Indian and Chinese soldiers at the Line of Actual Control, in Ladakh, in October 2024 | Photo Credit: AFP India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was in China in January 2025, during which India and China made several announcements on the future of their bilateral relations. He met Wang Yi, who is China’s Foreign Minister, the … Read more
Official estimates suggest that around 45 crore visitors, nearly a third of India’s population, have already been to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh Mela, which began in mid-January. With such a massive influx, even a small percentage of individuals who carry microbes could trigger extensive chains of disease transmission. The Ganga at Prayagraj, where devotees … Read more
Koraput, a district in Odisha, is a beautiful landscape, rich in biodiversity and home to a predominantly tribal population. But there is also a paradox. There is rampant poverty and undernutrition. There is no dearth of government schemes, in the form of direct feeding programmes or schemes for livelihood activities. Yet, undernutrition levels remain high. … Read more
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s appointment of a first-time Member of the Legislative Assembly, Rekha Gupta, as the new Chief Minister of Delhi, is in line with its preference for relatively junior and fresh faces in leadership positions. Ms. Gupta has risen through the ranks of the Sangh Parivar and won Delhi University Students Union … Read more
Delhi’s new Chief Minister That Rekha Gupta, a first-time MLA, has become the Chief Minister of Delhi, ‘defying all odds’ if I may add, needs comment. The so-called unanimous “selection” of the leader of BJP’s Delhi legislature party, that took almost two weeks, smacks of the Congress’s culture. There was hectic lobbying by the over … Read more
The recent incident at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha, involving the tragic death of 20-year-old Nepali student Prakriti Lamsal has drawn significant attention from both Nepal and India. In the wake of her suspected suicide, Nepali students at KIIT held protests demanding justice. However, it was reported that many students reportedly faced … Read more
On February 13, 2025, Article 356 of the Constitution was invoked in Manipur and the State came under President’s Rule. It made way for the President of India to take charge of all administrative and legislative functions of the State from Manipur’s Council of Ministers. The State Assembly, however, has not been dissolved but kept … Read more
The visit of the Qatari Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, a decade after his last visit to India, has led to a reaffirmation of the deep ties between two countries. While they do not always share the same worldview, both countries recognise each other’s importance on the regional and global stage. For Qatar, India … Read more
Appointing the CEC Apart from ensuring that there are three column headlines in newspapers, what the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi aims or achieves from his phrase, ‘midnight call/appointment of CEC’, is anybody’s guess. That he has been reacting to every move by the BJP/Modi government ever since he appeared in politics is known … Read more
The Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre has finally done the inevitable by imposing President’s Rule in Manipur on February 13, after dragging its feet for over 21 months, and four days after N. Biren Singh resigned as Chief Minister. The change in political gear stems not from the BJP’s first-order-of-preference, but as an … Read more