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…

The coming round of Rajya Sabha elections may not grab primetime headlines like a Lok Sabha battle, but their political consequences could be far more enduring. As polls for 37 seats across 10 states approach, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appears poised to consolidate — and possibly expand — its strength…

There is a thin but vital line between safeguarding liberty and sanctifying lawlessness. When courts blur that line, even unintentionally, the consequences extend far beyond the four corners of a bail order. They seep into public confidence — the one currency the judiciary cannot afford to devalue. A magisterial court in Delhi on Monday granted…

The reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a coordinated U.S.–Iraq military operation marks a dangerous inflection point in West Asian geopolitics. Whether justified in Washington as pre-emptive security or regime-neutralisation, the elimination of the head of a sovereign state detonates a far larger question: what remains of the international order when…

When a so-called nuclear-armed state declares “open war” on social media, it isn’t projecting strength. It is advertising instability. That is precisely what Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif did when he thundered that it was now “open war” between Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The outburst followed renewed border clashes after Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghan…