Opinion
Appeal
The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.Honouring Punjab Boy Sharvan Singh, A Bearer Of True Patriotism
By Jag Mohan Thaken History repeats itself; but a few are fortunate to get the recognition. The spiritual world, especially the Sikh world, is proud of the act of kindness, humility and service to mankind exemplified by Bhai Kanhaiya Ji, who is widely known for his water seva during...
Radio Ceylon Turns 100: One Of Indian Popular Music’s Oldest Medium
By Tirthankar Mitra One of world’s oldest broadcasters, Radio Ceylon, has turned 100. It arrived decades before television when radio was a novelty and Radio Ceylon started officially broadcasting from December 16, 1925. Radio Ceylon may seem an aberration today; after all, Ceylon is Sri Lanka. But the British-era...
The New Nuclear Bill Severely Compromises India’s National Interests
By Dr Arun Mitra The new nuclear bill, titled Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI), passed by Parliament, has received the assent of the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. With this, it has become an Act governing various aspects of nuclear energy in the...
Beyond Funding: What Determines Employment Guarantee Success?
By Dr. Nilanjan Banik One of the contentious issues in the Vikshit Bharat Guarantee for Rojgar and Aleevika Mission (VB-G Ram G) Bill, which was eventually passed in Parliament, concerns allowing states to pause MGNREGA-related work for 60 days of their choice during peak sowing and harvesting seasons. The...
Disrupting Christmas Celebrations Allegedly By RSS Activist Is Ominous
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Disruption of Christmas celebrations 2025 is several states in India, allegedly by the RSS activists and Hindutva forces, has brought in focus the pitfalls of fanning the majority Hindu communal passions against non-Hindu religious groups, more so because the inter-religious tensions are rising sharply on...
India’s Space Agency Emerges As Major Force In Global Launch Market
By T N Ashok A rocket lifted off at dawn from the coastal launch complex of Sriharikota, carrying a 6.1-ton American communications satellite into the December sky. Within minutes, the payload was safely deployed in orbit, another mission completed with the metronomic precision that has become India’s calling card...
Trade Unions Toughen Stance, Call For General Strike On Feb 12
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The major trade unions in the country except the BMS have decided to toughen their stance against the implementation of the four new labour codes, enactment of a new law to replace the MGNREGA, amendments to the Insurance Act and changes in the nuclear energy...
2025, The Year That Was; 2026, The Year That Will Be
By Nilotpal Basu Reviewing the year gone by is important, as the past gives us the wherewithal to understand the present and step into the future with all our energy and purpose, particularly in an environment which is engulfed by a mainstream media which is increasingly hegemonised by corporate...
In Defence Of Our Anti-Colonial Socialist-Communist Heritage
By Krishna Jha The national freedom movement, both through its successes and failures, greatly deepened the national consciousness. This consciousness went through the stages of evolving new strategies and methods of struggles, creation of new traditions of resistance, of secularism, of democracy and egalitarianism. Among its great successes and...
Trump Focuses On Nigeria, The New Epicentre Of ISIS Terrorism
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers On Christmas night, American warplanes struck northwestern Nigeria. The targets: suspected ISIS positions in Sokoto State. The location surprised seasoned observers. Nigeria is neither Syria or Iraq. Yet for Donald Trump, that was precisely the point. The operation signals a fundamental shift. America’s war on...
Murmurs Of ‘Rahul Hatao, Priyanka Laao’ Pinch Congress
By Rahil Nora Chopra After poll routs in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi and poor performance in the assembly elections of Bihar, the voices for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have grown stronger. The rumbling heard within the party is “Rahul hatao, Priyanka laao”, publicly calling for a meaty central role for Priyanka....
Sreenivasan, The Keeper Of Malayali Conscience On Screen Passes Away
By Tirthankar Mitra The common factor between the Malayali films Sandesam (1991) and Nadodikkattu (1987) is no more. Sreenivasan, who was part and parcel of both the films, has passed away. It did not matter to the multifaceted man that the two films were on divergent topics. Sreenivasan enacted...
2026 Would Be A Year Of Lower Oil Prices And Crude Oversupply
By K Raveendran As 2026 approaches, the global oil market is heading into a year that could decisively reshape price dynamics, fiscal planning in producing states, and energy security calculations for importing economies. The defining feature of the coming year is not demand destruction or geopolitical shock, but the...
BlueBird Block-2 Launch: India’s Heavy-Lift Moment Is Beyond Space
By R. Suryamurthy By any technical measure, India’s successful launch of the BlueBird Block-2 satellite should have been routine. Rockets lift satellites into orbit every week now. SpaceX alone has normalised spaceflight to the point of near banality. And yet, the LVM3-M6 mission — which placed a 6,100-kg U.S.-built...
Bodo Movement Groups Restive, Mass Mobilisation Likely Soon
By Rabindra Nath Sinha KOLKATA: Whether the Bodo Movement Groups (BMGs) will press ahead with the in-principle decision to organize a mass gathering of two lakh people at Kokrajhar in the near future in support of their five-year-old demand for more powers and more elected representatives — will hinge...
Will FTA With New Zealand Hamper Indian Apple Growers’ Interests?
By Jag Mohan Thaken Amid a stuck period for Indo-American Trade finalization, India and New Zealand announced a bilateral agreement, on December 22, 2025, stating a win-win situation for both. However, the implementation may take a period of six months or so. A Government of India press release through...
Student Assassinations In Bangladesh Can Impact Regional Stability
By Aritra Banerjee It’s often observed that political violence in the Indian subcontinent, especially in the now volatile South Asian neighbours India and Bangladesh, has often announced itself first on university campuses. When students become targets rather than participants in political life, it signals that institutional mechanisms for managing...
December In Chennai: A Season Of Culture, Joy, And Artistic Reverence
By T N Ashok Every December, the southern Indian metropolis of Chennai undergoes a remarkable transformation — its air infused with jasmine, its streets animated with cultural fervour, and its people drawn into a rhythm of music, drama, dance and cinematic celebration. For decades, this coastal city has turned...
