menu_open Columnists
The Wire Analysis

The Wire Analysis

The Wire

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Regime Change Is Democracy’s Lifeblood and Modi is No Exception: 7 Reasons Why BJP is Wrong

Listen to this article: Addressing a press conference earlier this week, lawyer Prashant Bhushan stated that protests over electoral-roll manipulation...

17.10.2026 20

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

In Charts: What the SIR Has Done to India's Voter Lists

Listen to this article: 1. Comparison with 2024 voters list How do the number of SIR-deleted compare with the total numbers of those on the rolls when...

16.10.2026 20

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Uttar Pradesh SIR: Who Was Sent a Notice, and Why

Listen to this article: In the 357 of Uttar Pradesh’s 403 assembly constituencies with published notice lists, 2.86 crore of the 11.06 crore...

14.10.2026 20

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

What Lies Behind India's Silence on Nobel Peace Prize for Navi Pillay?

Listen to this article: New Delhi: Four days after South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, the...

14.10.2026 30

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Judiciary and Government: Another Way of Looking at ‘Separation of Powers’

Listen to this article: New Delhi: Successive chief justices have often spoken about the need to strictly follow the doctrine of separation of powers...

12.10.2026 20

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

But Where Is Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar?

New Delhi: As students, opposition parties, civil society groups, youth groups and the citizens of India protest across the country, in various ways,...

11.10.2026 20

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Why a Highhanded Security Response to a Political Challenge Reveals Modi’s Loss of Authority

Listen to this article: “Jab jab Modi darta hai, police ko aage karta hai (Each time Modi runs scared, he cowers behind cops)”. Slogans used at...

09.10.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Modi-Shah’s Police Manhandling the Leader of the Opposition Can't Be Normalised

Listen to this article: On October 6, 2026 the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was physically removed by the Delhi Police after an...

07.10.2026 20

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Accused of Misconduct, Teaching Ethics: Why Delhi Police’s 'Guidelines for Journalists' Are Illegal and Dangerous

Listen to this article: The X update posted by the Delhi Police sermonising journalists on ‘#EthicsofJournalism’, while illustrating a reporter...

06.10.2026 20

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Accused of Misconduct, Teaching Ethics: Why Delhi Police’s 'Guidelines for Journalists' Are Illegal and Dangerous

Listen to this article: The X update posted by the Delhi Police sermonising journalists on ‘#EthicsofJournalism’, while illustrating a reporter...

06.10.2026 30

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Gyanesh Kumar’s Forced Confession: Inside ECI’s Illegal War on the Indian Franchise

Listen to this article: The press note by the Election Commission of India, following the meeting of chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar...

04.10.2026 250

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Questions May Be About Gyanesh, But the Question Mark Is on Modi’s Democratic Legitimacy

Listen to this article: New Delhi: The massive scandal engulfing Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar goes far beyond administrative...

26.09.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

What Happens If CEC Gyanesh Kumar Goes?

Listen to this article: Four questions swirl around Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s departure as the political climate around the...

25.09.2026 30

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Five Questions on Modi’s State Menu and the Tasteless Politics of Exclusion

Listen to this article: The Narendra Modi government’s decision to serve an all-vegetarian menu at a state banquet for visiting BRICS leaders has...

14.09.2026 40

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Shutdown Capital for Road Traffic, Offices and Schools, is Fear of ‘Flash Mob’ Protests Driving Paranoia Over BRICS Arrangements?

Listen to this article: New Delhi: For the national capital – one that has welcomed state heads, heads of government and other eminent people ever...

11.09.2026 30

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Four Ways in Which the BAPS Disaster, Trying to Keep Women Away from Eiffel Tower, Hurts Modi, BJP and India

A BAPS-linked visit triggered a gender-discrimination controversy, a one-day Eiffel Tower shutdown, a management investigation and cross-party...

