AFGHANISTAN TODAY: GANDHARI’S CURSE?
Maharshi Vyasa’s Mahabharata does not record it. But popular folklore and the epic’s modern-day television adaptations state that Queen Gandhari cursed her brother Shakuni that his kingdom of Gandhara (modern-day Afghanistan) would never find peace or prosperity. True or not, Gandhari, wife of the blind king Dhritarashtra, who blindfolded herself, was a woman of great […]
INDIA STORY THROUGH I-DAY SPEECHES FROM RED FORT: India Strategic
(Photo) Courtesy : Firstpost As India celebrated the 80th anniversary of Independence, it is evident that the annual ceremony at Delhi’s Red Fort has become much more than a national ritual. It reflects India’s changing priorities, aspirations and identity. When the Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the Tricolour from the ramparts of Delhi’s Red Fort […]
Bofors Burial: Why Big Guns Are Silent Now?
There was a time when the word “Bofors” needed no explanation. It was not merely the name of a Swedish gun. It was a political weapon, an election slogan and, for a generation, almost a synonym for corruption. The Bofors deal was signed in 1986. When it became controversial and was debated in and outside […]
How Iran’s Economy Survives Under US-Israel War Pressure?
(Photo) Courtesy : Al Jazeera As the Gulf war, now in its sixth month, spreads across a vast region from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, even to the distant Caspian Sea, and shows no sign of ending, the question of how it impacts the economies of those involved has become crucial. These costs have […]
INDIA, TRUMP & HIS “TARIFF PE TARIFF”
In the latest legislation passed by the United States Senate, India and four other countries risk imposition of 100% tariffs, to be ‘punished’ for purchasing Russian oil and gas. This was connected to the visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi of Ukraine, who needed to be boosted in his war against Russia. President Donald Trump is yet again […]
‘COCKROACHES’ HAVE WON: WHAT NEXT?
Photo:Umakant Lakhera No discussion on issues of geopolitics. The sentiment this weekend has got to be about what has happened in India, its capital and scores of cities. For many years, I have reported public protests, even participated in those about media freedom. I have had my share of sweating it out in the open, being […]
HORMUZ THRO’ HISTORY: FROM GUJARAT TO “GROUND ZERO”
Known facts are being overlooked, if not conveniently forgotten. They need to be recalled when the third round of the War on Iran is raging, making the Strait of Hormuz the “water zero”, like the “ground zero” of military and diplomatic conflict, a term coined during another Gulf War. Perhaps, they will give a better […]
FIREWORKS ARE OVER, FIRING HAS RESUMED
Announced at Zero Hour GMT, the third round of strikes on Iran has begun, setting the Gulf on fire and the world in a tizzy, again. Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to the United States. We will never know who fired the first shot, and other compulsions, but death and destruction have […]
CONGRATS, AMERICA@250! BUT WE ARE DISAPPOINTED
Generations around the globe have known about, if not seen, the Statue of Liberty and felt inspired. The symbol of freedom, democracy, and justice kindled hope for millions who fought their colonial masters. Millions have been drawn to it, even illegally, to make it their home, where work counts and opportunities abound, to pursue their […]
OIL WAR, ISLAM & AN INDIAN “WORKING MOM” IN HOLLYWOOD
Viewing the world through headlines. The “tit-for-tat” bombing of and by Iran resumes the Gulf conflict. The military and diplomatic yo-yo over control of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian oil continues. The US is loath to lose them after the cease-fire and agreement reached in Switzerland. The US-Iran truce cannot succeed because the Israel-Lebanon […]
