Indian politics has entered a strange and revealing phase. For years, the ecosystem opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi functioned with remarkable discipline. Ideological activists, diaspora influencers, selective journalists, “civil society” campaigners, digital propagandists, and opposition loyalists all moved in one coordinated direction: defeat Modi at any cost. But now, the cracks are visible. And…
In Indian politics, tremors rarely arrive without warning, but when they do, they expose far more than just a momentary rupture. The latest move by Raghav Chadha to break ranks within the Aam Aadmi Party and align with the Bharatiya Janata Party, along with a cluster of Rajya Sabha MPs, is being projected as one…
The long-simmering crisis within the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has now reached a decisive legal crossroads. The former suspended Secretary, Devraj, has approached the Telangana High Court, challenging the election notification issued by what he terms a “truncated” Apex Council through an Election Committee Chief whose authority itself is under a cloud. The Election Commissioner…
Special Correspondent Every change of guard in Hyderabad cricket arrives wrapped in lofty promises of reform. And every time, the outcome is depressingly familiar: hope raised, trust betrayed, and players left to pick up the pieces. What is unfolding under the current dispensation is no different—except that this time, the collapse is happening under the…
Kolkata: The West Bengal government announced that 16,36,522 more houses would be allocated to beneficiaries under the ‘Banglar Bari’ housing scheme by the middle of January next year. Announcing this after a cabinet meeting on Monday, senior minister Chandrima Bhattacharya accused the central government of depriving the state of funding for the scheme. “To date,…
For years, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has been projected as a custodian of talent, the nursery that once produced the likes of ML Jaisimha, Mohammad Azharuddin, VVS Laxman, and a string of India internationals. But peel back the façade of cricketing pride, and one finds a cesspool of corruption, manipulation, and brazen looting of…
Manohar calls out decay and demands a clean-up MS Shanker In my continued quest to uncover ways to restore Hyderabad cricket to its rightful place in Indian cricket, I have been engaging with former players—those who may not have made headlines but whose connection to the game is rooted deep in legacy, values, and sincerity….
A Dynasty of Decline: Time for Shivlal to Step Aside MS Shanker As part of my ongoing series “Who Ruined Hyderabad Cricket,” this episode focuses on when and how the decline truly began. Much has been written—and far more whispered—about the rot in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). It all began with the rise of…
MS Shanker With top office-bearers under arrest and Hyderabad cricket administration in shambles, club members demand answers from acting chief Daljit Singh. In what is fast becoming a daily soap opera of administrative chaos and credibility erosion, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) finds itself once again under fire—this time not from investigative agencies or the…
MS Shanker If anyone believed that public outrage, investigative exposés, or even central agency scrutiny would clean up the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), last Sunday’s Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) proved otherwise. What unfolded on June 29 was nothing short of a farcical power-sharing exercise, where tainted officials, past manipulators, and compromised figures re-emerged in…