10.09.2026 40

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

What the Choice of a Retired Air Marshal as Ayodhya Temple Trust CEO Says About the Military and Politics in India

Listen to this article: New Delhi: If it had not been preceded by allegations of embezzlement and ‘chanda chori’, the appointment  earlier this...

10.09.2026 30

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

'56-Inch Ka Chhota Bandar', the Chant That Punctured Modi’s Image

The chant “56-inch ka chhota bandar, bhaag Narender bhaag Narender” from Jantar Mantar has emerged as one of the sharpest satirical jibes in...

05.08.2026 350

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Seven Reasons the Datia and Bankipur By-Election Results are a Nightmare for Modi and the BJP

Listen to this article: The by-election results from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh on Monday (August 3) have given the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a jolt....

03.08.2026 40

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Nepal's Madhes Is on Edge. What Lies Behind the Communal Violence?

Listen to this article: New Delhi: Nepal is grappling with its worst outbreak of Hindu-Muslim communal violence in years after clashes that began...

31.07.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

12 Questions About Police Brutality on Students in Delhi Amit Shah Must Answer. Now.

Listen to this article: The Delhi Police reports to the Union home ministry, and the Rapid Action Force – a branch of the Central Reserve Police...

25.07.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Seven Reasons Why This Massive Students' Protest in Delhi is Different and Has Rattled the Modi Regime

Listen to this article: What began as online outrage over exam leaks has rapidly evolved into an offline generational revolt against a system that...

20.07.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

E20 Fuel: Six Unanswered Questions After Modi Government’s Staged Press Conference

The Modi government’s July 4, 2026 press briefing on E20 fuel was a textbook case of damage control, where senior officials from the petroleum...

06.07.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Six Reasons Why Modi and the BJP Can't Evade Accountability in Ram Temple Theft

Listen to this article: The theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which is now being probed by a SIT formed by the Uttar Pradesh government...

05.07.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

When Does a Fact-Check Become a Gag Order?

Listen to this article: In March 2024, the Supreme Court warned that an interim injunction against journalism can become a “death sentence.” In...

23.06.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Five Issues Raised by the Modi Govt’s Response to US Military’s Killing of Indian Sailors

Listen to this article: The US military has carried out strikes on three commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman in the past week, resulting in the...

14.06.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

The Case Against NewsClick Fell Apart. Here is How, Step by Step

Listen to this article: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) punishes the laundering of wealth that a crime has produced. That earlier crime...

13.06.2026 40

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

US Killing Indian Sailors Demolishes Modi’s Boast of Strong Leadership, Compromises India’s Strategic Autonomy

Listen to this article: The American military strikes on MT Marivex, MT Settebello, and MT Jalveer near Oman over the last two days, which were all...

11.06.2026 40

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

First 2022, Then 2025, Modi Fails Again with His Deadline to Make India a ‘$ 5-Trillion’ Economy

Listen to this article: New Delhi: The official target of turning India into a five trillion-dollar economy has missed yet another deadline. In 2018,...

10.06.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Modi’s 4,699 Days in Office: Less a Record, More About Conditions Apply*

Listen to this article: How did this ‘record’ get talked about? Ram Madhav, RSS veteran, a powerful force in the Modi government for some time,...

10.06.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Modi’s 4,699 Days in Office: Less a Record, More About Conditions Apply*

Listen to this article: How did this ‘record’ get talked about? Ram Madhav, RSS veteran, a powerful force in the Modi government for some time,...

10.06.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Demanding Wages Is Not a Crime: How a Gurugram Judge Unravelled the Manesar 'Conspiracy'

Listen to this article: In a cluster of orders that read as one sustained argument, a Gurugram sessions court has taken apart the prosecution’s...

02.06.2026 70

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Oil Companies are Bleeding because Modi Govt Killed Dynamic Fuel Pricing for Electoral Gains

While headlines in the big media and statements from Union ministers harp on the financial distress of state-run oil companies due to high crude...

