Acceptance Letter | American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The Karnataka Lok Ayukta, which has the power to try even the chief minister, is yet to make headway. The Lok Ayukta Bill was Karnataka chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde’s first specific indication of fighting corruption. The Bill which received the President’s assent in January 1985, was the only one among other Lok Ayukta bills which […]

Bangalore is a Happening City. We’ve heard it so many times. But what does that mean? Did the people of Magadha say it was a happening city? Or the citizens of Awadh? Or nearer in time, did Bombayites think their city was happening? And did this actually start getting said because the city in some […]

Rohini Nilekani is a bit nervous that people might have “an overdose of the Nilekanis” as she and her husband Nandan have been in the news all week for having signed the Giving Pledge, committing half their wealth — about $1.7bn — to philanthropy. She believes philanthropy isn’t just about giving but is also a […]

This is an edited version of a conversation at the Jaipur Literature Festival, 2013, between Kishwar Desai, Jaishree Misra, and Rohini Nilekani, as part of the Rajasthan Patrika Series.     Often, I find myself wishing that the subject of my book, “Stillborn” was not as relevant as it is today. But when we look […]