The nation was in a celebratory mood after the NDA returned to power in a majority of states. The ruling alliance and sections of the media viewed the election results as an endorsement of the government’s policies and leadership. Amid these political developments, however, a different issue emerged that brought […]
National
The 2ND EXTREME Paradox
Throughout history, one pattern appears repeatedly in the evolution of societal norms: the journey from one extreme, through radical opposition, to the establishment of balance. This phenomenon can be called the â2nd Extreme Paradoxâ. Extremes, whether ideological, political, or cultural, do rarely provide a sustainable or just foundation for society. […]
Coexistence Without Contact
âI come from two Indias,â a phrase I had heard before, but it never really settled into my body the way it did today. It happened when I was forced by my four friends to do something about the scorching heat, the fatigue, the dullness of a tiresome day. Out […]
The Great Nicobar island project: India’s âHong Kong Momentâ or âan ecological gambleâ.
Scattered over 262 km length and the area of 1653 sq km-Located in the southern part of the Andaman and Nicobar union territory ,India are the Nicobar islands. It has an approximate population of 36,000 which include indigenous reserve tribes like Nicobarese and Shompen. Its Ecosystem consists of 7,589 sq […]
Defection or Merger? Raghav Chadhaâs Shift and the Limits of Indiaâs Anti-Defection Law
The recent defection of Raghav Chadha, an AAP MLA, from AAP to BJP has once again brought into focus the anti-defection law included in Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The anti-defection law and its interpretation give rise to several pertinent issues that need to be analyzed and answered. Defection […]
Indian Navy: Guardians of the Ocean, Shapers of History
In recent times, global attention has returned to strategic maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, where countries like the USA and other powerful nations demonstrate their blue-water naval strength by imposing blockades on enemy shipping routes. Whenever we see such news, we naturally wonder about whether the Indian […]
Few Points on Delimitation
Lately, Iâve noticed that delimitation has become a topic many people are discussing, but not everyone sees it in the same way. On the surface, it sounds administrative â redraw boundaries, adjust constituencies, move on. But once you sit with it a little longer, it doesnât feel that simple. It […]
The Judiciary: Savvy or Overpowered?
The Indian judicial system is a paradox: it is one of the most complex and slowest judicial system in the world, yet it remains one of the most trusted bodies of the country. Every Indian citizen holds an unspoken reliance on the courts, believing the judiciary is one of the […]
Empathy is Radical
The state of the world right now can only be described as a hot mess – wars, calamities, global crises and much more. During these trying times, fear and polarization often take hold. However, it manifests in varied ways. Sometimes, itâs from self-fulfilling prophecies and sometimes; itâs extremism decorated and […]
India â US trade deal or soft power in disguise.
âWhen one leaderâs deal has to be faced by an entire nation, it isnât a deal- it is soft power in disguise.â The India-US trade deal between Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considered a milestone- a bridge between two major economies, a step toward stability in a […]
NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog plays an important role in policy-making in India. It was established in 2015 by the Government of India to replace the Planning Commission. The full form of NITI Aayog is National Institution for Transforming India. Its main aim is to promote sustainable development and improve governance in the […]
The Cost of âChalta Haiâ: When Governance Turns Fatal
Two young men died in two separate cities after falling into two unmarked open pits, leading to two funerals that should not have happened. The 27-year-old IT professional and the 25-year-old biker both died after falling into unmarked excavation sites. These deaths were not caused by chance or unforeseen circumstances. […]
Students Rally at University of Lucknow in Support of UGC Equity Guidelines 2026
On 10 February, students of the University of Lucknow turned out in large numbers at the New Campus in support of the UGC Equity Guidelines 2026. The protest reflected growing unity among students demanding equality, representation, and accountability in higher education. Student organisations AISA, NSUI, SCS, and BASF participated in […]
Why the Western LeftâRight Ideology Doesnât Fit India
In Western politics, it is easy to divide parties into two clear groups: Left and Right. The Left focuses on welfare, equality, and state control, while the Right supports free markets, cultural conservatism, and smaller government. This binary works there because their political journey is shaped by class conflict and […]
Democracy and Campus
People often say universities shape democracy. At first, that sounds like something written in a brochure. But if you look closely at everyday life in a university, the idea starts making sense not in a grand way, but in small, ordinary moments. Lucknow University is not perfect. It is […]
What Does It Really Mean to Be a Republic?
