Letters to The Editor — October 18, 2025

Celebrations and crackers The bursting of crackers, especially during festivals such as Deepavali, only doubles the resultant harmful effects in terms of air pollution and mounting garbage. I happened to witness a fireworks celebration in Switzerland during their national day. Scheduled for late in the evening, on the banks of the Rhine, it was well … Read more

The next steps for Afghanistan after the New Delhi visit

The visit of Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and its attendant excitement in mainstream and social media are now over. But this is only the beginning. What must follow is a step-by-step engagement, with the single objective of stabilising a devastated country, and, in the process, ensuring that New Delhi projects its credentials … Read more

Blatant aggression: On the Trump administration and its Venezuela actions

In a brazen admission, U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed authorising covert CIA operations in Venezuela targeting the government of Nicolás Maduro. This escalation follows weeks of deadly strikes on boats in Caribbean waters, threatening to destabilise the region by violating fundamental principles of international law. The prospective actions fall under a grim historical pattern … Read more

Better global governance, led by China and India

The year 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and India. Since April 1, 1950, exchanges between the two great countries have come a long way, in which heads of state (government) diplomacy plays a key role in enhancing mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual complementarity. Highlighting more recent achievements are the … Read more

Ensure safeguards for India’s carbon market

The growth-driven model of development, rooted in the Industrial Revolution, has already pushed planetary boundaries beyond safe limits. Some call for “degrowth” to address environmental damage, but this is neither just nor feasible for developing countries that are still grappling with poverty and hunger. A more equitable path lies in decoupling growth from environmental harm. … Read more

New dawn: On Palestine and West Asia

While addressing the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, which he had helped broker, marked “the historical dawn of the new Middle East”. In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Arab and Muslim leaders joined him in praising his 20-point peace plan. While all sides hailed Mr. … Read more

A reading of a revisionism in constitutional history

A quiet revisionism in constitutional history is being seeded. Some commentators now argue that Sir Benegal Narsing Rau, the Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly, was the real architect of India’s Constitution, while Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, merely polished an already finished product. This argument may sound academic, but … Read more