Madras High Court stays TN amendments on V-C appointments

The Madras High Court Wednesday stayed the operation of a series of amendments passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly that sought to take away the Governor's power to appoint vice-chancellors of state-run universities and give it to the state government instead. 

International Booker for Kannada author Banu Mushtaq's 'Heart Lamp'

Kannada Author Banu Mushtaq's short story collection Heart Lamp, which interprets and inhabits the faultlines and silent revolts in the everyday lives of Muslim women, won the 2025 International Booker Prize Wednesday

Ancient Indian mariner, warrior queen & love story: What gave INSV Kaundinya its name

The Story goes that over 2,000 years ago, an Indian merchant vessel was sailing along the Mekong Delta (Southern Vietnam). On board was an Indian merchant, Kaundinya, and a crew of Indians. The ship came under attack from pirates, and while Kaundinya fought them off, the ship was damaged and had to be beached for repairs.-

The illiberal in the mirror

Free speech is a key element of the liberal norm. But the problem with the liberal norm is that on the one hand, states and societies invent multiple ways to compromise on the liberal norm and on the other hand, anti-liberals find it easy to misappropriate the norm for their own legitimacy. This predicament makes liberalism a weak justification of freedom of expression (FoE).

NO TIME FOR PARTISAN POLITICS

On April 22, when Pakistan-linked terrorists attacked tourists in Pahalgam, it was a strike on our national conscience. Their brutality shocked the country. Earlier, they had targeted military posts - these were also acts of terror - but this time, they attacked innocent civilians. Everyone, irrespective of party, stood by the government. A strong response was needed. Indian forces carried out precision strikes on terror bases in Pakistan, followed by strikes on airbases in response to Pakistani escalation. Subsequently, we accepted Pakistan's ceasefire proposal. But we can hardly believe its assurances.-

Field Marshal of state in denial

The Ceremonial Elevation of Pakistan's General Asim Munir to the rank of Field Marshal may appear, at first glance, to be an assertion of military strength after India's Operation Sindoor. In truth, it is a symptom of state fragility. Rather than a symbol of national unity, the conferral of this title lays bare the deep and growing incoherence at the heart of the Pakistani state, an entity that increasingly relies on the illusion of martial grandeur to mask a chronic political, institutional, and ideological breakdown.-

Moral argument & the microphone

In International Crises, perception often becomes policy. In the recent flareup with Pakistan, India demonstrated strategic restraint and military preparedness. But it struggled where it increasingly matters most: Narrative control. In the aftermath, Pakistan managed to reposition itself diplomatically, secure an IMF bailout and recast the conflict as one of two equals requiring mediation. India, despite moral authority and strategic strength, failed to convert these into a sustained global message. India ceded partial narrative control in this crisis and created space for Pakistan to punch above its weight in the information domain.-

A milestone, a launching pad

Ten years ago, on May 22, 2015, the people of Ireland made history. We became the first country in the world to provide for marriage equality rights by popular referendum. For a formerly conservative (and some might even say "narrow-minded") society, it was like a revolution.-

Eight Key infra sectors' growth slide may have cascading impact on IIP

India's Key infrastructure-linked industries in April showed a sharp deceleration, with their output rising just 0.5 per cent from a year ago, the Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday. At 0.5 percent in April, the growth of the eight core sectors - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity - was not only well below 4.6 per cent in March, but was the lowest in eight months.-

The Veeraswami case: When can a sitting judge face an FIR?

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said this week that the in-house inquiry ordered by the Supreme Court into the unaccounted cash found at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma this March "does not have any constitutional premise or legal sanctity", and sought an FIR against the judge.-

WHAT IS TRUMP'S 'GOLDEN DOME', FUTURISTICU.S. AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM?

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he had shortlisted a design for the "Golden Dome" missile defence shield, and made General Michael Guetlein of the US Space Force in-charge of the project.

First floated by Trump this January, the Golden Dome is inspired by Israel's Iron Dome air defence system. But it is far more ambitious in scale and scope, and seeks to integrate "next-generation" technologies. 

Maoist leader Basavaraju 

Chhattisgarh Police said on Wednesday that CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju had been "neutralised" by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) in a "historic encounter in the forests of Abujhmaad".

The killing of Basavaraju marks the biggest success for security forces fighting the Maoists in decades, and the big setback for the rebels.

Sources in the security establishment said the elimination of Basavaraju means Home Minister Amit Shah's March 2026 deadline for ending the insurgency could now be within reach. 

Quiet power, revolutions: What shines in Banu Mushtaq's 'Heart Lamp'

There's nothing flamboyant about Heart Lamp. No sweeping declarations, no fiery rhetoric. And yet, it burns with a steady, insistent glow. Banu Mushtaq, in this collection of stories, does what only a rare writer can, bringing into view lives that literature often glances past, not by explaining them but by rendering them with clarity, depth, and grace.