Opinion

Trump vs. Biden: The rematch America anticipated

It is evident now, as it has been for months, that the upcoming November US election will see a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Their respective Super Tuesday victories in the primaries have sealed this outcome. Barring any shock developments, the election is all set to be between these ...

Opinion

Congress in crosshairs as India gears up for elections

As the Lok Sabha elections near, the opposition INDIA alliance has never looked more dejected and divided. Seat sharing talks between the main constituent, the Congress and almost all other allies, have failed.Nitish Kumar and Jayant Choudhary have jumped ship to the NDA and senior Congress leaders ...

Opinion

India: Why Bharat Ratna for LK Advani and Karpoori Thakur matters

The Modi government’s move to confer India’s high civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, on veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani along with Bihar’s socialist leader and icon Karpoori Thakur, makes a major political statement ahead of the general elections. The message i...

Opinion

India: Is Congress missing the plot in Opposition’s big battle?

A couple of weeks ago, as opposition leaders met over a zoom call to discuss some top posts within the INDIA alliance, a visibly angry Nitish Kumar walked out after Sonia Gandhi suggested that his name, which had been proposed by several parties, needed Mamata Banerjee’s nod as well.Sources sa...

Opinion

Opposition in turmoil as election clock ticks down in India

Here we are, just a few months away from the next general election in India and the opposition alliance has still not made much head way on the all important issue of seat sharing.This, along with several other issues, threaten to deepen the fault lines in the opposition camp. It doesn’t bode ...

Opinion

Kamala Harris strives to reshape public perception in the US

When Kamala Harris assumed the role of Vice President of the United States in January 2020, she made history as the first woman vice president and the first woman of colour to hold this office.Garnering attention for her multiracial identity as a Black and Indian American, her presence in the Biden ...

Opinion

Inside BJP’s election war room: How the party secured a 3-1 victory in India

The results are in for 4 of the crucial state elections in India and it was a stunning day for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which won 3-1, sweeping the Hindi heartland while the Congress registered a significant victory in Telangana. Here are my five takeaways from these state polls:First the bi...

Opinion

Ukraine’s options appear limited for now

More than 19 months into Russia-Ukraine war, the nerves are fraying among Ukraine’s closest friends and allies as fatigue has clearly set in. Ukrainian counter offensive began in June and by all accounts, has made progress but it has been slow and gruelling.Military experts have been frustrate...

Opinion

Why developed nations are not taking climate change seriously

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s recent U-turns on some of the UK’s key climate commitments expose the hypocrisy of developed countries on climate change. They make grand promises at global meetings but do not walk the talk at home. Sunak is a prime example.Earlier this month, he ann...

Opinion

Rishi Sunak pursues populist approach as elections draw closer

When Rishi Sunak came to India last week for the G20 summit, accompanied by his wife Akshata Murthy, the Indian media went into a frenzy. The Indian-origin British prime minister was feted when he moved into 10 Downing Street and the fact that he wears his “Hindu-ness” on his sleeve made...

Opinion

UK faces strikes, shortages, and soaring inflation

One of the first things you encounter in England are the long, chaotic lines at Heathrow airport. Last year, as I ventured on a visit to the UK post pandemic, it was an an almost three hour long wait at immigration. As I grumbled about it, a close friend who had flown to London to drop her daughter ...

Opinion

Threads: Promising start but momentum faded

When Mark Zuckerberg decided to launch Threads last month, a seemingly cleaner, more positive alternative to Twitter, there was much excitement. Could this be the social media app that finally kills the blue bird, I and many others began to ask? A few weeks later, “not quite” is the answ...

Opinion

Why extreme heatwaves are sweeping across the globe

As I scrolled through my Twitter news feed the other day, a bizarre story caught my eye. Death Valley National Park in California was about to see record breaking temperatures, reaching as high as 128 degrees Fahrenheit or 53.3 degrees Celsius. That wasn’t the bizarre part however (only the sc...

Opinion

Here is Modi’s strategy for a BJP victory in India next year

 Bang in the middle of the high voltage Karnataka election campaign, India’s Prime Minister Modi landed in Kerala for a two-day visit which included a roadshow on foot, a Vande Bharat train for the state, and the foundation stone for the country’s first digital science park.With the...

Opinion

Priyanka Chopra’s ultimate revenge

“I cannot really work with people I don’t like any more and that’s really non negotiable. I have to admire and look up to people I work with, I want to be excited and inspired when I go into work. This is something as I have evolved become most important to me”.A combative Pr...

Opinion

India braces for severe heatwave in 2023

It has been such a weird 2023. And its only March! We have seen snowstorms in California, ice storms in England ahead of Spring, temperatures touching nearly 40 degrees Celsius in parts of India in February.February of 2023 was the hottest in the country since 1901, according to India’s met de...

Opinion

Child marriages a social malaise than a religious one

Over the last few days, the north eastern state of Assam in India is seeing an unprecedented crackdown against child marriages.At the time of writing this piece, more than 2500 people had been apprehended and many more were expected to follow as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared that the c...

Opinion

India’s famed Himalayan town of Joshimath is sinking

Are India’s hill stations a disaster waiting to happen? The alarm has sounded as a town in the state of Uttarakhand town faces the danger of literally collapsing under its own weight, with experts warning that other hill stations could face the same fate. And we have only ourselves to blame.Th...

Opinion

Air pollution in north India

Last week, I looked up at the sky and couldn’t believe my eyes. For what seemed like the first time in years, I could see a beautiful blue sky over Delhi. India’s national capital is otherwise the most polluted city in the world, according to studies that measure the deadliest particles ...

Opinion

Why did Rishi Sunak fall behind in race to become UK PM?

As we head into the final lap of the race for the next Prime Minister of Britain, 42 year old Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian origin, admits that he is “playing catch up” with his rival, Liz Truss. Latest polls show that Truss is the overwhelming favourite to win the contest for the top jo...