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Friday, April 10, 2026
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National Interest

Islam doesn’t kill democracy. The army-Islam combo does

How come Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and Sri Lanka remain constitutional, democratic and stable despite Islam and Buddhism respectively, but Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar don’t?

Lesson from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan: if you have no patience, you don’t deserve democracy

Sri Lankan transition was smoothly managed. Check Bangladesh for contrast. They forced their incumbent into exile, installed a mostly unelectable govt of non-political people.

BJP’s Northeast policy has lit new fires & reopened old wounds. And it still won’t blink

Manipur represents BJP’s unique ideological approach to governing Northeast by playing identity politics jiu-jitsu. It hasn’t gone well yet, is getting worse, but the party insists on continuing.

You can put words in Mrs Gandhi’s mouth & get away. But too much fiction, and you mess with Bhindranwale

The IC-814 and Emergency controversies show we are still too thin-skinned to accept anything but deification of our leaders, biopics or biographies. This runs across the subcontinent.

PM Modi wants US to protect Hindus in Bangladesh. Hasina’s debacle must not be India’s

Bangladesh has dumped Sheikh Hasina. Are we dumping Bangladesh in turn? We can’t choose our neighbours. But you know what, we can choose to be the kind of neighbour we want to be.

Modi govt is caught in the 3C trap. To escape, it must embrace the 4th: Consensus

Modi govt preparing for Census leads us to examine new reality, marked by 3 ‘C’s: caste, coalition & Constitution. BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride. This election has changed that.

Subcontinental setbacks have a message for India: Junk victimhood & respect thy neighbour

Bangladesh is just latest example of disquiet in India's neighbourhood. We need to junk domestic politics & excessive religiosity, acquire humility in our approach to neighbours.

Opposition attack on the counter has BJP playing defence. It has set agenda with caste, revdi, jobs

Third Modi govt has quickly moved away from dismissing all Congress ideas as unimaginative and is now implementing several of them. Think poll-bound Haryana and Maharashtra.

Coaching centres are a sign of broken-window economics. See how China crushed it all overnight

How broken does our governance have to be, and how incredible our hypocrisy, that we cannot make profits from educating young Indians, but earn thousands of crores by giving them tuitions?

Middle class is reacting like slighted lovers over Budget 2024. Their anger won’t last

What Modi govt got wrong with this budget and in its signalling is in moving away from its generally upbeat, ‘India is on the rise, growth will get steeper, markets are red hot’ messaging.

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.

Theaterisation proposal to be shared with defence ministry in a week or so—CDS Gen Anil Chauhan

Theaterisation, which aims to divide the forces into three theatres with specific areas of responsibility, will become the single most far-reaching reform that the Indian military has witnessed since independence.

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.