For many of us, the word âRepublicâ appears once a year on 26 January. We celebrate one of our national festivals, Republic Day, through parades, flags, and patriotic songs. As kids, we often watched the Republic Day parade on TV with pride and excitement, often not fully understanding it but […]
I Come From a Land Called India
I come from a land where a girl is first a prayer And then a burden, Where she is dressed like a goddess during festivals And buried like a mistake before she learns her name. A land that chants Shakti with folded hands And teaches its daughters to walk faster […]
Supreme Court Denies Bail to Umar Khalid & Sharjeel Imam
Indiaâs Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling in the long-running 2020 Northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case, refusing bail to two prominent student activists, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, while granting conditional bail to five other accused individuals. This decision sparked intense debate nationwide and internationally. The judgment has reopened fundamental […]
Indian Knowledge System in Modern Academia
In todayâs era, when higher education is often defined by global benchmarks and technological prowess, there is a growing conversation around the need to preserve and integrate Indiaâs own intellectual traditions within modern academic frameworks. In recent years, Indian higher education has witnessed a renewed interest in the countryâs own […]
Are we asking the right questions?
In a democracy, one of the most fundamental things a citizen like you or mecan do is ask questions. Not just plain questions but the right questions.Questions that hit hard, questions that deconstruct the matter weâre talkingabout, questions that force people to answer, in one way or another.How does one […]
Unnao and the Hollow Promise of âBeti Bachaoâ
The Unnao rape case was never merely another case being. tried in an Indian court. It has become the moment of truth for the Indian conscience, and the unpleasant questions that the country is compelled to confront is this: Do our daughters matter only when we say so, and […]
On Dignity, Consent, and the Meaning of Democracy
In a democratic state, there can never be ownership of power; it can only be delegated. It moves from citizens to institutions and leaders as a temporarily delegated right, not according to their will but for the interests of the people at large. The recent incident of Nitish Kumar pulling […]
Redefining the Aravallis, Welcoming the Disaster
Delhi NCR – 400+ AQIÂ Uttar Pradesh – 390+ AQI Gujarat – 170+ AQIÂ Rajasthan – 200+ AQI (Donât get confused why I gave this Air Quality Index data here. You will know soon.) So, These are the few air quality indices of a few states of India, and till now, if […]
The Art of Indian Storytelling
You might wake up in the morning and brew a cup of coffee while a Spotify podcast hums in the background. As you step out and slide into a cab, thereâs an RJ on the radio narrating a conventional tale. Then, a remembrance ceremony is held at your college to […]
Anti-Intellectualism Is Bad for LU, and India
âTodayâs backlash against intellectual life cannot simply be written off as a popular celebration of mindlessness,â wrote Adam Waters and E.J. Dionne Jr. in Dissent. It was true of America in 2019. It is painfully true of India now. Books written in other countries, in other decades, often feel eerily […]
A Growing Crisis We Cannot Ignore
When the government wants you to do work but doesn’t provide enough facilities, when the pressure is so high that it forces you to take your life, then, I don’t think it’s just a duty. It is overly intensive labor disguised as duty. There comes a point a system becomes […]
Letâs talk about sex
There is a peculiar Indianism , and, if one looks broadly enough, a globalism , to the way we manage the subject of sex: not by absence so much as by theatrical abstention. Sex is performed, packaged, policed, advertised, litigated, and monetized; but it is not, with any seriousness, discussed […]
How we learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
They tell you, politely, that the world is what it is: messy, dangerous, and therefore to be managed by people who have seen the maps and read the books. Questioning the necessity of weapons that can erase cities, nuclear weapons, the all-consuming instruments of modern statecraft, will earn you a […]
The âRightâ Feminists
In the spring of 1983, Andrea Dworkin released a book that unsettled even her staunchest admirers. Right-Wing Women wasnât a call to arms but an x-ray, a forensic, unflinching study of a kind of political allegiance that confounds both liberals and radicals: the woman who kisses the hand that chains […]
A Brief History of Forgetting
In most functioning democracies, education is meant to sharpen the mind, not dull it. The textbook, for all its institutional monotony and glue-scented pages, remains a tool of possibility: a place where a young citizen might first encounter injustice, rebellion, plurality, and the spine of their nationâs history. What it […]
2025
The Playbook Letâs begin not with a tweet or a riot, but with a pdf. Itâs 920 pages long, reads like a corporate mission statement ghostwritten by Machiavelli, and goes by a name only a Bond villain or a right-wing think tank could conjure: Project 2025: Mandate for Leadership. Officially, […]