Once upon a time, the newspaper editor was a formidable institution. A single line from his desk could rattle the very foundations of power. Today, many readers can't even recall the name of their preferred paper’s editor. The values that elevated journalism and gave it its luminous purpose are now fading rapidly, eclipsed by the shadow of market pressures. News, once a badge of integrity, is now just another commodity, its worth measured by sales, ratings, and clicks.

Despite numerous efforts, the captains of India's current political system have not been able to free themselves from Mahatma Gandhi's life ideals and Gandhian ideology. Congressmen never truly embodied Gandhi's principles, and Hindutva thinkers have been irritated by the name Gandhi since the beginning.

The real test of self-reliance begins now. America’s golden dream has darkened into India’s waking nightmare.

Welcome to India, where mornings no longer greet you with birdsong but with a full-blown orchestra of honking horns, brawling bus drivers, and political soundbites.

Just when it seemed India-US relations were poised for a rupture, the political weather in Washington turned yet again. President Donald Trump—once quick to hail India as America’s reliable partner—abruptly announced a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports, even going so far as to label India’s economy ‘dead’.

Once upon a time—no, not in a fairy tale but in our grandparents’ photo album—marriage in India was an unshakable institution. Wasn't it a union sanctified by family, tradition, and seven solemn vows that supposedly carried you across seven lifetimes?