Shekhar Gupta National Interest

To handle Trump's irrationality, India must fix its own bipolar discourse

To protect ourselves from Trumpian diplomacy, we must first introspect the bipolarity within our establishment discourse. You could start with Modi's rise in the summer of 2014

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

Asim Munir tightens grip, but that fifth star could spell trouble for India

Asim Munir has locked up Imran Khan, had his handmaiden Parl mangle the Constitution, & given himself an extended tenure. But the additional jingle of that fifth star will not change facts on ground

Indians must eschew prejudice if they want the 'narrative' on their side

Victimhood is often seductive and we have cultivated it into some kind of a chronic disease across generations. There are, however, many problems with this proposition

Pak's 7-year itch resurfaces, but is India's deterrence enough this time?

Pakistani establishments and their proxies are prone to a severe, predictable 7-year itch. Each step up the escalation ladder buys India about these many years of deterrence on average

Caste census: A fraught & electorally-loaded idea forcing its way in

One of the reasons we call the caste census a bad idea is that so far, nobody has figured what to do with the data, except Rahul Gandhi

Pahalgam terrorist attack: Pakistan's ISI targets Hindus, tests India

At some point, the ISI's calculation has been, Hindus will rise in reprisal against their own minorities. That's a crisis they've been conjuring up in India. A nation at war with itself

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

A leader & 19 months: Lal Bahadur Shastri's legacy beyond Tashkent peace

Among Shastri's contributions were the Green Revolution, appointing C Subramaniam as his food minister, and recognising the talent of M S Swaminathan

Deep state, shallow state, non-state: The rise of conspiracy theories

From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-state actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real state

Left, right, centre, reverse: Populism emerges as unifying political idea

In the new world, the only idea that cuts across enough vote banks is populism. Its beauty, charm and success lie in its ease of use and how little it demands from the head or heart

Dr Singh's other major reform lies in India's strategic shift to the West

It was also audacious, in my book even more so than the 1991 reform, given how little support it had within the Congress and the UPA

BJP's attack on the American 'deep state' reflects growing global discourse

The idea had been acquiring currency across ideological lines for some time and has been given greater legitimacy by Trump

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?

Why is Indian public opinion so indifferent to Gazans and Palestinians?

We must avoid the temptation to see Indian indifference to Palestine as usual "enemy's (Muslim) enemy (Jew) is my friend". Reason is the changed reality of Islamic world & India's equation with it

BJP focus in Haryana shifts from Modi, returns to upper castes and Punjabis

The fight now can be defined as between the BJP's anti-Jat coalition and the Congress playing down the Jat domination that urban castes fear

Why is democracy so fragile in both of our large subcontinental neighbours?

How come Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, and Sri Lanka remain constitutional, democratic, and stable despite Islam and Buddhism, respectively, but Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar don't?

How some nations manage upheavals successfully and others go to pieces

The Sri Lankan transition was smoothly managed. Check Bangladesh for contrast. They forced their incumbent into exile, and installed a mostly unelectable govt of non-political people

BJP's muscular approach in NE falters, but party sticks to its strategy

Manipur represents the BJP's unique ideological approach to governing Northeast by playing identity politics jiu-jitsu. It hasn't gone well yet and is getting worse, but party insists on continuing

We, the prickly people: Why has Kangana's 'Emergency' run into trouble?

You can still put words in Indira Gandhi's mouth and get away with it. But if you garnish your pretence of fact with so much fiction, you might end up messing with Bhindranwale