Rajesh Kasturirangan : An Indian Way of Thinking
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Aug 30 2011
ANNA / IAC
How valid is the criticism?
ANNA / IAC : How valid is the criticism?

A number of barbs have been flung at Anna Hazare and the India Against Corruption campaign, amidst the rising popularity of the effort. Are these justified, wonders Rajesh Kasturirangan.

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Mar 25 2011
OPINION
The nuclear black swan
OPINION : The nuclear black swan
A nuclear disaster is such a complex event with wide consequences that it would be better to stop ourselves from going down a path that might lead to a catastrophe, however unlikely it may be, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.
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Dec 31 2010
OPINION
For the few, by the few
OPINION : For the few, by the few
Corruption is much broader than what we usually imagine it to be, which focuses on bribes and similar illegal monetary transactions. A number of other practices are corrupt, even if they are legal, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.
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Nov 27 2010
OPINION
Home-schooling citizenship
OPINION : Home-schooling citizenship

Instead of imposing top-down controls on behaviour from the Supreme Court downward, would a better solution to our problems be to shift norms from the family outward, asks Rajesh Kasturirangan.

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Oct 31 2010
OPINION
The national process
OPINION : The national process
The nation is still the best mediator of the sphere of thought and the sphere of action. Even in a changing world, we cannot wish away the Indian nation and replace it with a world government overnight, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.
Sep 28 2010
OPINION
The nationalisms of India
OPINION : The nationalisms of India
Is it at all possible to be an Indian nationalist without losing sight of our common humanity? Can nationalism ever be an emancipatory principle, asks Rajesh Kasturirangan.
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Aug 30 2010
OPINION
The tolerance of incompetence
OPINION : The tolerance of incompetence
The problem of Indian politics is not that it exists, but rather that success in the system doesn't seem to be connected in any way to the ability to govern, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.
Jul 30 2010
OPINION
The truth about encounters
OPINION : The truth about encounters
The unstated policy of murdering unwanted elements is wrong at every possible level, and it leads to a crisis of legitimacy of the state, while claiming to be a patriotic act, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.
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Jun 22 2010
OPINION
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Institutional ethics
We need a new mechanism for creating trust, a mechanism that is neither traditional nor institutional. Post-institutional technology holds more hope than rule-based institutions, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.
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May 29 2010
OPINION
Expand the moral commons
OPINION : Expand the moral commons
Our notions of collateral damage have done enormous harm to the ecological balance which sustains life on this planet. A new politics is needed to recover from this, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.
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Rajesh Kasturirangan is a faculty member at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore. He thinks that deeply rooted - and specifically Indian - philosophical, psychological and cultural intuitions play a bigger role in determining actions in the social sphere than is normally acknowledged; their effects can be seen in domains as varied as the conception of the state and its role in society to the structure of corruption and the relationship between a community and its natural environment. This column will attempt to communicate the link between philosophy, culture and society and to make these abstract ideas part of our daily conversation.

Dr Kasturirangan has a background in cognitive science, which is his main area of technical research. These days he is studying the interface between language, culture and cognition and how the mind emerges in large cognitive networks. Several Indian traditions of inquiry have much to say about these questions. His goal is to bring these traditions to bear upon research on the mind. Visit him online at rajeshkasturirangan.org.