etc

Two of my stories are among the exhibits at Newseum, the world’s biggest museum of Newspapers

One of them is on Kalpana Chawla, who graduated from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, which is also my alma matter, which grants a certain distinctiveness to this obituary.

 

Stories (being updated)

Project Syndicate

Bangkok Post

Times of India

Hindustan Times

Mint

The Indian Express

Dawn

The Nation

Manuals

UN

Details of stories…

2018

Project Syndicate: Making Newspapers Great Again

Bangkok Post: Your food waste can power a thousand (or more) lightbulbs

ReliefWeb: When Disasters strike, Satellites come calling

Daily O: Remembering Kuldip Nayar, an uncompromising editor, a conscience-keeper and India-Pakistan peacenik

The Nation:

Is Trump Scaring Away International Students?

2017

Dawn: When Indira Gandhi was unseated by the judiciary

Daily O: Dipa, Usha, Milkha: Is India in love with the 4th place at Olympics?

What climate negotiators in Paris forgot – 10 reasons why Trump is an extreme event

A to Z of Punjab, politics and polls

2016

Delhi homeowners shut doors on Muslim tenants: UN varsity study

Why Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, and not Taimur, is the best Indian name

How demonetisation could stop Indian students from studying abroad

Why is Manmohan’s Sri Sri connection important for White House?

Why it’s hard to believe a meteorite killed Tamil Nadu man

Francois Hollande’s visit to Chandigarh’s Rock Garden will evoke memories of India’s Partition

2015

Sundar Pichai is from IIT, routine or surprising?

Why Indian submission at Paris Climate Change Conference is unique

Hark world leaders! Pole-to-Paris mission spreads message on climate change

Why US is seeing a 30 per cent jump in Indian students

Is that Ravana guarding the Thailand airport?

India and China must not take Paris Climate Conference lightly 

Thailand’s Museum of Corruption shames everyone, and no one

Punjab’s Malerkotla memorial symbolises the violent divide over meat ban

When Vajpayee got Nawaz Sharif to speak to Dilip Kumar

Why we need to worry about the Grey Wolves of Turkey

How social media ‘sleuths’ are killing the Bangkok bombings probe

Bangkok bombings: An internal conspiracy or external terror?

Spock’s Indian Connect: The Sikh Diaspora Again

Spice of life: Remembering five-point-five someone

2014

Change head!!8 Indians pale in comparison with 163 Chinese in list of highly-cited researchers

Thailand’s Indians hope for stability, peace after coup

Cracking the ranking code

Pritam Singh lone Punjabi winner in Singapore elections 

Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew’s Punjab link

2008

Wheat selling below support price, puts govt in a quandary

Food prices could decline as global rice output grows by 1%

Former Punjab CM Amarinder expelled from assembly

Haryana, Punjab in face-off over Sikh shrines

PepsiCo to roll out weather insurance for farmers in 10 states

Akali Dal delinks nuke pact from trust vote, to go with NDA

Punjab short of hands

India’s food bowl to get limited waiver benefits

Labour scarcity promotes use of transplanters in Punjab

For India’s cotton farmers, early rains could spell disaster

India could be net importer by 2020

No ray of hope as paddy sowing costs shoot up in Punjab

Novel based on the life of CPM’s Surjeet may kick up a storm

Rains hit Himachal’s apple crop

Colder and longer winter boosts wheat production in Punjab

In rural Punjab, drinking water is becoming a silent killer: study

BJP tries to expand reach in rural Punjab, goes up against Akali Dal

2005

Someone is reading your email

2004

Spring in the autumn of the patriarch

1998

Clash of the titans

Who is a Sikh?

 

Is Trump Scaring Away International Students

As new enrolments of international students in the United States falls for the third consecutive year, a question looms large for US universities and colleges. Is Donald Trump to blame for this decline?

New enrolments in the US dropped by 6.6 per cent in 2017-2018, a trend that was first observed in the 2015-2016 academic year. While the US continues to be the destination of choice for foreign students, this year close to half of all institutions reported a drop in numbers of foreign students, with the strongest decline (4 per cent) seen in the Midwest, followed by the West and the South.

The drop is being attributed to several factors. The Autumn 2018 Report of the International Student Enrolment Hot Topics published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) identifies four contributing factors: difficulties obtaining visas, the US social and political climate, increasing global competition for talent, and the increasing cost of higher education. The Trump administration has had a direct impact on the first two while significantly contributing to the third.

Reports of racist language and graffiti, activities of white nationalist student groups, a spike in advocacy of alt-right movements on campus, and distribution of provocative fliers have forced colleges to work harder at allaying fears among prospective students. The Anti-Defamation League reported a 77-per-cent increase in activities of white supremacist groups targeting college campuses during the 2017-2018 academic year, with the distributed materials often being inspired by Trump-related themes of the “Caravan” of migrants and “Making America American”.

With 92 per cent of responding institutions cited in the IIE report stating that “the current social and political climate impacted their campus either positively or negatively over the past year”, universities will find it challenging to convince students to opt for the US amid increasing global competition for talent.

Other measures resulting from Trump policies have also increased apprehension among prospective students. Though the rhetoric is focused on border and immigration controls, recent plans by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to redefine the term “unlawful presence” for people holding student visas and in exchange programmes have caused concern among potential applicants.

Two-thirds of international students in the US come from China and India, and incidents of visa restrictions, particularly for Chinese students, are beginning to spoil the pitch for universities. With the US security establishment voicing concerns about academic institutions being infiltrated, there are reports that key aides of President Trump have even suggested a blanket ban on all student visas from China. If the single largest source of incoming international students is targeted, US universities will find it more difficult to attract Chinese students. Moreover, universities in China are climbing up the global rankings, thereby taking the relative sheen off their North American and European counterparts.

Equally crucial are reactions both within and outside the US. To dispel notions of racism that may hamper student applications, US college recruitment fairs are emphasising diversity and inclusiveness while at the same time showcasing the achievements of international faculty and students. Colleges are also devoting considerable time to facilitating visa applications and making the process appear less daunting for applicants.

Secondly, countries with robust higher education systems are opening their borders to international students. Australia is already a huge educational destination, while universities in mainland Europe are launching English-language programmes. Scandinavian countries now regularly highlight such programmes while encouraging internships and academic partnerships with BRICS countries.

China itself is an extremely attractive option for students. Aided by the spread of Chinese language classes and substantive scholarships, international students from both Asia and Africa are looking at China as an educational destination. It is now estimated that of the 26 million college students in China, half a million are international students.

For the United States this could be bad news, since for almost 150 years its universities have been magnets for global talent. The US “brand” has long enticed the best international brains, thus contributing to US universities’ research capabilities and the country’s human capital. Moreover, international students are a major earner, contributing $42.4 billion (Bt1.38 trillion) to the US economy in 2017.

In 1862, the Morrill Act incentivised the creation of universities and contributed to the emergence of the United States as a superpower in the 20th century. In 2018, can the US maintain its pre-eminent position? Or will Trump’s policies upend the status quo and create space and opportunities for others to challenge American supremacy in education?

Published in The Nation http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30361123