Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Abandoned PoK

When peaceful protesters are met with bullets instead of dialogue, the world has a moral obligation to speak. Yet, once again, the international community appears to have chosen silence over principle. Reports emerging from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) of security forces using lethal force against demonstrators demanding basic necessities such as subsidised food supplies,…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Powering Bharat’s future

Energy has always been the backbone of economic growth. Every industrial revolution, technological leap and manufacturing boom has been driven by abundant, reliable and affordable power. As Bharat marches towards becoming a developed nation by 2047, ensuring uninterrupted energy security has become as important as safeguarding its borders. It is in this larger context that…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Powering a new Bharat

Bharat’s march towards becoming a developed nation is no longer confined to highways, digital infrastructure or manufacturing. A quieter, far more consequential revolution is unfolding in the country’s power sector. It is a transformation that is steadily redefining Bharat’s economic security, strategic autonomy and environmental future. The significance of July 6, 2026, therefore, extends far…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Reverse brain drains

For decades, Bharat’s brightest minds looked westward. The United States was the ultimate destination, where talent, innovation and prosperity appeared limitless. A foreign degree, an American job and a dollar salary symbolised success. Families celebrated departures, believing their children had secured a future impossible back home. That narrative is steadily changing. Today, a growing number…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

EVM falsehoods exposed

For years now, a section of India’s Opposition has perfected a peculiar political habit. Win an election, and the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is hailed as a triumph of democracy. Lose one, and the very same machine suddenly becomes the villain. This convenient “vote chori” narrative has become less about safeguarding democracy and more about…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Beijing’s Desperation

Diplomacy has many languages. Some are spoken through treaties. Others through trade agreements. And then there is the newest dialect perfected by Beijing—floating geopolitical balloons, hoping someone else mistakes them for policy. The sudden resurrection of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor falls squarely into that category. The BCIM is hardly a new idea. Conceived in…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Development of allergic Opposition

For decades, India’s Opposition has perfected one political skill—opposing almost every transformative reform, irrespective of its merit. Whether it was the Goods and Services Tax, the abolition of triple talaq, the abrogation of Article 370, Digital India, UPI, or infrastructure expansion, the reflex has remained the same: manufacture fear first, verify facts later. Their latest…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Indus non-negotiable

For over six decades, Bharat honoured the Indus Water Treaty even when Pakistan repeatedly dishonoured every other principle of civilised coexistence. It respected an agreement signed in 1960 despite enduring wars in 1965, 1971 and 1999, despite decades of cross-border terrorism, despite the massacre of innocent civilians, and despite thousands of Bharateeyan soldiers sacrificing their…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Strategic Convergence

In the twenty-first century, wars may still be fought with armies, but power is increasingly determined by supply chains, technology and energy security. Nations that control these strategic arteries will shape the global order. It is against this backdrop that the India-Japan summit assumes significance far beyond a routine diplomatic engagement. The growing strategic convergence…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Unacceptable Proposal

The reported joint appeal by the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive dialogue with Pakistan is not merely ill-timed; it is profoundly disconnected from the national mood. At a time when Pakistan continues to shelter, sponsor and export terrorism into Bharat, any proposal for “normalisation” without demonstrable…

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