Forthright
If international cricket still pretends to uphold a “spirit of the game,” then the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) seems determined to demonstrate just how easily that spirit can be bent, bargained with, and ultimately discarded when it becomes inconvenient. The controversy that erupted on the eve of the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin…
So, here’s the latest chapter in Indian political theatre — an air crash tragically claims the life of Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and within hours the usual suspects in the discredited Opposition started performing their predictable somersaults. Now, let’s be clear: this was a plane crash, not an episode of X-Files. The DGCA…
In a country that loudly proclaims “unity in diversity,” it is ironic that Hindu institutions are expected to apologize for preserving their own sacred boundaries. The recent decision by the Kedarnath and Badrinath shrine boards to restrict entry to Hindus is not an act of exclusion—it is an assertion of constitutional, civilizational, and spiritual sovereignty….
The Opposition’s furious reaction to the Modi government honoring R.V.S. Mani, a former senior officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs (with G.M. Pillai then serving as Home Secretary and P. Chidambaram as Home Minister), with a Padma award reveals less about the man himself and more about the fragility of a political narrative that…
When NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams stepped away from active service in December 2025, she didn’t just close a 27-year chapter of personal excellence. She symbolically reminded the world of something deeper and often overlooked: the extraordinary, symbiotic relationship between Indian talent and American ambition—on Earth and far beyond it. Williams, the proud daughter of…
The recurring spectacle of state Governors refusing to read out government-prepared speeches has become one of India’s most visible constitutional flashpoints. From Tamil Nadu to Karnataka, Raj Bhavans are no longer just ceremonial residences — they are turning into political stages. The latest controversy in Karnataka, where the Governor reportedly walked out over references to…
When Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks about returning frozen assets to Ukraine and pledging a reported $1 billion to a Trump-promoted “Board of Peace,” the world would be naïve to hear charity where strategy is being spoken. These are not off-the-cuff remarks or goodwill gestures from a besieged leader. They are carefully calibrated geopolitical signals,…
I walked into the hall “accidentally,” they say. But sometimes accidents are divine interventions. The topic on the banner — “Anubhavalu and Gnapakalu” (A Journalist’s Experiences and Remembrances) — was too tempting to ignore. Organized by the Veteran Journalists Association, the very idea itself felt like a quiet act of rebellion in an age when…
Of late, Indian politics seems to have discovered a curious new science: the art of the impossible comparison. Leaders, cutting across party lines and ideological spectrums, appear convinced that the surest way to sway the public imagination is not through careful planning, grounded policy, or measurable outcomes—but by invoking grand metaphors, global benchmarks, and cultural…
There was a time when the Nobel Peace Prize stood as a moral lighthouse in a stormy world — a symbol of conscience rising above convenience, principle towering over power. Today, that lighthouse flickers. And with the extraordinary spectacle of Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado “presenting” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President…
