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Kanishk Tharoor

Kanishk Tharoor

Kanishk Tharoor is a writer and broadcaster. He is the author of Swimmer Among the Stars, a collection of short fiction, and the presenter of the BBC radio series Museum of Lost Objects. He tweets as @kanishktharoor.

Articles by Kanishk Tharoor

In the US, the gun is a talisman of rugged virtue in the face of a changing world

A cardboard cut-out of US President Donald Trump stands in front of a large banner that reads "Come And Take It," during a pro-gun rally on the sidelines of the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, US, May 5, 2018

Updated on Jun 2, 2018 05:00 IST

Why Arsene Wenger will always be different from the rest

For many Arsenal fans of my vintage, Wenger is the only “gaffer” we have known, synonymous with the club from his commitment to graceful football to his cosmopolitan bearing to his owlish, professorial demeanour to the coincidence of his first name Arsene

Updated on May 5, 2018 05:49 IST

We can be proud of our identities and culture without insisting on its certainty

A full face reconstruction model made from the skull of a 10,000 year old man, known as ‘Cheddar Man’, Britain’s oldest complete skeleton is pictured during a press preview at the National History Museum in London on February 6, 2018

Updated on Apr 13, 2018 12:59 IST

Nativist tendencies are pulling down the United States

US President Donald Trump waves as he steps off Air Force One, Maryland, January 18.

Updated on Jan 24, 2018 12:08 IST

How a polarised United States benefits Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast, Washington (File Photo)

Updated on Dec 7, 2017 03:15 IST

Terrorist attacks make the humdrum rhythm of the city feel like an act of resistance

A member of the police department's crime scene unit searches the location where terrorist Sayfullo Saipov drove down a Manhattan bike path and went on a rampage with a truck in New York City. Eight people were killed and 12 were injured when 29-year-old Saipov intentionally drove a truck onto a bike path

Updated on Nov 10, 2017 13:20 IST

Acceptance for autocracy is growing in India

Chinese President Xi Jinping bows before delivering his speech during the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, October 18. Democratic countries are refreshed and renewed by free elections. The Chinese system of state capitalism, supervised by an entrenched political elite, poses an alternate model.

Updated on Oct 26, 2017 02:36 IST

FIFA U-17 World Cup puts India on the footballing world map

The Indian football team represents the breadth of the country. It boasts players of Hindu, Sikh, Christian and Muslim backgrounds, from places as disparate as Kerala and the northeast (the under-17 squad is particularly full of players from the northeast, the growing centre of Indian football)

Updated on Oct 6, 2017 12:22 IST

Dissent is not simply a right, it’s fundamentally a civic virtue

The killing of Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru reminded me in a number of ways of Hrant Dink’s death. Both Lankesh and Dink voiced unpopular opinions. Both ran small, fairly marginal publications whose impact outweighed their size

Updated on Sep 10, 2017 13:26 IST

How Modi and Trump use public rallies to build their political persona

US president Donald Trump with Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak at the White House’s Rose Garden during Modi’s trip to Washington in June this year.

Updated on Aug 12, 2017 04:41 IST

For once, Donald Trump cannot blame it on fake news

A file picture of US President Donald Trump with his son Donald Trump Jr (left). For the first time, Trump supporters have begun expressing concerns about the administration’s handling of the Russia imbroglio.

Updated on Jul 15, 2017 11:12 IST

India is warming up to Israel, but Americans are growing sceptical of Tel Aviv

People protesting for Palestinian rights attend the ‘Celebrate Israel’ parade, New York City, June 4. Criticism of America’s unflinching support of Israel is more palpable than before

Updated on Jul 3, 2017 04:14 IST

The Indian American is no longer on the fringe of US pop culture

Hasan Minhaj speaks during the Asian-Pacific Heritage reception at Gracie Mansion, New York, May 10, 2017

Updated on Jun 16, 2017 19:00 IST

India and US are seeing the rise of poisonous politics and attacks on minorities

Jeremy Christian, accused of fatally stabbing two Good Samaritans who tried to stop Christian from harassing a pair of women who appeared to be Muslim, shouts during an appearance in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, Oregon, US, May 30, 2017

