Iran and India : Testing times

For the global economy, the Strait of Hormuz is less a waterway and more a jugular vein. As the conflict in West Asia intensifies, most nations are monitoring developments with…

Coding the cultural DNA of Maharashtra’s governance

​The global landscape is littered with “Digital Transformation” projects that bought expensive software but forgot to upgrade the people. What is happening in Maharashtra today is a rarity in public…

RG Kar and the politics of justice

Is politics the only endgame for those seeking justice in a country where issues often get buried once the camera lens swivels to the latest viral story? It is an…

Woman who was too interesting

On social media, there is a controversy raging around an unusual person. She is an Instagram reels sensation unlike any other. A married woman from rural Bengal who gives us…

The encore nobody asked for, but everybody crashes

Ah, retirement—the golden parachute that often feels more like a deflated balloon animal than free bird soul. One minute you’re dreaming of endless golf swings, tracking in hills and beachside…

How I did it: Darshan Jaishankar

Higher education is a transformative experience. Not only is there the opportunity to earn a qualification, master a new skill and gain access to much-admired profession, there is the advantage…

AI is great, but who will behold and pass on the knowledge that this generation holds?

I was talking to a senior onco-surgeon, who must have operated on thousands of patients, to seek his advice on what should one look for in a surgeon for a…

The end of Naxalism wasn’t won in encounters—it was built on roads, schools, and trust

India didn’t just fight Left Wing Extremism. It made it irrelevant. For years, Left Wing Extremism in India was seen as a law-and-order problem. It never really was. It was…

Robbing farmers to pampering casino barons

The sun, the sea and now the slots. Goa, India’s only legal casino playground, is quietly rewriting its own rules again. This time chief minister Pramod Sawant’s government isn’t merely…

How Maoism lost the battle & what’ll keep it down

When Amit Shah set March 31 as the target to eliminate Naxalism, it signalled a moment of unusual confidence in India’s long battle against leftwing extremism. Yet, the story of…