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Sannu ki: Philosophy of the third peg the gurus forgot

26-03-2026

India has produced many great philosophies. From the Upanishads to Osho, from Yoga to Jugaad, from karma karo, phal ki chinta mat karo to jo hoga dekha jayega. Yet hidden somewhere between the second and third peg of whisky lies perhaps the greatest spiritual state ever discovered by mankind.
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Sanitising politics: Why 130th Amendment misses the mark

26-03-2026

In late February 2026, a Delhi court discharged all 23 accused in the excise policy case, ruling there was “no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent” in the policy at issue.

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India 2024-2026: The greatest T20I team ever assembled

25-03-2026

From an Indian cricket fan’s perspective, these are heady times in the sport as the country’s T20I team retained their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title after a scintillating performance against a high-quality New Zealand side in the final in Ahmedabad on March 8th. For a nation that has been long starved of consistent sporting success in the global arena for decades, cricket has been the only team sport where India has made its mark at the world level since the historic 1983 Prudential World Cup victory under the captaincy of the legendary Kapil Dev.

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It’s a clash of civilisations that’s unfolding in the Middle East

25-03-2026

Is the world heading for an apocalypse, a catastrophe bigger than anything that the world has witnessed since the Second World War? A catastrophe that will engulf the whole world and a kind of bloodbath that will shame humanity? The present Iran crisis has the potential to brutalise the human conscience to an extent that it will take ages to recover from. Unfortunately, all the actors in the game are oblivious to its consequences. They are more guided by their hubris, larger-than-life egos, civilisational curse, and ideological false consciousness. All of them are, in their hatred for the other, hell-bent on making the world less worth living for the next generation.

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A local war that has resulted in worldwide disruption

24-03-2026

Three weeks into the conflict, the reverberations of the Iran war are now felt all over the globe. What started as a war of choice and opportunity by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu has morphed into a war of attrition and existence, thanks to Iran’s resilience and resort to asymmetric tactics. Iran is able to inflict considerable damage to civilian property
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To nail white collar crime both PMLA and PCA are needed

24-03-2026

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA), like the Benami Act, was brought into the statute lest the law be caught in a time warp and instead be geared to take sophisticated financial crimes head-on. ‘Not 25 paisa was found’ is the triumphant and smirking refrain of those whose premises were raided by law enforcement agencies
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A premium on public health

24-03-2026

Under normal circumstances, the decision of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to form working groups for health insurance reform to improve transparency, coordination between hospitals and insurers, and the patient experience should be a welcome measure. But these are not normal times for those forced to buy commercial health insurance
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Time for heads to roll at Air India

24-03-2026

Two recent incidents—the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) flagging safety lapses at Air India and the airline flying the wrong Boeing 777 to Vancouver before turning back after over seven hours—underscore that the Tata Sons-owned carrier continues to overlook serious issues, raising the spectre of another mishap.
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Iran war: On matters nuclear and asymmetrical warfare

23-03-2026

US President Trump declared last year on the conclusion of the twelve-day war between the US-Israel and Iran that “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated”. His statement was repeated even more forcefully by his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, that the US had succeeded in not only destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities but also in wiping out its nuclear ambitions.
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Why’re film lyricists of yore so neglected and marginalised?

23-03-2026

“Hansne ki chaah ne itna mujhe rulaya hai” (Film, Avishkaar, 1974), “Lag jaa gale ke phir ye haseen raat” (Woh Kaun thi, 1964), “Ik haseen shaam ko dil mera kho gaya” (Dulhan ek raat ki, 1967), “Dil ki aawaaz bhi sun mere fasane pe na jaa” (Hum Saya, 1968)… the list is endless.

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Democracy to gerontocracy

23-03-2026

In most professions, life is a disciplined affair. Even the humble peon in a government office must meet certain educational requirements before he can be entrusted with carrying files from one table to another. Government servants in Kerala know that their careers will conclude at the age of 56 or thereabouts, after which they must give way to younger people.
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Alas! At 116, we ain’t that happy

23-03-2026

On the International Day of Happiness, March 20, came the news that India was placed 116th among 140 countries in the World Happiness Report 2026. That such a day is commemorated and such a global index exists to be updated every year in the midst of so much displacement and suffering brought on by genocide and wars is itself a cause of mild pleasure.