Congress leader Shashi Tharoor discusses India's role in the US-Iran peace talks taking place in Islamabad, emphasising the importance of peace over competition with Pakistan and highlighting India's regional interests.
Both sides have now revealed a preference for escalation over strategic defeat, and each new provocation narrows the space for the next pause. The Touska seizure, Iran's refusal to negotiate under blockade, Israel's strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure -- all of these add up to an increasingly untenable situation. This makes the wild card -- Trump and his motormouth -- more consequential than ever, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
'The city was not only a setting but also a major character in Sankar's stories, providing the readers insight into the ever-changing and complex nature of Calcutta,' observes Atanu Biswas.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
'India's ties with Israel have to do with defence and general technology.' 'The war changes nothing in what India and Israel hope to get from the relationship.' 'It's not as though India will get significantly more benefits from Iran if India abandons Israel at this time.'
President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from over 60 international organisations, including United Nations bodies and the India-France-led International Solar Alliance, calling the institutions 'redundant' and 'contrary' to America's interests.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Indian civilisation has long imagined wealth and power as feminine forces. And yet, when these qualities appear in real women, admiration sometimes gives way to discomfort, observes Vatsal Ramaiya.
A large-scale international study published in the journal, Molecular Psychiatry, has been tracking over 7 lakh individuals and has shown that 34.6 per cent of mental disorders begin before the age of 14 years, 48.4 per cent before 18 years and 62.5 per cent by the age of 25 years.
'Mojtaba Khamenei supervised the most recent repression in December 2025 and January 2026 which remains ongoing.'
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
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.
'They mean business, but business as usual is unacceptable to them'
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
'People don't believe that a 15-year-old girl subjected to sexual intercourse within a marriage is a victim of rape.'
Real GDP growth surprised on the upside in 2025, but weaker nominal growth, trade uncertainty, and soft demand signal a bumpier road ahead.
This was perhaps a missed opportunity for India to spotlight a core domestic challenge: The scale of workforce preparation required for a young, populous, rapidly growing country seeking to reach net zero, points out Radha Roy Biswas.
Mundane as it may seem, this is in some ways a metaphor for the challenges facing the nation, argue Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in their new book, A Sixth Of Humanity.
'Our problem is not a budget deficit but a trust deficit. We need to trust our institutions and industries to innovate and lead. That is the way forward for India.'
Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai retired, reflecting on his career, commitment to the Constitution, and social justice.
'These children possess catastrophically low birth weights -- often 1.4 kgs or less. Such extremely low birth weight results in profoundly compromised neo-natal immunity.' 'The escalation to 97 deaths in three months precipitated contemporary attention precisely because this magnitude concentrates the humanitarian emergency, rendering it impossible for the administrative machinery to ignore.'
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
If Xi Jinping is dethroned in the future, the instrument for that may well be embedded within the PLA, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Correction of India's ills requires focussed direction of our energy. For this, we need a collective Conscience. We need Commitment. We need Cleanliness. We need Cooperation. We need Collaboration. We need Courtesy. And, we need enlightened Conversation, asserts Biswajit Dasgupta.
Yes, the entry of private bankers, particularly with global experience will add value to PSBs, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Whether it was in the company of superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan -- or, on rare occasions with both together, among others -- Saravanan's demeanour would stand out, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'If the NDA returns with the BJP substantially ahead of the JD-U, a BJP CM bid becomes plausible; if the gap is narrow or JD-U holds pivotal seats, continuity with Nitish is the lower-risk option.'
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
The BJP-led government's decision to grant Kunbi status to individuals from the Maratha community has opened a Pandora's box.
American economic historian and labour economist Claudia Goldin won the 2023 Nobel Economics Prize for her work examining wage inequality between men and women, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023 was awarded to 77-year-old Claudia Goldin "for having advanced our understanding of women's labour market outcomes" the prize-giving body said in a statement. Goldin will receive 11 million Swedish kronor, or around $1 million, as the sole winner of this year's prize.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
However, under several external factors -- such as technological disruption or advancement, regulatory or policy changes, or economic shocks -- the gig workforce may grow only to 32.5 million by 2047, a report points out.
President Droupadi Murmu's address to the nation on the eve of the 79th Independence Day.
Indian non-profit 'Educate Girls' wins the Ramon Magsaysay Award for its work in educating out-of-school girls in remote villages. The award recognizes selfless service to the peoples of Asia.
Opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy appeals to MPs to vote with conscience in the upcoming vice presidential polls, urging them to prioritize the spirit of India and parliamentary traditions over party loyalty.
'Violating the terms of your student visa can result in revocation, deportation and even long-term ineligibility for future US visas,' says the US embassy in India.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
Despite the alarming figures on job displacement, AI is expected to generate millions of new roles, echoing historical trends of technological transformation.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
