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The International Cricket Council (ICC) logo | Photo Credit: Reuters Writing in the Wisden, Gideon Haigh characterised the International Cricket Council (ICC) as “an unloved beast that is ostensibly a global governing body but too often looks like a forum in which the representatives of national monopolies come to split the spoils of cricket’s commercial … Read more
On July 21, a federal judge challenged the U.S. administration’s reasons for slashing billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard University. The funding threats and cuts reflect a larger worldwide trend of right-wing governments forcing higher education institutions with their ideological agendas. Across the world, universities, once imagined as havens of free inquiry, are … Read more
As headlines trumpet Chinese naval expansion across the Indo-Pacific and India’s strategic countermoves in this regard, there is a quieter, higher-altitude contest already reshaping Asia’s future. The real geopolitical frontier between India and China lies not in the oceans but in the Himalayas. And at its heart is not oil, trade, or weapons but faith. … Read more
The abrupt decision by Jagdeep Dhankhar to resign as the Vice-President of India raises several questions about the relationship between the executive and Parliament. Also in focus are the dynamics within the ruling BJP. The Vice-President is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Mr. Dhankhar is the first Vice-President in the history of the … Read more
Abrupt exit Jagdeep Dhankhar’s abrupt resignation as the Vice-President of India was a bolt from the blue. Though Mr. Dhankhar is said to have cited ‘health grounds’, the alacrity with which the same was accepted by the President of India as well as the Prime Minister’s cryptic post on X wishing him good health, make … Read more
The quiet revolution of remote work, once hailed as the future of labour, has become far more complicated than anyone imagined. Millions of workers across the world dream of the freedom and the flexibility that come with working from home. However, in reality, far fewer actually enjoy it. This gap between aspiration and practice reflects … Read more
Three months after their uneasy revival of electoral ties, the AIADMK and the BJP are yet to find common ground on the nature of government that would be formed in Tamil Nadu were the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to win next year’s Assembly elections. Union Home Minister and the BJP’s principal electoral strategist, Amit Shah, … Read more
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims of having vanquished Iran’s enrichment programme, the threat of a U.S.-Israel-Iran war remains alive. A combination of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal problems, his government’s regional agenda, and the neoconservative influence in the U.S. threaten to overwhelm Mr. Trump’s instincts towards non-interventionist peace. War would be disastrous for … Read more
With a former sanitation worker claiming to have buried many bodies in Dharmastala, about 80 kilometres from Mangaluru in coastal Karnataka, discussions on the “mysterious deaths” of people in the temple town have gained traction yet again. After some dithering, the State government on July 19 set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by … Read more
