National Interest

Even as Trump humiliates allies, Indian govt must adopt humility at home

Mr Trump has ushered in the age of humiliation. His method is to push around America's friends rudely and publicly. He knows none of them can afford to fight back

When Af is left to Pak: A weak leadership and a muddled foreign policy

If the Pakistanis think they can do better than the Americans, an Indian partisan can again say, go ahead, make my day

Sovereignty, pragmatism, and choices: India balances risks in neighbourhood

The "foreign hand" was always American. Its adversaries, the Soviet Union and its allies, were natural friends

Leverage, time, and the long game: India and Europe find common cause

This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they'd seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe

Rethinking Islam, military power, and democracy: A year-end correction

Many of you might think I got something so wrong in National Interest pieces written this year. I might disagree! But some deserve a mea culpa. I'd deal with the most recent this week

The failed Marshal Doctrine: Pak's most 'creative' military dictatorship

In the exact period that Gen Munir has been consolidating power, his counterparts in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal have eschewed it with remarkable dignity and professionalism

Deepfake on duty: How AI is taking fake news to an entirely new level

I told Grok to look at Op Sindoor-related gallantry award citations, and found that AI promises facts but can make them up. It's taking fake news to a different level, and it has been fully gamed

Joys of Trumplomacy: Public, loud, and focused on American supremacy

Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise, sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy

H-word, M-word & fading K-word: Stop seeing India through old prisms

If the only superpower, which calls India an ally, sees the region through an India-Pakistan prism, it is unacceptable. Rather than endorse India's sphere of influence, this undermines it

To beat Modi, Opposition needs new ideas-not nostalgia and caste math

Stuck in the past, the Opposition is recycling slogans while Modi scripts a new political grammar

Adani's reckoning: Sebi probes, political uproar, and foreign capital woes

Sebi may now launch fresh inquiries. Parliament will open to uproar, and Adanis' access to foreign capital will become impossible. The damage this time will be deeper and longer-lasting

Sikh separatists' violence should concern host countries, not just India

If Sikh separatists are a nuisance, it should worry their host countries. Should it bother India if they keep killing their own in gang rivalries and making their neighbourhoods unsafe?

Bangladesh crisis: India should junk victimhood and excessive religiosity

Bangladesh is just the latest example of disquiet in India's neighbourhood. We need to show renewed respect to our neighbours

When underdog pushes top dog

The third Modi govt has quickly moved away from dismissing all Congress ideas as unimaginative and is now implementing several of them. Think poll-bound Haryana and Maharashtra

India's national interest paramount: Russian FM Lavrov on energy ties

India is a great power that determines its national interests and chooses its partners, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, describing as completely unjustified the enormous pressure on New Delhi due to its energy cooperation with Moscow. During a press conference here on Wednesday, Lavrov also termed as "insulting" Ukraine's remarks on the recent meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Moscow. I think India is a great power that sets its own national interests, determines its own national interests, and chooses its own partners. And we know that India is being subject to enormous pressure, completely unjustified pressure in the international arena, Lavrov said. Lavrov was responding to a question about Prime Minister Modi's recent visit to Moscow and the opposition faced by India for its energy cooperation with Russia. With Russia presiding over the UN Security Council for the month of July, Lavrov is in New York to chair meetings o

Modi 3.0, T&C apply

A changed reality for Modi govt in its 3rd innings is by no means rise of a new phenomenon. It's a return to old normal where even majorities had to routinely wrestle with storied million mutinies

Petrobras CEO pushes offshore oil prospect as matter of national interest

In her first public comments since taking the company's helm on Friday, Chambriard said replenishing oil reserves was a priority for Petrobras

CAA: A fading story

For BJP, CAA was strategic move that did not quite work out because those it would benefit could've been accommodated under existing laws, and new entrants would remain excluded

Push for Modi 4.0

Leaders with 'mileage' believe they can overcome age and vintage. Think Xi, Biden, Trump, going ahead Erdogan and Putin, and now, we have sufficient evidence to say, Narendra Modi

What Modi read in 'school'

Is this government really so mysterious? Is there a key to breaking the code of this BJP's politics? The answer lies in understanding old texts on the BJP-RSS ideology