We deeply regret that we published an inappropriate illustration of the Lord Shiva and the Goddess Kali in a scholarly article, titled 'A tongue of fire', written by the eminent writer Bibek Debroy in THE WEEK issue dated July 24, 2022. There was an unfortunate error of judgment on our part in selecting this illustration, and we solemnly affirm that there was no mischievous or malevolent intent behind it.

The illustration was taken from the visual image company Getty Images, which describes it as a Kangra painting from Himachal Pradesh, circa 1820.

We are genuinely sorry that it has hurt the sentiments of many of our readers and others. We humbly offer our sincere apologies for publishing the illustration and have since removed it from our website.

V.S. Jayaschandran

Editor-in-Charge, THE WEEK

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