IPA Special
Redefining Aravali, The Oldest Hills Chain Is A Matter Of Concern
By Jag Mohan Thaken The coming generations will hardly believe that there was a chain of the oldest mountains, namely the Aravali hills, on Indian earth and they will read only in the books that the hills spread over 800 km from Gujarat to Delhi, through Rajasthan and Haryana,...
Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Again? Iraq Lies Recycled For Venezuela War
By Rob Warzyniak NEW YORK: On December 6, President Trump’s “War” Secretary Pete Hegseth took the stage at the Reagan Defense Forum to outline the latest iteration of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. should not be “distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing,...
As Nepal Readies For National Elections On March 5, 2026, Where Is Gen Z’s Party?
By Nitya Chakraborty Is Bangladesh’s pre-election scenario is being repeated in Nepal which was the seat of a two day revolt by Gen Z of the country against the ruling K S Oli government in the second week of September this year? Major indications are leading to that, the...
What Makes PM Narendra Modi To Dismantle The Demand Driven MGNREGA
By Dr. Gyan Pathak The Union Government of India is set to introduce Viksit Bharat – Guarantee For Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill (VB-G RAM G) in the Lok Sabha, which will mark the end of the current Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 under which...
Maharashtra Urban Polls Set The Stage For A High-Stake 2026 Battle
By T N Ashok The announcement of Maharashtra’s urban local body election schedule has done more than set the clock ticking for civic polls—it has forced an uneasy ruling alliance to rediscover the value of unity. With voting for all 29 municipal corporations, including the powerful Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation...
From Chhaava To Durandhar – Story Telling Was The Key To Success In 2025
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers With just days left before the curtain falls on 2025, Bollywood finds itself in an unusually buoyant position. After years of uneven recoveries and post-pandemic recalibration, the Hindi film industry finally rediscovered its box-office muscle this year—powered by star-driven spectacles, rooted storytelling, and a growing...
Why Dickens’s Scrooge Still Walks Among US At Christmas, 182 Years On?
By Keith Flett LONDON: Charles Dickens’s Christmas Carol was published on December 19 1843. Eleven days later the Chartist Northern Star had this response, which was headed “a Christmas Carol”:“According to annual and praise-worthy custom the unfortunate inmates both of the workhouse and prison throughout the metropolis, will, upon...
‘SHANTI’ Act Alone May Not Fully Protect Nuclear Plants Against Liabilities
By Nantoo Banerjee It is difficult to explain why the government took nearly 17 years to decide on launching a bill in Parliament to allow private participation in India’s nuclear power generation programme. The proposed Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill to amend...
Left Loses Power In Chile As Far Right Antonio Kast Wins Presidential Polls
By Nitya Chakraborty The Latin American Left got a major shock on Sunday December 14 as the far right candidate Jose Antonio Kast won the run off Presidential elections by defeating the ruling Left coalition candidate Jeannette Jara by a margin of 16 per cent of the polled votes....
Jimmy Lai: From Refugee Entrepreneur To Beijing’s Most Defiant Critic
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers NEW YORK: When Jimmy Lai walked into Hong Kong’s High Court on Monday morning, smiling faintly and waving to family members, the moment carried the weight of more than a single verdict. It marked the end of an era — not just for a 78-year-old...
Task Cut Out For LDF In Kerala After Local Bodies Polls Setback
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is no denying that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has suffered a setback in the local bodies elections. The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) is certainly on a comeback trail with an excellent victory. As for the BJP, but for the win in Thiruvananthapuram...
Hollywood Legend Rob Reiner’s Tragic Death Is A Big Loss For World Cinema
By T N Ashok NEW YORK: Rob Reiner 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner 68, died in a tragic homicide at their doorstep in Brentwood in Hollywood home in Los Angeles, after sustaining multiple stab wounds from an unknown assailant. Investigations are on to apprehend the culprit. Reiner...
America’s Democratic Socialists Are On A Winning Spree At All Levels
By Branko Marcetic NEW YORK: Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win in New York forced many political observers to think, for the first time, of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) as a serious and potentially formidable force in American political life. For the more than one hundred DSA members who assembled...
2025 Is Ending With Wars In Different Parts Of The World And Conflicts Rising
By Ben Chacko LONDON: The world appears to be facing one of its most dangerous moments for many years. In the Middle East Israel menaces Lebanon and Syria and pushes forward its genocidal project across Palestine. In Sudan and DR Congo proxy wars continue — as they do also...
Kerala Local Polls Result Is A Wake Up Call For LDF Three Months Before Assembly Polls
By Nitya Chakraborty The results of the local polls in Kerala covering corporations, municipalities as also gram panchayats declared on Saturday December 13 are a firm indication of the massive erosion of the support base of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) headed by the CPI(M) in both rural...
A Cultural Symbol Developing Into A Polarising Element In Dravidian Land
By K Raveendran Thiruparankundram, a rocky hill on the outskirts of Madurai, has long stood as a lived metaphor for Tamil Nadu’s layered religiosity. The hill hosts the Subramaniya Swamy temple dedicated to Lord Muruga, revered across Tamil society, and the Sikandar Badusha dargah, associated with Sufi traditions that...
Labour Codes To Push Majority Of MSME Workers Into Informal Employment
By Dr. Gyan Pathak India is transitioning from old labour laws to new labour code regime. Union Government expects the new labour codes will be fully implemented from April 1, 2026, that is from the beginning of the new financial year 2026-27. The impact is very difficult to assess...
Venezuela And Honduras First Targets Of Trump’s New Security Strategy
By W. T. Whitney, Jr. WASHINGTON DC: The National Security Strategy (NSS) is a document setting U.S. foreign policy goals that the Executive Branch periodically sends to Congress. Commenting on the NSS released on Dec. 5, Rebecca Lissner, associated with the establishment-oriented Council on Foreign Relations, indicated that, “The...
