Editorials

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday expressed appreciation for the United States’ waiver on India-Iran energy trade and the Chabahar Port project. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the port would be of importance in helping the situation in Afghanistan, but reiterated that India would continue to import Iranian …

A competent authority under the Preventive Detention Act is entitled to take action to prevent subversion of “public order,” but not in aid of maintenance of “law and order” under ordinary circumstances. Before a contravention of any law could be said to affect “public order,” it must affect the community …

What does the Supreme Court order say? On October 24, the Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of vehicles conforming to Bharat Stage (BS)-IV emission standards across the country, from April 1, 2020, citing “alarming and critical” pollution levels. With this decision, vehicle makers will only be able to …

The U.S. administration’s decision to grant India and seven other countries waivers on the sanctions it re-imposed on Iran provides some temporary relief to India. While the details of the waivers are yet to be released, the Trump administration has agreed to waive sanctions on the purchase of oil from …

The Democratic Party made a comeback in Tuesday’s midterm elections after spending two years in the political darkness, when it seized control of the House of Representatives. Yet, predictions of a “blue wave”, as a backlash to the racially charged, polarising campaign led by President Donald Trump, failed to materialise. …

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay has long been recognised in India as the person chiefly responsible, after Independence, for the revival of the country’s variegated crafts traditions and for drawing critical attention to ‘tribal art’. She is generally viewed as an authority on Indian handicrafts, but Chattopadhyay played no less a role in …

There are conceptual differences between the two countries on the Indo-Pacific The U.S. has sold nearly $15 billion worth of arms to India over the last 10 years. So the Donald Trump administration’s displeasure at India’s recent decision to buy the S-400 missile system from Russia puts a question mark …

With wild polio virus strains reduced by 99.9% since 1988, the world is inching towards eradicating polio. But unfortunately, more children today are affected by the live, weakened virus contained in the oral polio vaccine (OPV) that is meant to protect them. The weakened virus in the vaccine can circulate …

Liberals hoping that Rahul Gandhi’s Congress would rescue them from Hindutva may be in for a rude awakening The stage is all set for Assembly elections in five States — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana. Described as a ‘semi-final’ for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, they offer a …

With Trump, will India be able to maintain its choices? The scope of Open Embrace , writes Varghese K. George, Associate Editor of The Hindu , in the introduction, is to explore how U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both driven by notions of nationalism, are reshaping …

In London on October 31, at 4 P.M., Reuter is informed that Britain has officially received definite peace proposals from Turkey which are regarded as tantamount to an unconditional surrender. At 4 P.M., Turkey agreed to an armistice. At 5.20 P.M., it is understood that Turkey has offered to lay …

The RBI-government row throws up questions about the central bank’s autonomy What is the RBI aggrieved about? One, the Reserve Bank of India wants more powers over regulating public sector banks (PSBs). Two, it feels that the government should not dictate the quantum of its surplus that can be paid …

Delhi HC retrieves a lost cause and convicts those behind the Hashimpura massacre The conviction of 16 personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) for the massacre of Muslims committed 31 years ago is a rare instance of the justice system responding to the cry for accountability and justice. By …

The victory of the divisive firebrand raises serious anxieties about the future of Brazil In electing retired army Captain Jair Bolsonaro as its President, Brazil has chosen to be governed by a man described as the “Trump of the Tropics”, after the 45th U.S. President, Donald Trump. Mr. Bolsonaro swept …

The drift into the orbit of the U.S. will weaken global multi-polarity Jair Bolsonaro, who will become the new President of Brazil early next year, will be the most extreme far right leader to govern a democratic nation. Brazil, the largest country in South America, has decided to go the …

Dravidian politics must re-invent every aspect of itself: its modes of operation, its emotional motifs, and its leadership Tamil Nadu at different points in history has been considered the bane of Indian politics as much as it has been the enlightened torch-bearer of progressive reform. Today, the foundation of its …

A national policy for internal migration is needed to improve earnings and enable an exit from poverty Though migration is expected to enhance consumption and lift families out of absolute poverty at the origin, it is not free from distress — distress due to unemployment or underemployment in agriculture, natural …

The following reply from the Bombay Government is received by Sir M.B. Chaubal, Chairman, Provisional Governing Body, Nutan Maharashtra Vidya Prasarak Mandal: The Secretary to Government says: I am directed to your representation, dated the 9th September, 1918, on the subject of the establishment at Talegaon Dabhade in the Poona …

The BJP is giving up seats it won in Bihar to JD(U), a strategy that is not without its risks It is easier to reach agreements in principle than to sign up on the specifics, but both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) overcame a major hurdle …

President Sirisena’s actions have putSri Lankan democracy in peril Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to withdraw his faction from the ruling coalition and replace Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has plunged the country into a political crisis. This was further complicated, a day later, by …