Kunal Shankar ; He/Him

“Where are you from?” “I’m a freelance journalist.” “LW or RW?” “I used to work at NDTV.” “Ok fair enough.” Refreshing to see young folks recognise Indian media for the cesspool it’s become and vet media outlets before engaging with their reporters.

I resigned from Anthropic today. I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives. More thoughts below.

#Watch | Can ethanol and India’s new fuel-efficiency norms really drive the country’s energy transition? This episode of The Climate Economy examines the connection between ethanol blending, rising sugar prices, CAFE standards, and electric vehicles, and asks whether India is building a genuinely new energy system or simply making existing technologies more efficient. 📹 @kunalshankar thehindu.com/videos/whats-th…

Glorious Tribute to Comrade Sarampalli Mallareddy Senior CPI(M) leader and former member of the CPI(M) Telangana State Secretariat Sarampalli Mallareddy passed away in the early hours of Monday. Comrade Sarampalli Mallareddy was a peasant leader and a leading figure of the Rythu Sangham of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for more than five decades. He played a pioneering role in building the peasant movement in the Narsampet region and across Warangal and undivided Andhra Pradesh, and led numerous struggles on irrigation, agriculture and farmers’ issues. He also authored several books on these subjects and was known for his deep understanding of agriculture and the problems of the peasantry. Comrade Mallareddy also served as Vice President of the All India Kisan Sabha from 2003 to 2022. Comrade Sarampalli Mallareddy’s mortal remains were brought to the CPI(M) State Committee office at 8:30 a.m. today for the public to pay their respects. CPI(M) Polit Bureau members BV Raghavulu and Vijoo Krishnan, Telangana State Secretary John Wesley, Andhra Pradesh State Secretary V Srinivasa Rao, Central Committee members Tammineni Veerabhadram, S Veeraiah and T Jyothi, and other senior leaders of Left and democratic parties, the Kisan Sabha and other mass organisations, along with a large number of party members, sympathisers and members of the public, paid their last respects to Comrade Mallareddy. Comrade Mallareddy’s eyes were donated to the LV Prasad Eye Institute, his skin to the Osmania Hospital Skin Bank, and his mortal remains to Gandhi Hospital for medical research, in accordance with his wish to continue serving society even in death. Comrade Sarampalli Mallareddy will not be forgotten. His life of commitment and unwavering dedication to the cause of the working people and the peasantry will continue to inspire generations of activists. Red Salute to Comrade Sarampalli Mallareddy!

#India: @sinha_soumyadip's cartoon today in @the_hindu

They took down the official Instagram handle of Cockroach Janta Party. Bloody cowards!

Idiots masquerading as journalists

They're all Indians. They're all "ours".

Absolutely atrocious that an elected member of the assembly, who is also the Speaker has participated in this

I remember the scene when I was a trainee-diplomat in Vienna in the 70s. We were a small embassy and everybody, including the Ambassador, officers, staff and their families had gathered at the station platform to bid goodbye to a colleague who was leaving Vienna at the end of his posting. It was quite a jamboree. Just then, a dignified, elderly man carrying his suitcase, and a sheaf of papers passed us by. It turned out that he was the President of Austria, and he greeted our Ambassador very warmly, and asked him with genuine curiosity: “Are you all leaving Austria?“ Implied in the question was is the embassy closing down? There he was, the President of the country, with one security detail with him and carrying his own bag, ready to take the train. In India we approach these matters differently. Fanfare is our forte. Low-key simplicity is dismissed out of hand.

Opinion | Weak fuel efficiency norms risk keeping the country dependent on imported oil mrf.lu/2cf_8 ✍️@kunalshankar

Movies may come and movies may go, sometimes talking about important topics such as sleep and climate change is left to the journalists. So, we do. Sleep and heat, here with @kunalshankar :)

Regardless of what you think of @RahulGandhi do watch this short film on this #WorldEnvironmentDay2026 on the real cost of destructive development in #AndamanNicobarIslands

One thing is clear. We need campus politics. We need young people to be aware. A young man from Kerala said on a podcast to me that he is thankful his campus had politics. He understands the importance more as he mingles with people from states were campus politics is banned

My piece in Hindu today. Kejriwal case should not become a matter of gloating over or defeat for political parties, but instead become an issue for deep reflection. From complexity and quality of investigation, leadership of AC bodies to the very eco system - remain a gamut of issues to be deliberated upon.

“I would like to thank the teacher at last month’s Artificial Intelligence Summit who said something remarkable, your six can be my nine" At the RNG Awards, Raj Kamal Jha used this striking anecdote to reflect on truth and perception in today’s information landscape. What seemed like a simple, humorous remark became a powerful commentary on how rare it is to collectively acknowledge what is clearly false. #RNGAwards #IndianExpress #JournalismExcellence