Opinion

Sambalpuri weaving is older than most Indian institutions we treat as sacred. The double ikat technique practised in Bargarh and Nuapatna predates the Constitution, the Railways, and certainly predates any government scheme designed to protect it. For centuries, the craft sustained itself not through state...

In the middle of all the chaos in the world, Forbes magazine did not forget to celebrate its ritual of publishing its 40th annual World’s Billionaires List on 10 March 2026. The list not only reveals the continuing billionaire boom in the numbers and the...

Since returning to office last year, US President Donald Trump has ordered military strikes from the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to Africa and the Middle East, targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and suspected terrorist groups. He has attacked Venezuela and kidnapped its leader, Nicolás Maduro. And...

Stephen Holmes A senior US State Department official recently summarised the Trump administration’s approach to regime change in three words: “decapitate and delegate.” Remove an intransigent leader, weaken the regime through airstrikes, sanctions, and proxies, then compel a successor to strike a transactional bargain –...

Melvin Durai After the United States and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran, dropping hundreds of bombs and killing the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, I watched intently as political commentators on American TV shared their opinions on whether the attack was necessary....

Dhurjati Mukherjee In the wake of the Middle East crisis, the need for acceleration of green energy in India assumes great significance, more so because the country has committed to net-zero emissions by 2070. Let’s start with the current oil crisis. The Strait of Hormuz...

Jagdish Rattanani Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is a much-despised figure in many parts of the world, with an arrest warrant against him from the UN-backed International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since he went to war in response to...

India’s energy policy cannot be dictated by Eurocentric carbon targets designed for wealthy, post-industrial economies. The recent conflict involving Iran and Israel has already exposed India’s energy vulnerability. How long can India keep its kitchens burning and its trucks moving if global supplies are disrupted?...

As the US-Israeli war with Iran escalates, the infrastructure and transit routes that sustain global energy flows are increasingly drawing fire, rattling financial markets. But the biggest risk is not necessarily a sustained loss of the physical supply of oil. It is the tightly integrated...

By Santosh Kumar Mohapatra As the world observes International Women’s Day each year, celebration must be accompanied by reflection. Have the lives of women truly become safer, freer, and more dignified? Or are our commemorations louder than our commitment? According to the World Health Organization,...