Something important happened at Jantar Mantar on August 21, and it would be a mistake to view it merely as another protest over reservation. The Reservation Hatao Andolan, or RHA, brought together protesters questioning caste-based reservation, demanding greater emphasis on merit and economic
India has spent decades debating equality between men and women. Women have rightly demanded equality in education, employment, politics, property, opportunity, public life and personal autonomy. The principle behind that struggle is simple: an adult woman is an independent citizen, capable of making her own decisions and entitled to the same dignity and opportunities as
For decades, Pakistan has carried Kashmir into virtually every international arena available to it. At the United Nations, in meetings of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, in diplomatic exchanges and through its political leadership, Islamabad has repeatedly presented itself as the champion of Kashmiri political rights. Its argument has been familiar: Kashmiris
For years, India’s debate about the rising cost of going to the movies has revolved around two familiar villains: expensive tickets and even more expensive popcorn. Every few months, photographs of multiplex food menus circulate on social media, consumers complain about paying several hundred rupees for popcorn and soft drinks, and the cinema industry responds […]
Something rather inconvenient happened for Rahul Gandhi’s favourite political narrative on August 18. Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan flagged off the first export-import containers from Vizhinjam International Seaport as the project moved into full-scale EXIM operations. It was an important moment for Kerala: a major deep-water port moving beyond transshipment and
More than a year after the guns fell silent following Operation Sindoor, the battle over what actually happened between India and Pakistan has moved from missiles, drones and airbases to something equally important in modern warfare: the historical narrative. Pakistan has spent much of the period since the May 2025 confrontation portraying the episode as […]
India has witnessed enough protests in recent years for a familiar template to emerge. A grievance begins somewhere among ordinary citizens or students. Within days, political organisations discover it. Celebrity endorsements follow. Social-media personalities arrive with cameras. Ideological groups attach their own vocabulary to the issue. Hashtags are manufactured,
India has become accustomed to learning the names of terrorists after tragedy has already struck. A bomb goes off, civilians are killed, policemen fall in the line of duty, television channels begin flashing photographs of the mastermind, and only then does an obscure handler become a household name. By that stage, however, the country has […]
Narendra Modi’s governments have spent more than a decade transforming India at scale. Highways have expanded, railway stations are being rebuilt, airports have multiplied, digital payments have become ubiquitous, welfare delivery has increasingly moved directly into bank accounts, defence manufacturing has received a stronger push, and massive infrastructure projects that
India has celebrated its 80th Independence Day. For eight decades, generations of Indians have lived in a sovereign republic that has survived wars, political upheavals, economic crises, insurgencies, coalition governments, reforms and extraordinary social change. We have every right to demand more from the country we live in: better roads, schools and hospitals; safer








