On 20 May 1952, poet and freedom fighter Ramdhari Singh Dinkar delivered his Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha, speaking about India’s future and the importance of unity.
In 1971, Nani Palkhivala delivered a speech at the Loyola College in Chennai, where he bitterly criticised the 24th, 25th, and 26th amendments to the Indian Constitution.
On 6 September 2003, eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani delivered the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture, where he spoke about the the judicial system, stressing on the need for urgent reform.
In 1931, Vallabhbhai Patel delivered his presidential address at the Karachi Congress Session, stating that communal unity was essential for India and required courage from Hindus.
In February 1993, Salman Rushdie addressed an audience at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge University, marking the fourth anniversary of the 1989 fatwa issued against him following the publication of The Satanic Verses.
On 12 September 1991, during a debate on the Places of Worship (Special Provisions Bill) in the Rajya Sabha, Rajmohan Gandhi warned that those seeking to right the wrongs of history will only produce destruction.
On 30 April 2002, PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the administration's failure to ensure the security of the minority community in India, particularly in Gujarat.
On 23 November 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi delivered a speech at the Indraprastha College for Women in New Dehli, highlighting what educated women can and should do.
On 16 June 1949, KM Munshi argued in the Constituent Assembly that the election commission must balance independence with central oversight to ensure impartiality and practicality.
On 17 September 1954, during a debate on the Special Marriage Bill, CPI MP Hirendranath Mukherjee argued that marriage as an institution must evolve to reflect human dignity and compassion.
The Italian term sprezzatura—a studied nonchalance that conceals intention—best captures the spirit of Trump’s foreign policy so far. The pattern is unpredictability, transactionalism, and disruption as diplomacy.
With 20.2 percent of its total loans in default by the end of last year, Bangladesh had the weakest banking system in Asia. Despite reforms, it will take time to recover.
This world is being restructured and redrawn by one man, and what’s his power? It’s not his formidable military. It’s trade. With China, it turned on him.
There are neither poets of this kind nor MPs, these days.