Brij Khandelwal

Brij Khandelwal is an Agra-based senior journalist.

A democracy, like applause, cannot function with one hand alone. It is sustained by the essential interplay, the understanding, restraint, and constructive dialogue between the government and the opposition. When the House falls silent due to obstruction, it is not just business that halts; the very vitality of democracy diminishes.

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Has law and order genuinely improved under Yogi Adityanath, or has peace simply been enforced at gunpoint? This question now sits at the heart of an escalating confrontation between the Allahabad High Court and the Uttar Pradesh government, a debate that transcends individual encounters to challenge the very definition of governance.

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Will India's thousands of small rivers be left to lose their identity, buried under garbage, turned into sewers, or taken over by illegal settlements? This question is no longer just for environmentalists. It has become a question about the country's future, its water security, and the survival of its civilisation.

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If the Taj Mahal falls silent one morning, will Agra go quiet too? No. Then, perhaps for the first time, the city will speak in its true voice, amid the clang of artisans' hammers, the haggling in markets, the aroma from halwais' kiosks, and the verses of poets. The Taj Mahal is Agra's crown jewel, but Agra isn't just the Taj; it's a thriving, living civilisation.

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In India, the internet’s promise of enlightened progress is being paradoxically hijacked to spread regressive thought. Digital platforms, especially WhatsApp and YouTube, have become powerful conduits for astrologers, religious demagogues, and mythologists to broadcast archaic and fundamentalist ideas.

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India’s foreign policy today stands at a ‘diamond crossing’. It is a place where roads do not force a single direction, where relationships remain flexible, and where choices are guided by interest rather than ideology. In a world shaken by uncertainty and shifting power centres, India has chosen not to lock itself into rigid alliances. Instead, it keeps its options open and moves carefully, dealing with different powers on different issues.

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