China insulated itself against energy shocks. India is ‘all talk, no walk’
China patiently invested capital, skill and technology in coal gasification. Unlike it, we won’t move from words to action. As crude prices decline, we lose interest.
Gulf war exposed India’s fragilities. It’s time for navel-gazing, in the national interest
It’s easy to understand why the government can’t speak the hard truth. When this war ends, as all wars do, India’s interests will lie with both the winner and the loser.
The Vishwaguru delusion, mine vs yours, is ruining our view of the world
One side thinks India is punching way above its weight. The other thinks Modi has undermined India and it punches below its strength. Both are wrong.
Peaceful power transfers followed uprisings in India’s neighbourhood. It’s a sign of mature democracies
Rating democracies is a tricky business. I am only using the simple metric of who in the Indian subcontinent has had the most peaceful, stable, normal political transitions and continuity.
Trump brings the Age of Humiliation for friends. Modi needs stoicism abroad, humility at home
Trump has ushered in the age of humiliation. His method is to push around America’s friends rudely and publicly. He knows none of them can afford to fight back.
Pakistan is fighting a two-front war. I saw it coming 15 yrs ago
The Pakistani political leadership is weak and devoid of any intellect. Its diplomacy is entirely India-China-US focused and suffers from a presumptive view of Afghanistan as a vassal.
No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning
India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.
The new Great Game—Trump’s playing for time, China for leverage & India for wiggle room
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
Dear Narendrabhai, Bangladesh polls give India space to hit reset button
By next weekend, Bangladesh will have an elected government. This is India’s moment to reboot broken ties by moderating the ‘ghuspethiya’ rhetoric in poll-bound West Bengal and Assam.
Swiss report should now close Op Sindoor debate. Knowing when to stop the fight is key too
The key to fighting a war successfully, or even launching it, is a clear objective. That’s an entirely political call. It isn’t emotional or purely military.
On Camera
Vijay’s promises will now face politics. Defeating Tamil Nadu behemoths was easy
The unexpected nature and scale of Vijay’s victory has left not just political observers but even sections within the TVK in a daze.
India-linked supertanker laden with LPG attempting Hormuz exit
If successful, its exit would mark the first observed passage by an India-linked tanker since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing Hormuz transits to nearly zero.
76 yrs on, exhibition on Korean War brings to life independent India’s 1st overseas military deployment
'Guardians of Neutrality: India's Korean Mission', organised in Delhi, brought out unknown and forgotten aspects of the war.
Muslim vote, X factor & limitations of regional politics: Takeaways from Bengal, TN, Kerala elections
On counting day, this special edition of National Interest looks at key takeaways from verdicts in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam. You’d err if you credit or blame BJP’s success only on Hindutva. It’s more than that.
Incumbents being voted out. Could economic hardship be a reason. Acknowledged by all political parties when they promise large cash transfers to women on the eve of elections. That pain is being accentuated by the Iran war. Full impact of higher prices not so far passed on to consumers. 2. BJP rules three less prosperous states in the East – Bihar, Bengal, Orissa. Perhaps it could make a greater success of the economy, averaging 5.5% growth since 2019, as it prepares for 2029.
The blogger sets up “religious consolidation” as the ultimate goal post for success in West Bengal, but as soon as the facts in the South move the game to a different part of the field, he just shifts the goal posts to fit where the ball actually landed.
In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Muslim voters stayed consolidated with secular alliances, which should have led to a win of BJP by his own rules. Instead, those alliances lost. Rather than admitting his theory failed, he shifts the goal posts to things like “voter fatigue” and “fresh faces”…factors he completely ignored in the North.
It’s a classic move to avoid being wrong. He uses religion to explain West Bengal because it supports his narrative, but he ignores it in Kerala because the numbers don’t go his way.
You can’t claim to have a master theory if you’re constantly shifting the goal posts to make sure you never miss. It’s just a double standard dressed up as political and editorial wisdom.