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Tuesday, April 21, 2026
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Opinion

TALK POINT: Is India less mindful of global censure of its hard military posture in Kashmir today than it was in the ’90s?

Is it easier for India to adopt a tough line in Kashmir today than it was in the 1990s? How is India’s position today different from the 1990s when New Delhi felt the impact of censure from groups like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, U.S. and European capitals? Is the world too distracted right now to lecture India on human rights? We ask experts Ajai Sahni, Aakar Patel.

Talk Point: Has India’s new disability rights law begun to fix chronic inaccessibility for the disabled?

A year-and-a-half ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ambitious programme ‘Accessible India’. But people with disabilities continue to struggle against inaccessible infrastructure and services. Can India afford to delay any longer? We ask experts.

TALK POINT: What is the future of Make in India in the new era of robots replacing humans in factories?

Maruti Suzuki has one robot for every four factory workers. Firms like Eicher and Bajaj also use robots in a quest for efficiency and cost-cutting. About 100 mln Indians enter the workforce every month. Has India entered the manufacturing race too late? We ask experts Manish Sabharwal, Amitabh Kant, R.C. Bhargava.

TALK POINT: Can professionals and municipal bonds save our cities?

Dozens of our municipal corporations are set to issue financial bonds in the coming months to raise funds for developing smart cities. Over 90 urban local bodies have also got themselves rated in order to increase their ability to attract investment. Is this the best way to turn around the sorry state of our cities and how they are governed? We ask experts.

Scrutinising composition of judicial benches is a welcome barometer

The religious scrutiny of the Supreme Court bench hearing the triple talaq case has been lauded and criticised. But more glaring is an all-male bench in a case linked with gender justice issue. SANYA DHINGRA

CPI(M) sinking into oblivion after two years under Yechury

As general secretary of CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury was expected to steer the party in a fresh direction and help it reinvent itself. But he has proved to be as much a failure as his dogmatic predecessor Prakash Karat. RUHI TEWARI

Congress and the art of being in limbo

Congress has become a sleepwalking opposition party, showing no signs of wanting to seriously reinvent itself.

“Museum wahin banayenge!”

All politics is symbolic, and the BJP is replacing realpolitik with symbolic politics, especially in Ayodhya, by trying to build a museum.

Britain, Europe leap into the unknown

While Britain begins to negotiate its exit from the European Union, Scotland and the EU are also trying to figure out the shape of their future.

On Camera

University townships — India’s chance to build its own version of what America got right

India’s university towns initiative is an opportunity to do something we have never managed at scale: build knowledge ecosystems rather than knowledge silos.

FTA partners drive India’s trade surge as reliance on non-FTA countries dips, says NITI Aayog report

Share of trade with FTA partners rose from 4.6% in 2006 to 28.8% in 2024. India is currently negotiating or advancing agreements with US, Israel, GCC, Canada & Mexico.

Japan overhauls post-World War II pacifist military approach, lifts restrictions on defence exports

Since October last year, Japan PM Sanae Takaichi has planned to increase defence spending target to 2 percent of GDP.

Trump, Netanyahu’s Iran gamble: The regime change rebound

American objectives are unmet. They neither have muscle nor motivation to resume the war. As for Iran, the regime didn’t just survive, it’s now led by more radical individuals.