Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Xi’s Masterstroke

While the world’s cameras remain obsessively fixated on a negotiating table at the Serena Hotel, the real deal-making—sharp, silent, and devastatingly effective—is unfolding thousands of miles away at the Great Hall of the People. And at the centre of it stands Xi Jinping, scripting what increasingly looks like a geopolitical masterclass, even as Donald Trump…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Jaishankar Vindicated

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has once again demonstrated why diplomacy is not about theatrical activism, but about calibrated restraint. His blunt assertion that India cannot become a “dalal nation” — a broker in global geopolitics — is not just justified, it is strategically sound. At a time when geopolitical vanity projects are tempting…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Defeat Stares Mamata

The writing is no longer on the wall—it is etched into the electoral rolls. With the Election Commission of India identifying nearly 91 lakh (9.1 million) questionable or illegal entries during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal under judicial scrutiny, the political ground beneath Mamata Banerjee has begun to crack—perhaps irreversibly. This is…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Drone Doctrine Shift

For decades, India’s defence preparedness was accused of being reactive—slow, procedural, and often a step behind evolving threats. That criticism is beginning to lose its sting. The unveiling of the Indian Army’s comprehensive technology roadmap on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and loitering munitions is not just another bureaucratic document—it is a signal. A signal that…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Desperate Provocation

When a nation runs out of strategy, it reaches for spectacle. That, in essence, is what Khawaja Asif has just served up—an alarming cocktail of fear-mongering, bluster, and reckless provocation. His claim that India could stage a “false flag” operation—without offering a shred of evidence—is not just irresponsible, it is dangerously familiar. Pakistan’s establishment has…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Sea Power Rising

India wholeheartedly welcomes the induction of three formidable naval assets—INS Taragiri, INS Aridhaman, and a soon-to-be commissioned nuclear submarine into the Western Command into its maritime arsenal. These are not routine additions to the fleet; they represent a decisive leap in India’s quest for strategic dominance at sea. At a time when global waters are…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Bengal Bleeds Again

West Bengal is burning—again. And this time, the flames are not accidental; they are political, calculated, and chillingly familiar. Mere condemnation of the unrelenting violence allegedly unleashed by cadres of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is not just inadequate—it is an abdication of responsibility. What unfolded in Malda, where judicial officials were reportedly obstructed and vehicles…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Owaisi’s Dilemma

There is a certain irony in watching Asaduddin Owaisi now sermonise about the “exploitation” of Muslims by so-called secular parties. For decades, that accusation was whispered in political corridors; today, Owaisi has chosen to shout it from campaign platforms in states like West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Assam. The question, however, is not whether…

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Columnist-M.S.Shanker

Blood Jihad

For decades, the world has been fed a carefully packaged lie — that Pakistan’s so-called “jihad” in Kashmir is a noble, moral, almost spiritual struggle. That illusion now lies shattered, not by Indian dossiers or Western think tanks, but by a voice from within Pakistan itself. When Mufti Saeed Khan — a cleric with proximity…

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