When the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for elections to 242 assembly seats in West Bengal—this time in just two phases instead of the prolonged five-phase exercise seen earlier—it triggered a wave of predictable political theatrics from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. But few expected the Trinamool Congress supremo to clutch at something as…

When António Guterres publicly admits that the global system has a “problem with the Security Council,” it is not merely a bureaucratic observation—it is an indictment of a world order frozen in 1945. His remarks in Beirut once again validate what India has been saying for decades: meaningful reform of the United Nations and especially…

At a time when geopolitical tensions in West Asia are indeed unsettling global energy markets, a curious and telling pattern has emerged within India: the loudest cries of an alleged LPG shortage are emanating almost exclusively from Opposition-ruled states. The question therefore arises—if there is truly a nationwide crisis, why is it geographically selective? The…

India’s long and often uncomfortable debate over the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has once again returned to centre stage, and this time the nudge has come from none other than the nation’s highest court. While hearing a petition challenging discriminatory inheritance provisions under Muslim personal law, the bench of Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices…

In a democracy governed by the rule of law, the judiciary commands respect not merely because of its constitutional authority but because of the moral legitimacy it enjoys in the public mind. That legitimacy, however, thrives on transparency and accountability. It is precisely this delicate balance that appears to have come under scrutiny following the…

When our e-paper published the Special Edit titled “Verdict or Intermission?” on the very day a Delhi trial court acquitted Arvind Kejriwal and 23 others in the controversial Delhi excise policy case, some critics were quick to dismiss the questions raised in these columns. Political camps loyal to the Aam Aadmi Party and supporters of…

Political rhetoric in India has never been short of drama. But every once in a while, a statement emerges that is so detached from reality that it deserves not just rebuttal but ridicule. The recent remark by Mallikarjun Kharge describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “slave” of the US President Donald Trump belongs squarely…

For over a decade, the loudest political slogan from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alliance, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has been the promise to dismantle dynastic politics in India. The party positioned itself as the ideological opposite of family-run parties and repeatedly mocked the “parivarvaad” culture of rivals such as the Congress….

When Amit Shah confidently declared that Left-Wing Extremism would be wiped out from India by March 31, it was not merely political rhetoric. It was the culmination of a decade-long, carefully calibrated strategy pursued by the government led by Narendra Modi—a strategy combining security operations, development initiatives, financial disruption of extremist networks, and ideological countermeasures…

Politics in Bihar has never been short of drama, intrigue, and sudden reversals. Yet, the latest development — the decision of Nitish Kumar to move to the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party to have its first Chief Minister in the state — marks more than a routine political transition. It…