If India’s democracy is still standing after scams, cyclones, cult leaders and campaign speeches longer than the Constitution itself, the secret isn’t federalism, institutions, or constitutional checks and balances.

In a cramped one-room house in Hubballi, 28-year-old Suresh’s mother still waits for the sound of his scooter each evening. He had married just 11 months earlier. The wedding photos—bright, garish, indulgent—are still up on the wall, but the man in them is gone. His death was officially recorded under ‘marriage-related problems’, a category that, for the first time in 2023, saw more men dying by suicide than women in India.

On 18 November, in a quiet yet bold turn, the Supreme Court reopened a door it had once slammed shut. What was earlier declared illegal has now been allowed as an exception. The shift is not merely in interpretation; it marks a redefinition of accountability itself.

Have India’s national honours been reduced to a geopolitical wink and nod? The Congress Party’s decision to confer its prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on Michelle Bachelet, a figure whose tenure as UN Human Rights Chief repeatedly cast India in a suspicious light, has ignited a storm that refuses to die down. What should have been a dignified ceremony has turned into a pointed political statement, raising a blunt question: Is the Congress now comfortable validating voices that consistently challenge India on global platforms...

The world of radio was a magical gateway where voices wove dreams and songs touched hearts. Binaca Geetmala was the brightest star of that era, captivating millions of listeners every Wednesday evening since 1952 with Ameen Sayani’s honeyed voice and the charm of film songs.

When government sleeps, chaos thrives—this adage is playing out on India’s streets. Stray dogs, abandoned cows, and aggressive monkeys have turned our neighbourhoods and lanes into battlegrounds, while government agencies, lacking coordination, remain mere spectators.