scorecardresearch
Add as a preferred source on Google
Wednesday, March 4, 2026

PoV

Porn ban by X will go the same way that gutkas, alcohol and fire cracker bans have

A ban without enforcement is symbolism. A ban without social change is theatre. And slowly, citizens begin to treat every new prohibition not as law, but as background noise.

Why is our Holi playlist still stuck with Balam Pichkari? It’s 13 years already

The last decade has been an exercise in exhausting YouTube, searching for that one crackling Holi banger.

HBO ‘Industry’ gives us women in finance who raise hell

American Psycho gave us Patrick Bateman. In HBO's Industry, Yasmin Kara-Hanani, played by Marisa Abela, channels convicted sex offender and Jeffrey Epstein's former partner Ghislaine Maxwell.

Indian students waiting at a food bank in Ireland aren’t ‘freeloading’, it’s ‘jugaad’

It is assumed that any one able to fund an international education must be superbly wealthy.

The world won’t end if older women desire intimacy. Violet Bridgerton is proof

Women wanting intimacy is already a scarce commodity as it is, add middle age to the mix, and you have yourself a cosmic event.

Kerala, Keral, Keralam. I’m a Malayali and the name change is more annoyance than pride

North Indians are so used to dropping the ‘A’ at the end of Kerala. Now they have to train themselves to add another letter.

Life in Delhi isn’t easy for Northeast Indians. Racism is always round the corner

Racism is a problem for privileged mainlanders only when it's meted out to them abroad. In their own backyard, it's normalised as 'I was just kidding. Chill yaar'.

Kerala beef story is more activism than accuracy today. We prefer buff anyway

BJP’s opposition to beef changed the way it’s seen in Kerala and across India. The meat has become more activism than accuracy.

Calm down, people. Alia Bhatt didn’t make history by saying Namaskar at BAFTA

What really troubles me is the idea of an actor with British citizenship representing India at the UK’s national film awards ceremony, all while wearing an Italian designer.

Nick Jonas wearing a mangalsutra is validation for many Indians. He’s our favourite jiju

Nick Jonas is not trying to modernise the mangalsutra, but his gesture shows that choices can be equal. If commitment must be flaunted, it need not be gendered.

On Camera

Empires inflicted a century of regime change on Iran. Each wanted a compliant, powerless nation

The lessons of earlier American regime-change efforts should be obvious. The dismantling of Iran’s regime could lead to the breakdown of state authority and the rise of warlords.

European gas holds near 3-year high as Middle East conflict rattles energy markets

Major energy infrastructure is in the crosshairs of the conflict, raising risks of the biggest shock since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Qatar’s largest LNG plant remains shut, fuelling supply fears.

Iranian frigate that took part in India’s MILAN sunk in suspected US submarine attack, Lankan rescue op on

Sinking of the ship has raised eyebrows in the Indian defence and security establishment since it happened in India’s backyard.

Pakistan is fighting a two-front war. I saw it coming 15 yrs ago

The Pakistani political leadership is weak and devoid of any intellect. Its diplomacy is entirely India-China-US focused and suffers from a presumptive view of Afghanistan as a vassal.