Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Parliamentary Farce

Is the Opposition serious—or merely staging another episode of parliamentary theatre? The INDIA bloc’s reported decision to move a resolution seeking the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is less a constitutional exercise and more a political joke played in broad daylight. Cloaked in procedural language and inflated rhetoric, the move exposes not the…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Time to Listen, Not Fear

For decades, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been portrayed—often caricatured—as the dark force behind India’s so-called “majoritarian project.” Its Sarsanghchalak, Mohan Bhagwat, is routinely projected by sections of the Opposition ecosystem as the real villain of India’s political churn. And yet, on Sunday in Mumbai, something quietly disruptive happened: people actually listened. Not through hostile…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Naravane Row

The Budget Session of Parliament was always expected to be noisy. What it did not need was a manufactured storm around selective, unofficial excerpts from the yet-to-be-cleared memoirs of former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane, dragged into the House to score political points rather than to illuminate policy. On the second day of proceedings, instead…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Bold, Not Blind

The Union Budget FY26–27 stands as a transformational document—one that goes beyond mere allocation of funds to chart a clear trajectory for India’s economic and strategic future. Notably, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has set a record by presenting the budget for the ninth time, a milestone many believe will be difficult to surpass. Against…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Growth vs. Grudge

When Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey for FY26, she did more than present a government report card. She laid out a data-backed rebuttal to a growing chorus of geopolitical grumbling—much of it emanating from Washington—that would have the world believe India’s economy is somehow “dead.” The Survey’s numbers tell a very…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Equity on Trial

The Supreme Court’s decision to stay the University Grants Commission’s newly notified Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Regulations, 2026 has triggered a familiar, and often polarised, debate in India’s academic and political circles, besides Prime Time debates in some so-called national English channels. On one side stand those who view the UGC’s move as…

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