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Thursday, April 9, 2026
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National Interest

Riddle me this: India-US ties ‘span seas to stars’ and BJP goes after deep state and Foggy Bottom

BJP’s attack was not merely on American ‘Deep State'. The idea had been acquiring currency across ideological lines for some time. It’s been given greater legitimacy by Trump.

India’s backsliding on hard-won economic freedoms of 1991, with no reformers to protect them today

There are 3 perfectly timed triggers for this week's column: old, povertarian instincts are back; steel industry lobbying for more import duties; absence of reformers like AD Shroff.

This argument isn’t about cricket but the Subcontinent’s geopolitics. That’s why it begins with cricket

Broken cricket relationships in the Subcontinent aren’t about any disputes over the game, nor Hindu-Muslim issues. It’s about the state of nations, and what goes on between them.

Indicted by US, sentenced by the market. Damage to Adani this time will be deeper, longer lasting

Charges against Adanis this time are much graver, especially as these come not from any ‘interested’ market operator but a sovereign govt. Any quick damage control is unlikely.

India must spend right for two-front deterrence. ‘Jugaad’ against China & Pakistan won’t cut it

India just needs clear deterrence against both likely adversaries. With China, it lies in raising costs of aggression to levels it should find unaffordable. For Pakistan, it has to be punitive.

3-point formula for sweeping elections. Trump has it, Modi had it, Rahul still searching

The Modi of 2024 was not riding the troika of propositions that won him two majorities and most recently brought Trump back to power. He was merely fighting to keep what was his.

Xi wanted to teach India about imbalance of power. We should take a budgetary lesson from it

While we talk much about our military, we don’t put our national wallet where our mouth is. Nobody is saying we should double our defence spending, but current declining trend must be reversed.

From 2004 to 2024, bad news has come wrapped as good news for Congress

Congress is silently acknowledging it over-read verdict of last general election. You can see it in easy concession to SP. It will likely be more reasonable in Maharashtra & Jharkhand.

Sikh separatists & their gang wars in Canada are not India’s problem. Call the troops back

If Sikh separatists are a nuisance, it should worry their host countries. Should it bother India if they keep killing their own in gang rivalries and making their neighbourhoods unsafe?

Why are Indians indifferent to Palestinians’ plight? No, it’s not about Jews vs Muslims

National interest always trumps pan-Islamism. Their shared strategic threat is Iran, its Shia base. The so-called Muslim world has stopped seeing Palestine as an Islamic issue.

On Camera

A stronger Iran has emerged from the rubble. US learned the lesson 40 days late

The US and Israel’s assassinations of Iranian leadership ended up bestowing martyrdom on those killed. Shias saw the deaths as a continuity of martyrdom from the Battle of Karbala.

Data centre gold rush risks blackouts, central electricity body warns states against tripping grids

India’s fast-growing data centre sector may strain state electricity networks; Central Electricity Authority has urged Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu to boost capacity.

Too early to draw lessons from US-Israel & Iran war, India monitoring like a hawk—Navy chief

Indian Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said that the ongoing conflict in West Asia illustrates that speed is no longer merely an enabler of warfare but a distinct capability.

China insulated itself against energy shocks. India is ‘all talk, no walk’

China patiently invested capital, skill and technology in coal gasification. Unlike it, we won’t move from words to action. As crude prices decline, we lose interest.