Karan Thapar is a super-looking genius who’s young, friendly, chatty and great fun to be with. He’s also very enjoyable to read.
Articles by Karan Thapar
Portrait of Pope Francis: His life, message, legacy
Pope Francis cared about people. The position he took on the issue of immigrants and refugees proves this
Published on May 03, 2025 07:04 PM IST
Revealed: The mystery that Agatha Christie was
Lucy Worsley’s A Very Elusive Woman -- a fascinating biography of Christie -- reveals much about the author at her desk and in her home
Published on Apr 26, 2025 08:35 PM IST
Farooq Abdullah and the predicament of Kashmir
The Farooq Abdullah story Amarjit Singh Dulat relates centres around three great betrayals the former has faced
Published on Apr 19, 2025 10:30 PM IST
Calls to make Doon co-ed ignore its identity, history
The Doon School campus is, arguably, too small to accommodate all the facilities and alterations required for a co-educational institution
Published on Apr 12, 2025 09:00 PM IST
Censoring ‘Santosh’ and the grim truth of police torture
The film portrays an unvarnished, unrelenting, unrelieved reality that may be hard to watch but we cannot be blind to
Updated on Apr 05, 2025 08:27 PM IST
Time to look beyond the collegium system
There are many instances where the misconduct of judges is discussed in public, but in-house proceedings against them have never been initiated
Updated on Mar 29, 2025 07:52 PM IST
Political crisis in the delimitation dilemma
Delimitation would resolve northern concerns but result in anguish for the south. Postponing it would leave the unfairness perceived by the north untackled
Updated on Mar 22, 2025 03:52 PM IST
General in the cantonment, writing murder mysteries
The different shades of colour and subtlety of description in General Manoj Naravane’s thriller, The Cantonment Conspiracy, are pleasantly surprising
Published on Mar 15, 2025 06:38 PM IST
Congress party and its Tharoor dilemma
Shashi is not a conventional politician. He does not operate in cabals and coteries. Congress leaders, on the other hand, have flourished through sycophancy
Updated on Mar 08, 2025 09:06 PM IST
Is Trump making America great or diminishing it?
The incredible, if not unbelievable, spat that has broken out between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky is not just unedifying but also an interesting illustration of the American President’s behaviour
Published on Mar 01, 2025 07:15 PM IST
Twattling does not make a person ultracrepidarian
Thera are archaic English words that we could usefully revive and use today. They’re as pertinent now as they were a few centuries ago
Published on Feb 22, 2025 10:18 PM IST
Close encounters on London Underground
Its official name is the London Underground, but everyone calls it the tube because that’s what it looks like
Published on Feb 15, 2025 08:05 PM IST
Appraising the Constitution on its 75 anniversary
Scholars have criticised the Constitution for being colonial. The RSS claims it’s not rooted in an Indian ethos. So, in what sense has it been good for India?
Updated on Feb 02, 2025 10:40 AM IST
24 Akbar Road, home of Aung San Suu Kyi
“Last week, when the papers started to reminisce about 24 Akbar Road, I realised I knew it before it became a political office”
Published on Jan 25, 2025 07:56 PM IST
Issues that will come under Trump 2.0 fire
What sort of relationship is Trump likely to pursue with China and Xi Jinping? And what will be the implications for India?
Updated on Jan 18, 2025 08:07 PM IST
India is a fine country after all, as Brits found
W.D. & H.O. Wills once issued a handbook with guidelines for British soldiers arriving in India. It was intended to ease their sojourn in our land
Published on Jan 11, 2025 08:05 PM IST
Political parties should endorse dual citizenship
Citizenship is not just a privilege conferred by birth. It can also be a reflection of multinational parentage as well as an expression of self-identification
Published on Jan 04, 2025 08:21 PM IST
The delightful, rude world of put-downs
Witty insults showcase cleverness and restraint. Karan Thapar shares memorable put-downs from notable figures as we welcome the New Year.
Updated on Dec 28, 2024 10:45 PM IST
Subtle and seductive charms of Abu Dhabi
The wonders of Abu Dhabi include its cultural gems. The Louvre and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque are two obvious examples
Published on Dec 21, 2024 07:56 PM IST
Why I refuse to address guests on my show as sir
Sir, as understood in British English, is deferential. It would place the interviewee on a pedestal, above the interviewer.
Published on Dec 14, 2024 08:09 PM IST
The strange feeling of hatred towards the Other
What allegedly happened eight centuries ago — and it’s a belief, not a fact — is of relevance to history but hardly reason to demolish a dargah.
Published on Dec 07, 2024 08:08 PM IST
Misandry cannot ensure safety of women of UP
The proposals reveal an astonishing level of distrust of men. They presume women are not safe in the company of male tailors, hairdressers and shop assistants
Published on Nov 16, 2024 08:15 PM IST
Portrait of an icon: Ratan Tata, up close and personal
Thomas Mathew's book reveals Ratan Tata's personal life, including his childhood, loves, and quirks, showcasing a complex figure behind the industrialist.
Updated on Nov 09, 2024 08:11 PM IST
The wonder that was India in ancient times
The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World is, therefore, not just about the wonder that was India but its influence on the rest of the world.
Updated on Nov 02, 2024 07:27 PM IST
HARDtalk made guests squirm, viewers happy
I predict the BBC will come to regret the scrapping of HARDtalk. More importantly, it will leave its loyal viewers poorly informed
Published on Oct 26, 2024 08:35 PM IST
A posthumous Bharat Ratna for Ratan Tata
Ratan Tata was a great businessman, a visionary industrialist and a warm, compassionate, and good human being. But that could be true of many others. What marks him out is that he was venerated
Updated on Oct 19, 2024 08:59 PM IST
After Gaza war, image of Israel has been battered
Justice for Palestine has become a cause not just for the United Nations but, more tellingly, in Washington. And it’s voiced most strongly on the university campuses of the western world
Published on Oct 12, 2024 08:14 PM IST
The case against bans, including on cigarettes
There are a thousand good reasons not to smoke; a million good arguments to persuade me against it. But if I still choose to do so, don’t seek to ban me. Don’t preclude my choice.
Published on Oct 05, 2024 08:57 PM IST
Attracted to the world of words, like bees to honey
Shashi Tharoor's love for words shines in his book "A Wonderland of Words," exploring English's quirks, from Indianisms to clever figures of speech.
Updated on Sep 28, 2024 09:18 PM IST
Sita, a man of wit who stood by what he said
“Sita was also an attentive listener with a formidable memory. In fact, the range and accuracy of his memory was a powerful weapon in interviews. ”
Published on Sep 21, 2024 08:20 PM IST