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Indian Railways: Running late for 2047?

Indian Railways: Running late for 2047?

I've said it before and I'll say it again for the doubtful benefit of this hearing-impaired government — putting old wine in new bottles...

yesterday 10

National Herald

Avay Shukla

War or ‘limited strikes’? Trump’s Iran rhetoric exposes US strategic ambiguity

War or ‘limited strikes’? Trump’s Iran rhetoric exposes US strategic ambiguity

A social media post by US President Donald Trump demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender” has sharpened questions about whether the United...

previous day 8

National Herald

Yajnaseni Chakraborty

Trade deal or death warrant?

Trade deal or death warrant?

If a country secures an advantageous trade agreement with another, one might would normally chuckle. However, if a distinguished scholar from the...

01.03.2026 10

National Herald

Ashis Ray

Nepal has another date with democracy

Nepal has another date with democracy

Nepal’s general election on 5 March is being held at a time when the geopolitical weather is heavy and uncertain. This is not just another round in...

01.03.2026 10

National Herald

Ashok Swain

The big lie that is love jihad

The big lie that is love jihad

There are things that this nation is agitated about, and there is real news. One of the things we are agitated about — in our media and WhatsApp...

01.03.2026 10

National Herald

Aakar Patel

An Indian view of the Epstein files: We are like this only

An Indian view of the Epstein files: We are like this only

Epstein who? Emails when? Meetings where? Every era produces its own prophets, who inscribe their wisdom on our digital walls; the year 1 AE (After...

01.03.2026 10

National Herald

Avay Shukla

The freedom to think critically

The freedom to think critically

National Science Day, observed annually on 28 February to mark C.V. Raman’s discovery of the Raman Effect, honours India’s enduring faith in...

28.02.2026 10

National Herald

Amal Chandra

The BJP’s latest history heist

The BJP’s latest history heist

On 23 February 2026, Rashtrapati Bhavan was the site of another brazen act of cultural vandalism: the bust of Edwin Lutyens, principal architect of...

28.02.2026 9

National Herald

Hasnain Naqvi

Corruption is not endemic to the judiciary

Corruption is not endemic to the judiciary

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced a new chapter in Class 8 textbooks addressing corruption in the...

28.02.2026 10

National Herald

Shailendra chauhan

A trade deal and a $500 billion question

A trade deal and a $500 billion question

A month after India and the US ‘agreed’ on a trade deal that was practically dictated by the US President, three weeks after the salient points...

28.02.2026 10

National Herald

A.j. prabal and herjinder

‘Mohabbat ki dukaan’ or the mob? The choice India faces

When Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi met Uttarakhand gym owner Deepak Kumar — the man who came to be known as 'Mohammad...

23.02.2026 70

National Herald

Yajnaseni Chakraborty

Reforms, referendum and roadblocks

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) landslide victory in the recent elections may just be the beginning of a protracted face-off with the...

22.02.2026 30

National Herald

Sourabh Sen

Tarique Rahman’s test at the edge of the Ganga

With the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) winning a decisive two-thirds majority and Tarique Rahman sworn in as prime minister, the country has, for...

22.02.2026 150

National Herald

Ashok Swain

16th Finance Commission report: Will the nod at efficiency undermine equity?

India’s fiscal federalism runs on a deceptively simple bargain: the Union collects most broad-based taxes while the states carry the frontline...

22.02.2026 20

National Herald

Ajit Ranade

Book extract: ‘Artificial’ intelligence and ‘natural’ greed

Title: How Robots Stole Our Jobs: Struggles of Suzuki Workers in the Age of AI Author: Nandita Haksar Publisher: Aakar Books Artificial intelligence...

22.02.2026 30

National Herald

Nandita Haksar

The coconut tree that refused to fall

Nearly four decades ago, in a small village in north Kerala’s Muslim-dominated Malappuram district, a coconut tree became an unlikely symbol of...

22.02.2026 150

National Herald

K.a. Shaji

From exclusion to division: the hidden costs of long-term BJP rule in Gujarat

The Bharatiya Janata Party has been governing Gujarat continuously for almost 30 years now. Notionally, Gujarat is a two-party state, but the Congress...

21.02.2026 20

National Herald

Aakar Patel

Brace yourself for a deluge of GM crops

Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has finally ended his silence on the Indo-US trade deal. On 17 February, Chouhan — who only last...

21.02.2026 20

National Herald

Rashme Sehgal

Call it the ‘Mohammad Deepak effect’

There’s resistance in a state where a saffron scarf is a licence to assault — or even kill. Where a complaint from a BJP functionary is enough to...

21.02.2026 20

National Herald

Nandlal Sharma

The right to be a rogue (until you’re caught)

Indian businessman and alleged drug trafficker Nikhil Gupta (54) — arrested in 2023 and presently in detention in New York — has pleaded guilty...

