Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Bharateeyan Lives Matter

Politics often compels parties to oppose each other even when national interest demands unity. Yet, there are moments when a political demand transcends partisan boundaries and deserves serious consideration. The Congress party’s call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks with US President Donald Trump…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Sindoor 2.0 looms

The recent spurt in drone-based smuggling and infiltration attempts along the Punjab border should serve as a stark reminder that Pakistan’s proxy war against India is far from over. While Operation Sindoor delivered a strong message to terror networks and their handlers across the border, emerging reports suggest that Pakistan-backed elements are once again attempting…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Peace Deal Dead?

For a brief moment, the world was led to believe that a breakthrough was within reach. US President Donald Trump spoke optimistically about a possible peace agreement with Iran, hinting that months of military confrontation and diplomatic maneuvering could finally give way to de-escalation. Yet, within barely 24 hours, those hopes appeared to evaporate. Instead…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Silent Over PoK?

When human rights become selective, they lose their moral force. A tragedy in one corner of the world cannot evoke outrage while a similar tragedy elsewhere is met with silence. Yet that is precisely the uncomfortable question emerging from the latest reports of violence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).  For months, Indian Muslims, like many others…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Bharat’s Drug Breakthrough

For decades, Bharat proudly carried the title of the world’s pharmacy. It supplied affordable generic medicines to millions across continents, earning global goodwill and commercial success. Yet there was always an uncomfortable truth beneath that achievement. Bharat manufactured medicines discovered elsewhere. The laboratories that created the original molecules, owned the patents and reaped the biggest…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Wikipedia Exposed

For years, anyone questioning Wikipedia’s neutrality was dismissed as paranoid, partisan, or simply unable to accept inconvenient facts. Wikipedia marketed itself as the world’s most trusted encyclopedia — a noble experiment where thousands of volunteers collaborated to create a repository of human knowledge free from political influence. That illusion is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain….

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Trump’s Transactional Friendship

The word “friendship” has perhaps never been used more loosely in international diplomacy than it has been by US President Donald Trump. If one were to judge by Trump’s public statements, almost every world leader is his “good friend,” “great friend,” or “true friend.” Yet when one examines his actions rather than his rhetoric, a…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Gold Lies 

If there is one thing the Indian Opposition has perfected over the years, it is the art of talking down India. Whenever the country records a significant achievement, a section of political leaders and their ecosystem of commentators rush to manufacture gloom, spread selective facts, and present an image of a nation supposedly on the…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Tumbling TMC

Indian politics has a peculiar habit of repeating itself. Leaders who appear invincible at the height of their power suddenly discover that loyalty in politics often lasts only as long as victory does. The moment the throne begins to shake, courtiers disappear, factions emerge, and ambitious lieutenants start measuring the curtains for a new regime….

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Trump, the Modern Tughlaq?

History remembers Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq not merely as a ruler of immense ambition, but as one whose abrupt decisions often left his subjects bewildered. Centuries later, as the world watches the second presidency of Donald Trump, one cannot help but wonder whether Washington has found its own version of political unpredictability. The comparison is…

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