By: B. S.DARA
India today finds itself in one of the most volatile international environments since the Cold War. The Middle East is sliding into wider conflict, old alliances are being revived, America is gripped by its own political breakdown, and economic nationalism is spreading across the globe. For New Delhi, the world’s largest democracy and a rising voice of the Global South, these shocks carry profound consequences for security, diplomacy, and economic growth.
Two developments in...
By: B. S. DARA
The 2025 ICC Asia Cup, which opened under clouds of bitterness, has ended with a thunderclap. India, undefeated throughout the tournament, humiliated Pakistan not once, not twice, but thrice in the space of two weeks , a clean 3-0 sweep. The crescendo was the Dubai final, where the men in blue thrashed their old rivals to clinch a record ninth Asia Cup title. Yet, when the smoke of fireworks cleared, there was no glittering silverware in Indian hands. Instead, there was a...
By: B. S. DARA
As an NRI returning to my beloved Jammu this year after a long interlude abroad, I found myself deeply pleased to witness the visible transformation of my hometown. The streets gleamed, public spaces looked cleaner, and the ambitious Smart City initiative had clearly begun reimagining Jammu’s urban landscape. Let me say it plainly that Jammu is transforming.
The city’s facelift is real and, in many parts, commendable. Roads gleam under LED lights. Green belts now split traffic...
By: B. S. DARA
The early 20th century in India was like a boiling pot of transformative social and political change, simmering with the fervour of a nation battling for independence from British colonial rule. But a very few people know that at the heart of India’s freedom struggle was a profound ideological conflict, one that pitted Gandhi’s vision of a harmonious, unified society against Ambedkar’s call for radical reform and the dismantling of the caste system. Where Gandhi’s approach was...
By: B. S. DARA
Some stars shine bright. Others burn. And then there was Rajesh Khanna, the man who made India believe in love, longing, and loneliness, all at once.
From 1969 to 1972 was a time in India when the name Rajesh Khanna was a fever. He delivered 15 consecutive solo superhits, a feat untouched and unmatched. But his true triumph wasn’t just box office domination, it was the hysteria. A hysteria that curled like smoke through city streets, small-town talk, and teenage girls’ diaries....
By B. S. DARA
Wars today are not decided only by guns, missiles, and airstrikes. They are decided by how the world understands what happened, who explains it better, and who appears more useful once the firing stops. This is an uncomfortable but unavoidable truth of modern geopolitics. Perception, timing, and diplomatic positioning now matter as much as battlefield action.
It is important to keep this in mind while reflecting on Operation Sindoor, India’s military...
By: B S DARA
Cricket, once a gladiatorial contest of skill, nerve, and raw aggression, has morphed into a sanitized exhibition where the bat reigns supreme and the ball is relegated to mere decoration. In the bygone era, bowlers were the veritable generals on the field, orchestrating a symphony of menace and strategy, each delivery a calculated blow intended to unnerve the batsman. Today, however, a cascade of regulations, chief among them the restriction of a solitary bouncer per over and the...
This article, published in Daily Excelsior on April 11, 2026, reflects an analytical examination of the ongoing West Asia conflict from an Indian perspective. It evaluates the strategic framing of Iran as an existential threat, contrasts it with operational realities on the ground, and situates the conflict within a broader geopolitical and economic context. The intent is to move beyond binary narratives and present a structured understanding of a rapidly evolving war.
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