New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has voiced his opposition to the upcoming event at Madison Square Garden where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora. Mamdani, however, noted that the city might lack jurisdiction to cancel the private event, which has also drawn protests from various interfaith and civil rights organisations.
On the 25th anniversary of that world-changing morning in New York, it is also for the rest of to reflect. Not only on those who were killed but also on why the event happened and what led to it and what came after it, asserts Aakar Patel.
The US Department of Homeland Security removed a controversial X post featuring a Transformers-themed cartoon targeting an Indian Sikh man, Harjinder Singh, with racially charged language. The post, which linked Singh to vehicular homicide charges and used phrases like "Self deport or find out," drew fierce condemnation from Indian American organisations and Democratic lawmakers for its discriminatory nature. DHS initially dismissed the outcry but later removed the post without explanation, while continuing its campaign against "illegal aliens" involved in fatal traffic accidents.
A committee formed by West Bengal's BJP government is considering proposals to rename several prominent roads, bridges, and public places in Kolkata, including those named after communist leaders Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, and Ho Chi Minh. This move has sparked sharp criticism from the Trinamool Congress and CPI(M), who view it as "vendetta politics" and an attempt to disrespect differing ideologies.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended sanctions against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and advised the US government against extending diplomatic courtesies to its leaders. This comes ahead of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's visit to the US, with USCIRF officials citing allegations of attacks on religious minorities by RSS sub-groups. India has consistently rejected USCIRF's reports as biased and selective.
As India's decline continued on global indices, the government first blamed methodology and then motives. This is where we remain today as we wish each other and ourselves a happy Independence Day, points out Aakar Patel.
We are back to the 1971 moment with both China and the US supporting Pakistan, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'I cannot imagine that any NSA before Ajit Doval would have given us this kind of time and this kind of engagement. They would have offered slogans, or nothing at all. That, too, tells you something.'
Compared with the 2016 election, in which Donald Trump received a 13 per cent of the Muslim vote, Trump in 2020 received 4 per cent more support.
Several hundred people gathered in Times Square to protest against the planned congressional hearings on the "radicalisation" of American Muslims, which have been convened by Republican Congressman Peter King.
Go once. You will know, even before you board the flight home, that you will return.
A Pakistani court on Wednesday, rejected the bail plea of five American Muslims facing trial for planning terror attacks in the country and neighbouring Afghanistan.
Khamenei urged the pilgrims for unity and called on them to pray for "the liberation of Palestine and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the alleviation of the great hardships afflicting Muslims, and the attainment of ultimate victory against global arrogance."
If one has to compare the tenures of the two prime ministers one must credit Nehru with laying the foundations on which Modi is building a grand edifice, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India is the only significant power that all parties trust, or at least do not distrust, notes former defence secretary Ajay Kumar.
If Trump doesn't like India, that is his choice. But to use such distasteful language on a public platform is deeply offensive and needs to be called out, points out Amberish K Diwanji.
Frankly, was it really necessary in the middle of a fratricidal war for External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to travel to Abu Dhabi for a one-on-one with the sheikh on April 12?Or, for National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to follow up on April 26? Or, for PM Narendra Modi to follow through today? There are no easy answers, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
UK police have made several arrests as part of an investigation into serious offences alleged to have involved members of an Ahmadi sect in north-west England.
If Trump wants peace with Iran, Pakistan will offer to help. If Trump seeks Pakistan's aid to spy on Iran, then too Munir will not hesitate to chip in. At the same time, the ISI will not hesitate to tip off Iran now and then, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
We, Indians, forgot that for Pakistan, Kashmir dispute and blood feud with India is the raison detre for its existence. It is also the excuse with which the Pak army keeps its grip over the state. Peace in Kashmir and between India and Pakistan is against the interests of the Pak army, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
Pope Leo XIV on Monday underscored his commitment to spiritual advocacy over political friction, stating that he has no desire to engage in a confrontation with the US administration.
Trump has said he would be present at the signing ceremony in Islamabad. Don't be surprised if the Pakistani hosts make it a grand event in the geopolitics of the region. Trump would love that, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The White House lunch that Trump hosted for Munir last year came just after Munir returned from a visit to Iran, at a moment when Israel and Iran were at war.' 'Trump said after that lunch that the Pakistanis know Iran very well. He likely views Munir as a useful interlocutor that can give helpful insights on Iran.'
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
Afghans have deep self-respect and are the last people to put up with humiliation. Is it any surprise that relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have touched an all-time low and the two countries are now at war? asks M R Narayan Swamy.
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
Alliances fight wars effectively only when they share an endgame. If Israel acted without US knowledge, then the military alliance is operating without real coordination at the level of strategic targeting. Neither picture is reassuring in a war that is no longer regional in its consequences. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'I suspect that Bangladesh being given permission stuck in India's official craw, and this story was an attempt to balance the scales by giving the impression that a similar waiver had been given to India as well.'
Israel has for more than two decades and several US presidencies worked to draw the United States into a full-scale war with Iran. Having finally achieved that, the last thing it wants is Trump declaring victory and going home, as he is prone to do. Ali Larijani was the figure most capable of handing Trump a negotiated exit with something to show for it. Without Larijani, the road to an exit gets considerably narrower. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Ghazala Hashmi, an India-born American politician, has been elected as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, marking a historic moment as the first Muslim and South Asian American to hold the position.
Since South Asians look similar and unofficial racial profiling still exists, the Times Square bomb and Faisal Shahzad's arrest has sent shockwaves through the community. Many lamented that the plot came at a time when the aftershocks of 9/11 were waning. They fear that this will lead to more harassment of people from south Asia, irrespective of the country they come from.
'The culture of mankind has been spread by the travel gene which pushes one in five people to have the curiosity to move to unknown destinations.'
Unlike most male politicians who avoid accessories, New York's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, stands out with his three silver rings.
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will meet with President Trump at the White House, marking their first meeting since Mamdani's election victory. The meeting highlights Trump's willingness to engage with diverse political figures, even those with differing ideologies.
'He knew the world's eyes were on him, and he had to speak directly to the fears that immigrants in New York feel right now.'
Indian-descent democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has been sworn in as the Mayor of New York City, marking a new era for the city with a focus on affordability and working-class New Yorkers.
Several Indian-American and South Asian candidates are running for key positions in the US elections, including mayoral and gubernatorial races.
The Great Shamsuddin Family is a seemingly light chamber piece that hides its claws of social commentary under the chirpy banter of an apartment full of women, observes Deepa Gahlot.
His victory means that his party will have to learn from him, because after the rise of Donald Trump, the Democrats have been in disarray. They have had no real answer to the Trump phenomenon and Zohran, with his emphatic and clear policies aimed at working class Americans offers them a national path for a return, asserts Aakar Patel.
While Zohran Mamdani captured national attention with his meteoric rise to be elected New York City's first Muslim mayor, his wife Rama Duwaji was helping orchestrate his win -- one pixel, one brushstroke, one brand decision at a time.
