Yesterday it was the G20. Today it is SAARC. Tomorrow it could be another global grouping where Bharat is not merely a participant but a power shaping the conversation. This is not diplomatic coincidence. It is the visible outcome of a fundamental transformation in Bharat’s foreign policy. The secret is simple: Bharat no longer picks…
The much-hyped “Gen Z movement” built around social-media theatrics has suffered a potentially devastating credibility blow. The arrest of nine persons, including four juveniles, by the Punjab Police in connection with two alleged ISI-backed cross-border terror modules raises questions that the self-proclaimed champions of a so-called youth uprising cannot simply wish away. The police have…
Tamil Nadu politics has a habit of declaring political winners and losers rather quickly. But if there is one national party that has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to absorb electoral setbacks and keep working towards a distant objective, it is the BJP. The 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election was certainly not the breakthrough the BJP…
There is a point at which journalism ceases to be journalism and becomes theatre. The latest controversy surrounding Amruta Fadnavis is a classic example of how an innocuous or legitimate statement can be stretched, twisted and packaged into a political controversy that was never really there. Of late, sections of the English-language media appear increasingly…
There is nothing wrong with questioning the outcomes of foreign policy. In fact, a healthy democracy must encourage such scrutiny. But when a senior Congress leader like P. Chidambaram, a former Finance and Home Minister, publicly asks what tangible benefits Bharat has derived from BRICS, the timing and tone of the criticism deserve to be…
There is a disturbing new trend in Bharat’s television journalism: when facts do not fit a preferred narrative, facts are simply shouted down. The Matthew Aaron VanDyke case is the latest example of how television journalism can become dangerously irresponsible when sensationalism overtakes verification. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made its position clear. It…
The judiciary is supposed to be the last refuge of the common citizen when the legislature fails to make the right laws and the executive fails to enforce them fairly. That is precisely why the latest signs of institutional friction within the higher judiciary should concern every citizen—not merely the legal fraternity. The question is…
There is a point when legitimate concern becomes political habit, and when genuine grievances are repeatedly invoked, they risk becoming little more than a convenient narrative. In Bharat, minorities certainly have the right to complain if they face discrimination. But they also have a corresponding responsibility to acknowledge the enormous political, constitutional and social space…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have mastered a political craft that few of his contemporaries can match: turning an adverse situation into an advantage, converting criticism into a counter-narrative and, often, putting the Opposition on the defensive with a phrase that becomes the talking point of the day. His recent address at Delhi University’s…
The Supreme Court is undoubtedly one of the most important institutions in a democracy. Its responsibility extends beyond interpreting laws; it also has to strike a delicate balance between individual rights, institutional accountability and the larger requirement of maintaining public order. In my view, that balance becomes particularly important when legitimate grievances spill over into…
