A recent video of Muslim women offering namaz within the grounds of Pune’s iconicShaniwarwada fort palace-complex has ignited needless controversy amid the festive Diwali season. Built in 1732 by Peshwa Baji Rao I as the seat of the rapidly expanding Maratha power, its stone ramparts once echoed with the ambitions of empire. Three centuries later, they again now echo with the shrill sounds of political theatre. Shaniwarwada, after all, is not a mosque. It is a protected monum

An avoidable death in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has exposed the grotesque inversion of priorities that defines Indian governance. In Ambernath, a patient’s life ebbed away as an ambulance stood waiting not for a citizen, but for a politician who happened to be Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The vehicle, belonging to Chhaya Sub-District Hospital, had been dispatched for the Deputy CM’s visit to inaugurate a local theatre named in memory of Shinde’s mentor, lat

As we welcome another Diwali, the festive season invites not only celebration but also calls for measured reflection. For centuries, the lighting of diyas has symbolised not just the triumph of good over evil, but also the human capacity to renew hope, to repair, and to rise above adversity. This Diwali, India shines brightly but also uneasily. The world’s most populous democracy has endured a year of turbulence: economic uncertainties, social strains and political polarisati

Gold, till recently dismissed as a relic of the past by those who believed in the supremacy of fiat money and equities, has once again become the metal of the moment. Ahead of the festive Diwali season, the prices have breached an eye-watering Rs. 1.3 lakh per 10 grams of 24-karat gold, up from Rs. 78,610 last year. That is a year-on-year rise of 65 percent, enough to make even the most ardent buyers blanch. Yet, jewellers remain surprisingly upbeat. Rising household liquidit

India is poised to welcome the Commonwealth Games (CWG) back after a fifteen-year hiatus, with Ahmedabad now recommended by the Commonwealth Sport Executive Board as the host for 2030. The final decision awaits ratification at the General Assembly in Glasgow on November 26. The announcement is being framed as a triumph as it will then mark the return of the Games return to India with Ahmedabad taking centre stage. Yet, behind the celebration lies a question: why Ahmedabad, an

The surrender of Mallojula Venugopal Rao, known by his nom de guerre of Bhupathi, marks a symbolic end to an era. Once the military chief of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army and one of the last surviving architects of India’s Maoist insurgency, Bhupathi’s capitulation alongside 60 cadres in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli is more than a victory for law enforcement. It is a milestone in the Modi government’s systematic effort to dismantle both the armed and ideological fronts o

For the first time in two years, the guns in Gaza have fallen silent following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by the United States and guaranteed by Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye. On Monday, as the last of 20 surviving Israeli hostages crossed the border into Israel and 1,968 Palestinian prisoners walked free, President Donald Trump hailed it as “a tremendous day for the Middle East.” The American president has made a career out of declaring victory before the ink

For years, Pakistan imagined itself as the grand chessmaster of South Asia in managing militants, manipulating neighbours and moulding Afghanistan into a pliant satellite. No longer. As Pakistani jets struck Kabul, prompting a lethal Afghani retaliation in which several Pakistani soldiers are believed to have been killed, Pakistan’s decades-long gamble on jihad and manipulation collapsed, leaving it bloodied and at war with its own creation. Earlier strikes last week, aimed a

When the custodians of culture become its gravediggers, decline is inevitable. The Asiatic Society of Mumbai (ASM), the city’s...

Keir Starmer’s recent arrival in Mumbai with a 100-strong entourage of British CEOs, vice-chancellors and cultural grandees had all the...

Tamil Nadu, long celebrated for its industrial prowess and political theatre, has lately distinguished itself for a far grimmer reason....

The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti is girding itself for a decisive display ahead of the forthcoming civic elections across Maharashtra by using...

Maharashtra is doubling down on its claim as India’s entertainment capital. Recently, the State government approved a sprawling new film...

Mumbai’s airspace is set for a long-overdue transformation with the forthcoming inauguration of the Navi Mumbai International Airport...

The wheel of Indian cricket turns with deliberate inevitability. 25-year-old Shubman Gill, fresh from his splendid helming in the...

When Rahul Gandhi travels abroad, one can be certain of two things: he will avoid wishing Indians on their festivals, and he will revel...

India’s national song ‘VandeMataram’ marks its 150th anniversary. Composed in 1875 by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, it was immortalised in...

Each year, Dussehra offers a timeless lesson of the triumph of the good over evil. The effigies of Ravana, towering with their ten...

Canada’s decision to designate the Lawrence Bishnoi gang a “terrorist entity” under its Criminal Code might appear at first glance a...

India’s victory over Pakistan in the T20 Asia Cup 2025 final was a masterclass in composure under pressure and a vivid reminder of why...