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In a symbolic assertion of India’s maritime rise and military self-reliance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali this year aboard the Indian Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant , off the western seaboard near Goa and Karwar.  Addressing sailors on the indigenous vessel, Modi described the experience as a deeply personal one, framing the Navy not only as a strategic arm of national defence but also as an embodiment of modern Indian resolve. Prime Minister Narendra Modi aboard INS Vikrant with Indian Navy personnel during Diwali.  Image: PM NaMo “This is my family,” Modi said, referring to the personnel onboard, “and I have come home for Diwali.” His remarks blended patriotic fervour with policy clarity, anchoring India’s naval capability to its larger strategic shift -- from regional balancing to active global maritime engagement. Witnessed an awe-inspiring Air Power Demo on INS Vikrant, showcasing precision and prowess. The take-off and landing of MiG-29 f...

In a significant global recognition of India’s growing influence in the domain of intellectual property law, Justice Prathiba M. Singh of the Delhi High Court has been appointed Chair of the Advisory Board of Judges of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the 2025–2027 term.  Image Source: hughes.cam.ac.uk Her appointment marks a historic milestone--not only for the Indian judiciary but also for global judicial collaboration on IP law and innovation policy. Justice Singh, a formidable force in India’s legal and academic IP ecosystem, brings to this role a deep understanding of both international legal frameworks and grassroots implementation challenges.  Her elevation as Chair comes at a critical juncture when the global IP landscape is being reshaped by emerging technologies, data sovereignty debates, AI governance, and traditional knowledge protection--areas in which Justice Singh has consistently been an intellectual leader. A graduate of the University...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman In Bihar’s never-ending political circus, the 2025 Assembly elections have descended into a theatre of implosion, betrayal, and tactical demolition. What was initially thought of as a contest over vision, governance, and employment has degenerated into a free-for-all -- dominated by muscle power, money, and managed failures. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Pic via the former. Let’s not sugarcoat it. The BJP has outsmarted, out-organised, and outmanoeuvred every other party in this election. But its biggest victory is not at the polling booths. It is in the boardrooms of Bihar’s collapsing political alliances -- especially the JDU. With surgical precision, BJP has allowed Nitish Kumar’s party to rot from within, offering just enough rope for it to hang itself. From baffling ticket distributions to social media optics that never translated on the ground, the JDU looks more like a party planning for defeat than one contesting for power. ...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday addressed a press conference in New Delhi where both male and female journalists were present. This is a marked departure from the earlier controversy that erupted over the exclusion of women reporters from a similar event. Speaking at the presser, Muttaqi addressed the backlash over the earlier incident, saying the exclusion of women was not deliberate but rather a result of logistical constraints.  Women journalists at Taliban Presser. Image Via: Dr Pooja Tripathi “Regarding the press conference, it was due to the short notice. The participation list was prepared with specific journalists, and it was neither a technical issue nor any deliberate exclusion. It was not intended,” he said. The clarification came after significant condemnation from opposition leaders, press freedom bodies, and civil society.  The Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) had issued strong statem...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman A press conference by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on Friday is drawing sharp scrutiny for barring women journalists, who were not permitted to attend the event, held at the Afghan Embassy just hours after Muttaqi met with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.  The media interaction was restricted to a select group of male reporters.  Image Source: Hafiz Zia Ahmed This has triggered political backlash and raised uncomfortable questions about India’s diplomatic posture toward the Taliban regime. The media interaction was restricted to a select group of male reporters, in apparent adherence to the Taliban’s gender-exclusionary norms. People familiar with the matter said the list of invitees was prepared by Taliban officials, and not by Indian authorities.  According to some sources, the Indian side had suggested that women reporters also be included, but the recommendation was not heeded. The exclusion has spa...

Darjeeling and the wider North Bengal region have been brought to a standstill as torrential rains have triggered catastrophic landslides, washed away bridges, and left at least 18 people dead with many more feared missing.  The devastation spread rapidly across the hills and adjoining plains. It has severed access to multiple regions and stranding tourists, residents, and entire villages in a disaster that has exposed the region’s acute infrastructural vulnerability. Authorities say the death toll is likely to rise;  Image Source: Chat News Hub Heavy rainfall since Saturday night caused hill slopes to give way in key transit areas including Dilaram, Rohini, Whistle Khola, and Pulbazar, destroying homes and paralysing movement. One of the worst incidents occurred near Mirik, where the collapse of a bridge killed nine people and cut off entire clusters of villages.  Several other casualties were reported from Sukhiapokhri and isolated hill communities. In many locations, r...

At a time when multiple regional flashpoints are converging -- from violent unrest in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) to Taliban diplomacy, growing Indo-Russia economic ties, and security tensions with Canada--India has issued a clear, multi-front diplomatic stance, rooted in consistency and assertive strategic positioning. Limited information has so far reached the outside world about the full extent of the protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Image Via: Paul Antonopoulos In a comprehensive weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addressed sharp questions from the press corps on the most pressing geopolitical developments of the week , underscoring India's principled approach across all theatres--from the subcontinent to West Asia and beyond. PoK Unrest: Natural consequence of Pakistan’s oppression On the ongoing mass protests and internet shutdowns in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Jaiswal pointedly described the si...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman Mahatma Gandhi’s The Story of My Experiments with Truth is not the story of a perfect man as political heavyweights present themselves to be -- and that is perhaps precisely why it endures still today. It is a book filled with self-doubt, failures, confessions, and contradictions. But it remains one of the most powerful examples of a life devoted to truth, however painful, however incomplete that pursuit may be. Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize a few days before he was assassinated. There’s something profoundly disarming about the way Gandhi presents himself. He does not hide behind legacy, myth, or moral superiority. He does not edit out the parts of himself that might be mocked or misunderstood. Instead, he offers his life as a series of experiments -- some noble, some naive, but all of them are deeply personal. The tone is intimate, often vulnerable.  You feel, as a reader, that you are being let in. Attended a prayer meeting at Gandhi Sm...

India and the Central American Integration System (SICA) reaffirmed their shared development vision in New York on the sidelines of UNGA80, with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar calling for deeper cooperation across digital payments, climate resilience, renewable energy, and public health.  India-SICA Foreign Minister’s Meeting Co-chairing the India-SICA Foreign Ministers' Meeting with Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha, Jaishankar positioned India’s outreach as both practical and strategic, focused on turning political goodwill into economic and technological outcomes. Speaking candidly about common challenges such as poverty alleviation, post-pandemic recovery, and climate disruptions, Jaishankar said India sees SICA as a key partner in South-South cooperation and stressed that countries in both regions can tackle shared challenges more effectively by doing so together.  He pointed to the momentum built during the 2023 political dialogue in Panama Cit...

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a pointed address at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York on Thursday, warning that ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are not only escalating geopolitical instability but also inflicting deep economic damage on the Global South. India's Foreign Minister Speaking on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly Speaking on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, Jaishankar said the correlation between international peace and global development is no longer theoretical -- it is now “well established” as both continue to deteriorate in parallel.  He cited soaring costs and disrupted access to food, energy, and fertilizer as direct consequences of war, disproportionately impacting the developing world. “The costs, especially to the Global South, were starkly demonstrated by ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza,” he said. “Making energy and other essentials more uncerta...