I>'Agar Vote Hai'</I>

Opinion: A Forensic Examination Of Prashant Kishor's 'Agar Vote Hai'

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Monday April 12, 2021

The recent brouhaha over the comments of the political advisor to the Trinamool Congress, Prashant Kishor, on who will win the election in Bengal offers us a classic case of how a tiny particle of language, if ignored, can lead to major missteps in i

Opinion: U.S. Shows Itself Up As "Nation Of Flaws"

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Monday January 11, 2021

The United States, has long taken pride in describing itself as a 'nation of laws', in the words of its sixth President, John Quincy Adams. Yet, under its forty-fifth President, Donald J. Trump, it's more apparent than ever that it is also a 'nation of flaws.'

Opinion: Kamala Harris - The Power Of A Name

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Thursday August 13, 2020

Every aspect of Kamala Harris's life as Joe Biden's historic Vice-Presidential pick will now be discussed threadbare in America and elsewhere. What will probably pass unnoticed, however, is something most Indians know by default. This is the meaning of the name 'Kamala'.

Opinion: My Encounters With Stephen Hawking In Delhi

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Thursday March 15, 2018

As a scientist, he exemplifies for me the best of the humanities, of what it can mean to be someone who lived almost his whole adult life entirely dependent on other humans for physical help but whose mind was ever independent, questing and transcendent.

Opinion: When Words Like "Anti-National" Are Thrown Around

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Thursday March 02, 2017

"Words matter", as a wiser and older George W. Bush has advised President Trump. Yes, they do here in India as much as in the US. Remember "Pappu" and "Feku"? Such labels stick. However, they are not half as problematic as invisible half-words and powerfully emotive discourse.

Opinion: 3 Reasons Why Modi's 'Raincoat' Metaphor Is Brilliantly Bruising

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Friday February 17, 2017

Two seemingly lightweight utterances that prompt reflection on why "mere words" are so enduring.

Opinion: What The Suicides At IIT Tell Us About Where We're Going Wrong

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Tuesday July 19, 2016

The youth of this country are, in effect, sending our planners and politicians a strong message. But is anyone listening?

Opinion: Britain's EU Vote Is Really An FU Vote

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Saturday June 25, 2016

The UK's recent decision to leave the EU seems to have about it a similar air of confusion- with perhaps similarly daunting long-term consequences as well.

Opinion: Yes, Sanskrit At IITs May Be A Good Idea. But Conditions Must Apply.

Rukmini Bhaya Nair | Monday May 02, 2016

Given the recent perturbations round an ancient language, this may be as good a time as any to review the possible contribution that Sanskrit, as well as the many languages of modern India, can make to intellectual paradigm-shifts in an age of virtual reality.