Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge appears to have discovered a wonderfully convenient defence for the controversy surrounding Vande Mataram: if what Congress leaders did on Independence Day was a crime, then Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and even Atal Bihari Vajpayee must also be booked. After all, Kharge argues, they too sang the same version…
MS Shanker The controversy at the Congress headquarters on Independence Day may have begun with a few seconds of a video clip, but it has quickly turned into something much larger: a political test of how Bharat’s oldest national party relates to one of the most emotive symbols of the freedom struggle. During the Congress…
MS Shanker There is a growing need to distinguish between a genuine democratic protest and a politically engineered confrontation masquerading as a student movement. The distinction is not difficult to make if the entire evidence available in the public domain—including live television footage, CCTV recordings, police video, social-media posts and investigative findings—is examined objectively. A…
Indian politics has always been defined by its unpredictability. Parties that appear unassailable often witness internal turbulence, while seemingly weakened organisations occasionally reinvent themselves. Yet, at this juncture, it is difficult to ignore the growing signs of unease within the Congress, particularly among its ambitious second-rung leadership. The latest round of speculation was triggered by…
There are occasions when Parliament must rise above partisan politics. Protecting the future of millions of students is undoubtedly one of them. Yet, the Congress-led Opposition has chosen to paralyse Parliament for the sixth consecutive day, preventing discussion on one of the most consequential reforms aimed at tackling the menace of question paper leaks. That…
MS Shanker There is an old saying in politics: leaders deliver the speeches, but it is often the nameless faces in the crowd that pay the price. A few hours of slogans can sometimes become a few years of litigation. That is perhaps the most uncomfortable truth that thousands of young Bharatiyas are never told…
MS Shanker The loudest protests against the latest amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2026, tell us something important. Those who claim that the new regulations are an attack on civil society would have the country believe that transparency itself is a threat. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The fundamental question is…
MS Shanker There are few places in Bharat where status, wealth and political power ought to dissolve the moment one steps inside the sanctum. The sacred abode of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala is one such place. Before the deity, there are no Chief Ministers, ministers, legislators, bureaucrats or industrialists. There are only devotees. That is…
Pochiraju Raja Rao Bharateeyan politics has never lacked strange alliances. Yesterday’s bitter rivals have often become today’s indispensable partners, only to part ways again when political convenience changes course. Yet, not every political realignment strengthens democracy or enhances a party’s credibility. Some alliances come at a price too high to justify the arithmetic. The latest…
MS Shanker Political leaders are often judged not merely by the elections they win but by the restraint they display when they are in power. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s recent remarks describing Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee as a “weak leader” have therefore raised an important political question: has he inadvertently placed…