Updated on Jun 19, 2017 02:03 IST

To end racism, elevate a wider spectrum of Indians in public culture

Having grown up outside of India, I’ve always been struck on my trips home by the perverse obsession with colour. The glorification of fair skin is a recurring and inescapable feature of Indian life. Just last week, a fringe Hindu group won global attention for promising to “customise” fair offspring for dark-skinned parents

Updated on May 30, 2017 10:46 IST

Aadhaar is an electronic leash on citizens

Swayam Gupta lost out on a school scholarship because his name is misspelt on his Aadhaar card. His bank passbook shows an entry of Rs 1,200 in his account. However, he cannot withdraw the money as his name in the Aadhaar card has been erroneously spelled as Shivam.

Updated on May 5, 2017 06:18 IST

As the Trump example shows, power does not temper flawed leaders

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee March Dinner in Washington, US

Updated on Mar 23, 2017 12:24 IST

Attacks against Indians in US: Show solidarity with Muslims, Blacks, other victims

People listen during a vigil in honour of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was shot dead in Kansas, United States. Hostility to economic migrants and outlandish Islamophobia are breeding an atmosphere of hate and violence.

Updated on Mar 9, 2017 08:15 IST

In their animosity towards the media, Modi and Trump think alike

US President Donald Trump, PM Narendra Modi. The parallels between Trump’s and Modi’s relationships to the media are clear. Both leaders enjoy using Twitter to circumvent traditional channels.

Updated on Feb 23, 2017 07:54 IST

The Trump administration wants Americans to feel terrified of the Muslim ‘other’

Updated on Feb 11, 2017 13:48 IST

The ripple effect of a Trump presidency in US felt in Bhubaneswar

US President Donald Trump’s naked appeal to majoritarian white nationalism and jingoism (invoking the “red blood of patriots” and other archaic metaphors from darker times) marks a turn away from the open multiculturalism that has always represented the best in American society

Updated on Jan 30, 2017 12:40 IST

Instead of draining the swamp, Trump is muddying the waters

US president-elect Donald Trump during a news conference, Manhattan, New York City, January 11, 2017

Updated on Jan 12, 2017 15:51 IST

Why many young Indians and Americans have authoritarian leanings

Donald Trump’s supporters imagine him as a wrecking ball to the old political order. In that sense, he has much in common with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Updated on Dec 29, 2016 19:39 IST

Standing Rock protest unites various strains of disquiet in American politics

For months, people have camped on the now frozen plains of Standing Rock reservation to block the completion of the nearly $4 billion Dakota Access Pipeline. The remaining section of pipeline is supposed to pass under the Missouri River, close to the Standing Rock reservation. Indigenous activists claim it will endanger the local environment and violate the sanctity of their sacred lands

Updated on Dec 15, 2016 17:17 IST

Americans didn’t choose Trump because of economic concerns

Since Donald Trump’s shock victory last month, the Democratic Party and its supporters have plunged into a cantankerous inquest

Updated on Sep 17, 2018 05:19 IST

In Donald Trump’s world, principles are incidental and mirage is everything

Demonstrators at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, November 12, 2016

Updated on Nov 21, 2016 16:52 IST

The US is protesting against a system that normalises Donald Trump

These protests are not meant to challenge the legitimacy of the election (even though he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly two million, Trump won the “electoral college” fairly). Rather, the protests send a clear message of disapproval

Updated on Nov 14, 2016 16:00 IST

The US presidential campaign is inordinately long. This must change

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (L) and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, New York, October 20, 2016

Updated on Nov 2, 2016 16:00 IST

US presidential campaign has exposed deep rifts in American society

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton departs the stage following the third and final US presidential debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump (background) at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19, 2016

Updated on Oct 24, 2016 18:15 IST

Some voters are more equal than others

HT Image

Updated on Oct 18, 2016 04:22 IST

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