The Illusion of Choice

Last week, we traced how India inherited a colonial administrative machinery and ancient civilizational conditioning that undermined the Constitution’s promise of popular sovereignty. The Police Act of 1861 remains in force. The “steel cage” of the civil services still functions toward ministers, not toward citizens. When protesters marched in July 2026, the state responded with force rather than negotiation.

The Sovereign Subject

India carries a civilizational inheritance spanning thousands of years—languages, philosophies, sciences, spiritual traditions, and systems of law that governed social conduct long before any modern constitution existed. Today, we are the world’s largest democracy. By sheer scale and diversity, that alone is remarkable.

Yet the question persists: is India truly a democracy? Not in the procedural sense (elections happen, votes are counted, governments form). But in the substantive sense: Do the people function as sovereign?

Why I Distrust Politicians

Democracy and politics are inseparable. One would be a fool to deny that. However, there are undrawn lines in politics that one should never cross. In my view, national interest is one.

Before anyone jumps the gun, let me clarify: I have no party affiliations. For the full picture on where I stand, refer to my political stance.

My take on Op Sindoor

I distinctly recall the night four months ago: I woke up for a drink of water in the wee hours of the 7th of May 2025. My aunt, who was awake, said, ‘We’ve hit them.’ As the statement landed on my groggy brain, I grunted. A moment later, clearing Aunt’s confusion, I made my appreciation more apparent.

Responsibility for the Balasore Tragedy

This is a part of the series on the Balasore triple-train tragedy. In the previous parts, we looked at the different technical aspects of the Indian Railways, the audit observations from the CAG report, which pointed out the areas that need significant improvements, and looked at the politics of the matter.

The Politics of the Balasore Tragedy

This is a part of the series on the Balasore triple-train tragedy. In the previous parts, we looked at the different technical aspects of the Indian Railways, as well as the audit observations from the CAG report, that are relevant to the context.

If you did not read the the previous parts, I suggest you do:

Operational Lapses in Indian Railways

This is a part of the series on the Balasore triple-train tragedy. In the previous part, we looked at the different technical aspects of the Indian Railways, that are relevant to the context. The part explains each of the terms you may come across when reading any story regarding the Balasore train tragedy.

Do you know Indian Trains

I have, like millions of Indians out there, been travelling long distances by the Indian Railways since infancy. And over these past three decades, I have read about tens of crashes including derailments. Even seen that odd wreckage during my train journeys.

What happened on the 2nd of June was terrible, and I cannot possibly express what I feel about it, in words. I turned to TV news for updates, thinking for once they could be useful. Boy, was I wrong. And then there were WhatsApp messages floating around, loaded with misinformation. Mr Modi and Mr Vaishnaw visiting the accident site only added to the noise, unfortunately.

To wear or not to wear the Hijab

Let me start this by saying that the school of thought within Hinduism that we follow at home, teaches us to be not disrespectful of any school of thought. This does not mean we agree with everything, though; we instead appreciate the fact that there are more-than-one ways of seeing anything.

How Should Politics Work

Often, we find ourselves criticising one or the other government institution or organisation. In a country with such a population as ours, we have millions complaining every day. But after complaining and screaming and getting frustrated about the futility of talking about it all, we place the issue on the backburner for a couple of days, and unless we receive fresh stimulus, the issue fades away in the coming weeks.