Politics

OPINION | Golwalkar’s Final Years: Leadership, duty, and legacy of RSS

RSSFACTS: Madhav Golwalkar led the RSS through critical years. Despite illness, he worked tirelessly, toured extensively, guided the organisation, supported national causes, and left a lasting leadership legacy

OPINION | Private Equity in Indian Healthcare: A case for regulatory safeguards

Private equity is growing fast in Indian healthcare. Experience from the US shows it can raise costs and debt. India must regulate investment to protect patients and care quality

OPINION | RSS at 100: Mohan Bhagwat’s dharmic vision from AI to agriculture

Sanghnomics: At an RSS centenary outreach in Mumbai, Mohan Bhagwat advocated decentralisation, rural enterprise, dharmic wealth principles, technological adaptation, and environmental responsibility amid shifting geopolitics

OPINION | Regulating Hate Speech: Navigating the constitutional boundaries of free expression

The fate of Karnataka Assembly’s contested Bill on regulating hate speech hangs in balance. Any law curbing speech has to meet the constitutional test which lays out conditions under which it can be done. So far, jurisprudence has tilted in favour of using existing laws to curb unacceptable forms of expression

OPINION | Legacy systems might survive AI, but old strategies will not

Artificial intelligence will not merely modernise legacy systems. It will reorder economic advantage and geopolitical power. For India, the real danger is not slow adoption, but assuming disruption will arrive on our terms By

OPINION | Munich, the return of civilisational dogma and India’s new reality

Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference reflected the MAGA doctrine, which frames issues through the prism of Western civilisation. India’s response should be to strengthen cooperation where interests converge; preserve autonomy where they diverge

OPINION | From AI anxiety to AI impact: Why the Delhi summit matters

The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 begins in the capital today. An outline of the backdrop to the Summit and a framework to judge its outcome follow

OPINION | The 'Women' factor in Jamaat 's defeat in the Bangladesh election

The organisation’s worldview is characterised by a belief that women have to play a subservient role in society. In South Asia, Bangladesh has a higher proportion of women in the workforce than other countries. They were not willing to lose their hard-won progress

OPINION | BNP powers ahead in Bangladesh; secular-liberals fare well but uncertainty still looms

Keeping Awami League away tilted matters in Tarique Rahman’s favour. But the controversial referendum on constitutional reforms, which passed, may not get BNP’s support. India needs to note the emergence of a new crop of secular-liberal politicians

OPINION | When an RSS chief cited a communist theorist

RSSFACTS: Mohan Bhagwat’s invocation of Rajani Palme Dutt revives a Marxist defence of India’s ancient nationhood, challenging imperialist narratives and contemporary Left historiography on nationalism

OPINION | What the Budget reveals about India’s critical minerals goals

Although highlighted in the Budget speech, the REPM scheme’s capital subsidy and allocations are absent from official documents, revealing a gap between announcement and fiscal commitment

OPINION | India’s Parliament embodies form over substance as distrust and bitterness prevail

The manner in which relations between the BJP-led governing coalition and opposition soured in the recent days offers little room for any meaningful reconciliation. The breakdown is complete and the spirit of accommodation in Parliament is conspicuous by its absence

OPINION | BNP may be the pre-poll favourite in Bangladesh’s election, but don’t write off the Jamaat

Bangladesh will today witness yet another election with the main opposition party kept out of the fray. In this first post-Sheikh Hasina poll, the outcome is likely to be consequential for a period well beyond the life of the next government

OPINION | Takaichi’s massive win sets the stage for a reboot of Japan’s polity

The scale of LDP’s victory and the support received from a younger cohort of voters makes it possible to initiate constitutional amendments needed to accelerate Japan’s aim to be more self-reliant in military matters

From Balochistan to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan’s on the boil

Baluch Liberation Army and TTP strike at will. The scale of violence in the country keeps rising amidst insurgencies, a civilian government that lacks popular legitimacy and economic woes. Pakistan is struggling to stay afloat in a sea of troubles

OPINION | Bangladesh’s forgotten hero amid its turbulent history

Abu Taher’s revolutionary rise and execution illuminate how coups, ideology, and betrayal shaped Bangladesh’s early politics, entrenching a recurring cycle of military power and violence

OPINION | A four-way siege on DMK as Tamil Nadu heads towards a humdinger of an election

The state is set for a nail-biter. This election might pivot more on age than caste, though the latter remains a potent undercurrent. For now, the advantage tilts toward NDA, thanks to its cohesion and ability to consolidate anti-incumbency

OPINION | The long shadow of political violence against RSS in Kerala

RSSFACTS: Rajya Sabha member C Sadanandan Master recalled a brutal political attack. His testimony highlighted decades of violence against RSS workers in Kerala and ongoing ideological clashes

India-US deal's a great start, but follow-up on the day after is critical

Tariffs are important but not everything. Latent protectionism shows up in legal challenges, legislative blockades and dramatic U-turns. For India, there’s a lot of follow-up to be done in both EU and the US

India-US trade deal is costly but much-needed

Trade deals are always about give and take. But with President Trump, it is often unclear what — and how much — one may need to give in return. Expectations, therefore, should be tempered. Yet, compared to the prospect of facing 50% tariffs, it represents a clear improvement