A permacrisis seems to have engulfed the world with no end in sight for conflicts, climate disasters, economic gloom and democratic backsliding as we enter another new year. The war in Ukraine which is soon set to complete two years and the conflict in Gaza...
Retired Punjab IAS officer Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh’s recent award of Bhutan’s National Order of Merit Gold Medal not only signifies her exceptional contributions to Bhutan’s healthcare but also gains significance in the context of India’s ties with the mountain kingdom and China’s increasing engagement...
It was an awkward middle ground when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) strived hard to approve a watered down proposal to increase supplies to Gaza and demanded immediate action “to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.” Israel’s steadfast supporter, the US,...
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ The dictionary says this is a proverbial saying whose popularity is attributed to an official in former US president Jimmy Carter’s administration. It is ‘used to say that one should not try to change something that is working...
The recent security lapse at the Parliament has highlighted the inherent risks associated with prolonged vacancies in critical positions, emphasizing the urgent need for a reevaluation of our approach to national security. This most significant breach since the 2001 terror attack, has prompted a reassessment...
It is seen to be believed how a large part of the world, especially the US, could shut its eyes to the surging violence unleashed on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. Going by accepted parameters, nothing short of genocide is...
It may not be a coincidence that Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee met Chinese President Xi Jinping 18 December in Beijing when a landmark national security trial for pro-democracy media mogul of Hong Kong, 76-year-old Lai Chee-Ying, also known as Jimmy Lai, began in...
When highly respected former judges of the Supreme Court open their mouths to find fault with some crucial apex court judgements on Central decisions and legislative actions with far-reaching consequences for the country’s democratic system, it is cause for both hope and alarm. For, in...
From the very outset, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai was doomed to fail, largely due to its setup – hosted by a petrostate, presided by the CEO of that state’s biggest oil company and amid stiff opposition from the world’s most...
A rational nation, a reasonable state, should be able to distinguish between a peaceful protest, however spirited, and an act of terrorism. That we no longer can is a reflection of two things. One is India’s laws which have always been bad but have become...
It has long been held that when one is young, one tends to subscribe to pro-poor and people-oriented progressive politics,...
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On 19 July, China began constructing a $167.8 billion dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, close to the Indian...
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The BJP is seen today as a corporate-friendly political party, and this is the view held by both the party’s...
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There was a time when “superannuation” meant something. Now it’s just the date you pencil in until the next extension...
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