Opinion News - Page 20
Geopolitics and Dalal Street: Five lessons for retail investors in times of war
The Israel-US-Iran war is a reminder that financial markets operate within a broader geopolitical environment. While wars create short-term volatility, they rarely change the long-term fundamentals of well-managed companies or growing economies
How India clinched the T20 World Cup
India’s potent mix of aggressive batting, penetrative bowling, and shrewd captaincy propelled the Men in Blue to consecutive T20 World Cup triumphs.
Head-on | MAGA top guns attack Trump as India seeks strategic balance over Iran war
A US president weakened domestically by MAGA infighting as the war in Iran drags on can give India new strategic options
US Sutra | How the fate of the Ayatollah regime was sealed long back
The fate of Iran’s mullah regime was sealed some 46 years ago when it took 66 Americans hostage and held 52 of them for 444 days. Retaliation was bound to come. The only question was when
Nepal seeks a new deal: For Balen, it’s a crown of thorns
The election result reflects deep frustration with decades of political instability, corruption, nepotism and youth unemployment. The message is clear – perform or perish
Iran, America and politics of pre-emption: When imminence is enough to launch a war
If the United States can launch a war based on projected capability and ideological distrust, why should others not invoke similar reasoning?
Multan’s lost Prahladpuri temple: Tracing Holi’s origins and a city’s Hindu past
Once the sacred site linked to the legend of Prahlad and the origins of Holi, Multan’s Prahladpuri Temple today stands as a forgotten reminder of the city’s erased Hindu past
Beyond Trudeau’s shadow: How Mark Carney charts an India-Canada reset
Moving past the tensions of the Justin Trudeau era, Carney’s India visit marks the end of a challenging period and the beginning of a more ambitious partnership
Raisina takeaway: America wants India to counter China, but never as a global peer
The remark by US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at the Raisina Dialogue should be read for what it was: a rare moment of diplomatic candour. Washington wants Bharat as a partner against China, but it does not want ‘another’ China
Nepal polls: Gen Z wave sweeps old guard as Balen Shah heads for historic mandate
Balen Shah appears to be achieving what no Nepali leader has in three decades—securing a two-thirds majority. The real challenge now is delivering on promises and shedding Nepal’s 'basket case' image in South Asia
India’s tightrope walk: Preserving strategic autonomy amid the Iran war
India must perform a delicate balancing act to maintain its critical defence and technology ties with Israel while simultaneously protecting its long-term energy and trade interests with Iran
How Trump’s contradictions on Iran may open a Pandora’s box in West Asia
The prospect of strife in Iran in which groups are pitted against one another and forces emerge which weaken central authority, will have grave consequences for the region. This may not immediately trouble either the US or Israel but can disrupt the flow of events in the Arabian Peninsula
How Pakistan’s West Asia ‘balancing act’ turned into diplomatic clownery
Pakistan’s statements during the ongoing crisis in West Asia give the impression of a government that was somersaulting in its response to every new development, yet running like a headless chicken, completely directionless in its diplomatic consistency
Nepal’s ballot revolt: Voters seek change after years of political musical chairs
The mood across the country is to reject traditional parties such as the Nepali Congress, CPN UML and CPN Maoist for failing to curb corruption and deliver jobs and good governance — giving the 'Gen Z'-backed Rashtriya Swatantra Party a fair chance
How China’s caution in the Iran conflict shows its military limits
The big question remains: Can an army with untested weapons, without generals and driven mainly by ideological instructions, win a war?
How Israel-Iran rivalry is turning from strategic to civilisational
The Israel-Iran conflict is not merely a tactical contest between two states pursuing strategic interests. It is a conflict embedded in theology, identity, and historical memory
Beyond the Lines | West Asian crisis: Why Iran may hold the strategic advantage
Iran had been preparing for this day for years and has been banking on a vast landscape of mountains and valleys — terrain that allows assets to be relocated, camouflaged and secured
Sinking of Iranian frigate off Sri Lankan waters an act of stunning recklessness by the Trump administration
The sinking of IRIS Dena in international waters is the first acknowledged instance of an American submarine sinking an enemy surface vessel since World War II, and the first torpedo-based sinking of any warship since the 1982 Falklands War
Nepal polls: Can Balen Shah vanquish the old guard?
Balen Shah, a rapper-turned-Kathmandu mayor, has become a symbol of disruption
Iran and the Indian art of strategic silence
India sees that the Iranian regime is unpopular, and murderous, at home, and its strategic offerings are limited. In a difficult world, it acts accordingly
Bangladesh at a crossroads: Why BNP must avoid Yunus’s mistakes
The question before the BNP government is whether it will once again choose the path of indemnity and exclusion, or whether it will break from that legacy and allow the Constitution to prevail
West Asian crisis: Energy markets face a Hormuz test
What began as geopolitical tension in the Gulf has quickly become a physical shock to energy markets
US Sutra | The Iran paradox: The strange case of Left-liberal mourning for Tehran
To eulogise and lament the demise of a barbarous despot and a brutal regime, which trampled on its own citizens and destroyed its own country economically, socially and politically, is sheer folly
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal: A syndicate in the guise of justice
Bribery, manufactured immunity, and selective amnesia have transformed Bangladesh's ICT into a protection racket, laundering the guilt of street-level killers to fuel a partisan purge against the Awami League
From Achaemenids to Nadir Shah: Debunking the myth of a ‘pacifist’ Persia
Ancient Iran had a series of powerful empires that left their mark on antiquity. Then as now, imperial power is seldom acquired or advertised through peaceful means, and the more expansionist it is, the more brutal its footprint
Strategic suicide, not strategic depth: Why Pakistan’s ‘jihadi chickens’ in Afghanistan have come home to roost
As clashes flare along the Durand Line, Islamabad’s long-touted ‘strategic depth’ doctrine collapses under the weight of its own contradictions
The sad tale of Pakistan: In trying to be too clever by half, hoisted by its own petard as Iran war escalates
Pakistan’s strategic overreach, driven largely by its desire to outmanoeuvre India, has instead resulted in a strategic squeeze
Is it the beginning of the end of the existing Iranian regime?
The regime appears prepared, security forces remain loyal, and ideological narratives are being activated. Yet structural exhaustion, economic pressure, leadership transition, minority alienation and generational discontent introduce vulnerabilities unseen in earlier crises
Iran at a crossroads: Why US, Israel must take correct lessons from history
Regime change from the air has historically proven elusive. There is little structural reason to assume that this case is categorically different
When Frankenstein’s monster strikes: Collapse of Pakistan’s strategic delusion
For years, Pakistan believed Afghanistan could be shaped through the Taliban from behind the curtain. Influence in Kabul was treated as insurance, a buffer against vulnerability elsewhere