Columnist-M.S.Shanker

AI Boom or Accounting Mirage?

The artificial intelligence revolution is being sold as the next industrial transformation. Governments celebrate it, investors worship it, and corporate boardrooms market it as an endless gold mine. But beneath the glossy presentations, trillion-dollar valuations, and futuristic slogans, an uncomfortable question is emerging: how much of the AI boom is genuine innovation, and how much…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Judicial Irresponsibility

Words matter. More so when they come from the highest constitutional offices in the country. A politician may survive on rhetoric. A television anchor may thrive on provocation. But the judiciary, particularly the office of the Chief Justice of India, is expected to embody restraint, balance, and constitutional sobriety. That is why the reported “cockroach”…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Trump’s India Reality Check

For a man who built his political brand on unpredictability, bluster, and transactional diplomacy, United States President Donald Trump appears to have finally encountered a geopolitical truth he cannot bulldoze through — India is no longer a nation that can be pressured, patronized, or pushed around. After months of erratic signalling during his second term,…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Restrain Rahul

The time has come for the nation to ask a blunt and unavoidable question: how long will Rahul Gandhi continue to enjoy unchecked liberty to make reckless, inflammatory, and deeply irresponsible statements against India’s constitutional institutions, elected leadership and national security apparatus? At a rally in Raebareli, Rahul Gandhi once again crossed every line of…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Beyond the Rupee

India today is under pressure. Not from missiles or armies at the border, but through currency markets, financial narratives, investment exits, technology dependencies, and diplomatic coercion. The headlines scream panic. The rupee weakens. Forex reserves come under stress. Foreign investors pull out money. Television studios predict doom with theatrical excitement. But pause for a moment…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Time for Restraint

The verdict on the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex in Madhya Pradesh is not merely another property dispute settled by a court. It is yet another reminder that history, however inconvenient to political narratives, cannot be buried forever. When courts rely on archaeological surveys, historical records, inscriptions, and documentary evidence, the debate ceases to be about emotion…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Modi’s Fuel Hike, Justified

The Narendra Modi government’s decision to finally increase petrol and diesel prices after nearly four years was not merely inevitable — it was economically unavoidable. In fact, the bigger question is not why the government hiked fuel prices now, but how India managed to delay the burden for so long despite one of the worst…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Trump’s Beijing Gamble

The sudden warmth being projected between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is neither a grand geopolitical reset nor a revival of trust between Washington and Beijing. It is far more tactical, temporary and transactional. The much-publicized visit of the US President to Beijing appears less like statesmanship and more like strategic damage control by an…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

America’s Iran Humiliation

For decades, the United States has behaved like the self-appointed headmaster of the world — issuing sermons on democracy, human rights, sovereignty, and “rules-based order” while simultaneously bombing nations, toppling regimes and funding wars across continents. But the latest developments surrounding the U.S.-Iran conflict have exposed a painful truth Washington desperately wants buried: the so-called…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Udayanidhi’s Civilizational Contempt

There was a time when lawmakers understood the sanctity of the Assembly floor. Words spoken inside the House carried dignity, restraint, and constitutional responsibility. Today, unfortunately, Tamil Nadu has a leader in Udayanidhi Stalin who appears determined to reduce legislative discourse into a sewer of civilizational hatred. His latest outburst against Sanatan Dharma inside the…

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