22.05.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Indian Rupee Has Fallen by Nearly 12% Against Pakistani Rupee Since Operation Sindoor

New Delhi: The Indian currency (INR) has experienced a significant decline against the Pakistani rupee (PKR) over the past 12 months, a period that...

19.05.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Modi Govt’s Tightly Controlled Script Comes Under Dutch Journalistic Scrutiny

Listen to this article: New Delhi: During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to the Netherlands, a major controversy erupted during a...

18.05.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Ordinance Raj: Supreme Court Gets Bigger Through a Surrogate Legislation

Listen to this article: An ordinance must, by the Constitution’s text, name a circumstance. The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment...

17.05.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

From UP to Karnataka: Six Routes Around the 1991 Places of Worship Act

Listen to this article: A pattern of litigation is now running across at least six contested religious sites in three states. It is doing to the...

17.05.2026 70

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

The Claim of ‘Only 3%’ Hike in Petrol-Diesel Prices is Misleading. Here’s How.

Listen to this article: New Delhi: A widely shared chart posted by many pro-government journalists on social media highlights that India’s recent...

16.05.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Five Reasons Why Trump’s China Visit Should Worry New Delhi

Listen to this article: The three-day state visit by President Donald Trump to Beijing from May 13–15, 2026, represents a significant shift in the...

15.05.2026 70

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Recused and Yet Not Recused: Making Sense of Justice Sharma's Twin Orders

New Delhi: On Thursday (May 14), Delhi high court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma did two things that appear, at first, to be in tension.  She initiated...

15.05.2026 70

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Supply Chains, AI, Hormuz, Taiwan: What's at Stake as Trump Meets Xi in Beijing?

Listen to this article: New Delhi: US President Donald Trump will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday (May 13) for a state visit that runs through May 15,...

13.05.2026 100

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Modi Urges Austerity on Indians While Jetting Across States, Addressing BJP Rallies, Doing Roadshows

Listen to this article: New Delhi/Mumbai: On Sunday, May 10, after the assembly elections were over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Indians to...

11.05.2026 70

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Modi’s Austerity Appeal Reflects Economic Mismanagement Rather Than West Asia Crisis Alone

Listen to this article: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to reduce fuel consumption, carpool, use public transport, work...

11.05.2026 70

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Suvendu Adhikari: The Strongman Chief Minister Bengal Now Has to Live With

Listen to this article: Kolkata/New Delhi: Suvendu Adhikari’s rise to the chief ministership of West Bengal is not the story of a clean political...

10.05.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Ten Quick Takeaways From the Assembly Election Results

Listen to this article: 1. A saffron sunrise in the East of India is on the horizon. An eastern corridor awaits the BJP. If it succeeds in installing...

04.05.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Why the Yashwant Varma Committee Need Not End with his Resignation

Listen to this article: A question now sits on the Lok Sabha Speaker’s desk. Should the inquiry committee that was examining the allegations against...

27.04.2026 50

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

How Parliament Buried the Supreme Court's 2018 Mandate on Legislators' Assets

Listen to this article: New Delhi: On April 16,  Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan disposed of a contempt petition filed by the NGO Lok...

24.04.2026 60

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Tamil Nadu Campaign Ends as State Shapes Into a Three-Cornered Contest

Listen to this article: New Delhi: The curtains have come down on one of Tamil Nadu’s most layered and closely watched election campaigns in recent...

21.04.2026 80

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma Asks Litigants to Prove Bias, Not Merely to Apprehend it Reasonably

Listen to this article: Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi high court on April 20 dismissed former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s...

21.04.2026 70

The Wire

The Wire Analysis

Nine Takeaways From Modi Govt’s Loss Over Constitution Amendment Bills for Delimitation

Listen to this article: The Narendra Modi government’s defeat over the Constitution Amendment three-Bills package to get new rules for the next...

20.04.2026 70

The Wire

The Wire Analysis