21.02.2026 30

National Herald

Ashis Ray

The 'trashy ruminations of a convicted criminal'

Six-and-a-half years after Jeffrey Epstein, 66 at the time, allegedly took his own life in a prison in New York, correspondence, photographs, logs and...

21.02.2026 20

National Herald

A.j. Prabal & Vanshika Gupta

AI Impact Summit embarrasses some, deludes others

‘Disruptions caused by Artificial Intelligence are coming sooner than we think’ was the message that came out of the AI Impact Summit in Delhi on...

20.02.2026 40

National Herald

Aj Prabal

Bhagwat says Hindus must have three children. Where does that leave govt policy?

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has once again urged Hindu families to have at least three children, citing concerns over the declining Hindu population in...

18.02.2026 30

National Herald

Sudha Vemuri

Captains' movement for Imran Khan gains steam, needs more intensity

The letter signed by 14 former international cricket captains in support of more humane treatment of, and medical attention to, Imran Khan has...

18.02.2026 20

National Herald

Gautam Bhattacharyya

Mohammed Shami has no BCCI contract, but a champion's ego

Despite being far away from the hustle and bustle of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Kolkata, Mohammed Shami still ensured that he became the talking...

17.02.2026 10

National Herald

Gautam Bhattacharyya

One-sided, humiliating and unacceptable

He had heard of ‘frameworks’ for an agreement. And he’d heard of ‘interim agreements’. But would someone please explain what a ‘framework...

15.02.2026 10

National Herald

Herjinder

India-Bangladesh: Time for a fresh start

Late on Thursday evening, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders exuded confidence. “Ground reports from the districts and certificates issued...

15.02.2026 40

National Herald

Sourabh Sen

Develop the scientific temper

There is always a shortage of nationalism in our country, because there seems to be so much demand for it. In all of my decades I had not known of a...

15.02.2026 10

National Herald

Aakar Patel

Rebuilding Gaza must begin with the environment

As diplomats negotiate ceasefires, donor conferences pledge billions for reconstruction and security strategists sketch out stabilisation plans, there...

15.02.2026 10

National Herald

Ashok Swain

Budget 2026-27: What about the environment, madam finance minister?

Preservation and protection of the natural environment has never been a priority in our annual Budgets; ALL Finance Ministers have taken it for...

15.02.2026 20

National Herald

Avay Shukla

“Speaker sir, uphold the dignity of your office”

When the country’s first Lok Sabha convened in 1952, Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was elected its Speaker. Many addressed G.V. Mavalankar with...

15.02.2026 9

National Herald

Krishna Pratap Singh

Socialism and the Indian Republic

In the first essay of this series on the swadharma or inner life of the Indian Republic, we reflected on sarva dharma sambhava or secularism. We now...

15.02.2026 20

National Herald

Yogendra Yadav

Om Birla turning blind eye to insult hiding in plain sight

11.02.2026 10

National Herald

Pratyaksh Srivastava

In the US-Iran standoff, pray diplomacy wins

08.02.2026 10

National Herald

Ashok Swain

Remember Manipur? It’s a lot more complex than you realise

08.02.2026 20

National Herald

Yogendra Yadav

The story behind the surrender

08.02.2026 9

National Herald

Yogendra Yadav

How the India–US trade deal will deepen the farm crisis tomorrow

08.02.2026 10

National Herald

Yogendra Yadav

Union Budget 2026-27: These ‘reforms’ are elitist and pro-business

07.02.2026 8

National Herald

Arun Kumar

Not just AQI, what we need is a BSI!

07.02.2026 8

National Herald

Shikha Mukerjee

SC is only neutral space left to Opposition, and Mamata proved it

07.02.2026 10

National Herald

Shikha Mukerjee

Europe is late to its own sermon

02.02.2026 7

National Herald

Ashok Swain

Too many forwards? Your phone’s carbon footprint is laughing at you

01.02.2026 8

National Herald

Avay Shukla

How deep does Indian secularism run?

01.02.2026 30

National Herald

Yogendra Yadav

“We didn’t pay for fish, now we worry about jobs”

01.02.2026 8

National Herald

K.a. Shaji

Police shootings and prolonged trials: the growing crisis of rule of law

01.02.2026 8

National Herald

K.a. Shaji

When a river turns into a faultline

01.02.2026 8

National Herald

K.a. Shaji

MGNREGA and the meaning of gram swaraj

01.02.2026 6

National Herald

Rashme Sehgal

Why are CAG warnings falling on deaf ears?

01.02.2026 10

National Herald

Rashme Sehgal

Being anti-Muslim is Dhami’s survival tool

01.02.2026 7

National Herald

Rashme Sehgal

Turbulent ties, broken bridges

31.01.2026 6

National Herald

Sreeradha Datta