Santosh Rauth MPs Tour Turns into a Gold and Silver Bonanza A recent controversy surrounding a Member of Parliament (MP) allegedly declining gifts during an official tour has attracted media attention, casting the MP in a favourable light for demonstrating integrity and restraint. Yet, a closer examination reveals that much of the media reporting on the story … Read more
Crime in Delhi: The changing face of public outrage In the posh neighborhood of Panchsheel Park in New Delhi, a gentleman was found dead outside his ground floor bedroom. Rumors about the circumstances of his death shocked the colony until the police declared him “murdered”. The confusion was further fueled by the victim’s son announcing … Read more
Persons with Disabilities: The Long Road to Empowerment India’s physically challenged community continues to grapple with systemic challenges, even as the country progresses in various spheres. A lack of societal and governmental support has created an uphill battle for those with disabilities. Among them is Professor Baldev Gulati, a visually impaired academician and disability rights … Read more
Death of Bandhavgarh elephant: Mystery deepens The tragic death of 11 elephants in Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in October 2023, suspected to be caused by poisoning from fungus-infected kodo millet plants, exposed a much darker reality. What began as a story of deaths due to poisoning, quickly unraveled to reveal a story of systemic … Read more
Aleppo: The sudden collapse that shook Syria and the world Just days before Syria’s Islamic militants entered the Old City of Aleppo, the Syrian Arab news agency Sanaa was inexplicably hacked. Nobody knew who closed the agency and why. SANA, the voice of the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), a secular, multi-religious and multi-ethnic country, was … Read more
Syrian Civil War: Proxy Battles and Unchecked Terror Syria’s descent into chaos since the 2011 Arab Spring has tragically unfolded into a brutal civil war, driven not just by internal strife but also by external powers vying for influence in the region. The complex web of foreign interventions has transformed Syria into a battleground where the … Read more
The air pollution crisis in Delhi arises from a complex interaction of multiple sources. Together they contribute to the annual crisis, in which the Indian capital often ranks among the world’s most polluted cities. For residents of Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), the choice is clear: continue on the path of “death-by-breath” or strive for a … Read more
Bashar al-Assad: The legacy of a divided Syria The brutal 54-year rule of the Assad family in Syria appears to be over. Within days, opposition forces captured Aleppo’s main city, Hama, Homs and finally, on December 7, 2024, the capital, Damascus, before advancing south to other government-held areas. The offensive was most surprising, with the … Read more
Syria Civil War: How a Militarized Society with a War-Ready Army Can Collapse in a Week? After successfully defeating Islamic State and Turkish-backed rebels in 2016, Syrian Arab Army fighters were considered a formidable fighting force that had built a reputation for influencing events in the Middle East. On November 27, when Aleppo, Syria’s second … Read more
Trump 2.0: The Second Presidency and Its Challenges for India As Donald Trump begins his second term as president, the political and geopolitical landscape of the United States is poised for a major shift. Trump’s return signals a potential shift in America’s realpolitik, which could bring about a much-needed recalibration of its domestic and international … Read more