Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, cricket’s next prodigy, needs a calming influence

At 16, Sachin Tendulkar encountered hostile bowling and intimidation during his maiden tour of Pakistan in 1989. He replied with his bat, scoring his first Test fifty at Faisalabad

Punjab can ill afford a religious flashpoint

The Akal Takht’s directive against Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann carries social, political and potentially legal implications

Indian cities need to rethink their water future

Urban India’s inefficiency in water use stems from dilapidated distribution networks, inefficient operations, inadequate metering, and poor municipal governance

Elon Musk’s wealth defies gravity — and reality

What does it mean to have the kind of money where the only entities that are richer than oneself are 21 countries and a dozen corporations?

Dancing Girl, meet modest imagination

The Dancing Girl has been significant because it embodies poise, confidence, and unmistakable presence. If the task of education is to equip young people to engage with the world as it is, then NCERT would do better to trust both students and women with a little more agency

Iran-US framework pact is a relief. Work lies ahead

With millions of Indians working across the Gulf, thousands serving at sea, and households grappling with high fuel and LPG prices, the crisis is not a distant one for New Delhi. It should lend its support to the peace process

Urea price crash opens window for reforms in India

The goal of reforms is to nudge them in this direction, unlike ad hoc interventions that only kick the can down the road.

Make it clear: Indian sailors are not collateral damage

New Delhi, even as it rolled out the red carpet for Secretary Rubio last month, should keep reminding him of its red lines as well, especially when it comes to the life — and death — of Indian citizens.

Jaspal Rana, champion shooter and master mentor, was one of a kind

After his competitive career ended, Rana became the junior India coach, shaping a generation of shooters and helping lay the foundations for India's rise as the sport’s global power

Amid rising inflation, vigilance holds the key

Food inflation rose to 4.78 per cent, up from 4.2 per cent the month before, with items like tomatoes and ginger seeing a sharp surge. With weak rainfall delaying kharif crop planting, the outlook in this category is uncertain

One year after AI 171 crash, questions persist

The concerns raised by the Federation of Indian Pilots — selective disclosure of information, the apparent absence of key subject-matter experts from the investigation and an inadequate examination of a possible electrical or systems failure — deserve serious attention

Bharathiraja took Tamil Nadu’s red soil to the silver screen

By bringing in the sights and textures of rural life into Tamil cinema, he changed its grammar forever

Green energy can’t yet bend climate curve

The expansion in renewables, though significant, is still not enough to check the rise in GHG emissions

ED in dock again, needs to be held to account

From Prabir Purkayastha’s arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), voided by the Supreme Court in 2024, to the lack of legal grounds for the charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Indian Penal Code against NewsClick, it is clear that scant regard was paid to the letter and spirit of the law

In the fires of the Air India tragedy, a friendship forged across India-Pakistan border

For at least one family, an unlikely friendship, born when sorrow met empathy, has been a source of strength. What it takes is for someone to keep asking, as Omar does daily, ‘Kaise ho aap?’

Visas, ICE, and Iran: This World Cup, the games off the court

The football starts Thursday. The world is arriving. The harder task, it seems, is for Washington to let it in

In Trinamool Congress implosion, a broader warning

A question TMC and other opposition parties must answer: What do you stand for? Unless they can, they may end up as spectators to their own shrinking

Truth on aliens is out there — handle with care

The International Academy of Astronautics’s updated guidance for researchers on how to deal with potential signals from extraterrestrial civilisations has much to say on the subject

Mind investor sensitivities please

At this critical juncture, the need to attract foreign capital cannot be emphasised enough. Legal certainty must be provided and existing frameworks should be simplified as procedural barriers will only dampen investor enthusiasm

Narendra Modi government at 12: Milestone in history, long road to future

The government must talk to the people, of course, but it must also talk with their representatives across the aisle. Not to lure them across, but to engage them in conversation that helps redeem its pledge of 'sabka vishwas'.

When the Grand Slam crown isn’t enough

The only previous instance of a German clinching the French Open men’s singles crown was Henner Henkel in 1937. And yet, more than a few would put an asterisk beside the name of Zverev.

In law, need to write a new marriage story

As the Court has rightly said, to prolong an estranged couple’s agony because their case does not meet the criteria laid out in the law amounts to “perpetuity of marriage on paper”.

After 100 days of conflict, a backsliding

The US President, who has demanded that Iran and Israel “immediately stop shooting”, finds himself trapped between a recalcitrant rival and an intransigent ally.

Turn potential double-whammy of rain and fertiliser shortfall into an opportunity

The Modi government must work towards making 2026 India’s year of millets, pulses and oilseeds, which also consume less water and fertilisers — especially urea (nitrogen) — than rice, wheat or sugarcane

Going ahead, the economy faces headwinds. Policy support is needed

Growth is expected to slow down, while inflation is likely to edge upwards. Much will depend on how long the conflict in West Asia drags on