Uncle Sams Nuclear Cabin

The India-US nuclear deal has emerged as the most important political issue of our times, polarizing the country in an unprecedented manner. Proponents hail the deal as the outstanding achievement of the UPA government. Opponents argue that if operationalized, it will severely undermine India s independence in foreign policy, defence, and even in the field of nuclear technology itself, compromising years of hard work and impressive gains in a highly competitive global field.

The story of a political prisoner’s coming of age as a student activist in India Keeping Up the Good Fight is the story of a young man’s political coming of age and his experience as a student activist and scientist incarcerated by two authoritarian regimes in India, half a century apart. On September 25, 1975, the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi called for a strike to protest the expulsion of Ashoklata Jain, an elected student union member. Three months earlier, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had declared a state of Emergency. It was the second day of the strike and the campus was tense. A black car rolled up near a group of students. A few plainclothes cops got out, and abducted one of them: The student spent the next year in jail. Almost fifty years later, on February 9, 2021, the founder of an online news portal saw his home and offices raided for 113 hours straight, ransacked by officers from the Enforcement Directorate. Nearly two years later, on October 3, 2023, the Delhi Police Special Cell reappeared. The founder of the news portal and his colleague were remanded to custody under the dreaded Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). That student journalist and scientist, Prabir Purkayastha, tells his own story with wit and humor, as he engages with some of India’s most pressing social, political and economic issues across the decades—and remains committed to “keeping up the good fight.”

The fascist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, through its political arm, the BJP, is now at the centre of Indian politics. This poses a grave danger to Indian democracy and secularism. What was the role of the Hindutva forces in the struggle against the British? What links did Gandhiji's killer Nathuram Godse have with the RSS? How did the political arm of the RSS, the Jan Sangh, and its later incarnation, BJP, come into being? What actually happened on that fateful day of Dec. 6, 1992? What are the current agendas of the RSS? What does the elevation of the hardliner Sudarshan to the post of the Sarsanghchalak of the RSS mean? Marshalling a wealth of factual and archival detail, eminent lawyer and political commentator A.G. Noorani answers these and a host of other questions in his characteristically forthright and hard hitting style. Reprinted and updated til Feb. 2001.

Competition Science Vision (monthly magazine) is published by Pratiyogita Darpan Group in India and is one of the best Science monthly magazines available for medical entrance examination students in India. Well-qualified professionals of Physics, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany make contributions to this magazine and craft it with focus on providing complete and to-the-point study material for aspiring candidates. The magazine covers General Knowledge, Science and Technology news, Interviews of toppers of examinations, study material of Physics, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany with model papers, reasoning test questions, facts, quiz contest, general awareness and mental ability test in every monthly issue.

This first-of-a-kind volume provides a snapshot of existing science communication policy and practice in India across different S&T sectors, and offers solutions to building effective communication. It provides an understanding on how to avoid societal clashes in situations when science meets the public in these sectors. The editors and contributors argue that effective S&T communication leads not only to a more informed public but also benefits research itself, and in a changing society like India this is a crucial element related to good governance and policy making. In this volume, experienced masters of the craft provide practical solutions to making S&T communication more effective in a vast democracy like India, which has complex issues related to literacy levels, diverse languages, varying political will, reach, and resources. Through, discussions on cases of creating information modules for the public on the Internet, television and radio, social media, as well a s traditional ways of outreach like people’s science movements, holding popular science events, and fairs, the volume provides highly valuable directions on how developing countries with low resources and complex populations can communicate S&T research to the public and bridge communication gaps. This volume will interest researchers from science, social science, mass communication and public relations departments, journalists, as well as practitioners and policy makers from government and non-government institutions involved in S&T policy, practice and communication and people who want to understand the complex S&T landscape of India.