scorecardresearch
Add as a preferred source on Google
Monday, February 23, 2026
TopicIndian elites

Topic: indian elites

After Mumbai, Mahjong invades Delhi’s social circles. Poker is out

Demand for learning Mahjong has skyrocketed, with teachers charging upwards of Rs 12,000 for ten sessions. The tile game has become the new obsession of the urban elite.

Rahul Gandhi to MeToo, British-era criminal defamation law is only about power of the elite

The contest seen in courts today is between the 'right to reputation' of the wealthy and 'right to free speech' of a victim or journalist. India should not encourage this unequal battle.

Indian urban elite prefer Tharoor over Kharge for Congress. Caste discomfort a factor

The elites aren't comparing Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor based on their political and administrative experience, acumen, or even what is good for the Congress.

What gives Indian democracy its long life? The choices elites make

Brown University professor writes that Modi's India is still an electoral democracy. But the longer Hindu nationalists remain in power, the weaker it'll become as a liberal democracy.

‘People’s Padma’ Awards shows the best of India, and not just the elite

From nominating deserving people to getting a chance to attend the awards ceremony, the Modi govt has changed the way Indians interact with the Padma Awards.

A chaiwala is PM, but it’s the cartel of power elites that calls the shots in India

Powerful political families mediate between the state and the society, shape policies, and bend the administrative machinery in line with their interests.

Them versus them

India's prominent governing elites and ruling elites have so little common ground, but live within the same territorial frontiers.

On Camera

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.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

Suspected brake failure leads to Tejas accident after landing, airframe likely to be written off

The IAF, so far, remains mum on this accident which has led to grounding of the fleet for safety checks.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.